Switching to BT

[#1]

This will brighten up your Monday morning.
I was being charged 40 quid a month by PlusNet.  I phoned to get a MAC code and was told that strangely I could have the same service 20 pounds a month.  I don't like the fact that companies rely on people not switching in order to fleece them for as much as possible so I thought I'd give BT a go.
I bought the cheap BT package with a starting date of today.  Last Wednesday my broadband suddenly stopped.  I switched out my router and it came back to life - odd but ok.  Friday, it went again.  Couldn't find the number for PlusNet (not having and internet and being on paperless bills) so I called 118118 (yes, I know, I won't do it again).  Got the number for PlusNet and spent an hour and a half in the queue.  Eventually to be told that BT had grabbed supply of line early.  So phoned BT who said that they hadn't (I know who I believe)
Today I get a bill from Plusnet telling me that my call to 118118 for sitting the the PlusNet queue is £147.  So I'd like to say a big thank you PlusNet, BT and 118118 for no broadband, a couple of very long telephone conversations and a huge bill.

[#2]

Ouch!!
What's the difference between 118118 and Wonga.....not a lot in my opinion.

[#3]

Hi baldrick69,
I'm really sorry to hear you've decided to leave us. Unfortunately we can't control how much a service like 118118 charges you for connecting your call to a company.
I can see that your services moved to another ISP this morning so you should now be able to connect with your new ISP.

[#4]

If the services only moved this morning why did your advisor tell me that BTOpenReach was my supplier on Friday evening?
And since I spend an hour and a half, not to mention 143 pounds, waiting in your technical support to answer, is there any chance you could at least waive the fee you've slapped on me for stopping outgoing calls  (which is a bit academic now anyway)?
jim:quote

[#5]

I'm unfortunately unable to comment on what was said by the advisor that you spoke to on Friday, however, I can only apologise if the information they gave you was incorrect. We wouldn't' be able to waive the fee for you calling 118118 as I mentioned earlier this charge is not something that we have any control over.

[#6]

No, you can't control the amount 118118 charge but you can control the charge for stopping my outgoing calls - particularly since my phone services aren't operated by you any more - or perhaps since last Wednesday - who knows.
It feels a little like you're rubbing a little extra salt into the wounds you've inflicted on me.
How about a bit of goodwill?

[#7]

The charge for stopping your outgoing calls is due to the 118118 call you made as this went over your credit limit. This is chargeable to any customer who goes over their credit limit and has the barring service placed on their phone line.
I have passed this on to be investigated and an update will be provided on your account by the end of the day today.
I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused by this. Please await an update regarding billing on your account.

[#8]

Thanks Linn K
For the record 118118 have just exerted some good will and issued me with a refund.  Obviously this doesn't include PlusNet's generous mark up on the call or PlusNet's subsequent charges but it's a start.  All this for the pleasure of waiting in PlusNet's tech support queue for an hour and a half.

[#9]

PlusNet have refunded me the call barring charge - Thank you.
Still trying to piece together what happened.  It seems that PlusNet were in error in telling me that BT OpenReach was my supplier - BT OpenReach maintain the network for suppliers.  That's ok, I accept that that was not the reason that I had no broadband for 4 days.  What actually was the reason?
Being without broadband for four days doesn't sound that much of an issue but the consequences has cost me quite a bit of time and money.  My wife, who had booked time to work from home, is still making up the time. 

[#10]

Hi baldrick69,
I'm glad that you've had the charge refunded to you. The only thing I can see is that there was some planned engineer works that may have effected your connection on 07/03/2014 (reference: PW235831). Unfortunately we're now unable to run any tests as you have now migrated away.
I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused.