Plusnet show their true colours

Emails are going out to all customers on Plusnet Value, Plusnet Pro or Plusnet Premium to notify that from 12th April they will be charging usage extra usage over the peak time allowance at £5 for 5GB or part thereof. They have posted some answers to common questions on the community forums:

In reference to community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,84166.msg694247.html#msg69...:

Why is usage now charged at £5 for 5GB?

Based on average usage, forecasting and current costing, it’s simpler and more cost-effective to supply bandwidth in larger blocks. This suits the usage profiles of many customers.

It’s worth noting that the price per GB is still £1.

If you regularly go over your usage you may be better upgrading your product.


I’m near my next billing date, can I buy a single GB?

It’s only possible to get extra usage in 5GB blocks, added automatically when you exceed your allowance, however you can fix your spend and be restricted until your billing date if you prefer.


Can I carry over my unused usage?

No, extra usage is only applicable to the current billing month.

So if on the last day of the month you go over by a MB or so it's going to cost you £5 and the unused 4+GB you've paid for is lost.

They really are turning in to a nasty money grabbing outfit - just as their BT owners intended I suspect.

jelv

Plusnet user since November 2001
Plusnet Community forums: http://community.plus.net
Constructive help from a large knowledgeable group of current Plusnet users

Going over by 1MB on your billing date is rather unlikely TBH.

We're also improving DTW (as mentioned in the FAQ) to help prevent customers being charged for going over on or close to their billing date.

I can appreciate not everyone will like this, but most people don't go over by a small amount, so the scenario you've painted doesn't accurately represent the experience of our customers.

Kind Regards,
Mand Beckett
Plusnet Comms Team
Best Consumer ISP - ISPA Awards 2008
Winner of 9 out of 11 uSwitch awards 2008

Really?

I've seen posts on the community forums where people had tried to stay within their allowance and were complaining about getting charged for the full 2GB when they went slightly over.

jelv

Plusnet user since November 2001
Plusnet Community forums: http://community.plus.net
Constructive help from a large knowledgeable group of current Plusnet users

I will have been with PlusNet for 6 1/2 years tomorrow. During much of that time I was on products where there was a limited download and additional to pay if I went over. I have only ever gone over my allowance by a small amount and with only 1 or 2 days left to go in the month. Now that you are charging £5 that is at least 25% of the monthly charge for your products and constitutes an unacceptable premium when unused allowance cannot be carried over to the following month(s). I think that this needs to be rethought!!!

David

plusnet BBYW Option 2 customer
DrayTek Vigor 2800VG

@jelv, this happens occasionally, but those are rare occurences for those customers (hence the complaint as they often haven't read the cost info).

@brightd, if you've only ever gone over your allowance once then DTW is the best option for you I'd say (it will restrict you to 128k from April 12th, which for most is adequate for a day or two).

Kind Regards,
Mand Beckett
Plusnet Comms Team
Best Consumer ISP - ISPA Awards 2008
Winner of 9 out of 11 uSwitch awards 2008

They really are turning in to a nasty money grabbing outfit - just as their BT owners intended I suspect.

Why am I not surprised. I commend you for posting about this rip off change on this site.

Perhaps an increase in MAC requests may focus the company minds yet again.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now on Sky Max. Still a big fan of IDNet

I only pay £5.99 for 10GB on Value so another £5 for an extra (up to) 5GB is very expensive

Dennis

plusnet value & talkanytime

In reply to a post by reserved:

I only pay £5.99 for 10GB on Value so another £5 for an extra (up to) 5GB is very expensive

Look on the bright side, as you're on a market 3 exchange you can now get 15GB a month for £10.99

I agree, it's day light robbery especially as you can't carry over any unused GBs into the following month ......... it may be legal but morally, of course I'm forgetting PN needs to make money for the BT overseers after spending money on all the new pipes (and it still goes damn slow in the evenings)

Alastair

omadasafisho

In reply to a post by mand_beckett:

@brightd, .......... (it will restrict you to 128k from April 12th, which for most is adequate for a day or two).

Mand, will this apply to ALL PRODUCTS. Can you confirm that if a DTW limit is applied, the line will be restricted to 128K and NOT diverted to a warning page.

May I also say that I am amazed that you are trying to spin the £5/ 5GB increment as a benefit to your Customer. It is a blatant rip-off, making the customer pay for a large block which he/she is unlikely to use in full.

Shame on Plusnet and your CEO!

Edit: Typo

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"When not prompted by vanity, we say little." - La Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680)

PlusNet BBYW Pro - Lite Customer from Feb 2009
NewNet Customer 2007 - Feb 2009
PlusNet Customer 2003 - Feb 2007

Edited by Wheel_Nut (Wed 10-Mar-10 00:15:13)

Looks like I migrated just in time, I never went over my allowance but I prefer to go somewhere with fairer pricing.

freeserve freedom2ssurf<n>ildramZeN o2AccessZeN plusnet
idnet
http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/button/12679...