Incomprehensible Website

[#1]

I've just spent an hour on the Plusnet website just to get basic, simple information about Plusnet changing my account as it has just completed the initial contract period as they are now over charging me and seem to be leaving me without any phone line etc.

I have been unable to get any information. It may be there but so far impossible to find !!!

The reason is this website is an absolute classic example of the mis-use of computing by fragmenting information & thereby making it impossible /difficult to find or understand if you do find it. There is a vast amount of utter drivel here - too much information, nearly all of which is rubbish and this completely obscures the actual real information  a person is looking for. It is utter, utter garbage.

And the final insult is the moronic 'predictive' text software that constantly changes what you type and so forcing you waste vast amounts of time sub-editing the garbage produced by predictive text. It  is the most moronic & useless software imaginable and it is beyond my comprehension why anyone wants to inflict it on their customers who all seem to complain about it.

I have been immersed in the world of computing for 6 decades having started off being trained  as a young military user of electronics & computing & then graduating into being a journalist being asked to write about computing  long before the existence of the 'personal' computer.

So I'm well qualified to know that the World of software & webpage design is appallingly bad all over the internet. Utter, appalling garbage !!!

Moderators Note: All caps title removed as per Forum rules

[#2]

I agree, many of us who have been here a long time keep our own list of shortcuts to specific pages of information that we know exist on the Plusnet website, but otherwise can't find by navigating the site because links have disappeared over time, or pages simply became orphaned due to the dumbing down of the content from what was once a useful site.

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@mugwump083 wrote:

It  is the most moronic & useless software imaginable and it is beyond my comprehension why anyone wants to inflict it on their customers who all seem to complain about it.

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My current pet hatred, is the [-Censored-] pointless CAPTCHA puzzles, that I have to solve the picture puzzles up to 30 times in succession, before I can view what packages are available to me !. WHY make it so difficult and frustrating to simply visit the home page - blocked by the "Let us know that you're not a robot" page !

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@mugwump083 wrote:

... simple information about Plusnet changing my account as it has just completed the initial contract period as they are now over charging me and seem to be leaving me without any phone line etc.

... I have been unable to get any information. It may be there but so far impossible to find !!!

The brief answer to your question (in words that you won't find from Plusnet) -

If you are currently on ADSL, and no other option is available to you, then you'll need to leave Plusnet by the end of 2025.

If you are currently on FTTC (with a phone service), then before the end of 2025, you'll need to 'upgrade' to SOGEA (AKA Plusnet 'Fibre'), AND you'll need to migrate your landline telephone NUMBER to a third party VoIP supplier (because Openreach are withdrawing UK PSTN landline phones at the end of 2025, and Plusnet aren't going to provided a VoIP service for phone users).

As you are 'out of contract' then upgrading to SOGEA will start a new contract period (typically 18 or 24 months) for a lower price than what you're paying now.  Moving from FTTC to SOGEA won't affect how your broadband is provided currently, but your landline phone will disappear.  After your upgrade has completed, you have 30 days (before your number becomes lost) to migrate your landline NUMBER to a VoIP provider.  When your phone service has migrated to VoIP, you can either buy a new VoIP telephone handset, or buy an ATA adaptor which converts your existing phone from being analogue voice to being digital, with the new phone or adaptor plugging in to a spare LAN socket on your broadband router (instead of the BT master socket).

If I've missed anything or you have any questions, there are a lot of knowledgable forum users here to help you, so just ask !

Moderators Note: Avoidance of swear filer removed

[#3]

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Broadband to My Account / Billing

[#4]

@mugwump083

Being with plusnet for around 24 years I agree their website has had many versions.

I find the A to Z useful https://www.plus.net/help/a-z/ 

This link might be handy https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/broadband-package-guide/ 

I asked Google Gemini AI,  plusnet broadband what are my upgrade options 

[#5]

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@mugwump083 wrote:

I've just spent an hour on the Plusnet website just to get basic, simple information about Plusnet changing my account as it has just completed the initial contract period as they are now over charging me and seem to be leaving me without any phone line etc.

I have been unable to get any information. It may be there but so far impossible to find !!!

The reason is this website is an absolute classic example of the mis-use of computing by fragmenting information & thereby making it impossible /difficult to find or understand if you do find it. There is a vast amount of utter drivel here - too much information, nearly all of which is rubbish and this completely obscures the actual real information  a person is looking for. It is utter, utter garbage.

And the final insult is the moronic 'predictive' text software that constantly changes what you type and so forcing you waste vast amounts of time sub-editing the garbage produced by predictive text. It  is the most moronic & useless software imaginable and it is beyond my comprehension why anyone wants to inflict it on their customers who all seem to complain about it.

I have been immersed in the world of computing for 6 decades having started off being trained  as a young military user of electronics & computing & then graduating into being a journalist being asked to write about computing  long before the existence of the 'personal' computer.

So I'm well qualified to know that the World of software & webpage design is appallingly bad all over the internet. Utter, appalling garbage !!!

Moderators Note: All caps title removed as per Forum rules

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They are not 'overcharging' you - your contract has a length (12/18/24 months) after which you are clearly informed in the contract notification that, unless you negotiate a new one, you will pay the 'out of contract' price, which is also plainly stated.

The 'moronic software' is a feature of your computer - nothing to do with Plusnet, and if you have been 'writing about computing', for many years, one would hope you had a basic understanding about how electronic data storage works.

I too have been 'immersed' in computing, (for around 50 years) having been involved in the development of a large company's transition from paper to electronic data storage in the very early 1970's and the deployment of that technology at other establishments - and then the creation of three other similar systems elsewhere.

To be honest, I don't see the issues you do.

[#6]

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@mugwump083 wrote:

I've just spent an hour on the Plusnet website just to get basic, simple information ...

... I have been unable to get any information. It may be there but so far impossible to find !!!

The reason is this website is an absolute classic example of the mis-use of computing by fragmenting information & thereby making it impossible /difficult to find or understand if you do find it.

...

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@outcast wrote:

My current pet hatred, is the [-Censored-] pointless CAPTCHA puzzles, that I have to solve the picture puzzles up to 30 times in succession, before I can view what packages are available to me !. WHY make it so difficult and frustrating to simply visit the home page - blocked by the "Let us know that you're not a robot" page !

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...

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@Dan_the_Van wrote:

I asked Google Gemini AI,  plusnet broadband what are my upgrade options 

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Is it just me, or can anyone else see the self defeating loop here ?.

Over the years, Plusnet have dumbed down their website, and in the process have made once easily available information  difficult or impossible to find.

In response, users like me and @Dan_the_Van  have resorted to navigating to the relevant pages by using Google searches, or asking an AI,  to find the information we know exists but is too time consuming to try and find within the Plusnet website.

In retaliation to being externally searched by Google and AIs, Plusnet have  imposed their broken "Let us know that you're not a robot" CAPTCHA process, which blocks legitimate users trying to find information about their own accounts, new customers from discovering what deals are available, or forum members being able to provide authoritative sources for replies here.

Now that the CAPTCHA is blocking external searching, the results from Google and AIs, are becoming less useful or accurate, so Plusnet are now likely losing out, as people just give up looking. 

There have been times when I've wanted to give a quick answer to a question on this forum, and thought that I will provide a linked reference to a page on the Plusnet help pages, then have had to wade through repeatedly solving the CAPTCHA puzzles CORRECTLY up to THIRTY times before the website would let me access the site.  Needless to say, this frequent chore of having to prove that I'm not a robot, now puts me off answering forum questions, because why should I waste my time proving that I'm not a robot, when another customer can't find what they are looking for, because Plusnet have hidden the information, and now deliberately making it so difficult for me to be able to answer the question on their behalf.

Perhaps if Plusnet rewrote their website to clearly present ALL relevant information (as used to be the case), that customer's wouldn't have to resort to asking Google or AIs,  and maybe Plusnet wouldn't have to block internet robots.

.

[#7]

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@outcast wrote:

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In retaliation to being externally searched by Google and AIs, Plusnet have  imposed their broken "Let us know that you're not a robot" CAPTCHA process, which blocks legitimate users trying to find information about their own accounts, new customers from discovering what deals are available, or forum members being able to provide authoritative sources for replies here.

Now that the CAPTCHA is blocking external searching, the results from Google and AIs, are becoming less useful or accurate, so Plusnet are now likely losing out, as people just give up looking. 

There have been times when I've thought I'd give a quick answer to a question on this forum, and thought that I will provide a linked reference to a page on the Plusnet help pages, and then have to wade through solving the CAPTCHA puzzles CORRECTLY up to THIRTY times before the website would let me access the site.  Needless to say, this frequent chore of having to prove that I'm not a robot, now puts me off answering forum questions, because why should I waste my time proving that I'm not a robot, when another customer can't find what they are looking for, because Plusnet have hidden the information, and now making it so difficult for me to be able to answer the question on their behalf.

Perhaps if Plusnet rewrote their website to clearly present ALL relevant information (as used to be the case), that customer's wouldn't have to resort to asking Google or AIs,  and maybe Plusnet wouldn't have to block internet robots.

.

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As you know, I am no longer a PN customer, but in those five years, I have never had to 'wade through the CAPTCHA puzzles', even if I have gone via a search engine - which is very rare.

[#8]

Ok,  so for the first time on here today, 

I used Firefox (without any ad-blockers, or anything messing with cookies) to navigate to https://www.plus.net/ 

and immediately get presented with this -

It is utterly infuriating that I often repeatedly need to solve these puzzles UP TO 30 TIMES just to visit the home page ! -

[#9]

@outcast Did you do this via a search engine, or by directly inserting to the address bar?

Something which has just occurred to me is that I am still, technically, a PN customer as I have a 'mail-only' account, which may be a confusing factor - I'll have to wait until I can use a machine that doesn't 'know' I am and see if I have the issues you describe.

[#10]

@jab1 

I directly typed 'plus.net' in to the Firefox address bar.

Regarding account status, as an ex-customer, I don't have any left over features such as 'mail-only', etc,  but I can still login to the "Member Centre" - although there is very little remaining to navigate to.

.

[#11]

@outcast OK - next time I'm away from home, and my machines - I get the same results on the laptop, iPad and phone - I'll see if it happens to me.

[#12]

The greater point here, is that while this is a significant annoyance to me, that if I'm being blocked (as an ex-customer), that I can't be alone in seeing this, and there might be thousands of non-Plusnet customers wanting to find out what products are available to them, only to be blocked from easily finding what they're looking for and give up without complaining here that Plusnet have this ridiculous anti-robot firewall (requiring seemingly endless attempts at solving the CAPTCHA puzzles) blocking quick and easy access to information that might otherwise lead to them becoming potential new customers.

Plusnet don't seem interested in fixing their website to make it easy to use. For how many years have we seen current customers report that they can't upgrade, renew contracts, or make some account change, because Plusnet have never fixed the underlying issue that causes the Member Centre to block changes with this message (when no changes are in progress) -

"Something's gone wrong, please wait until we've finished updating your broadband service before making another change."

[#13]

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@outcast wrote:

I directly typed 'plus.net' in to the Firefox address bar.

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I just tried that using a Chrome incognito window, no CAPTCHA appeared, just the cookie choice pop-up which I rejected, then inviting me to sign in, which I didn't.

[#14]

@RobPN 

that's a fair point - it might be browser related, I typically only use Firefox, and rarely bother with other browsers,

so after reading your post I tried a fresh install of Chromium browser, typed in 'plus.net', and immediately got this -

[#15]

@mugwump083 

If you are out of contract you will be paying inflated charges.

If you can't login try phoning the PlusNet Customer Options Team on 0800 013 2632

Brian