Unpaid Reward, Poor Service

[#1]

I was told that the Reward Card would be sent to me after the qualifying period, it did not arrive. Then today for only the second or third time I checked my Plusnet email on the website and eventually found that I should have filled in a form months ago to claim the reward. Now it's too late to claim. I already have email accounts apart from the one Plusnet provide and so I don't check for messages unless I need to look at a bill or something. Anyway, the emails fail to open on my Chromebook, only downloading a file which makes no sense. I have sent a message to Customer Service and now have to wait 36 hours for a reply. I will probably have to accept that I won't get my reward but I am annoyed and will probably leave Plusnet if I come across a better provider.

It appears that many people have had a similar experience which shows Plusnet in a bad light. What they should do is offer all these people who have lost out on this reward a suitable alternative bonus; perhaps a free month or two, or a mobile SIM card with a no charge for a suitable period. I'm sure they can think of something which will be beneficial to everyone and ensure customer loyalty is maximised.

[#2]

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from ADSL Broadband to Plusnet Feedback

[#3]

@Autotech 

I'm afraid you will need to explain why your failure to set up a Plusnet  email client on your computer or regularly read emails via webmail is because of poor service from Plusnet.

If you are sufficiently annoyed (presumably with yourself?) and decide to move on don't forget that you may be hit with cancellation charges.

[#4]

Hi, Baldrick1,

Poor service is evidenced by the way that Plusnet has made it difficult to use their services. It's not easy to use the website, email portal, customer services or do things like register for the Community. Others have also said how difficult it can be to speak to anyone or get resolutions to problems.

You are right that I am very annoyed with myself, because I know things are not always straight forward and I usually anticipate any problems. But I do think that the reward on offer should have been automatic, not hidden behind an email message with a time limit to claim it. Obviously Plusnet know that many people will be caught out and they will save money while trapping customers in a contract.

I am very experienced with IT and the internet, etc. but even now, having spent several hours on the Plusnet website setting up email and trying to get information, I am unable to send emails from my Plusnet email portal. I tried to send a test email to my usual email account and got an error message. I am now trying to get to the bottom of it, even though I will probably not use it very often.  The error message is SMTP (error 550). I'm going to look it up on Google to find some info)

Eventually I may get to change my mind about Plusnet, but for now it's very frustrating.

[#5]

@Autotech 

I agree that there are currently issues with Plusnet customer services. These range from billing problems to customer services availability. I just couldn’t equate this with your failure to pick up emails.

I am assuming that you have seen this article?  https://www.plus.net/help/email-guides/how-to-set-up-plusnet-email/

[#6]

Hi Baldrick1,

I have seen that article. I still can't send or receive messages on the Webmail portal but somehow everything is working through Squirrel Mail. I have to sign in to that separately but it appears to be the default email program for Plusnet. Squirrel is an open source application I believe. I have do not know how this happened, I have never used Squirrel before. It seems that if Squirrel is used then the normal WebMail won't work as expected.

I have set up Plusnet webmail to direct any mail to my proper email program so I'm happy enough for now. I still have use of TalkTalks Webmail and just tried it for comparison; It's 100% better than Plusnet. Incidentally, talking about customer service, a chat box appeared on the Plusnet main page offering help. I explained my problem with the Webmail and the assistant offered to transfer me to a technical expert for a fee. I don't know how much it would have been but I quickly declined the offer and ended the conversation. That's Plusnets "customer service" for you.

[#7]

@Autotech 

A pop up box offered to transfer you to an advisor for a fee?? Are you sure that you were on the Plusnet web site? As far as I am aware their Chat service is not currently available.  I suspect that you had picked up a rogue site.

If you post your non functional mail settings here after obscuring personal data advice should be forthcoming.

[#8]

The Plusnet adviser wanted to transfer me; I should have saved the transcript, it was offered, but as there was nothing worth saving I didn’t bother.
I can’t post the webmail settings because there doesn’t appear to be any that would make much difference.

[#9]

Hi @Autotech,

I'm sorry to hear that you feel this way about your recent experience. Regarding the chat you had, we don't currently have a webchat option via our website and we certainly wouldn't charge a fee to transfer you across to another internal department, so I'm curious as to where this took place. Regarding the cashback offer, if it has expired in the time since you created your account I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to honour it at this stage. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

[#10]

Yes, I can accept that the chat experience was not with a genuine Plusnet representative but as I was on the plusnet website,using a MacBook with Safari web browser, it makes me wonder about the security and privacy. WebMail is also a big issue that Plusnet should address.

[#11]

HI, @TheMightyAJ 

I think the chat box that appeared on my screen was when I had the Plusnet Webmail open. And as we know, Plusnet are using Squirrel mail for it's portal. If I remember correctly I was using Help on it's menu bar when this chat box appeared. Naturally, with the Plusnet logo showing I thought this Help was from Plusnet. I am guessing that it was a Squirrel Help box, not Plusnet. In any case it is still a poor service from Plusnet.

On the subject of the lost Reward, there is nothing stopping Plusnet issuing the reward to me and anyone who have rightly earned it by signing up for a Plusnet contract. After all, it was not a competition or quiz I had to complete. At the very least Plusnet should make a gesture of good will and offer us something from the Rewards program, but that, again, seems to be a white elephant.