My router hasn't arrived

[#1]

My service was active on Friday 7th October.  My previous provider disconnected.  Contacted Plusnet (after numerous calls and waiting for far too long) as I don't have a router yet and was told the router had only been issued on Wednesday 5th??!!  Was advised router would be arrive Saturday or Monday.

Still no router.  We are now unable to work from home and my daughter has missed an important University interview as no internet service.  

On Friday, Plusnet offered a credit on my account which has been done and spent on paying mobile phone provider for additional data allowance. I am now paying for a service you are not providing.

I've called again, numerous times from work (not the most convenient) and still not been able to get a reply despite being on hold for at least 30 mins on each attempt.

I moved to Plusnet because (a) cheaper than Sky/BT (b) Customer Service recognition.  

Can someone contact me to let me know what is happening?  When will I get my router?  

[#2]

Your hub actually left the warehouse on the 4th.

It's sent via First Class mail which would typically have allowed time for it to arrive prior to activation.

I can only imagine that delivery has been held up in the aftermath of the Royal Mail industrial action on the 30th/1st.

Do let me know if it doesn't show this week. It really shouldn't take much longer, however I can't speak for any localised delays that might be affecting your area.

Really sorry for the hassle. Definitely not the first impression we wanted to give

[#3]

Thank you for your reply Bob.  I was (finally) able to speak to a customer service advisor by telephone this afternoon (after being on hold for 40 minutes).

On Friday, I was told to expect the router Saturday or today.  Today I was told to expect the router tomorrow as your expected lead time is 4-5 days.  As we now have to return to the office/college to work, it is unlikely we will be able to active the service tomorrow as the router will likely be returned to the post office depot for collection causing a further delay.

Apologies are appreciated but do not detract from the fact that Plusnet failed to dispatch the router giving sufficient time for it to be received by the activation date of 7th.  

Definitely not the hassle I expected or the level of service I expected from "an award-winning customer service" provider. 

The experience does not instil confidence in your future service abilities.  

[#4]

I think Royal Mail's SLA is for ~93% of First Class mail to be delivered the following day, which in your case would have been the 5th, two days prior to activation.

We definitely disaptched the equipment from the warehouse on time, however we're somewhat at the mercy of what happens to it post that point - particulalry in light of the unorthodox situation with the strikes.

We have been shipping kit early for those we predict might be affected by the industrial activity, however in your case there was an assumption (possibly an optimistic one!) that things would have recovered within four days.

I have my fingers crossed that it arrives soon, and in case you're unaware, you're entitled to compensation for the days you've been without service. That's something the Support Team should be able to help you with if they're not on with it already.

[#5]

Well, I still haven’t got my router.  After another call yesterday (40+ minutes before call was answered) I was told a new router would be ordered - another 4-5 day wait.  Given no internet since activation date I advised I considered Plusnet had broken the contract having charged me for a service they were not providing.  I was then advised to buy a TP-Link VDSL router from Argos and I would be credited with £35 to cover the cost.  Router purchased and I now have internet.

HOWEVER, despite being promised credits of £35 to buy phone bolts on for lack of service, £22 as a goodwill gesture and £35 for the router (which actually cost £39.99 not £35 as advised), the only credit applied to my account is the initial £35.  As emails have been received confirming credits (although credit confirmation for router was £34 not the £35 promised), I expect to see the credits applied to the account.  Please do not disappoint further, I am already regretting my decision to switch to Plusnet.

Whilst checking my account today, I also discovered the telephone number allocated to my account is not the number I advised when transferring my account.  The account has also charged me for 3 calls to the speaking clock, 123 during the night of 10th and 11th.  Not only would I have been in bed but we don’t actually have a phone connected to the line!!  How can you charge me for calls when there is no phone connected??  Why would anyone call 123 when we can simply check our mobiles?

if you have read this post so far, thank you for you patience.  I don’t like detailing issues on a social platform but I don’t have the time to make multiple attempts to contact you by phone waiting 40+ minutes for a reply.

kind regards

[#6]

@bobpullen Seem rather odd but surely Plusnet should have two options for postage:

Option 1: Royal Mail (risky of ongoing strikes - no guaranteed next day delivery)

Option 2: DPD (next day guaranteed delivery) - pay extra fee

[#7]

Hi @Diane12,

I'm really sorry for the bad experience you've had and how long it's taken for you to get through to us.

I've been looking over this and from what I can see the credits are definitely applied so not sure if I'm missing something? 

As for your landline number, I can't see that we were told you'd wanted to keep a particular number when you signed up online. If you can update the support ticket on your account with the number you want, I can try to get it back for you. There'd be a charge of £36.63 for this though, let me know if you'd like to go ahead still and I'll arrange. 

Regarding the call charges, I've tested your line and the tests are showing what's known as an Earth Contact so it is possible your line is crossed with someone else's. I have reported a fault to our suppliers and I've been given an estimated response time of by 17/10/22 23:59:59 for an engineer to investigate further.

Depending on the outcome of the fault, I'll be happy to get the call charges credited or refunded back to you.

I've also updated the support ticket Here with more detail. I hope this helps!

[#8]

---

@goldenfibre wrote:

@bobpullen Seem rather odd but surely Plusnet should have two options for postage:

Option 1: Royal Mail (risky of ongoing strikes - no guaranteed next day delivery)

Option 2: DPD (next day guaranteed delivery) - pay extra fee

---

We use Royal Mail / Parcelforce and have no arrangement with any other courier currently.

@Diane12 - the replacement router was shipped yesterday afternoon, however Royal Mail are on strike so I'd be surprised if it turns up today 😕

[#9]

@Gandalf 

thank you for your response.  When applying to Plusnet I was asked what my existing phone number was, which was confirmed.  I do remember asking to keep the number.  I have no telephone handset connected to the line, my family all have personal mobiles like most people, so no need.  However, I wanted to maintain the number for sentimental reasons I’m not detailing on a social platform.

It would seem this is another failing from Plusnet.  However, as I am already out of pocket, despite the credits offered, it is not feasible for me to pay an additional £36.63 to recover the number.  

Moreover, it is clear the line allocated is not unique given that there are charges on my account for calls that I couldn’t possibly have made.  

Yet again, Plusnet have failed to impress.  I am appalled at the number of issues I have experienced in the first week since activation.  I continue to regret choosing Plusnet, thus far you have failed to live up to your claims of excellent service.  

nb:  I’ve changed service provider several times over the years and been able to maintain the number without any difficulty or issue.  In fact, my experience with Plusnet has been the most problematic by a long way.

Plusnet, that won’t do!!

[#10]

Hi @Diane12 

Thanks for the info. If you haven’t done already, could you update the ticket on your account with the landline number? When I’m next in the office on Saturday, I’ll see if I can get it back for you without incurring a charge. 

As for the calls, if you or anyone else in your property haven’t made them then it’s likely the fault I’ve found has caused your line to be crossed with another line. This doesn’t mean your line’s not “unique” to your property nor was this something we could’ve predicted to have prevented as faults can happen due to the way the infrastructure works. An engineer can fix though so again if you haven’t already done so, could you reply to the logged ticket with your availability for a visit? That’ll allow me to arrange an engineer to investigate further.

I’m really sorry once again for the issues you’ve had and I want to do what I can to put things right for you. 

[#11]

@Gandalf 

The fiasco continues……… today we had no broadband.  In the week since activation I’ve had broadband for just one day and that was only because I purchased a 3rd party router!  The broadband was restored late afternoon after hours wasted trying to get through until getting a response.

Router 1 has not arrived and today, despite having previously been told repeatedly that the router was ordered on 5th (just 2 days before activation when Plusnet advise 4-5 days for delivery), was told the router had never been dispatched due to a “dispatch error”.  

Router 2, ordered on Wednesday hasn’t arrived.

I have been purchasing mobile phone bolt on’s (£17 per 2MG from my phone provider) and been offered a total of £57 as compensation - £35 to cover bolt on’s and £22 goodwill gesture.  Plusnet feel this is more than sufficient.  £22 gesture is still not shown on my account.  I’ve been told it will be credited against my next bill?  Why can’t it be credited now?  

If you have been following this saga, you will know that Plusnet suggested I purchase a router, offering a credit of £35 to cover the cost.  Plusnet even told us what router and where to purchase because apparently not all 3rd party routers can be connected.  Despite the credit offer being confirmed in writing, Plusnet now advise they won’t credit as they feel the gestures of goodwill as detailed above are sufficient.  Sorry Plusnet, you can’t put a credit offer in writing and then refuse to issue it.  

Today, I asked for a Manager to call me to discuss the issues.  I’m still waiting………..

NB:  these are just the problems with broadband, there are issues with the phone line too………

Plusnet, this really won’t do!!

[#12]

Hi @Diane12,

I'm really sorry to see your broadband has stopped working today. I see your router's trying to connect to the internet using the wrong password, which can happen if you ever change your account password. As you're not using a Plusnet router currently, you'll need to log into your router's settings to correct this. 

Regarding the router, as per Bob's response the first router left the warehouse on the 4th and the replacement on the 12th. I'm really sorry that you haven't received either yet. Let's give it another few days to allow more time for Royal Mail to deliver.

As for the credit, I can confirm the £22 is already applied on your account, however it won't show up on your side until your bill following this has been generated. We can't retrospectively change your existing bill. I'm not a manager but I have ownership over your complaint so let me speak to my manager next week regarding the goodwill gesture. 

Thanks for providing the landline number, I've arranged to renumber your line free of charge, which I hope helps. This should happen automatically on the 17th October anytime before midnight.

Finally as agreed I've arranged an engineer to visit you on the 25th October between 1pm and 6pm to investigate the fault with your phone line. I'll follow things up with you on the 18th October but if you have further queries in the meantime, feel free to get back to me here or by replying to the logged ticket in your account. 

[#13]

@Gandalf 

Thank you for your response - it is appreciated as are your efforts.

Your message states 2 routers have been issued, however today I was told that the first router was never dispatched due to a “dispatch error”.  Was your colleague looking at a different system?  Conflicting information reduces the credibility of Plusnet and causes further frustration.  I’d prefer the respect of honesty regardless of how unpalatable it may be.  

Your response did not address the reimbursement promised in respect of the 3rd party router I was advised to purchase.  The CSA put me on hold and checked with his manager before making the offer.  You CSA even told me what router to purchase, where from and the cost (although the  actual cost was higher) as apparently not all 3rd party routers will work.  The verbal offer was confirmed by email - see extract attached.  It is unethical to advise a customer to make a purchase with a promise to reimburse only to later refuse.

I thank you for arranging an engineers visit to resolve the telephone issues that coincides with when I can take time off work.  However, with just 7 days of my cooling off period left, the engineers visit maynot be necessary - if other issues are not resolved before then I will be exercising my right to cancel.

Kind regards

[#14]

Regarding the router dispatch, I don't know what the agent was looking at but I can see they have both been dispatched. Additionally Bob confirmed this above (he works in our Products Team on the hardware side of things). I appreciate you've been given differing information and I'll make sure feedback's provided so we can try to get it right first time in future. 

The credits we've applied do cover the cost for the 3rd party router and I'd still like to speak to my manager if we can offer you more with in mind of the data you've bought. I'm not in on Monday so I'll get back to you on Tuesday at the latest. 

As for the cooling off period, this lasts for 14 days beginning from the day after you sign up to us, so you'd already be out of this period and we wouldn't be able to waive cancellation fees if you decide to cancel due to this. 

[#15]

@Gandalf 

I’m afraid the credits applied do not cover the cost of the router.  I have 3 emails from Plusnet offering credits;-

1:  £35 to cover the cost of mobile bolt on’s offered on 7th October to cover internet access as router had not arrived and previous provider had disconnected.  This is shown on my account.

2:  £22 offered on 11th October when contacted Plusnet as the router still hadn’t arrived and I still had no broadband despite an activation date of 7th October.  This was offered as a gesture of goodwill and is not yet shown on my account but you have assured it will be credited to my next bill.  The agent refused to take any action regarding the router stating nothing could be done until day 5 as your service level was 4-5 days for delivery of the router.  This raises the question why was the router only ordered on 5th October?

3.  Day 5 so yet again called Plusnet and was told a new router would be ordered - lead time 4-5 days.  I asked to speak to a manager having considered Plusnet to have broken the contract by failing to provide a service I had paid for.  The manager refused to take the call and I was told by the agent that I should purchase a router (as explained previously) and Plusnet would credit the account with £35.  This credit has not been applied and I am now told will not be paid despite the offer being confirmed in writing.

Given I have written confirmation of the credits as detailed, it is inconceivable that Plusnet feel they have no obligation to honour them.  I think the ombudsman would agree you are obliged to issue all 3 credits offered.

With regard to the right to cancel, the agent I spoke to today confirmed I was within my right to cancel due to the catalogue of service failures.  If you are contradicting this, then I can only assume one of two reasons:  I’m not being told the truth or there is a training need that needs to be addressed.

Kind regards