Not informed of true monthly charge when contract taken out

[#1]

I’ve just rejoined plusnet and received notice of my first payment.
My contract started on th 8th April, when I spoke to plusnet and agreed the charge I was quoted £18.99 per month, no mention of any increase for inflation. The amount has went up by £3.05 per month. Besides this being too high for the percentage increase I believe I was misinformed and misold. If the price was going to be £22.04 from the first payment I should of been informed and not told I would be paying £18.99.
Is the conversation I had when taking out the contract recorded as I would like this investigated

[#2]

Did a similar thing same to me.  Quoted and paid £22.99 1st month then had a 30% rise to £29.89 in 2nd month!.  I've filed a complaint and am awaiting their excuses.  Are you still in the 14 days cooling off period, you may be able to cancel for free.

[#3]

I’m over the 14 day period unfortunately. From the conversation I had with plusnet rep earlier the increase should be around 9% and it’s about 18%.But I’m more bothered about being misled, thought I would miss the increase until next year as contract didn’t start till 8th April, no doubt it will be hidden in the t&cs
How did you raise a complaint , over the phone?
Thanks
Peter

[#4]

I did it online through the Contact Us > Help > Make a Complaint link.  Couldn't find another suitable option and wanted to have a written record so I didn't phone.  They don't appear to have an email option.

[#5]

Hi @peterh I've checked your account and can see you've raised a complaint, please bear with us and that will be assigned to a complaint handler that will be in touch with you soon. 

@Jabberwocky40 I can see we've responded to your complaint, here's a direct link in case you've not seen your notification emails: https://www.plus.net/wizard/?p=view_question&id=224301227

[#6]

---

@Peterh2 wrote:
From the conversation I had with plusnet rep earlier the increase should be around 9% and it’s about 18%.But I’m more bothered about being misled, thought I would miss the increase until next year as contract didn’t start till 8th April, no doubt it will be hidden in the t&cs
How did you raise a complaint , over the phone?

---

The relevant date is not the start of service, but the date you signed up, which I guess was prior to 31st March.  It would be a surprise if the annual price change was not mentioned, it is clearly stated in the T&Cs - certainly the website has a * next to all prices, with a clear foot note ...

* The price for broadband, line rental, call plans and call charges will be increased each March from 2022 by the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation published by the Office for National Statistics in January of that year plus 3.9%. Other prices, content and terms may also change during your contract. See our CPI Plus 3.9% Guide for details.

2022 Billing increases

Users have found the first bill following the price changes on 31st March 2022 odd because the brief summary presented at the top of the bill is just that - a summary. It does not reflect the important details of each line as fully described on subsequent pages. The first bill after the price rise, has for each chargeable item and their associated discounts...

1. A refund for the charges already paid on the previous bill (at the old rate) for the period from 31st March to the billing date
2. A re-charge in arrears (at the new rate) for the period from 31st March to the billing date
3. The charge at the new rate for the following month (charged in advance)

Consequently comparing this months bill with last months bill can create the impression that it has gone up more than the expected 9.3%. It is also possible that the annual prise rise is coincident with the end of the discounted minimum term, making the increase appear much larger.

Note: In some cases there is a known error on the first bill run which has omitted to adjust applicable discounts.

For how to raise a complaint see the Complaints Code of Practice shown on the bottom every Plusnet webpage - https://www.plus.net/help/legal/complaints-code-of-practice/

[#7]

As I said I was not told of a higher price , it was sold to me as £18.99 per month when I talked to plus net rep .Also was on mse as Best Buy at this price.

[#8]

Affiliates get the details wrong all of the time - for example on their CURRENT listing of deals from Plusnet, MSE clearly mis-inform their users that Plusnet is not part of the Ofcom Automatic Compensation Scheme - whereas here - Cheap broadband deals: our top picks and how to switch - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com) - they say the are.  Seems that MSE are somewhat confused about the truth!

Regardless of that, their link to the promoted product takes you direct to Plusnet's sales website and next to the £18.99 is a big * with the foot note mentioned above below the package summary.  In your case, the issue remains, what was (or was not) said during the call.  One of the staff members will be able to review that.

[#9 · Accepted solution]

I received a call earlier from Ryan at plusnet who has reviewed the conversation I had with the plusnet rep and agreed I was not informed of the correct charge for my contract. The original charge of £18.99 per month is what I will pay until next march when any inflation increase will be added per the t&cs.
He also said the system will be made clearer for next years inflation adjustment.
So if anyone has had the same experience as myself they should get it put right.
Many thanks to Ryan at plusnet for sorting this quickly and fairly and thanks to other forum members for there input