Appalling service from Plusnet - a warning from a customer of several years

[#1]

I have been a Plusnet customer for several years now but of late, the service has quite literally crashed.

My internet was getting slower and slower (sometimes down to 2MB and lower) and I have kept internet speed test results and sent them to Plusnet to whom I currently pay £21.98 PCM.

Nothing was being properly dealt with and so I decided to make sure Plusnet were getting my message by cancelling my Direct Debit. That drew a very swift response as I am part way through a so called contract. With the promise of action, I instructed Plusnet to reinstate my DD and it appeared on my bank account as a pending DD ten days ago.

Eventually Plusnet arranged for an Openreach engineer to call who was a very pleasant chap who spent five hours diagnosing the problem which was down to wiring issues in the main BT exchange somewhere.

All well and good and working internet restored for 30 minutes.

I was then able to log on to my emails and find one from Plusnet giving me 14 days to pay up.I would also face financial penalties if I did not address the matter within 14 days.

The internet then crashed again and I was not able to make an on line payment.

I rang Plusnet to be treated to half an hour of scratchy music and static until eventually my call was answered.

I was informed that I had been placed on restricted service due to non payment of charge. I asked that this be looked into and was then told this was due to an error on Plusnet's part in not properly setting up the DD which would be referred to the 'back office'. I then agreed to pay £21.98 on the spot to properly reinstate my service with the assurance that I would get a service and that next month's payment would be via DD.

An evening of crashing internet - two minutes on line followed by three minutes not and flashing red light on my router - followed.

This is service is it Plusnet? I think not ladies and gentlemen. And I would remind Plusnet that a contract runs two ways!

I am asking YOU to sort this out or else I WILL cancel the DD, you WILL NOT be getting a further penny from me, I will have my bank block your DD demands and I'll see you in court. By the way, if that results in an attack on my credit rating, I really shan't care too much since I have no need for credit of any sort. I outgrew it and paid off all my debts, mortgage as well and am well used to dealing with financial and service contracts, Equifax and Experian having worked in the sector since initial early retirement.

Recommend Plusnet? Once upon a time yes, but now? No, never. Find another supplier but don't use Plusnet! I am sick to the back teeth with the appalling service I have received.

[#2]

Hi Michael
So it is not just me that is getting the run around from these buffoons.

I have had an ongoing problem with fibre since the end of May with poor speeds, down to 0.2 Mbps, with the additional problem of the connection dropping out numerous times a day - my definition of numerous is in excess of 10 in a 24 hour period or more than 3 times in any given sixty minute period.

Numerous Openreach engineers have visited my property, all agree there is something wrong as they cannot explain the speeds I get - the connection should definitely support a higher speed. For the first four months it did.

Later this morning yet another engineer is due - the one booked for last Thursday didn't turn up. It is a simple task -walk from my property to the main road and count the number of branches that are touching/rubbing on the overhead cable. These are more than likely to be the cause of the problem however I envisage a real fight to get it sorted.

Due to the incredulous method used by Quinn's of routing the cable into the house when the fibre upgrade was subcontracted by BT Openreach - get a stick and a long bit of string and throw the stick over the roof and then pull the wire over instead of fixing it round the house walls, there has always been a problem with poor connection here.

Even though there was no sign of a break in the line, I managed to get it replaced. This has made a slight improvement to the stability of the connection. I expect the same story with the trees, there is no sign of a break on the box of tricks each engineer has.

Every time there are strong winds the connection is worse - why? At one point on the overhead cable a tree has pushed it out of line by 8 - 12 inches, a little like a bow string when an archer pulls back on an arrow to shoot it. In high winds, is there a possibility that friction has broken some of the wires? Ditto for about another half a dozen instances.

As far as I am concerned Plusnet have been in breach of contract with the expected speeds for my property for more than seven months. Note expected speeds, not the advertised hogwash. Plusnet are the company I have a contract with and therefore it is their responsibility to sort the problems out.

The big decision I have to make is that the contract is up on 17 Jan 2019 and I don't want to stay for a nano second longer than necessary but on the other hand will any other company be less incompetent? Could another company race Plusnet to the bottom and provide an even worse than third world service?

I share your pain, frustration and the feeling that Plusnet don't give a hoot about customer service.

[#3]

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Broadband to Plusnet Feedback 

[#4]

Hi @Michael312, thanks for your post and detailed description of the issues you've been facing.

We're sorry to hear that you've had so many issues with the billing side of things also affecting your actual service usage.

As advised yesterday, the file has been re-escalated to our billing team under an ongoing incident and there isn't a great deal that the social media team can add at this stage, unfortunately.

[#5]

Sent to Plusnet by Royal Mail:

The Complaints Manager

Plusnet plc
The Balance
2 Pinfold Street
Sheffield
S1 2GU                                                                                       10th January, 2019

Dear Sir or Madam

My User Name: ******** - Account ID 00002715030 - Breach of Contract by Plusnet

Further to my letter of 24th December, 2018 which drew to your attention problems I was encountering with Plusnet, I much regret to have to write to inform that these issues are arising yet again.

At just after 20:00 Wednesday 9th January, 2019, I received three texts in succession followed by two emails from Plusnet informing me that my account was overdue in the sum of £22.70 and would be closed.

Obviously no notice at all had been taken of my earlier communication with Plusnet in which I informed you that the Openreach Engineer had used my line to make three phone calls in the sum of 72p which added to the normal monthly fee of £21.98 adds up to £22.70. I don't own a landline telephone.

Further, I checked my on line bank account and see there a direct debit provision in favour of Plusnet.

I rang the customer services line to be informed that my Plusnet account had been closed and that there was nothing further to be done.  I asked the assistant if there was anything I could do and whether Plusnet wanted to have my business and he suggested that I write to you once again.

Please could you enlighten me as to what Plusnet are playing at? I can honestly say that I have never encountered a company such as yours in my sixty years.

Are you able to fulfil the rest of your contract with me for the provision of broadband at £21.98 a month or are you breaching that contract forcing me to seek the service elsewhere?

Yours faithfully

Michael

[#6]

Hi Michael,

I have responded to your private post via Facebook. Please refer back to that.

Regards,
Aisha