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

[#1]

Just been running through some rough numbers of what I'm paying at the moment in a Market 1 area, with no introductory offers or deals etc..
Current cost per year for BB and Phone ( inc LRS + Eve/w-end with current provider )... £396
Jump to TT LLU for BB and Phone ( inc LRS + anytime )... £210
Saving £186 over a 12 month period. 

[#2]

I've just had a Sky rep at the door but I'm sticking with PN.

[#3]

Quote from: Chris

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/

Chris, seeing that the Options rep banged on about Customer service and quality - perhaps you can let us know what your stats are for the last 3 qtrs.
And, yes, that offer is the same as the new customer offer.  which is still too expensive when you factor in the Line Rental £2/month more than TT when you use Line Rental Saver.

[#4]

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/

Is that for customers in a fabled  low cost area?
a quick check of the pricing shows this

from page https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/

Quote

Plusnet Essentials     With a contract: If you live in a low cost area it costs £8.49 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £15.49 a month     With no contract: If you live in a low cost area it costs £10.99 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £17.99 a month Plusnet Unlimited:     With a contract: If you live in a low cost area it costs £12.49 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £19.49 a month     With no contract: If you live in a low cost area it costs £14.99 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £21.99 a month Plusnet Essentials Fibre:     If you live in a low cost area it costs £18.49 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £25.49 a month Plusnet Unlimited Fibre:     If you live in a low cost area it costs £22.49 a month, if you live outside one of these areas it costs £29.49 a month

And Then on here https://www.plus.net/home-broadband/faqs/general/#lowCost it states this:

Quote

What is a low cost area? There are 3 different categories for UK telephone exchange areas - Market 1, Market 2 and Market 3. Which one of these categories your area falls into determines the price you pay for broadband. Where there's more competition in an exchange between different providers, we can offer you better pricing. This is known as a 'low cost area'. Find out more about the exchange areas and see which one you live in by reading our Guide to Low Cost Areas.

I have Two LLU suppliers on my Exchange (Talk Talk and Sky) , as well as BT Wholesale, so by plusnets definition I am in a low cost area and should be paying significantly less
Following the links through you come to this page, with pretty much the same definitions again..

Quote

1. What's a low cost area? In the areas we can supply broadband, telephone exchanges are split into 3 categories - Market 1, Market 2 and Market 3. Which of these categories your area falls into determines the price you pay for broadband. Market 2 and Market 3 exchanges are currently classed as low cost areas. See the table below for a breakdown of how this works. Exchange category This means Market 1     BT Wholesale is the only provider of broadband Market 2     There's 2 or 3 different providers of broadband (including BT)     Or there's 4 or more forecasted providers and less than 10,000 properties served Market 3     There's 4 or more different providers of broadband (including BT)     Or there's 4 or more forecasted providers and more than 10,000 properties served The rules used to define markets were introduced by Ofcom in 2008. You can read more about this and the deregulation of the UK broadband market in Ofcom's statement.

Offcoms statment takes you to a PDF dated May 2008 thats over FIVE years ago

[#5]

Pit - Not sure if you're aware, but you're quoting broadband only prices.
£2.50 cheaper if you have phone with us.

[#6]

Quote from: Chris

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/

What were you looking at ?  
The TalkTalk package is for new AND existing customers, and STAYS AT £2.50 per month - unlike Plusnet where starts at £2.99 and rises to £9.99 per month.
[quote=ThinkBroadband about TalkTalk packages]Some will be wondering if the £2.50 per month is a promotional price, and the answer is no, it is the standard monthly price. Existing Essentials customers who want to take advantage of the new low price point can change product if outside their minimum term.

[#7]

These are my current costs with plusnet:
Plusnet Extra Broadband £17.99
Line rental £9.49 ( equivalent monthly cost with line rental saver)
Talk anytime package £4.00 per month
Total cost £31.48 per month, or £377.76 per year
a quick check on the talk talk site
Simply Broadband £2.50 per month ( im aware that this is probably a promotion - and will dig out the normal price - but im guessing its significantly less than plusnet )
Line rental £9.50 per month ( equivalent monthly cost with talk talks version of line rental saver )
Anytime calls £5.50
Total monthly cost £ 17.50, £13.98 less than plusnet per month, Annual cost £210 which means that over a year Talk Talk are £167.76p cheaper than plusnet

[#8]

Quote from: James

£2.50 cheaper if you have phone with us.

No matter how many times I read that it still seems odd.
Pay another £14.50 to save £2.50
Or for better savings don't spend £14.50 to save £14.50

[#9]

But surely, you have to pay line rental to someone! 

[#10]

True but the increasing tendency to tie line rental to broadband must make the market less competitive overall.

[#11]

And I don't think most customers like it when one is transparently subsidising the other.
They/we are not that stupid and certainly don't like being treated as though we are.
The saving aspect is a sham when one part is overpriced to compensate.

[#12]

I seem to remember reading that at the end of this month Talktalk annual line rental was increasing to £10.50 per month equivalent. However Quidco are offering £60 cash back so I am beginning to wish that I hadn't just renewed my PN contract as I could have saved well over £100 going on the new Talktalk package through a cashback site.

[#13]

I guess most people using BT for phone have the free caller display, so the equivalent cost on Plusnet is £15.49.

[#14]

For years now I've always kept my BB and land line with the same supplier. This has been the case since one tried to blame the other when a fault arose.
It gives me peace of mind that the one is responsible for all the traffic on the one line and, in the event of a fault, I have to talk to one supplier only.
The fact that I get a little discount for doing this makes no difference, although it is most welcome!

[#15]

One way to assess companies' service is to look at subscribers' aggregated experience on sites like Which? (probably available to consult free online or on paper in your local library). The last time I looked, a few months ago, before renewing my LRS, PN were still scoring well – but they weren't the only ones; they have competition. If a company changes, for either better or worse, I suppose this will take a while to be reflected in such ratings.
Personally, I am prepared to pay a bit more for good service, but not a lot more. For the moment, PN still has the edge, but I'm not wild about the way it's going – and there's a reminder in my diary to review all my suppliers at intervals....