New tariffs coming in for phone and Call Protect available

[#1]

I'm off to UNO another Sheffield based ISP; get good reviews in ISP reviews.
No call connection charges and call rates very competitive; they don't have call plans, but with number of calls we make I'll be quid's in.
Monthly contract. ADSL with 100gb pm is £14.99inc.+ 9.99* for phone. <I'm in a Market 1 area,
so don't get PN low broadband costs I constantly see in their ads >
(*Pay £8.33pm if you pay in advance for 12 months)

[#2]

Really? I did not know that.

I should have checked the T&C's
but I thought it would have to be a certain amount of an increase.

I wasn't happy at signing a year and a half contract just to get Fibre (not that PlusNet have anything to do with BT Wholesale, they're just their "suppliers" of course). Believe that and you'll believe anything.

Given the price increases which appear to not just affect phone (which I don't have) can someone from PlusNet clarify whether this will allow us terminate contracts early? I appreciate it is a bank holiday today, but the (lack thereof) input from staff is worrying.

Contracts work both ways, I agree to pay PlusNet (and indirectly) BT Wholesale a set amount for a year and a half, but then it shouldn't go up during that period.

[#3]

The small print in the contract says that Plusnet can increase the charges at any time. You either have to pay the increase or end the contract without any penalty and find another supplier, which you are entitled to do.

[#4]

It may be in the terms and conditions, but I still don't think that it should be allowed. I'm surprised that one of the pieces of legislation covering unfair terms in contracts doesn't prohibit it. Especially in the case of something like a phone contract which is less subject to direct variations in production costs than most tangible items for which an agreed contract price is still binding.

[#5]

I'm sure everyone would agree with you arktos but almost all ISPs have the same terms and conditions. Another thing that people often miss is that the price paid when you first sign up is not the price you will be paying at the end of the contract as it's usually only achieved by a so called 'introductory offer' discount. When added to any price increase during the contract the final price you might end up paying could much more, in my case almost £7.00 a month more.

[#6]

custos wrote:

"I'm sure everyone would agree with you arktos but almost all ISPs have the same terms and conditions".

From your opening remark you almost seem to be supporting the idea of a supplier being free to renege on an agreed contractual price during the period of the contract.

But inconsistently, you then go on to identify the problem it imposes on people trying to budget for anything.

How would you feel if you took out a year's subscription to a magazine, then two months in, they asked for more money? Or bought a car on HP which you could just about afford the monthly payments on, and then the finance company suddenly upped the price?

If you buy your TV licence for a year then the rate is fixed at the amount it was on the day you bought it, even if it does go up for new subscribers. Likewise your road tax, insurance, etc.

But if you think that because phone providers free themselves from having to honour a contractual price by writing it into their t&c's makes it any more ethical, or "fair play" then I cannot agree with you. And whether or not more than one of them does it does not change my view.

[#7]

No arktos I am definitely not supporting the policy and like you consider the terms of the contract unfair. I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression. Usually when terms like that are challenged in the courts they are overturned. As far as I know only one major ISP is currently guaranteeing no increase in prices during the contract period and even allows existing customers to take advantage of any special deals offered to new customers. They also clearly state what the monthly price will be at the end of the contract. It is clearly time for a change but without a change in legislation, only if enough customers are prepared to refuse to accept it is that likely to happen. I have been with Plusnet for over a decade but am seriously considering an alternative now. Even before my current contract ends I will be paying £3.00 a month more than when it started less than 2 years ago.

[#8]

Thanks Custos, sorry if I misunderstood you.

We agree, then - a contractual price is a contractual price, which in the olden days when I studied law, required the agreement of both parties to be varied or voided.

No doubt Ofcom will be looking out for us.

[#9]

a small point

you will find looking at your account that it quotes the full price and that there is a discount applied

it could be argued that the discount you accepted remains but the base price increases

not that I am disagreeing that a fixed price for the duration of the contract wouldn't be better but given that the first item under legal on the offer page states

Prices, content and terms may change at any time during your contract. We'll tell you about important changes in advance, and if a change is detrimental you'll be able to end your contract without any fees.

you are stuck with it

[#10]

@arktos

The contract you agreed to does include a clause saying the price can be varied and @Oldjim has kindly pointed that term out. However under the same clause Plusnet have stated that you may leave at no penalty to yourself or accept (by not doing anything) the new prices. This makes it compliant with consumer protection legislation.

Annoying but not illegal.

[#11]

@Alex which service do you have from Plusnet that is facing a price increase?

[#12]

SpendLessTime and Oldjim are both perfectly correct.

I agree that we "ARE stuck stuck with it" and that it is "Annoying but not illegal".

But as I said in post 49, "It may be in the terms and conditions, but I still don't think that it should be allowed." (This was in response to Custos' post 48 when he noted that it was in the terms and conditions).

For the record, - I STILL don't think that it should be allowed (but I acknowledge that it is in the terms and conditions).

[#13]

Sorry for the late response Oldjim but thanks for that LRS information. Very useful.

I'm not planning to move elsewhere, happy with PN, but being out of synch. with the dates (LRS & BB) has seemed to be a potential problem if I were to move provider.

[#14]

I think there would be no problem with the LRS as you would get a refund of the remaining rental.

The best thing I would do is try to get a better deal as we do with car insurance.

[#15]

Since line rental seems to go up by £1 every year, perhaps the way to go would be for the provider to factor this into any introductory, and subsequent, offers and then guarantee a no-price-increase contract.  This may in turn lead to the end of the longer 18-month contracts since it's more difficult to predict prices over a longer term.