Plusnet referral system terrible

[#1]

I work in IT and am the most "technical" of my friends. I'm the one people come to for technical advice.
Since joining plusnet a month or so ago, I've been working on getting others to join as referrals. Imagine my surprise today when I discover that the first person to actually move can't put me as a referral, because plusnet are paying £100 through quidco but this excluses referrals.
So now I either rip of my other friends by £100 or I do plusnets advertising and recruitment for free.
Guess I'll be recommending a different ISP then.

[#2]

I signed to PlusNet via Quidco and the T&Cs clearly said you could not use a referral code too. Given that Quidco’s role is effectively working as the referrer and so it is not surprising that other referrals are not allowed.

[#3]

Quote from: rtho782

So now I either rip of my other friends by £100 or I do plusnets advertising and recruitment for free. Guess I'll be recommending a different ISP then.

That makes it sound like you were only recommending PN on the basis of personal financial gain anyway, and not on whatever merits of PN you would advise as beneficial to your friends.  

[#4]

If there were no referral system I'd recommend plusnet.
Having a referral system but then using bait and switch tactics to make it ineligible is dishonest enough to put me off entirely
adie:quote

[#5]

It is absolutely clear that referral "bonus" is only payable on direct sign-ups and not those signed up via third party REFERRAL systems.
What is dishonest about that?
£100 cash back AND your referral credit - what do you think would be left out of a year's contract fees with which to deliver the service?

[#6]

I'd much rather Plusnet didn't get involved with these cashback sites, some of the higher cashback figures I've seen mentioned - especially when combined with new customer offers - suggests that some new customers are being VERY heavily subsidised by existing customers.
The old referral system (without 3rd party cashback offers) is a very good system, as others have said 'you can't have your cake and eat it'

[#7]

Hi rtho782,
I'll need to do a bit of digging to find out the validity of this rule. I'll set the expectation now that it's likely to be correct. So my apologies.
Even so, that means that I'd like to look into the Quidco signup process and see how well it is publicised.
Will update the thread shortly.
Matty

[#8]

Ok so I signed up a fake Quidco account, and decided that Plusnet were the provider for me.
On the front page of the offers screen - http://www.quidco.com/plusnet/ - I came across the attached picture.
For some reason they have specifically highlighted that rule in bold. Maybe this has been a problem before, but it's the first time I've been made aware of it.
I do appreciate your frustration rtho782, however I feel that we have been honest and forward with this one.
Again, my apologies for the inconvenience.
Matty

[#9]

I'm amazed you've actually looked, so thanks for that
I agree you are upfront about it on the quidco site, don't get me wrong. I hadn't even looked at quidco when first thinking about referring people, so of course never realised it.
I just feel now I know about the offers there, that I can't in good conscience ask friends to put me as a referral and have them miss out on £100. So, I'm effectively closed off from the referral scheme.
Given that you are offering £100 up front (equiv to £5.55 a month over 18m) on quidco vs £1.25/m (equiv to £22.50 over an 18m term) via the referral system, the two obviously are not considered the same.
If you think the best way to gain customers is to throw money at them via Quidco (I don't agree that it is long term, I mean, the incentive for me now is to switch between you and TalkTalk every 18 months and get free money) then why have a referral system.
If you think the best way to gain customers (and it's certainly more profitable for you, as you give away less than 25% of the cash) is referrals, who are more likely to be long term customers, then do that, or, offer £80 via quidco and don't exclude the referral system.
In fact, if I could use the referral system, I'd be less likely to bounce between you and TalkTalk, as I'd lose all my referrals every time.
As things stand now, and given the newest Ofcom Regs, each time my ISP puts prices up for line rental etc, I will be switching ISP for cashback. So, if plusnet have annual price rises like most others, I'll actually be getting £100+ from you or Talktalk or BT or Sky every 4-5 months or so.
Doesn't seem like a very sensible business model.

[#10]

Quote from: rtho782

Doesn't seem like a very sensible business model.

I'd certainly agree with that but so many suppliers now rely on ridiculous 'new customer offers' and hope that inertia keeps them for long enough to regain upfront losses this seems to be the way it's likely to stay.

[#11]

I guess the headline “we have gained n customers” will always read better than “we have retained n customers” or even “we have only lost n customers” since it implies the business is one that is growing.