Bereavement and Plusnet Customer Services

[#1]

Out of interest I have just put Plusnet Bereavement into Google. All I get are community messages suggesting that we who are no longer in the prime of life should move on as if we are foolish enough to drop off our perch whilst still Plusnet customers then those who come after are going to have hassle.

@Townman 

Do you know if there has been any progress in the last 3 years?  https://community.plus.net/t5/Plusnet-Feedback/Bereavement-in-Help-and-Support/m-p/1512398#M80302

[#2]

Hi @Baldrick1 

I believe that this space is handled much better, but there is still no dedicated number for this or any other specialist purpose, as much as the SUs have championed such causes.  There remains an ethos that all agents can do everything...

It is certainly the case that COTS are better at handling deceased person's accounts and changes were made to the help and there is (or was) a support topic on this matter ... if only I could find it!!

@JonoH did a lot of work in this space on the back of the 2018 discussions, so it is worth tagging him into your query...

As you have asked the question and I have sought an answer I am going to hi-jack this question to illustrate what appears to be difficulty in seeking an answer to a very legitimate question...

Search Help articles

on Help & Support - Plusnet does not do anything!

In general there appears to be no search capability on the user portal at all.

A-Z Index

offers nothing obviously covering the subject.

If one's mind jumped to the "I am thinking of leaving you" route, then all you'll find there is a desire to keep you happy!  IIRC in was in that space that @JonoH had the bereavement guidance documented.

This page points to the cancellation policy, so I thought I'd take a look there - see https://www.plus.net/help/legal/cancellation-policy/#cease-of-service - where (in passing) I found this stale nugget!!

It is possible, when requesting a cease of service, to request a downgrade to a mail only package for £1.06 a month instead of full account closure. This will allow continued access to email and some Member Centre features. This option must be requested at the time of cancellation.

Reading further down - https://www.plus.net/help/legal/cancellation-policy/#requesting-cease-of-service

Cancellation requests for cease of service (as opposed to moving to another provider) can only be made by the account holder or, in exceptional circumstances, a representative of the account holder e.g. a Power of Attorney holder.

If you wish to fully cease your broadband line (as opposed to moving to another provider) you should clearly request this contacting the Customer Options team.

I would suggest that bereavement is NOT and exceptional circumstance but very much part of life.

So in summary...

1. I believe that much progress was made in improving the how anyone calling to cancel (or take over) the account of a deceased person is dealt with
2. The fairly good documentation on how that process works is either lost, destroyed or simply impossible to find
3. This needs to be done better, for there is no clear sign-posting that dealing with a deceased person's account needs to follow the "I am thinking of leaving" account journey

One to pick up again with @JonoH on his return from leave.

...time I scuttled away for Sunday lunch!

[#3]

@Townman 

Thanks for picking this up again.

The major concern I have is that a bereaved non ISP or computer savvy spouse should ring Plusnet to be faced with a long wait or simply a message to go to the forum. If they then get through and speak to an Agent who wants to talk to the account holder or suggests that the account has to be closed, risking the loss of a telephone number that will be essential communication with friends and family, you can only imagine how this will add to the grief.

When my contract comes up for renewal next year it’s a factor I shall seriously consider.

When I first joined Metronet, then Plusnet, broadband was a new service only used by what might be called computer literate geeks and run by similarly skilled staff. Today it is an essential tool used by all. I suspect that there are more unskilled house ‘persons’ these days reliant on Plusnet to do their weekly shopping and banking then geeks.

I fear that in this time Plusnet have morphed from a supplier to we geeks to a budget provider of Internet services. Growth has resulted in skilled staff being swamped by the recruitment of minimally trained Agents armed with crib sheets. In doing so there has been insufficient attention given to the change in the customer base.

[#4]

There is a supplementary question to be asked in regards to Lasting Power of Attorney.

For LPA's set up within the last year, there is a system which allows an attorney to provide an organisation a unique access code to view an LPA eletronically, thus avoiding the need to certify and send paper copies. https://www.gov.uk/use-lasting-power-of-attorney.

Perhaps @JonoH could advise if PN are able to accept the online verification of an LPA

[#5]

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@MisterW wrote:

For LPA's set up within the last year, there is a system which allows an attorney to provide an organisation a unique access code to view an LPA eletronically, thus avoiding the need to certify and send paper copies. https://www.gov.uk/use-lasting-power-of-attorney.

Perhaps @JonoH could advise if PN are able to accept the online verification of an LPA

---

Good prompt to get my LPA's update @MisterW 

[#6]

@Baldrick1

The information provided by @MauriceC is correct, in that LPA's are now able to obtain an electrical code which can be passed onto ourselves, to validate POA.

If this is required, please send an email to postroom@plus.net, explaining what you're trying to do, and please also give reference to the concerned account by providing information such as the username and landline telephone number.

[#7]

@adam945 

This is all very interesting but how about addressing the subject of this topic, not this side issue? https://community.plus.net/t5/Plusnet-Feedback/Bereavement-and-Plusnet-Customer-Services/m-p/1811896...

[#8]

@Baldrick1 sorry, my fault for distracting...

[#9]

@MisterW 

No problem, it's just disappointing that having taken an interest @adam945 has disapeared rather than pick up the baton and run with it.

I'm interested in the advice to contact Plusnet via postroom@plus.net. For years now I have been under the impression that Plusnet never respond to emails, I wonder if this a back door into the business?  Has any-one ever tried this address and seen if it works?

[#10]

I've seen that address given previously , where electronic copies of documents are being sent

[#11]

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@adam945 wrote:

If this is required, please send an email to postroom@plus.net, explaining what you're trying to do, and please also give reference to the concerned account by providing information such as the username and landline telephone number.

---

It is one thing to offer helpful advice herein but quite another to get this essential information into the public domain as it used to be, which is why I tagged @JonoH to ensure that this is on the service improvement road map.

It was fixed thank you to Jono but it would appear that this has come unfixed whilst he was a way for a year.  It is nearly as though Plusnet are reluctant to discuss death which is only slightly more assured than taxes.

@Baldrick1 This email address has always been published for the (nearly) sole use of dealing with bereavement cases.  What has changed is the disappearance of this information from the user portal.

[#12]

Hi @Baldrick1 While I do apologise for the delayed response, please be mindful that we, in the Social Media Team deal with many queries on a daily basis, and might not respond to every post immediately.

In regards to the issue surrounding bereavements, Plusnet do have clear and concise processes to which agents are required to follow when dealing with such queries. Bare in mind that the vast majority of agents on the phone are Customer Service trained, and have the tools necessary to adhere to adhere to such processes.

If a direct relative of a deceased customer is able to call in, and pass our security checks over the phone, we're able to initiate a Transfer of Ownership of during the call. If security checks cannot be passed over the phone, we'd then kindly ask the caller to send in a copy of the Death Certificate to the following addresses:

In regards to the closure of an account, anyone call call in, and if security checks can be passed, this will be processed. Again if they cannot be passed, we'd require a Death Certificate.

Email: postroom@plus.net

Postal Address: Plusnet PLC, 2 Pinfold Street, Sheffield, S1 2GU

We have a dedicated team who work in these departments, who will review the documents sent in and will take action accordingly.

@Townman - The information remains in the public domain and can be found here: https://www.plus.net/help/my-account/your-account-contact-details/

[#13]

@adam945 

Thank you for the link.  It is though not in the most obvious place and reflecting back on the original post here, does not have the keyword which I suggest most people would use "bereavement".

I suggest that most people in these circumstances would be thinking about dealing with "bereavement" not "how do I change the name on the account".  A google search for "Plusnet Bereavement" or "Plusnet dead customer" delivers lots of links into the community, but the links to Plus.net pages either just take one to the general sales promotion pages or to something not obviously what a user is looking for.

The bug-bear here is that Plusnet appear to not want to make this easy for people when they are vulnerable, both emotionally and when they could be at risk of their communication services being terminated or restricted due to actions of the deceased person's banking services provider.

[#14]

@adam945 

Thank you for this information. I'm sorry if my response was terse but you gave no indication that you were looking into this topic.

It's disappointing that the relative has to ring on the normal customer services line and may be either turned away as you're busy or left listening to awful music for ages, but at least it's good to know that there is a process. It's just unfortunate that it's buried so deep that a Google search doesn't find it.

Additionally if I go to the Plusnet Home page, select Help & Support and go through the A to Z list of support articles then again there is no mention of bereavement. There should at least be a pointer here for relatives who have probably never gone to the Plusnet web site before and are searching around as I have done.

As @Townman has indicated, this needs to have much more visibility. I suspect that more of we oldies are getting computer dependent, aware that the Grim Reaper is constantly on his rounds  and do not want to leave a mess behind. Consequently this should not be swept under the carpet.