Force 9 (F9) Legacy email address

[#1]

I just had a chat with a Plusnet agent regarding my contract.

He dropped into the conversation that as I am a legacy customer with an old email address (f9) I should look to creating another email with gmail because legacy emails are being ended.
All very well but my email address is registered with hospitals etc and its not going to be that easy.  
The only reason I have changed supplier is because I need to keep my email address.  
Has anyone else experienced this? 

[#2 · Accepted solution]

Moderator's note:
Thread moved from Broadband to Email

[#3]

@thekent I was under the impression that first-line agents had been reminded on more than one occasion not to spread this idea.

If/when the email service is closed, there will be an official announcement from PN, which will give people plenty of time to make alternative arrangements.

@Townman ?

[#4]

He was a really unhelpful agent.
I have a medical alarm that requires a landline and he advised that the landline will be gone by 2025/26 so I need to contact the provider of the medical alarm to make arrangements. Not what I wanted to hear given the medical conditions I live with and at present there is no suitable alternative alarm.  

But, for now priority is my email address. He told me to set up a Gmail account.

Seems that if I phone Plusnet the responses are always variable.

Rant over.

[#5]

@thekent Ignore what first-line 'agents' tell you about 'the imminent  closure of email' - they have been repeatedly warned about this behaviour.

As regards your alarm, that IS something you will have to take up with the provider, as December 2025 will see the closure of the PSTN , which many alarms rely on.

[#6]

Thank you

[#7]

There is a "review" at present looking very specifically at how to support/manage the transition away from old-style phone services for those that rely on its technology such as yourself.

As the old saying goes "Don't panic!" and in the first place consult your support service provider for advice/reassurance.

As for email, myself and many others have long-advised people to not rely solely on the email service from your ISP (broadband provider) and to at least have a backup. And use/test it too. 

The particularly evil trick that Plusnet pull is to cut off email immediately when you move elsewhere. As many services will typically require some sort of confirmation from the old email as well as the new one when you move that can be problematic and get you into a whole different complex loop of proving your identity! 😟

[#8]

The particularly evil trick that Plusnet pull is to cut off email immediately when you move elsewhere. As many services will typically require some sort of confirmation from the old email as well as the new one when you move that can be problematic and get you into a whole different complex loop of proving your identity! 

The 'trick' with that - as I have done a couple of times is to move your emails elsewhere before you leave an ISP - even if you move them to such as Gmail/Yahoo on a temporary basis.

[#9]

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@jab1 wrote:

The 'trick' with that - as I have done a couple of times is to move your emails elsewhere before you leave an ISP - even if you move them to such as Gmail/Yahoo on a temporary basis.

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Ideally an ISP should allow a period post contract where you could set up a redirect to a new email address and an auto response saying my new address is..................

[#10]

Email service future.

The following is Plusnet's official position on the future of email as of 12th December 2023

"There has been some speculation about the future of the Plusnet email service on some community threads recently. We have not announced any changes. If any changes are made, Plusnet email customers will be the first to know, along with our contact centre advisors."

 This contact centre advisor is not well informed in respect of the future of email.

[#11]

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@jab1 wrote:

...Ignore what first-line 'agents' tell you about 'the imminent  closure of email' - they have been repeatedly warned about this behaviour.

This pattern of agents 'accidentally' warning customers about the planned closure of Plusnet email, has been highlighted several times over recent months on this forum.  It can't be one rogue agent spreading misinformation,  it can only be a sign that email will be shutdown soon.  As always Plusnet staff get told to never reveal deadlines for anything, and then (often following rumours of Plusnet dropping provision of yet another 'feature' published on ISPreview or TheRegister) the official Plusnet announcement comes, often with immediate effect.  Therefore I wouldn't IGNORE what the agent has said.

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@thekent wrote:

But, for now priority is my email address. He told me to set up a Gmail account.

If you are considering transitioning your email from F9 to a new provider,  this will be quite a lot of effort and something that you only want to do once, and hopefully never get yourself stuck in this situation again.  Therefore you should consider very carefully who you use to host your future emails. 

Can I suggest rather than moving to another 'free' email account (such as gmail), which could have the terms of service changed at any time, perhaps consider using a service that you pay for, and preferably with a domain name of your choosing.

Personally I moved from F9 email to IONOS email  when Plusnet had their email servers hacked in 2007 (and again in 2014).

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@thekent wrote:

I have a medical alarm that requires a landline and he advised that the landline will be gone by 2025/26 so I need to contact the provider of the medical alarm to make arrangements. Not what I wanted to hear given the medical conditions I live with and at present there is no suitable alternative alarm.  

Seeing as you use a medical alarm, in relation to the phone shutdown after 2025, your existing phone supplier is required to provide you with additional assistance to transition to having the replacement digital telephone connection, and ensure that you don't just get cut off and left in a potentially life threatening situation.  There are various little known things that they should be able to help with, including providing SOTAP (which allows health alarms that don't currently have an upgrade path to continue working until 2030).

However, in order to qualify for additional assistance and priority repairs, you must let your supplier know about your situation (otherwise how would they know ?).  The Plusnet forms are here, and other related help detailed here.

[#12]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@jab1 wrote:

...Ignore what first-line 'agents' tell you about 'the imminent  closure of email' - they have been repeatedly warned about this behaviour.

This pattern of agents 'accidentally' warning customers about the planned closure of Plusnet email, has been highlighted several times over recent months on this forum.  It can't be one rogue agent spreading misinformation,  it can only be a sign that email will be shutdown soon.  As always Plusnet staff get told to never reveal deadlines for anything, and then (often following rumours of Plusnet dropping provision of yet another 'feature' published on ISPreview or TheRegister) the official Plusnet announcement comes, often with immediate effect.  Therefore I wouldn't IGNORE what the agent has said.

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I refer you to the post above from @Townman - who is in a better position than you or I - to advise.

[#13]

@Anonymous 

Your speculative comments on the future of email are unhelpful, likely to cause unnecessary confusion and panic to users.

There are unfortunately some rouge agents apparently ignoring (or have forgotten) the internal briefing from early in December 2023.  Quite categorically there has been no decision made on the future of the service - when such is made Plusnet users WILL be advised directly.

The only users who might have an immediate concern are those who have legacy email and are considering ditching Plusnet as their ISP.  Such users must plan ahead of that decision: those using account.plus.com should plan at least 3 months ahead so as to migrate all use of their email address to their new one; those using a hosted domain name need just enough time to transfer the hosting for their domain name (inducing changing the registrar) - 4 to 6 weeks might be a sensible planning window.

[#14]

@thekent 

Unless you plan to move your ISP provision elsewhere, there is no need for you to do anything just now.

Frankly by suggesting that Gmail is a suitable alternative to Plusnet's email service, the agent makes plain that they are not well informed about email.  Gmail has no offering similar to the rich functionality of Plusnet's email service.  If you want something comparable, then look at Mythic Beasts - for about £2pcm you get what Plusnet offers (domain name hosting, multiple mailboxes, aliases, catchall, forwarding) but with 2GB storage allowance and BOTH SPF and DKIM.

If you want a single email address with zero bells and whistles, then indeed Gmail might suffice ... despite its limitations.

[#15]

Seeing as you use a medical alarm, in relation to the phone shutdown after 2025, your existing phone supplier is required to provide you with additional assistance to transition to having the replacement digital telephone connection, and ensure that you don't just get cut off and left in a potentially life threatening situation. 

I have recently been helping an elderly neighbour whose son had moved her to a new ISP. Neither the old or new ISP were made aware that she was in her 90s and had one of these alarms. I don’t know whether it’s relevant in this case but ISPs are not mind readers and need to be advised.

The problem with emails is that over the years their importance to everyday life has increased enormously. In my opinion, relying on freebie services is no longer appropriate..