Do Plusnet offer pensioners a discount on line rental

[#1]

Sorry if this has been discussed before but so far various searches have shown no results so here I go….

I became aware that there is a discount scheme for pensioners to get a much lower line rental.

”eligible customers, who meet the criteria agreed with Ofcom and verified by the Department for Work and Pensions, pay just £4.40 a month line rental – which includes £4.50 worth of calls a quarter - less than half the £ 0.50 a month which customers on the cheapest non-subsidised option pay.”

is this something that plusnet offers to our vulnerable pensioners.  This isn’t for me, it is for very elderly lady that I have ended up helping for the last few years since the death of her husband.

[#2]

@BRABUS Unfortunately they don't - AFAIK, you can get this if you are a BT (and maybe other ISPs - IDK) customer.

Does the article you quote not give further details of the providers offering the service?

[#3]

@BRABUS   you may find this link on the OFCOM site useful - at least as a starting point.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/social-... 

HTH

[#4]

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Home Phone to My Account / Billing

[#5]

@BRABUS - I don't suppose they get pension credits do they, reason I ask is our friends over at BT have BT home essential, more on them here @ https://www.bt.com/broadband/home-essentials . BT also offer Voip so even though switching will loose the landline services, it's worth whilst checking if they can do VoIP on the home essentials package if they are eligible.

[#6]

Hi James, is there a reason that Plusnet are not offering VOIP but the other parts of the larger organisation such as BT and EE are offering this.

[#7]

@BRABUS This is a BT decision - Plusnet are the 'poor relation'/budget brand, and as such only offer the very basic of service.

[#8]

Ey less of the "Budget and Basic" @jab1 Haha, It's true though, whilst I'm not privy to the commercial decisions, I see the thought behind it, as BT, Plusnet and EE are the same company it doesn't make much sense to duplicate services across all the 3 brands adding cost, I see eventually EE focusing on the bells and whistles for residential customers, BT focusing on the Business side of things and Plusnet offering good no frills budget broadband, after all for most the mobile is the go to for making calls, I don't know about you but I've not touched a landline in over a decade ago, for the customers how can't access a mobile signal in rural areas, I hope over time there areas will have 4G/5G masts put in.

[#9]

@James30 What you 'see' is what your CEO has already outlined, and I agree (in part) with the logic behind it - until they change their mind.

I still have a 'landline' but it is on SOGEA, so via my router - what I will do when the copper is retired, I don't know - I only have two contacts who don't use mobiles for all calls, and I never use it for outbound.

[#10]

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@James30 wrote:

... after all for most the mobile is the go to for making calls, I don't know about you but I've not touched a landline in over a decade ago, for the customers how can't access a mobile signal in rural areas, I hope over time there areas will have 4G/5G masts put in.

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One key reason many/most people no longer use landlines for calling - it's a blatant rip-off.

Example - BT want to charge £5 a month for their basic 'PAYG' (NO INCLUSIVE CALLS) Digital Voice add-on service - and they charge an absolutely incredulous £18 a month for their Unlimited Minutes Digital Voice.

All for a very low bandwidth usage service over an 'Unlimited' broadband connection.

That sort of pricing is utterly absurd - considering that unlimited minutes (plus unlimited texting, and sometimes a little data allowance) can be had for just £3 a month on a mobile (and, of course, you get to take it with you, and use it almost anywhere in the UK and most of Europe).

My personal thoughts - now that 'landline voice' is becoming all IP (VOIP) - surely, in time, it could/should just become a sales/marketing 'freebie' thrown in with a broadband service (not unlike email, or internet security) - I wonder when/whether a service provider will (disruptively) spot the sales/marketing opportunity.

[#11]

This coming year Plusnet want to increase my BB and phone line subscription  by over £20 per month, I have been a customer Since 2008  (16 years), unless I get a better deal than this I will leave..

[#12]

@longshanks67 

Is this a general early offer or are you in the last month of a contract? At the start of the last month ring the Customer Options Team on 0800 013 2632 and negotiate a deal..