At Plusnet, we just can’t help but be helpful.

[#1]

Plusnet say they "just cannot help but be helpful", but is it it enough when being helpful is no help at all.

Maybe their close relationship with British Telecom make them ineffective despite their seemingly best efforts to find a solution to problems when they occur. A company that can show teeth in a smile but is unable to bite? Seems like it to me it really does as the only half credible solution they have offered me is to write to the Communications and Internet Service Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) - which I have now done of course.

As Homer Simpson says, "I dunno" - but then I dunno either. 

[#2]

Hi Minivanman,

It's clear to see you're frustrated with the length of time it's taking to resolve your fault.

Just to put things into context a bit more for anyone else reading. repairs on the phone line need to take place and we've been waiting for a survey of the required work to be done first. I can see that's taken place, traffic management is now in place and engineers are working on the fault today.

I'm sorry things are taking so long and can only advise that we're doing all we can with our suppliers and we'll make sure you're refunded for any downtime and given a good will gesture when the issue has been fixed.

[#3]

Indeed, they are working on the line today as it happens Adam, but 'just to put into into context a bit more' also for anyone else reading, repairs on the line should not take six months, fifteen engineer visits to my home (three without an appointment), and 'traffic management' on four separate occasions. Yes you have been helpful, but to my question "is it enough" well in my case no, being helpful has certainly not been enough.

As I've noted elsewhere plusnet are not the 'bad guys' here British Telecom are, but does it bring into question your close relationship with them? I'll retain my own view on that and leave others to judge. In your favour it must be pointed out that for four months you gave me a full refund, but against that you have now told me "that was a mistake" and you would now no longer refund my line rental payments on a line that we all knew was obviously faulty. It made no sense and makes no sense to think that you would have thought it acceptable to charge me nearly two hundred pounds for the pleasure of having a truly abysmal download speed of less than 1Mb/s for all this time.

As of today it seems we can both dare hope that British Telecom have finally sorted out the problem with today's returning engineer telling me that along with their collection of vans on the corner of my road he and his colleagues have determined that a "split line" has been the cause of all our woes and that all should now be working fine - but we'll see.

And your good selves? let's see if you refund me those line rentals I feel are due and should never have been charged in the first place, and be given a "goodwill gesture" that goes beyond being able to buy a couple of pizza's or a half decent Indian take-away but again, we'll see. 

Regards.

[#4]

So plusnet guys, who best to talk to in order to get some decent compensation for being supplied with such a bad service for the last six months? I'm going to get really narked if I'm shifted from pillar to post in pursuit of this.

Some advice please.

[#5]

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav)

Topics merged

[#6]

In all honesty we've provided more refunds than we should have done in this instance, for broadband faults we normally only refund for downtime on that service (not for speed issues) so as you've had refunds for both services we wouldn't look to offer a further gesture of goodwill or compensation.

[#7]

Then we'll have to agree to disagree here on that one Chris as you have only refunded me in part on payments for a line that was faulty, added to which plusnet are in my view giving insufficient value to the inconvenience I have been caused.  If you are unable or unwilling to advise me on who best to talk to then I guess I'll just have to refer it to the Communications and Internet Service Adjudication Scheme (CISAS) as like that horse, I'm just going to get led around in circles here.

I appreciate and understand your position, I just hope you would appreciate and understand mine if you were outside the confines of plusnet and this forum.

Cheers.

[#8]

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@Minivanman wrote:

you have only refunded me in part on payments for a line that was faulty

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The faults as far as I'm aware have been mainly for speed, as Chris mentioned:

@Chris wrote:
we normally only refund for downtime on that service (not for speed issues)

@Minivanman wrote:

plusnet are in my view giving insufficient value to the inconvenience I have been caused.

Our T&C's state the following on Compensation:

13. Compensation

13.1. If you let us know you've suffered an intermittent or continuous total loss of service we'll refund a pro-rata amount of any subscription fees you have paid in respect of that period of loss of service; except where:

13.1.4. the failure is due to matters beyond our reasonable control.

As you've said yourself and confirmed by an engineer, the slow speeds are/were caused by the infrastructure being made of aluminium and not copper. Unfortunately this is beyond our reasonable control.

Despite the above indicating that no compensation would be paid for the fault you've experienced, as Chris said:

@Chris wrote:

as you've had refunds for both services (Slow broadband, not complete loss, and unaffected phone(?)) we wouldn't look to offer a further gesture of goodwill or compensation.

Although I appreciate this isn't the response you're hoping for, there's not really much more we can say on this mater.

[#9]

@HarryB

I have been asked by one of your moderators via a private message not to instigate any more posts on this subject however, I trust at least I am allowed to reply to yours.

"As you've said yourself and confirmed by an engineer, the slow speeds are/were caused by the infrastructure being made of aluminium and not copper. Unfortunately this is beyond our reasonable control"

Nowhere Harry as far as I can recall have I made mention of "infrastructure" and most certainly nowhere have I mentioned anything about "aluminium and not copper". What I do know is that the fault is one that has been created by British Telecom who have told me that on their last inspection they found a split pair of cables which meant that my line was being damped down by being shared by another subscriber. Nothing about infrastructure and nothing that plusnet can disassociate themselves from. As for contracts, where they are unreasonable, unfair, and unsustainable a customer cannot be bound by them.

Consider this Harry. You rent a car, the car goes no faster than ten miles an hour and the rental company tells you either that is how fast those cars go or, it is not their fault anyway it is the fault of the manufacturer. If Hertz for example were to tell you "sorry mate not us, have a word with the Ford motor company" - how would you respond? Hopefully you would respond along the lines of what I have already said in that the rental company (plusnet) cannot disassociate themselves from Ford cars (British Telecom 'infrastructure'). They can keep your whopping big rental fee and only refund you for the petrol you were unable to use? I don't think so. 

You are plusnet, and I know you cannot agree with me and as I said your colleague Chris earlier, at least not here on this forum but let's be fair about it eh, and let this be my last comment on the matter even by way of reply as it is now in the hands of CISAS.

By the way, the latest email to me this evening from your very own customer support people.

"Our suppliers have informed us they have completed the required work to resolve the issue today. After testing the Iine can see improvements already however these are marginal......." 

And so it continues surprise surprise into month seven but for me on this subject and as Truman Burbank famously said: 'Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!'

[#10]

@Minivanman Just to clarify that the PM you referred to asked you to refrain from starting further threads on this issue but to continuing using your current threads if you have anything further to add.

[#11]

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@Minivanman wrote:

Nowhere Harry as far as I can recall have I made mention of "infrastructure" and most certainly nowhere have I mentioned anything about "aluminium and not copper".

Apologies, I must have had you confused with someone else regarding that.

However the points on refunds generally only being issued for the total loss of the affected service (As opposed to a refund of line rental for a fault only affecting broadband) and not slow speeds would still stand.