Loyalty is worth nothing

I have been with Plusnet for more than many years and have been using my own router all the time. Today I was reading various offers and my router is several years old and sometimes hesitates when it powers up so I considered buying a new one.
Before I part with any of my hard earned money I thought I would give Plusnet a call, after all they are giving them away to new customer if they agree to stay for twelve months and telling us every night what a great company they are. Well I have stayed for a hell of a lot longer than that, even when Plusnet was really bad in 2005 and 2006 I rode the storm and stayed, today I found out what Plusnet think of loyal customers, nothing, zilch, zero.
I was however offered a new router if I signed on for another twelve months, and for being a long suffering customer I wouldn�t have to pay postage, wow what a result!
So I decided that I will purchase my own router and consider where to move my phone and broadband package to because there are more choices than Plusnet and a lot of them don�t waste thousands of pounds on television advertising.

Rant over.

That is the standard offer for new customers
A free router but you pay the postage and if you leave before 12 months then you pay the cost of the router.
This doesn't affect the contractual notice period of 10 days

In reply to a post by Oldjim:

That is the standard offer for new customers
A free router but you pay the postage and if you leave before 12 months then you pay the cost of the router.
This doesn't affect the contractual notice period of 10 days

I can see that Jim, but expected a little sweetner after being with them so long.

I may not be a new customer and soon I may no longer be a customer!

That is up to you and since you are on unlimited there may be other options.
However when you call Customer Options to get your MAC you may be surprised at whet they can offer. I don't know this from personal experience as I am on Value on a Market 3 exchange and there isn't really a sensible alternative (Talk Talk - Ha!) but from posts on the Plusnet forums I have seen a number of posters getting offers which kept them as customers.
For me I wouldn't touch the Thonson 585v8 with a bargepole - long may my Netgear DG834G v4 keep running

Loyalty is a relationship that Master and a Dog have. You have made the first step in snarling back, now bite and walk away, unless a kind voice beckons with a large tasty treat, then it becomes a partnership.

Note to self.
Must connection to EXTRA.

MAC ordered, Basic offer repeated and declined. MAC is on its way.

It still appears loyalty is worth nothing.

Edited by deleted (Tue 01-Nov-11 13:29:42)

lenseman,

Oldjim is correct: ask for a MAC key and they will bend over backwards to keep you (even out of contract,) including sending out a new router. Although as he says the TG585 v8 may not be that brilliant.

I use a TG585 v7 that was Plusnet branded and ran the 8.2.6.5 firmware through it and brought it back to Thomson defaults - log-in is now "admin" rather than "Administrator" - and it works a treat

If you are happy with the quality of your connection, and have been happy providing your own router for all of these years, it sounds very much as if you might be cutting off your nose to spite your face. I just hope that you are as happy with your new provider and their connection as you appear to have been with the PlusNet one for the past many years.

In reply to a post by brightd:

If you are happy with the quality of your connection,

I think it was a case of accepted rather than happy. Now I am retired and widowed I have more time to use the Internet and look for alternatives. I see where you are coming from and I have signed nothing yet, I was only tempted to look abut two hours agoand prodded ito a MAC request by Plusnets response.

Fence, Grass, Greener, who knows.

In reply to a post by lenseman:

MAC ordered, Basic offer repeated and declined. MAC is on its way.

It still appears loyalty is worth nothing.

Regarding loyalty it depends on who you are in contact with, I have found the old guard staff to be more appreciative of customer loyalty, this is from personal experience and I'm a Madasafish customer

As has already been said if you are happy enough with your BB and phone packages then I wouldn't leave over not getting one of the 585 v8 routers.

Personally I have no loyalty to any company beyond the rules of if they keep supplying the product/service I require, I keep paying. I don't expect any loyalty in return, but I do expect a certain level of continued service or product quality if said company is to keep expecting my payments.

In the end, if the expectations are being met and the cost isn't above average, the contract will continue. If not, it's time to move on.

camieabz

Agree 100%

I wouldn't be tempted to go to TT full LLU though!

Fence, Grass, Greener, who knows.

If you tell us your exchange we may be able to comment on the pasture.

Are you the one with 10 years customer with Plusnet ? I do remember a long while back that Plusnet gave one customer who been with Plusnet for 10 years get a free broadband for a whole year free of charge!

That looks like an attempted aspersion Max .

I have never been a Plusnet customer.

Sorry I mean that person named lenseman

You've been around long enough to click the right "Reply" button .

No prob though.

I was surprise I still with plusnet, a bit longer now and still happy with 15 Meg ! And the good news is I won't be migration away to other isp's

Edited by adslmax (Tue 01-Nov-11 21:13:01)

In reply to a post by camieabz:

Personally I have no loyalty to any company beyond the rules of if they keep supplying the product/service I require, I keep paying. I don't expect any loyalty in return, but I do expect a certain level of continued service or product quality if said company is to keep expecting my payments.

In the end, if the expectations are being met and the cost isn't above average, the contract will continue. If not, it's time to move on.

I think this says it all really about modern companies. Most of the problems inside a service provider is pretty much who you speak to. If you are going though the normal call centre or support team if its not on the flow chart it won't happen ...

PN are not perfect, far from it, but I am still with them. If you don't like PN service have you tried some of the others? I haven't but I know people who have and it makes me glad to be with PN.If you're prepared to go to Zen (I assume they are still a top class ISP) or one of the other specialist ISPs then you may well get better support but you will certainly be paying for it.

Until I can see that there is definitely greener grass on the other side I'll stay with PN.

I have always had a difficulty with the word loyalty. It implies an obligation over and above the contract terms.

Not for me. I have no loyalty over and above my contract. The aim of the other party to a contract such as this is to maximise profit (hopefully in an honest and above board manner) and my job is to seek what I regard as the best value that I can obtain for my money.

The best contracts are where both parties achieve their aims.

A Tesco loyalty card is very much about maximising profit for the company....they don't love me as much as they profess I'm sure.

Hi lenseman,

If you could PM me a username or ticket ID I'd be happy to see if we can sort something out for you?

Yes I am sure Tesco love you just enough to come back to spend more money

Actually club card points are an example of this. I think I get something like 2 free bottles of coke if I shop constantly in tesco's it really isn't a good deal when the shop down the road does by 1 get 1 free

mistral,

I got a Sainsbury's nectar card without adding any personal details to the application form before posting it off. Now after a few months I can claim £2.50 off my next purchase.

If I had added personal details to the application form (which wasn't clearly described as being unnecessary) then there is definitely more to the card than just "loyalty" - BTW. always use cash also so there is no potential connection between the anonymous nectar card and a debit/credit card.

There seems no doubt that in many instances "loyalty" is a means of collecting marketing data and shoppers' habits and using targeted advertising.

In the world of broadband don�t TalkTalk now monitor every web site that users visit?

If shops wanted do do us a favour in saving money and to reduce some of the tons of wastage they should get rid of BOGOF offers and sell more individual items at half price.

Yeah I know places tend to track almost anything these days. I should know I write software to do it. However something that most people are not aware of is that a perfectly valid request you can do is to write to *any* company and revoke permissions to perform any form of marketing and analysis on any personal identifiable information.

Though I am not to sure what can happen further. Other that it is an infringement on the laws effecting you I guess you could sue them for damages and harrasment if they keep sending spam.

Apprentice,

I know pensioners who live alone that certainly don't need BOGOF - e.g. buying two loaves of bread is never on their shopping list...

mistral,

I spoke to soon about the nectar points: tried to claim the £2.50 this evening but the card was blocked and in order to unblock it I was asked to give personal details over the shop manager's phone to some sort of call centre. This I didn't do but bizarrely points were still added onto this evening's receipt.

just update on the nectar website and edit your preferences so you get no marketing junk or info.

I too have been a plusnet customer for many years, the originally supplied router failed recently and like you I thought they may look favourably on long standing customers and provide a replacement.

But no - the warranty is only valid for one year and for plusnet to supply a new one I would have to sign up for another twelve months.

Not particularly happy.

Can anyone recommended a good replacement router?

In reply to a post by Boarder57:

I too have been a plusnet customer for many years, the originally supplied router failed recently and like you I thought they may look favourably on long standing customers and provide a replacement.

But no - the warranty is only valid for one year and for plusnet to supply a new one I would have to sign up for another twelve months.

Not particularly happy.

Can anyone recommended a good replacement router?

The best does not come cheap, but a rock solid connection from an industrial quality router that puts you in control of snr is well worth the price.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Billion-BiPAC-7800N-Broadban...

In reply to a post by Boarder57:

Can anyone recommended a good replacement router?

I went the boring cheapo route at the suggestion in another forum and bought a DG834 off ebay for £10 delivered. They go for around £12 delivered fairly often. It seems fairly solid, only 802.11g but thats all I need. Always a gamble second hand though.

It might be worth checking you existing routers power supply, the most common cause of failure. See if you have a matching one on some other gadget in the house, cordless phones can be good, or some gadget you don't use anymore and see if your router works with that. If so you just need a new power supply which can be found fairly cheaply on ebay often. For testing processes you can often try a power adaptor with less amp or less slightly less voltage just only for a few seconds to see if it works, too long and you may damage an underrated power supply. Just a thought..

In reply to a post by adamtemp:

just update on the nectar website and edit your preferences so you get no marketing junk or info.

That was also the shop manager's suggestion, but it's not just marketing junk etc. that I wish to avoid...

That might be a nice Christmas present from a generous friend or relative but dual WLAN, wireless N and gigabit capabilities may not be required...

Edited by 4M2 (Thu 03-Nov-11 13:05:57)

you could try this one although there are probably better prices http://www.amazon.co.uk/Billion-BiPAC-7700N-Wireless...

In reply to a post by Oldjim:

you could try this one although there are probably better prices http://www.amazon.co.uk/Billion-BiPAC-7700N-Wireless...

That certainly looks like a nice router

However,personally, I'm going to have a go with this later http://forums.modem-help.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=9301 with a PN branded tg585 v7 and use 8.2.7.7 firmware http://download.modem-help.co.uk/mfcs-A/Alcatel/Mode... might get a good result

Maybe worth a read? ....... TP-Link query.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Fence, Grass, Greener, who knows.

If you tell us your exchange we may be able to comment on the pasture.

I am on Eastbourne

In reply to a post by adslmax:

Are you the one with 10 years customer with Plusnet ? I do remember a long while back that Plusnet gave one customer who been with Plusnet for 10 years get a free broadband for a whole year free of charge!

Plusnet say I joined in 2004 but I changed package then and I am sure I actually joined in either 2002 or even 2001 possibly.

In reply to a post by lenseman:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Fence, Grass, Greener, who knows.

If you tell us your exchange we may be able to comment on the pasture.

I am on Eastbourne

Plenty of LLU choice there, but that is not as straight-forward as it was a year or so ago. Depending on how much download allowance you might need, how much you pay now, and the most (within reason) you would wish to pay, one of the more upmarket BT-based ISPs may be worth considering.

In reply to a post by orbrey:

Hi lenseman,

If you could PM me a username or ticket ID I'd be happy to see if we can sort something out for you?

Done as requested, be nice to get a reply.

In reply to a post by lenseman:

In reply to a post by orbrey:

Hi lenseman,

If you could PM me a username or ticket ID I'd be happy to see if we can sort something out for you?

Done as requested, be nice to get a reply.

Ah well 11 days later and still no reply, after the promise of several phone calls and promises of a return bag being delivered, stll nothing.

I have a cancelled Router that I do not require or agree to receive but it was still delivered and now Plusnet are still saying if I leave within 12 months they want £60 for a £35 router.
Well plusnet I have news for you I will be coming up North in the next few weeks and I will deliver your router personally to you. While I am there I think I may have a chat with them, its a fiasco.

Thanks for that.

You are correct, the power supply died - I have replaced this with another redundant one.

I was thinking that after 5 years it is time to upgrade.

Cheers.

Hi lenseman,

I'm really sorry I've been so long in coming back to you.

I hope it's not too late, but I've cancelled off the deferred contract for the router - if it is too late then at least that's saved you some of the fees, I'll amend the ticket to make sure that information is passed on.

I hope that helps, and once more I'm sorry for coming back so late.

In reply to a post by orbrey:

Hi lenseman,

I'm really sorry I've been so long in coming back to you.

I hope it's not too late, but I've cancelled off the deferred contract for the router - if it is too late then at least that's saved you some of the fees, I'll amend the ticket to make sure that information is passed on.

I hope that helps, and once more I'm sorry for coming back so late.

Hi Matthew,
Thank you for resolving this issue, to be honest I have had a look around over the last two weeks for another ISP and at the moment their is nothing good enough to tempt me away. At least when things go wrong I can talk to someone I can understand.

I have also just seen my first Broadband / phone bill for this month and it would be silly for me to lose such a good deal.

Lets see how the next twelve months go.

Thanks again.

Well plusnet I have news for you I will be coming up North in the next few weeks and I will deliver your router personally to you.


Ooh er,I wondered what was going to follow this comment....the mind boggled!

I connected with Plusnet in November 2010, no router being supplied at the outset. In May I lost my Broadband connection, raised the issue with Plusnet , by telephone informed that it was possibly my router, they would post a router to me.

Contacted Plusnet in September requesting when I could end my agreement with them, the same without incurring any charges, informed November. In November I contacted Plusnet for a MAC code, then being informed that by receiving the router in May, the same created a new 12 month agreement, and to leave before May 2012 would incur cancellation fee of £25.00 for cessation and £40.00 for the deferred hardware (totaling £65.00).

Again in November Plusnet contacted me to say they were taking a direct debit payment of 17.99 from my bank account, the same being an increase of 4.00 on the previous months direct debit.

Firstly, in May there was no notification to me that there would be a charge for the router if I did not stay with Plusnet for a further 12months, had there been, then I would have refused the router. Secondly, immediately in November when they realized I wanted away, without any prior warning they upped their charges.

I am moving away from Plusnet, something that part of me very much regrets, but there simply is no loyalty by Plusnet towards their existing cliental, why should any present long term customer, see new customers being offered more attractive deals, prices etc.

in May there was no notification to me that there would be a charge for the router if I did not stay with Plusnet for a further 12months

If we didn't tell you at the time via ticket or call then we shouldn't be charging you for this. Can you PM me your username so I can investigate and refund/remove this charge if necessary?

Secondly, immediately in November when they realized I wanted away, without any prior warning they upped their charges.

That really doesn't sound right and it's not something we do, again I'd like to investigate so can you PM me please.

Thanks.

Why is it that Plusnet will not address their replies to their customers via their customer’s own private e-mail address, instead only linking their replies to the customers Plusnet log in page. The same allows no record control for their customers, allowing Plusnet to amend, delete and where need be distort the facts.

Also please address to me whether it is right for an existing customer to be treated without warning to price increases, with those charges being considerably more than Plusnet are offering potential customers.

Lastly, I believe Plusnet’s staff are geared up to entrap, tie there customers up into a further 12 month contract, through discounting recently hiked up price increases. As with any other product or services, my present provider already has the opportunity to provide their best most attractive prices and services, if they fail to, then an alternative provider will be accorded the opportunity.

The same allows no record control for their customers, allowing Plusnet to amend, delete and where need be distort the facts.

That is certainly something we do not do. Once a ticket is on an account there is no facility to amend what's on there. The ticket system is designed to be transparent so customers and staff can view a full record of conversations and service notices that have appeared on the account.

Also please address to me whether it is right for an existing customer to be treated without warning to price increases, with those charges being considerably more than Plusnet are offering potential customers.

As I said above, I'd like to look into this as price rises shouldn't happen without notice. Unfortunately you don't appear to have PMd me with any details to identify your account.

In reply to a post by adslmax:

I was surprise I still with plusnet, a bit longer now and still happy with 15 Meg ! And the good news is I won't be migration away to other isp's

that surprised me as well as you never stayed with a ISp longer than 6 months unless you had to.

In reply to a post by 4M2:

In reply to a post by adamtemp:

just update on the nectar website and edit your preferences so you get no marketing junk or info.

That was also the shop manager's suggestion, but it's not just marketing junk etc. that I wish to avoid...

then don't use a loyalty card simple as that, I don't have one, they are not going to give you something for nothing are they?


Loyalty don't exist

In reply to a post by lenseman:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Fence, Grass, Greener, who knows.

If you tell us your exchange we may be able to comment on the pasture.

I am on Eastbourne

Cable and wireless there, so you can use a Cable and wireless reseller, may not be as cheap as plusnet, but you get from the Bt network and have a better service with a smaller ISP. Not fully unbundled, so you can still move with ease and also most of the resellers offer a one months contract

You still have to supply your own router mind you.

If you want to go cheap, then go to Sky, pretty good price and they supply a router, the problem is they are fully unbundled, so you have to move your phone service to them as well and it can be pain to leave.

Adrian,

When I go to Sainsburys now the nectar card stays at home!

chrisparr,

I had a fault ticket disappear a month or so ago that I could never see on your web site so it was impossible for me to add to it, although PN staff could see it - in fact due to the recent incompetence of your support team and their inability to solve my broadband fault, via OR/BT SFI, I left Plusnet for another ISP and the fault has gone simply due to the migration of the line.

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

Loyalty don't exist

Correct

I'm not loyal to any brands or companies, I go for price/ quality.
With BB (like anything) I balance my needs

In reply to a post by Oldjim:

That is up to you and since you are on unlimited there may be other options.
However when you call Customer Options to get your MAC you may be surprised at whet they can offer. I don't know this from personal experience as I am on Value on a Market 3 exchange and there isn't really a sensible alternative (Talk Talk - Ha!) but from posts on the Plusnet forums I have seen a number of posters getting offers which kept them as customers.
For me I wouldn't touch the Thonson 585v8 with a bargepole - long may my Netgear DG834G v4 keep running

Still got my dg834g v4, so even if you brick it like i did to my first one when switching between the dg team firmware an official one a fair few times in a short period you can have my spare one for nowt seen as you have given good advice to me over the years, as i don't think i will be going back to adsl now so need for it.
am sure your trusty v4 will hold out until BT remember your exchange still exists in the 21cn era anyway.

i believe the ipv6 thompson that Arnold are testing uses a broadcom chip.

on the loyalty front i still haven't come across an isp better than PN at making you feel like a valued customer, but that was on the forum, never rang CSC direct as first line of support, use to wait for james to ring me after posting, but those times seem to have changed from what i see on the odd trip back to the forum.

shame PN felt the need to grab as many customers as it could which let some of the talk talk/ tiscali bussiness model through the door

Edited by deleted (Fri 25-Nov-11 13:16:44)

If it does go I will probably go for the Billion 7700N as no doubt the Thompson ipv6 will have an emasculated firmware
Actually my exchange has been 21CN for ages but I asked to be put on 21CN ADSL1 because of my attenuation It is even going Fibre next year but not on my post code

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

that surprised me as well as you never stayed with a ISp longer than 6 days unless you had to.

Allow me to correct the mistake for you

Thought I would add a reply here. I have been a Plusnet customer for 6 years, recently migrating my package to fibre. Personally, I have never experienced any outage or issues with the service, and we are a family who use our BB connection pretty much all of the time, so would be pretty picky if the service was ever suspect.

Every dealing i've had with Plusnet has been excellent, and they have always got back to me as promised. I particularly like the UK based call centre, which was the main reason I stayed with Plusnet rather than going to BT when migrating to fibre. The only reason for considering BT at the time was due to the uncapped upload speed, but weighing everything up, I decided to stick to what I consider is a superb ISP.

Like any business, sweeteners will always be offered to attract new customers.......think of Sky and Insurance companies in partricular. This is a fact of life......we may not like it, but that is the current business model wherever you go. What matters to me is the level of service being provided and customer service if things go wrong etc.

I have recommended Plusnet to family and friends and will continue to do so. They are a superb ISP and I can't really think of any other ISP that could compete. As an example, i've had a few dealings with BT.......they are terrible - left hand doesn't know what the right is doing etc. This is one of the reasons why I transferred my land line to Plusnet when going for fibre.

'nuff said!

I'm relatively satisfied with Plusnet as an ISP, and due to the LLU competition at my exchange the prices are on par with TalkTalk.

I have been with them for 18 months or so now, and originally took out the 12 month contract with the "free" router. With hindsight, I wouldn't have bothered with that, and could have saved the delivery cost (I wasn't particularly interested in the shorter contract length though).

The Plusnet-provided Thomson TG585v7 is useless to me. It syncs the lowest out of every router I have on hand here, including a Netgear DG834G v2 with the notorious (on ADSLMax) AR7. Not only is it slower, but it's unreliable (crashes or needs manual reboots), runs hot, poor wireless range, extensive configuration pages, yet missing the things you actually need, and various other annoyances. Unless the v8 is far superior, I wouldn't miss any sleep over not being offered one. At least it's fairly attractive, compared to say, the 2wire 2700HG-V. God knows what kind of cost-cutting Thomson used to make a Broadcom router perform so poorly.

If it's worth £40, I'd rather spend half of that on a reconditioned Netgear DG834G v4.

Edited by deleted (Fri 23-Dec-11 12:52:52)

In reply to a post by lenseman:

I am on Eastbourne

Waves from Cooden! - http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/NDCOO

Sorry to hijack the thread

Ah, the Cooden Beach hotel - has a bit of Basil Fawlty about it

Edited by deleted (Sun 25-Dec-11 15:00:43)

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Ah, the Cooden Beach hotel - has a bit of Basil Fawlty about it

Just noticed your reply...

Does it? In what way?

In reply to a post by CJT:

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Ah, the Cooden Beach hotel - has a bit of Basil Fawlty about it

Just noticed your reply...

Does it? In what way?

In an eccentric hotel sort of way

In reply to a post by lenseman:

I found out what Plusnet think of loyal customers, nothing, zilch, zero.

Isn't that the same with most companies now days?

I've been with VM for years, NTL before that and Bell Cable before that, but they tell me they can't keep discounting my package. They offer new customers a good deal mind.

I'm looking to transfer to PlusNet. Perhaps as a new customer they will give me a "deal"?