October Price Increase....PlusNet are no longer competitive

[#1]

OK, well the recent price increase has made me look again at my options, and whilst I believe that I get great service with PlusNet (I have had previous experience with both Virgin Media and TalkTalk who both have their pluses and minuses) I'm not entirely sure that I'm getting value for money anymore
My current PlusNet deal is the unlimited package = £9.99, PLUS Anytime calls £4, plus Line Rental Saver £10.49, plus Caller ID = £0.99 = Total £25.47 / month
The increase from 1st October will mean this will increase by £1.50 per month (£1 Line Rental, although for me this is deferred until April when my renewal comes up) and £0.50 for the Anytime Calls.
So, my plan will cost £25.97 from October and £26.97 from April Next year.  At present I have a single referral from a friend which saves me £1 per month, so that helps, but....
TalkTalk are offering Unlimited Broadband, Anytime Calls AND their IPTV service with a free Youview box for £25 (£9.50 Line Rental Saver) and £15.50 for the broadband (after 6 months half price offer expires).
So.  I'm inclined to believe that PlusNet is not valuing existing customers anymore, and I'm seriously considering moving asap to avoid this price increase AND gain an IPTV service which is looking like a real pull for me with 4 kids.
So - PlusNet - what can you do about this?

[#2]

Talk Talk 
sorry i wouldn't go there worst ISP ever

[#3]

Well. I've experienced them before, and my Father in Law has been with them for 6 years, and he's not had any major issues with the service.
I had horrendous problems with Virgin....  and I read some people have poor experiences with PlusNet too, so I have to take individual experiences as just that, individual experiences, which does not make a complete service terrible.

[#4]

The best way to find out what Plusnet can offer is to give the Customer Options Team a ring on 0800 432 0200 or 0345 140 0200 Mon-Fri 9am to 8pm, Sat 9am to 5:30pm..

[#5]

I'm in the same position
My phone renewal is due in Dec although I can renew it in the next 5 days as I pay annually for the phone
I am aware that you can have bad experiences with other companies but I can only go of my experiences, I have a virgin broadband as my main broadband ( plusnet is my backup service) and I have no problem with the service, when I have had anything wrong with it they have responded quickly and fixed it
My son had Talk Talk and again he had no problems
I originally had BT and only went to PlusNet because it was cheaper
I think now it is a case that you or in my case I do the sums and find the cheapest deal because every ISP provider are good or bad depending on your experiences

[#6]

Quote from: BryanP

I think now it is a case that you or in my case I do the sums and find the cheapest deal because every ISP provider are good or bad depending on your experiences

I think that just about sums things up.
Plusnet was good value broadband. That just isn't the case any more.
Maybe things will change in the future, who knows.

[#7]

My LRS runs out in november/December, and im considering my options, especialy as there are now LLU providers on my Market 1 exchange ( where apparently BT wholesale is the only provider)
Been with plusnet since May 2004, but the more i start looking into pricing the more tempting the likes of talk talk are, as with lower LLU prices plusnet are, for want of a better word a rip-off.

[#8]

@'charlesb224' - Your figures look like they are from TalkTalk - Essentials TV
TalkTalk also revised their standard (non-IPTV) products yesterday, and are now much cheaper for just broadband and phone.
Cheap broadband from TalkTalk as they revamp product line and TalkTalk - New SimplyBroadband
£10.50 : Line rental saver
  £2.50 : Unlimited broadband
  £5.50 : Anytime calls
---------
£18.50 / month
Which is VERY cheap compared to the £16.99/month I currently pay Plusnet JUST for Unlimited broadband (Market 1).
Unfortunately when I tried entering my details into the TalkTalk postcode checker to get a customized package quotation,
I got the following screen -

[#9]

Just checked TT for myself and it says by paying LRS up front it works out to be £9.50 per month.

I assume if everyone pays the same with TT then for the likes of us [Mkt 1] then it will be cheaper as it's a level playing field for all but phone and unlimited BB for less than PN charge for Mkt 1 unlimited BB is tempting.
My LRS is up next Feb so with the possibility of new market classifications due next March it will all be down to PN and their plans.
Edit: then I read PN have won yet more awards for their Service/BB/Home phone and I start thinking if it's worth moving!!!!!

[#10]

@'Mayfly' - As I got the service unavailable message in Reply #7, I'm wondering if TalkTalk don't do Market 1 (i.e. BT ONLY) exchanges, and whether TalkTalk only offer their prices on their own LLU lines.
As you are on Market 1, what happens when you put your details in their postcode checker - TalkTalk - New SimplyBroadband <Buy Now>.

[#11]

@purleigh - thanks for the tip about the Essentials broadband - I didn't see that when I looked although I believe it's £9.50 for the line rental paid in advance, not £10.50
I wouldn't put too much faith in awards... My company has been in the 'Sunday Times Top 100 best places to work' for around 10 years now.   They don't vote or ask employees, they just talk to HR, get some gumph about what the 'ethos' and rewards are like then compare to other companies who bother to apply and work out where you sit in the list...  (OK, I'm a little cynical!)
So - I'm currently 6 months into my Line Rental Saver (£125.88 / 2 -= £62.83 out of pocket if I were to switch now (more like £51 by the time I sort out a switch) , as PlusNet don't refund any part of your Line Rental, so I thought I'd look into ALL their other packages:
I looked at their Fibre costs and almost fell off my chair.
Essentials Broadband , with Anytime Calls was £23.40 - with Line Rental Saver....£17.90
Plus TV, with Anytime Calls £30.90 - with Line Rental Saver £25 - Half Price package   for SIX MONTHS = £7.75
Fibre, with Anytime Calls was £33.40 - with Line Rental Saver...£27.90
My Current Package - £26.97
£8.90 Saving PER Month, allowing for my loss of £51 in the first 5 months, I would be quids in by March 2014
or
£1.97 Saving Per month AND Get a free YouView Box - Plus extra £7.75 per month discount for 1st 6 Months, which also offsets the Line Rental loss.
or
For <£1 more a month I could have their Fibre broadband with free installation.  Fibre with PlusNet is Astronomical in comparison
OH MY GOODNESS, choices choices choices...

[#12]

@ purleigh - you could be right I can buy TT if I wanted but tho' I am Mkt 1 as far as the classification goes, TT does have a presence in the exchange.

[#13]

Choices indeed !
I'm on a Market 1 exchange and even though TT LLU is now available, it's unlikely to fall into the cheaper bracket if the proposed re-classification later next year happens.
I too could make some serious savings by consolidating phone and broadband onto LLU without even any offers or using any form of phone LRS.

[#14]

I spoke to Customer Options, who could either offer me £3 reduction and a 24 Month Contract
or
the current £2.99 deal for 9 months and then 9 months back @ £9.99. No reduction in Line Rental
The did spend a lot of time telling me how rubbish Talk Talk Customer service is.  They also told me they are planning an IPTV service, but couldn't tell me when - so that's an unknown and a missed opportunity for PlusNet.
So for parity - I looked at Ofcom League tables:
Figure 5: Fixed broadband complaints per 1,000 customers/connections: Q4 2012 - Q1 2013, by quarter
                        Q3 2012 Q4 2012         Q1 2013
BT                           0.34             0.3             0.33
Sky                           0.09             0.08             0.1
Orange/EE           0.5             0.7             0.57
TalkTalk Group   0.35             0.33             0.36
Virgin Media            0.12             0.1             0.08
Industry Average   0.24             0.22             0.22
Talktalk have improved since Q4/20122 from 0.8! to a consistent 0.3.. now, similar to BT
So - by all accounts I should go to Virgin Media..... unlikely!  Sky is unprecendented low, and BT is up there with TalkTalk, so I don't think PlusNet can really get on their high horse about complaints
I asked for my MAC code, it doesn't have to be used, so I have 30 days in which to make a decision...

[#15]

Quote

Sky is unprecendented low, and BT is up there with TalkTalk, so I don't think PlusNet can really get on their high horse about complaints

I'm not sure what our complaints numbers are, but I don't think they're the same as BT retail (although our figures *might* be included in theirs).

Quote

the current £2.99 deal for 9 months and then 9 months back @ £9.99. No reduction in Line Rental

Is that not the same offer that new customers get? https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/