Plus £1.50 charge to pay by credit card

[#1]

Quote from: nadger

... I'd actually not do business with any company that wanted me to pay by CCA.

I will not do business with any company that required my to use DD.  To difficult to get money back if problems arise.
I use continuous credit card authority for eg Vodafone with no problems. 
With a credit card you will have 30 days to sort out any problems that do arise before you have to pay the money.

[#2]

Has the £1.50 per month been imposed on Plusnet by BT?  I seem to remember they charge £4.50 per quarter for those not on DD.

[#3]

Quote from: Nick

With a credit card you will have 30 days to sort out any problems that do arise before you have to pay the money.

And with direct debit, you can get an immediate refund if you are billed incorrectly.  Not to mention the ability to cancel the DD, which you can't do with a CCA.
When I say immediate, it really is immediate.  On the only time I've ever used the direct debit guarantee, the money was back in my account within minutes of reporting the problem to my bank.

[#4]

Bruce, someone mentioned in this forum that once £70 was taken from their bank account instead of £7. Something very similar happened to me in the past too with a different company, where a large sum many times the agreed monthly amount was taken for my bank account by direct debit.
If you happen to be on a low income that can have a snowball effect and create a real mess. Perhaps there is no money left to pay other bills on time and payment arrangements are cancelled, even no money for food or to pay for electricity if you have a card meter.
What you consider to be an 'immediate' refund from the bank may seem like an awful long time if it leaves you without any money in your bank account to buy food for several days or a week. 
It is clear that some of the people posting in this thread, including members of staff from Plus.net, have absolutely no idea how some people manage day-to-day.
A lot of people who are short of cash must be tempted by the low price of the Value package. So it is quite cruel to hide away large extra charges and then start adding on new ones once such people have been hooked. 

[#5]

Quote from: rgsuk

What you consider to be an 'immediate' refund from the bank may seem like an awful long time if it leaves you without any money in your bank account to buy food for several days or a week.

But that was my point - the refund is immediate.  When I reported the problem to my bank (over the phone), the money was refunded within minutes.  You simply wouldn't have this benefit with a debit card.

[#6]

You might also like to note that there have been instances posted in here where people incurred bank charges or other costs as a direct result of being over billed by a Plusnet DD have been reimbursed those costs in full upon submission of evidence to that effect (e.g. bank statement).

[#7]

Quote from: davidj60

Your MP ?????

Some MPs are extremely effective at getting results when there are problems with companies or local councils. And feedback from constituents does result in changes eventually. My MP is one of the most senior and well-respected in the country. You should try it.
Another avenue worth exploring is the media.  I once invited the BBC to cover a local problem on one of its top-rated national programmes. It jumped at the chance and as a direct result a utility company ended up having to spend more than £1m upgrading the service, which solved the problems and benefited everyone in the area after years of us being fobbed off.
There are even more opportunities these days thanks to the web. An honest review which shows a company in a terrible light, even if what they have done is 'legal' can be seen by many thousands of people and cost it a lot in terms of lost income. Especially if you happen to have some search engine skills and know how to get things noticed.
So, if you don't get any joy in this forum, from support or the complaints procedure, these are some other options. Money is what companies care about.

[#8]

My guess is that your MP will be very helpful and advise you to switch to a company that doesn't charge.
I can't see him getting worked up by a private company where there are plenty of other choices. If it was a utility company (gas, electricity, water) he might be more interested.

[#9]

Reply to Bruce47 and jelv:
It might happen at 5pm on Friday leaving someone with no money all weekend. I realise that charges will be refunded in the end. But after calls, possibly form-filling and a wait for some people. A waste of time and their money spent on calls.
Companies love bank direct debit because they know the customer will be hit with a £35 bank charge if they don't have enough money in the account when the company tries to take the money. So it's like a built in punishment if the customer can't pay.
It's obvious from the postings in this forum that Plus.net has a problem with taking the wrong amounts from accounts. As I said previously they charged my card this month when it should have been my fourth month fee. And it wasn't even the agreed monthly amount of £12.99, it was £.6.50.
When I queried this I was told they would knock it off next month. Which gives an insight into the mentality towards customers: The answer is what is easiest and cheapest for them, not best for the customer. They would rather I go short of £6.50 for a month (and pay interest on it if I haven't cleared my balance) due to their error. Again, like the charges hidden away in T&C it's the principle. And instead of one message from me solving the problem, I have to write a second time to finally get a refund.
Many people in Britain are very passive and get walked over. Whether it is the bankers or a an extra £1.50 fee here and there, they think there is a good chance they will get away with it, and will be able to fob off any feeble complaints, so try their luck.  

[#10]

Jelv this is a rural area and there are very few choices. Already I am paying Plus.net £12.99 whereas people in cities pay £6.99 for exactly the same service. Actually that is something else I am going to investigate, considering that Plus.net is apparently owned by BT. It isn't like o2 which doesn't have its unbundled network in our area. We are on the BT network.
On the contrary, my MP is VERY concerned that we get a worse, more costly service in all kinds of respects: internet, transport, utilities, food and so on.
By the way, do you work for Plus.net? 

[#11]

I'm on a Market 1 exchange as well. The price difference is nothing to do with BT, it's OFCOM who are imposing it - apparently they are acting in our interest - you could have fooled me!

[#12]

I didn't know that. Thanks. Plus.net is good value. I'm sure it could do just as well by being more upfront about the charges in the first place and it would get more respect that way. The £1.50 fee should only apply to new customers and be made clear when they sign up. That is the honest and transparent way of doing it.

[#13]

Quote from: rgsuk

....The £1.50 fee should only apply to new customers and be made clear when they sign up. That is the honest and transparent way of doing it.

Here, here - a very sensible suggestion.

[#14]

If they increase the package prices people will compare the increase to the current rate of inflation and, if it's higher, ask why. Whereas an extra 'processing fee' can be slapped onto various people. And if there is a connection with evil credit card companies so much the better as that appears to deflect some of the blame onto them. Though in fact it is Plus.net which has taken the decision to start charging customers in a different way for something that has always been a cost to the company.
On a £12.99 service, a £1.50 charge is an 11.54% increase. On a £6.99 value account  it is a 23% increase in what you are paying!
Of course these things are always accompanied by propaganda about 'easy ways to pay' and how you can 'avoid' this increase. It doesn't alter what the company is doing though. And, as I've mentioned, some low income people may face extra costs of their own if, for example, having been persuaded to pay by direct debit because it is most convenient for Plus.net, they then get hit with a giant bank charge because one month they don't have enough in their bank account.

[#15]

and the fee is even higher if they dont pay their Card bill