Port995 - Closing down - only 30 days notice given. Unfair

[#1]

Just had an email off Port995 about the fact they are closing on 24 July. Maybe it is their right to give 30 days, but I find it smacks of poor customer relations on behalf of Plusnet. There was one email from 12 months ago to which they refer in their email which never said they were going to close totally - and nothing since until now.
I have replied to their email as below and would appreciate comment from Plusnet.
I would also like some advice on what Plusnet would suggest to provide similar service to Port995 but at no more than the cost of Port995 or preferably less. I have never used Plusnet's email - will that do the same. I need to forward one domain to it and split into 3 separate email accont pickups for the family to reieve their own email
++++++++++
Hello there,
I was confused last year when you sent the email and still confused now! The PAYH website doesn't seem to mention about mail at all, it all seems to be more like hosting web site stuff????
That was why I didn't do anything as I thought from the email it seemed to imply that Port995 would still be functioning without any further improvements which suited me just fine. I now find you have given 30 days notice which I find totally unpractical and unfair. Why didn't you send out a reminder/further details 3 months ago if this was your intention straight away.
At which point did you stipulate last year that you would be discontinuing the service after a further 12 months?
Also, the costs are way higher at £55/year compare to around £19 for Port995 which I find serves me well.
I am with Plusnet for broadband, have a Just-the-name domain (the-*******.me.uk) and a Port995 account.
What would you suggest I can do for a similar service and cost effective as Port995 or less?
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You may remember that we contacted you last year to let you know about
our decision to halt the development of our Port995 service.

In the email we sent to you, we suggested that you migrate your services
across to our newer 'Pay-as-you-Host' platform which will soon fully
replace the Port995 service.

http://www.payh.co.uk

You can find a copy of the information contained in last year's email
over on our service status pages.

http://servicestatus.net/index?id=801

Now that most of our Port995 subscribers have been moved across to the
new Pay-as-you-Host platform we're going to decommission the old Port995
servers and remove them from service.


*NOTICE OF SERVICE TERMINATION*

In 30 days time (24 July 2009) the Port995 service offered at
http://www.port995.com will cease to exist, and with immediate effect
you will no longer be able to renew your Port995 subscription.

The service is being terminated in accordance with our terms and
conditions, a copy of which can be found on our website.

http://port995.com/policies/terms


*WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT?*

Please ensure that you make the necessary arrangements to
download/backup your emails and repoint your domains towards your new
supplier (where applicable) before the cut-off date. If you require any
assistance, or have any questions, then please email our support team at
support@port995.com

If you do nothing, your account will be suspended on 22/07/09 and email
will no longer be delivered to your account.


*CAN I CONTINUE MY SERVICE WITH YOU?*

Yes, we don't want to lose you! We really value your custom and would
very much like to transfer your account to the newer Pay-as-you-Host
platform.

Pay-as-you-Host is built on brand new platform architecture, with new
hardware and some of the best management software around. You might also
be able to get more storage space, while paying less. Take a look at the
prices on the Pay-as-you-Host website.

http://payh.co.uk/price.php.

Pay-as-you-Host email accounts come with a wealth of features.

* POP3/IMAP/SMTP access.
* Supports email aliases, auto responders, vacation messages,
forwarding, anti-spam filtering and mailing lists.
* Webmail access (IMP) allowing you to send and receive email from
anywhere, anytime, from any Web browser.
* Set mailbox quotas.
* Dr.Web 4.33 anti-virus filtering.
* SMTP authentication.
* POP3/IMAP authentication, including APOP encrypted authentication.
* SpamAssassin 3 anti-spam filtering.

You can use Pay-as-you-Host as a direct replacement for the mail
services previously offered on Port995. You could also move your domain
to Pay-as-you-Host and take advantage of the hosting options available.

If you do move to Pay-as-you-Host we'll transfer any credit you have to
your new account.


*HOW TO TRANSFER*

Visit https://payh.plus.net/signup.php and create an account. Once
you've done this, simply reply to this email letting us know what your
new PAYH username is. We'll then migrate your account to the
Pay-as-you-Host platform and send you all the information you'll need to
get up and running.

If you've any questions or concerns about the information contained in
this email then please get in touch.

[#2]

Hi Lyndon,
Long time no see, hope you're well.
Firstly I have to admit I've not been too heavily involved with the Port995 switch-off, apart from being aware of discussions around me relating to it.
I believe the 30 days notice is standard, although as you said we could perhaps have been a bit more pro-active, or indeed more helpful explaining the options.
From what I understand you want, hosting your domain on Plusnet would give you everything you need (somewhere to point the domain at and as many mailboxes as you wanted with different passwords, to divvy up the mail and allow everyone to collect separately).
Hope that helps, but if you need anything else please shout up.

[#3]

Hi Mand,
Yes very well thanks, long time no speak, nothing to complain about for a long time!  and looking forward to a good season! (maybe?  :)) )
Was miffed at this though....
I will into look at moving to Plusnet mail.
One question I do have which was not addressed at all, if I do not want to transfer to the PAYH because it is much more expensive, do I get a refund for the 6 months outstanding for which I have already paid? It seems only right I should. It was not made clear at all what the terms and conditions of Port995 closing are.
Also, is the Plusnet free mail offering virus checked at your end as Port995 is? I couldn't see that mentioned when I was looking at Plusnet Mail.
Do I just need to setup mailboxes in Plusnet as per my domain before you switch it or do I have to wait until it is done to select the domain? e.g. "lyndon@<my domain>"
On Port995, my domain is listed when I create a new mailbox and I just select it and enter the front portion.
As soon as I am clear what I need to do I will ask to switched.
I think though you may here a little more from me before I go back to sleep for a couple of years!!

[#4]

OK, the beginning seems to be a logical place to start, so here goes.
I'm sure the Port995 support guys would be happy to arrange a refund for you for any unused months.
Plusnet mail is virus and spam checked.
You can set up mailboxes before the domain is transferred (lyndon@username.plus.com will be the same as lyndon@yourdomain.tld once you've transferred the domain).
If you want to set up any other mailboxes after the transfer you'd just create them in Manage My Mail on the Plusnet portal and they will work for mailbox@username.plus.com and mailbox@yourdomain.tld.
Hope that clears things up for you.

[#5]

OK thanks Mand. 
I have asked Port995 guys for some info on refunds and how to transfer my domain from Port995 to Plusnet mail. (I looked at JTN settings and there doesn't seem a way to do it myself -bit baffled actually as I set it up to forward to Port995 years ago but it doesn't seem to have anything in there doing it anymore??? ???)
So if I understand you correctly, are you saying if I have already have the mailbox lyndon@<username>.plus.com setup (which I do) when the <mydomain> is transferred lyndon@<mydomain> will automatically end up in lyndon@<username>.plus.com mail box?
In which case it can be transferred and I will catch everything 

[#6]

Quote from: lyndonp

So if I understand you correctly, are you saying if I have already have the mailbox lyndon@<username>.plus.com setup (which I do) when the <mydomain> is transferred lyndon@<mydomain> will automatically end up in lyndon@<username>.plus.com mail box? In which case it can be transferred and I will catch everything

Yep.