The High cost £££££££ of switching back to Plusnet

[#1]

This should have been a simple easy process and it started off so well. I was a long time Plusnet user, but my head was turned by John Lewis Broadband deal (run by Plusnet) 12 months contract, so i changed to them. In my final month of my John Lewis Broadband (run by Plusnet) contract i knew i wanted to change back to plusnet, so i contacted Plusnet Customer Services, I said i was in my last month of my John Lewis Broadband (Run by Plusnet) contract and wanted to change back to plusnet, i was advised it take roughly 10 days to change, so i should start the process 10 days before my end date. Great advice i was sold.

So on Wednesday 16 Sept, 10 days before my end date with John Lewis Broadband (Run by Plusnet) Contract, I apply to change back to plusnet, They asked me the transfer date, i said 1st Oct make sure my John Lewis Broadband(Run by Plusnet) was closed. Got my welcome pack via email, Plusnet are ment it inform John Lewis Broadband (Run by Plusnet) that im moving.

17th Sept Plusnet Charge me my first month £22.99 great things are on track.

27th Sept John Lewis Broadband (Run by Plusnet) Demand £44.26 almost double the normal amount plus if i dont pay immediately there will be a late fee and admin charge, as they had cut off my internet i reluctantly paid it, hoping to switch over to plusnet and claim back a refund later.

looking thru the plusnet welcome pack it say you've receive you new router a few days before you broadband goes live.

Well its now October 1st, iv got no router, logging into my plusnet account it just says Order processing.

So iv currently paid £67.25 for this months internet, and iv got no connection / Changeover Date, which i though was today.

As John Lewis Broadband is Run By Plusnet, i would have assumed the change over would have been easier then normal when your changing departments in the same company.

So still waiting to change over from John Lewis Broadband (Run by Plusnet) to Plusnet. fingers crossed.

[#2]

@alimuduk  Welcome to the forum.

Whilst JL and Plusnet might just be 'different departments' the two are run as separate companies.

I don't know if JL work the same way as Plusnet but if they do then if your 12 month contract finished on the 26th September and you weren't moving until the 1st October then you would be automatically charged for a full month out of contract fee on the 26th and you should get a refund after your JL account is closed for the time period after the switch took place up to the end of the billing month. Plusnet take the initial fee up front but your billing period does not start until the go live day. So financially you should not end up out of pocket.

I can't explain why you have been cut off or have not received your router, this sounds like an internal screw up and we need a Plusnet staffer to come along and pick this up.

[#3]

As you pay for your broadband in advance I don't see the issue. Your next bill from PN will be a month after you go live.

You should get the pro rata difference back from John Lewis from 26th Sep to 1st October.

Did you tell John Lewis you were leaving, or did you leave that to Plus Net?

[#4]

If you told JLP that you were leaving, then a service cease would have been placed on your line and no one would have been able to place an order on that line until the cease order was completed.  Thereafter you will face the lead time for the execution of a new service provision order, placed after the cease completed.

When migrating, it is imperative that users just leave the process to the gaining provider and leave the losing provider* to learn of the move via the industry migration process.  Not doing so runs the risk of delays to the provision of the new order and the loss of broadband and phone services, in some cases also the loss of the telephone number.

It matters not that JLP is a virtual ISP of Plusnet; from a BT Wholesale perspective they are treated as different independent business as required by Ofcom rules, much in the same way that BT Retail, Plusnet and EE must be treated as being distinct and separate albeit they are all members of the BT Communications Group.

*If the losing provider is Virgin Media, then the user does need to tell VM to cease the service and release the phone number for migration to the BT infrastructure.