No service since 13th of February

[#1]

I upgraded to Pro at the 13th of February in order to get a better service. Instead, since then I get bad or no service at all.
I am not talking about low speeds, but for  lack of connectivity whatsoever and at best, constant disconnects.
One month passed and the problem has not been resolved, which is, honestly, pathetic. I have been in over 10 ISPs in 3 different countries and this is something amazingly new for me. Even in the worst of situations any problem I had in the past with other ISPs, had been resolved withing 2 weeks maximum.
The best part is that Plusnet got my money from my account normally today. Not even that, but instead of the normal amount they got 20 pounds extra as they treated my Premium pack as a Value pack and charged me for the additional GBs! I contacted the support team and they told me it was a system error, but since the payment is processed, the money HAVE to first get out before I can get a compensation. Because, apparently, I have all the money in the world to let Plusnet lift them and put them back at will.
Of course the aforementioned compensation concerns only the system error not the normal bill, which will I pay while I had no service for the whole month.
Conclusion: No service, loss of profits(I work as a translator in two sites), loss of ability to work on my studies(I am a Law student), endless frustration with the support team who never calls back but just tries to get rid of me, normally paid bill for no service, extra money paid because of system error.
Honestly, it doesn't get any worse than that for an ISP, both in terms of breaches of contract and quality of service.  

[#2]

Bypassing the fact that I still have no connection, your mistake regarding payment got me to check previous payments as well. I have direct debit for mutliple bills and payments and I am not checking it all the time because it has proven trustworthy. How wrong was I! I cheked previous month's payment and instead for the 5,99 you had charged me 39,98!

Are you freaking serious?
You have charged for irrelevant premium accounts(I had the value pack), for totally irrelevant months(2009!) and not for just one, but for 2!
Do you understand this act of yours has all the necessary elements to constitute theft?
Do you realize you arbitrarily lift amounts of money from my account month after month? Its that what you do? You steal money from your clients?
Incompetence in providing internet is one thing. Systematic theft, is another.
I demand the IMMEDIATE return of my money, both the 26pounds(it wasn't 20 after all!), from this month's system error aka system theft, and the 34pounds from last month's(39,98 minus the 5,99 which I was supposed to pay).
p.s. STOP STEALING PEOPLE'S MONEY

[#3]

might be useful to you
http://www.financevictims.co.uk/direct-debits/index.htm

[#4]

1. I recommend you edit that image to remove your address.
2. You can directly attach images in the additional options without having to upload to photobucket.
3. If you pay by DD you can get an immediate refund by contacting your bank. Normally this isn't recommended because Plusnet's system automatically puts your account in to failed billing and disables it - in your case however it's not going to make a lot of difference.
4. Plusnet's support is crap at the moment as they are taking on users so fast they cannot cope with the volume of problems this creates. If your total usage isn't that high I suggest you look at http://aaisp.net.uk/. Compare them with Plusnet here.

[#5]

Hi there,
I'm really sorry that you've not had a speedy resolution to your problems, it certainly seems like there's been a number of problems on your account recently.
As far as I can tell from your account we're arranging a refund of the overcharge and there's an engineer visit booked for this morning to hopefully sort out your connection issues.
I'm sorting out the market area issue for you now.

[#6]

Engineer came yesterday, said he did something to the line, which did not fix the problem but killed the line alltogether, as in no connection at all. He told me he would go check it in the DSL exchange and that he'd call me from there as he did. He informed me that there is a problem with my line in the DSL exchange and that they will fix it within the day and give me a call. They did not. The line remained dead till late at night when it came back to the living for 2 hours and then died again. Now it is as dead as a dsl line can be. They haven't called, and in addition your support team is nowhere to be seen as well (they were due for an update today morning)
On the matter of you arbitrarily collecting money from my account, I saw that you ordered a payment for 33.99pounds which I appreciate but this payment hasn't come through yet, and I need that money, I am not a bank. Regarding this month's mistake(the 26pounds) the payment to you is still pending, which doesn't seem normal. Thing is, the refund will be done after the payment, and along with the pending payment, my refund is being stalled as well. In addition, the matter regarding my market area has not been sorted out, it still shows as 11,99. I need to have this fixed because I want to set a data transfer cap and I can't do that if your erroneous price is higher from the normal one. However, since you do not provide internet, the cap seems rather useless(and sarcastic).
In conclusion,
1) Refund for previous month's wrong billing: Partially sorted, money not in my account, may I repeat I need that money, the money that you unlawfully took and deprived from me for over a month.
2) Refund for this month's error: Not sorted since initial payment of the wrong bill to you is still pending. Either go through with it and the refund or I'll withdraw all the money and you'll get nothing.
3) Pack price: Not sorted, it's still on 11,99, it will probably result to a mistake in next month's payment and I can not use a GB transfer cap.
From the above 3 one can easily infer that you have totally screwed up my account and the payments considering it and you haven't done anything to correct any of your wrongdoings. The order for the 33,99 repayment does not count as substantial effort, you still have my money, and I do not.
4) Still no internet for the second month and going strong: Not sorted, although regarding that matter you can share responsibility and incompetence with Openreach. Rejoice.

Could you please resolve any of these 4 issues and if possible, not create any other problems?(e.g. totally emptying my account or blowing up my line)
As well as me being a law student, both my brother and father are lawyers, which makes it rather easy for us to sue on multiple grounds in concern with civil as well as criminal liability, varying from mental distress, loss of profits and amenity, theft, 2 breaches of contract and service of unsatisfactory quality.
I really don't want to do that but since it does mean virtually no expenses to me and only potential gain, I will have to if the above matters won't be resolved within this week.
Thanks in advance, Alex

[#7]

Quote from PlusNet  Code of practice
"2. Our Obligations
Plusnet has a number of obligations that are required by UK legislation. These obligations ensure our customers are provided with choice and consumer protection. Plusnet takes these obligations very seriously, as they ensure that the needs and demands of our customers are met and that we deliver a service which is second-to-none.
When we provide service to you, we promise to use all the reasonable skill and care of a competent Internet and Telecommunications Service Provider. "
I think the last sentence doesn't ring true somehow lol

[#8]

If you incur any additional expenses (e.g. bank charges) as a consequence of Plusnet 'borrowing' your money you can claim that back. Plusnet have paid this in the past; they will require a copy of your bank statement to prove you incurred the charge.

[#9]

Setting up a direct debit in PN favour might give PN the right to levy customer service charges but should not give them carte blanche to steal
borrow a customers money because of either incompetent staff or billing systems

[#10]

Hi there,
I'm sorry about the delay in responding to your fault ticket - this has now been picked up and passed back for further information, I'll give you an update on the latest this afternoon. Unfortunately the refund ticket is still on hold as the payment isn't complete though as soon as it is we'll issue your refund.

[#11]

The problem was pinpointed down to the dsl exchange and was deemed fixable within a day. Could you please get in contact with them to see what is going on, because "they look at it" could probably be "where? what problem, no clue what you're talking about", as it is for the last month. The line right now does not even exist at all. It isn't a matter of low speeds, disconnects, sync issues. The line has totally left this vain world and I am afraid noone really gives a s**t.
Can you also doublecheck if something you did has anything to do with the problem, since it first occured after the upgrade. Maybe a dsl2 issue or a relevant conflict.
Also, you didn't answer me regarding the account issue. Why isn't the faulty price replaced with the correct one yet?
Lastly, when am I to expect my money to be returned to me?

[#12]

Hi,
Sorry for not addressing that - the first refund was issued on the 15th so should be back in your account early next week. The second will be around 7 days after it is issued. With regard to the incorrect market, that will be corrected in time for your billing date next month (13th April I believe).

[#13]

The wrong payment went through with the bank yesterday, however in my account it still shows as pending and no refund has been ordered yet, which further stalls the return process. Seven days is already a lot, and for the system to be stuck at pending and you not issuing a refund makes things even worse. Deal with it as soon as possible as, once more, I need that money, I'm neither a multinational company nor a lending institution.
I would appreciate it if you'd order for a refund of the whole amount, meaning the premium pack's value as well, as I received no service during last month. As the fault is now pinpointed down to the DSL exchange, although not fixed, I believe I am entitled to that amount as well. It would also be an action of good will on your behalf, taking in concern the frustration and unlawful financial hardship you have caused to me and to the other residents of my household for the past 40 days.
The line is still dead 24/7. I was informed by a ticket that a lift and change may happen within 24 hours. Can you please make sure this will take place tomorrow, and no later than tomorrow by calling your supplier again if possible and stressing the fact that this is the 36th day of not having a service.
Thanks in advance, Alex

[#14]

Hi Alex,
I've refunded you the excess from a previous invoice, unfortunately we can't do the rest until the payment has gone through but there's a ticket on your account to address that.
With regard to the fault, the latest notes state:
"This circuit has had a tie-pair modification order issued. Order no is: 1-6753947418  and this work should be completed by 19/03/2010"
So the work should have completed - have you noticed any difference to the service? I can see that you haven't yet connected unfortunately.

[#15]

Connection was established late afternoon today. Could you please note down in my account or anywhere for that matter the cause of the problem, in order to be able to resolve it as soon as possible if it will reoccure, instead of restarting a month-long cycle again? It would be much helpful both for the problem itself and for my peace of mind.
The last issue that stays unresolved is the transfer cap, which is related to the faulty price. If it was a matter of personal responsibility, it wouldn't be important but as I am not living alone and I can not control everyone's use of the internet in the household, me not being able to set a cap, is unfortunately an issue. If for any reason, it is not possible for you to fix it soon, I want to ask, if I set the cap to 11,99(the current erroneous price), that would have the same result(meaning not getting charged for extra GBs) as if I was able to set a cap for 5,99? Common sense says that it will have.
In any case, I want to make clear that I want to set a cap, but currently I can't.
Lastly, if there's anything you can do that would result to a speedier refund, I would appreciate it, due to rent and a number of bills demanding my attention.
Thanks in advance, Alex