VAT Increase & Price Changes - January 2011

[#1]

Hi Mike,
I'd create a ticket if I were you. 
Due to a internal problem with my account they also couldn't change my product before my billing date (today), but they have agreed to refund the difference once it's all sorted.
Jonny.

[#2]

Thinking of changing from E+W to new Anytime at £3.50. Just rang support line to ask a few questions that I wasn't sure about (despite reading 23 pages here !). They told me I could only pre-register at the moment, so I pointed out it's been moved forward to Dec17 (internal communication anybody ?). My billing date is 11 Jan so have to be careful until then, especially as evening period changes from 6-6 to 7-7 on 4 Jan --  that's a bit harsh changing it on my E+W for just 7 days - I'm sure to forget and call between 6 and 7. Otherwise I must call people between 6 and 7am - they will be pleased !
Apart from that it's a pretty good deal for me personally with retirement looming in April - will need daytime access then.
Another couple of questions for somebody :
if broadband is frozen does that mean value at 5.99 is not increasing to 6.49 after 12 months (but unfortunately I missed it anyway)
and I've had emails saying the support line is free to call but it's an 0845 so if you are on E+W how is that free in the daytime if you need to call then ?

[#3]

I'd personally not chance the 0845......I was "lucky" and changed mine straightaway to the existing Anytime package and it was changed on the 19th........good luck !!
Lynda~

[#4]

The 300 included mins for international numbers was the main reason why I signed-on with Plus Net - bad idea to take it away - will I be penasiled if I cancel my contract?

[#5]

Quote from: dwp

Thinking of changing from E+W to new Anytime at £3.50. Just rang support line to ask a few questions that I wasn't sure about (despite reading 23 pages here !). They told me I could only pre-register at the moment, so I pointed out it's been moved forward to Dec17 (internal communication anybody ?). My billing date is 11 Jan so have to be careful until then, especially as evening period changes from 6-6 to 7-7 on 4 Jan --  that's a bit harsh changing it on my E+W for just 7 days - I'm sure to forget and call between 6 and 7. Otherwise I must call people between 6 and 7am - they will be pleased !

Now that the new Anytime product is on sale upgrading to it is done via the normal Product Change path on the portal - using that still gives the 3-months free offer. However since product changes take place on next billing date, and you say that is 11 Jan for you, my understanding is that there will be a period of 7 days when the revised terms apply to your current E+W product.

Quote from: dwp

if broadband is frozen does that mean value at 5.99 is not increasing to 6.49 after 12 months (but unfortunately I missed it anyway)

I'm not aware of any statement issued by Plusnet which changes what will happen for previous 12-month price-freeze customers at the end of that freeze; ie I expect their charges will increase to current values.

Quote from: dwp

and I've had emails saying the support line is free to call but it's an 0845 so if you are on E+W how is that free in the daytime if you need to call then ?

The Plusnet support line is a specific 0845 number so why shouldn't they make that free to call at all times? Calls to other Plusnet Home Phone customers are also free at all times..

[#6]

See sig.

[#7]

Quote from: spraxyt

The Plusnet support line is a specific 0845 number so why shouldn't they make that free to call at all times? Calls to other Plusnet Home Phone customers are also free at all times..

Thanks spraxyt, I'm sure you're right, they can make it free at all times. But when I called and asked the customer service guy about this, he specifically said it would only be free for me during evenings and weekends - not very reassuring. It seems like I should believe what I read here rather than what PN tell me!

[#8]

Plusnet support is free at all times, it's other 0845 calls outside of package time you're charged for.
One issue that im looking into that doesn't seem correct is the new 25% discount to overseas destinations. All the previous 8.5ppm destinations (mainly the old free ones within the 300 mins) are now discounted to 8.48ppm, well short of the 25% being touted as a replacement for the free minutes. Still digging but after talking to a couple of agents these figures are correct and apparently the marketing dept within Plusnet have confirmed this is correct, so unless Plusnet marketing have the power to change how maths and percentages work there is seems to be something amiss here.
New tariffs showing 8.48ppm - http://www.plus.net/residential/tariffs/homephone_jan11.html
Old tariffs showing 8.5ppm - http://www.plus.net/residential/tariffs/ew-and-intl300-tariff.html

[#9]

The sums seem correct to me. From 4th January 2011 the cost of a call to Australia (say) will be 11.30 ppm on the standard tarriff. On the new Talk Anytime product I'd expect to see 0.75 x 11.30 = 8.48 ppm, which is the value shown. On the legacy Talk Anytime, now called Talk Anytime International 300 a call to Australia will be free if within the included allowance or 8.50 ppm if not within the included allowance. It costs an extra £1.50 per month to have those free international minutes included.

[#10]

Ah yes, it's me being a dunce lol cheers
I think whats thrown me is I didn't realise the cost per minute had increased from the old tariff by around 25%, so the 25% discount is offered on the back of a 25% increase hmmmm.

[#11]

did you also note that you can still sign up to the Legacy if you do it before the 4th Jan, dont do it by calling use a ticket or Pm Bob Pullen

[#12]

HI Guys,
Private messaging is not a way we guarantee support. Bob is very busy at this time of year and it's not a good idea to PM him with something that has two other legitimate ways of support. Here's the scenario. You place a ticket request, It will be actioned. You call, it will be actioned. You PM a member of staff via the forum and it gets actioned when they have the time, which may be after the cut-off date if they pick it up, and it really wouldn't help if you said, "but I asked Bob before the cut-off date" as Private messages are not an official channel of support.
Hope that clears things up.
Jojo

[#13]

I've been happy with Plusnet since sign up -  first for value broadband then evening & weekend phone.  I'm brand loyal (stayed with ane expensive 56k dial-up company for nearly ten years till I finally cracked and then found Plusnet).  I've read many pages here (but not all, eyestrain has set in) and it's the loss of the 300 free international minutes that really hurts for many of us and some have accepted the route of upgrading to the legacy anytime product (deadline on 4th Jan) to keep them - for an extra fiver a month.
Here's a workaround I'm not sure has been discussed - and 've raised a ticket (with a reply time 8 hours estimated) - regarding an alternative to paying for an upgrade.just to hang on to those 300 minutes.  When I was with BT I used those companies who provide prefix numbers that allow 1p/min calls abroad, and they worked fine - and I can't see why that wouldn't be possible with a line from Plusnet.  As said, I'm awaiting clarification through a ticket. 
Using the BT phone number  tariff guide the 0844  869 (and variants) prefixes that  I checked out show up as a G8 type call and the Plusnet tariff guide for those indeed says they are charged at 1p/min (also there's a 10p-ish connection charge).  So, my maths suggests that say 10 x 30 min international calls would work out at 300p + 100p = 400p for those 300 minutes - actually a quid saved compared to upgrading if you don't need the other advantages of Anytiime. And obviously if you make no calls abroad one month you've actually saved a fiver.  Obviously you just have to remember to use the discount 0844 prefix or else you are hit hard with the full Plusnet call price - ow!
And you get to stay with Plusnet.  A win-win situation for those who don't want to upgrade and pay another sixty quid a year but who don't want to leave Plusnet?  If there's a moderator willing to comment on the forum about this workaround, I'd be interested in your take on it.
Cheers,
Pete

[#14]

The moderators on the Community forums are customers just as I am, so cannot speak for official Plusnet policy. However I'm not aware of any restriction placed on using such services through 0844 numbers at the price published in the Home Phone tariff.

[#15]

That is an interesting idea, cakeman, but now those of us that wanted to retain our 300 minutes have had to re-sign on the more pricey tariff I doubt anything will be altered........
Cheers, Lynda~