Confusing email from Plusnet

[#1]

I've just received the following message. After announcing a whopping 24% price increase it then appears to be offering a price that's about 37% less than I'm paying now. This doesn't make any sense to me. Could someone please add some clarity?

Your broadband (Unlimited Fibre Extra) and line rental contract is coming to an end on 27th October 2022. When your contract ends your monthly price will go from £38.28 to £47.54. Price changes apply. Your current package also includes Plusnet Anytime, charged at an additional £9.15 per month (price changes apply). Ofcom, the communications regulator, requires us to show you the current best prices available for you. You're eligible to move to these new prices now as your contract is coming to an end. Once you get to the end of your contract, you can leave free of charge and either switch to another provider or cancel your service by giving us 14 days' notice. If you'd like to talk to us about your options give us a call on 0800 587 1943 or you can choose one of the new prices listed below.

Services included as part of your contract

• Average download speeds of 66Mb • Free Plusnet to Plusnet landline calls

To see a full list of your services from Plusnet please visit Member Centre.

Here is your best price (in line with Ofcom guidance)

Unlimited Fibre Extra broadband and line rental for £23.99 a month. 18 month contract. Add Plusnet Anytime call plan to your package for an additional £9.15 per month.

[#2]

1. Your current fixed term contract is coming to an end on 27 October 2022 and the new price from that day forward will by £47.54 per month if you do nothing.

2. If you want to enter a new contract with a starting price of £23.99 per month then you can. But you have to ask for that.

3. The new prices in both cases will increase every March by 3.9% + Inflation (CPI)

[#3]

Yes, this is dear old Plusnet ... they quote a ridiculous ex-contract price, then offer a rate comparable to the competition. If I recall aright you accept the offer in the email, then the PN accounts system will bill you the full rate anyway, then you have to phone the long-suffering staff to sort out the mess by applying the crazy discount scheme.

Otherwise great service and nice people doing a difficult job.

[#4]

Moderators Note
This topic has been moved from Everything Else to Accounts / Billing.

[#5]

I would rather you hadn't done that as I think the thread would have had greater exposure on the original board - unless you don't want it to be seen and attract criticism.

[#6]

I may be missing something but all we've done is offer you a great deal that's better than what you're currently paying.

[#7]

From my perspective the deal that's on offer looks much too good to be true, especially in the current economic climate, so it makes me wonder what the catch might be. I think Longliners post probably gives a clue. This is why I'd have preferred the thread left on the Everything Else board in the hope of garnering experiences from other members.

[#8]

There's no catch, we're not here to trick you.

The vast majority of contracts go through our billing system fine and I'm sorry if anyone has had a bad experience. 

If you do renew and have a problem, then let us know and we'll put things right for you as soon as possible. 

[#9]

@Buggwrit 

OK so @Longliner ended up having to ring in to get clarification. But I will leave it to @Longliner to either confirm or deny that he ended up paying the offered price. There is no skulduggery such as not honouring this excellent deal going on, just problems with the billing system for some unlucky people.

[#10]

@Baldrick1 @Buggwrit 

Yes, I'm glad to confirm that I accepted the offered deal. There is indeed no catch, my point was that PN operates an elaborate discount scheme but sometimes the accounts system fails to apply the discounts and the customer receives a bill for the full amount. This has happened during a couple of my renewals over the years, always sorted out over the phone by the cheerful staff, but I do think it causes needless hassle to customers and wastes valuable staff time.

[#11]

Thanks for that clarification Longliner. I shall accept the offer and be prepared to make a phone call. 😊

[#12]

@Buggwrit wrote:

I would rather you hadn't done that as I think the thread would have had greater exposure on the original board - unless you don't want it to be seen and attract criticism.

@Buggwrit 

Whether your thread would have been more widely seen in its original board is open to question.

Moving it to the Accounts/Billing board ensures the correct staff member(s) see it.

[#13]

Referring to the wording of the email where it states "Unlimited Fibre Extra broadband and line rental for £23.99 a month" it could be interpreted as £23.99 for each product, i.e total £47.98 so I should be grateful if someone could confirm that the quoted price includes both.

Also there is no mention of Caller Display for which there is currently no charge.

[#14]

Hey @Buggwrit,

Just to confirm, when it says "*Broadband product* and line rental for *quoted price*", the quoted price includes both the broadband and line rental in that equation. Please note, any additional call plans or features are not included in that calculation and the quoted price would only last for whatever period of time is quoted, i.e 12 months, 18 months, 24 months for example.

I hope that explanation helps, but if not just drop us another message and I'll be happy to explain further

[#15]

Thank you for that clarification. Are you able to say whether the Caller Display will continue to be provided at no extra cost?