Upgraded at end of Contract but Exorbitant Statement

[#1]

I hope that this is a timing issue.

I had FTTC that was coming to an end towards the end of November.  I had two options:

1) Rollover at a slightly lower monthly cost than I am currently paying of £34.55

2) FTTP at a a significantly reduced cost

I know that I only gave a weeks notice of going FTTP, but if I had known the following was going to happen would have stayed on FTTC and changed immediately after the new contract was in place.

The negotiations on the contract went ahead with no issues, and the lady I spoke to was indeed good.  FTTP was organised to be installed on 5th December, approximately 3 weeks later.  I was told that I was due a £10 credit.  However when the statement arrived not only had it been charged at over £58 less the £10 but it was nowhere near the £34 I was paying, nor if I had taken the revised lower cost FTTC, or taken into consideration the fact that part of the time I will be on FTTP.  What makes matters worse is that on FTTC I was getting 71 mbps and on FTTP 72 mbps download so no real gain.

I have said I hope that this is a timing issue, though if not is unfair practise.

Being full of cold, and as no email contact for PN, I have placed posted here.

[#2]

@Total_Chaos I can't answer the accounting questions raised in your post, but what FTTP package are you on?

[#3]

The lowest with an expectation of 72-80 mbps. One of the reasons I didn't bother before was so little difference.  The FTTC was based on 66-68 mbps, however the cable length was only a measured 110 metres to the cabinet so I got good download speeds of around 71 mbps and uploads of around 18 mbps.

[#4]

In that case, you are getting within the estimates, so there is little chance of PN accepting it as a fault. Strange you are getting so low though - I'm on a 100/20 package, and get > 100, irrespective of the time of day.

[#5]

@Total_Chaos 

I left Plusnet about 5 months ago, but unless things have changed recently, Plusnet prepare the bills about seven days in advance of the billing date. These bills reflect your contract / out of contract status at that time. Any new contract rising in the near future, even with an installation date agreed, is not reflected in that bill. The agreed date of installation is dependent on OR turning upon that date and completing the work without encountering any issues and having to reschedule. Plusnet will only reflect the new contract in the first bill prepared after the installation date, as, otherwise, the billing would have to be amended on subsequent bills to reflect any changes between the agreed and the rescheduled actual installation dates.

If your actual installation date was 5 December (as agreed) and your bill has just arrived it will probably reflect the fact that when the bill was prepared (around 3 or 4 December, say) you were out of contract ( you say your contract was ending towards the end of November). In fact, your previous bill is likely to have included some in- contract time and some out of contract time.

Things should sort themselves out with your next bill which should refund any monies due to you reflecting the difference in cost between the out of contract price for the old product and the in contract price for the new product since the installation date. 

[#6]

I am not looking at it as a fault issue but as a billing issue.  They could have advised me to keep the FTTC, and then upgraded afterwards.  As I renewed within the contract period you would expect to be charged at the very lease what I was paying until the FTTP kicked in.  This is why I said that it may be a timing issue.

I have been a customer of PN since about a year after they started, originally as PAYG and then on contract.  I have a long memory so if it is not sorted I'll move at the end of the contract, and as the FTTP is now installed that will be virtually instantaneous.  However I am giving PN a chance to resolve as I have had a good relationship with them in the past.  And it's not that you have a problem, it's how it's resolved. that matters.

[#7]

Fair enough, @Total_Chaos . But see @jgb 's post for an explanation,this kind of billing 'problem' cab often occur when switching products unfortunately.

[#8]

Hey @Total_Chaos,

I’ve looked into the issue, and it seems to be a timing problem related to when the bill is generated and the new contract starts. This should automatically be corrected on a pro-rata basis on your next bill. Typically, this issue occurs when you upgrade at the end of a contract and switch to a new product, as we can’t start a new contract without providing the service first.

[#9]

@Marsh 

I will wait until the next bill arrives and see if it has been corrected.