Switching tariff

I have been with PlusNet for a couple of years on the now-defunct PlusNet Premium tariff, costing me £19.99 a month for up to 80GB. This is on a rural exchange, BTW only, and non-21CN. Under the circumstances I get a reasonable speed (4-5Mbps down, 0.3 up). I'm satisfied with the service and have no reason to believe any other available ISP would have a better offer for me.

However, I often check my usage and I hardly ever use much over 40GB, so I'm contemplating switching to the PlusNet Extra offering, which would cost me only £11.49 a month and has a 60GB limit.

Before I do so, does anyone know of any obvious or hidden downsides of such a move?

Not quite correct.

I can't find where it is at the moment, it seesm to have moved, but if you look closer at the price balloon it says "From".

On a Market 1 exchange I think it is 3 or 4 months at that price then you get charged more. That's what I can't find. Edit - see next post.

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 10-Feb-12 14:22:59)

Bottom of the Home Page, "Pricing"

Plusnet Extra: If you live in a low cost area it costs £11.49 a month. If you live outside one of these areas it costs £11.49 a month for the first three months, then £15.79 or £17.99 a month depending on where you live. See how we compare on price in your area.

That isn't quite right https://portal.plus.net/support/broadband/products/l...
For domestic products Market 2 and 3 are low cost areas so the intermediate price is no longer valid

Market 1 PN Extra £17.99. Add line, anytime calls and caller display and I am barely £2 per week less than BT unlimited BB & Calls, which is hardly worth the hassle of sitting up half the night to stay within limits.

Check out your current rpoduct versus your planned product:

http://usergroup.plus.net/prodcomp1.php

If market 1, you'll save a couple of quid a month. Several if market 2. You can use samknows to see which market your exchange is (but if you say BT only, guess it's market 1).

In reply to a post by Oldjim:

That isn't quite right https://portal.plus.net/support/broadband/products/l...
For domestic products Market 2 and 3 are low cost areas so the intermediate price is no longer valid

That's what I thought, but I was in a rush so having found that it was enough to alert the OP. Especially as I concluded he would be M1.

Thanks for the comments. I went through the PlusNet website "upgrade" route and it quoted me £11.49 a month as the rate for PlusNet Extra (not "from £11.49"), so to double check, I called them.

The nice young man I spoke to was positive that £11.49 would be my long-term price for the Extra service (not an introductory price, not any kind of special offer), so I gave him the go ahead to switch me. He said something about my exchange (THTG) being reclassified as lower cost. Samknows says it's in Market 2, which is news to me. But I will henceforth be saving £8.50 a month for what to all intents and purposes is the same service.

PlusNet FTW!

Plusnet say it's Market 2 as well so you seem to have got a good deal

Perhaps it used to have Orange, and OfCom only update classifications now and then.

Be interesting if they downgrade it next time .

For what it's worth, you could add on the 'Pro' option for slightly less traffic management / better priority for £5 (still saving £3.50), or upgrade to 'Max Premium' and basically get 0.7 Meg uploads and slightly better pings, although it costs £7.83 per month (still saving £0.67 per month).

I'm working my way up to £5 of referrals (should take about forty years at this rate), then add the Pro option.

/tight fisted etc.

The Ofcom classification rules, from the last consultation, meant it would class as market 2 even where an LLU operator was forecast. It could be still to come, or it could be that the plans never came to fruition.

This exchance has never had any LLU operators nor even a sniff of them. Under 2500 lines, spread over a fairly large area. Most people appear to have signed up with BT, if the SSIDs I see around me are anything to go by.

For a brief time there was a suggestion of a 21CN upgrade due to happen during 2011, but the date has come and gone and there's no longer any mention of it that I can see, so perhaps it has been canned. Of course if an LLU operator does show up, I will certainly consider switching (depending on who it is).

There's a pilot of rural FTTC going on a few miles away, on a neighbouring exchange - perhaps that has something to do with the reclassification.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Perhaps it used to have Orange, and OfCom only update classifications now and then.
Be interesting if they downgrade it next time .

Surely depends on whether Ofcom still classes Orange as a provider of broadband. Samknows might have removed Orange but they are not authoritative and Ofcom need not have done likewise.

Try your negotiating skills with the cancellations dept (or whatever they call it.)

It's called the 'Oh all right then, we DO offer unlimited if you threaten to leave dept', but at £25 PM I'd go for BT proper unlimited.

In reply to a post by m0aur:

I gather you are rather unhappy with Plusnet. How long is it before the end of your minimum term? Are you aware you can cancel at any time if you pay deferred charges such as setup and router, plus £4pm for the oustanding period? You don't have to pay the full subscription for each outstanding month.

I have no tie-in. I gave them a try to get anytime calls after the Post Office before returning to BT proper, though it has worked out more expensive than the PO with all the extra charges and I have lost unlimited. The PO is only a 8Mb service, but the 6.5Mb I got was quite adequate. If I push PN to offer the unlimited at £25 PM, then add line rental, unlimited calls and caller display, I am looking at £42.48p PM, which is just £2 a month away from BT unlimited/anytime, which is hardly worth it against the free Wi-Fi, a decent router and having everything in one place with BT, with nothing to gain at all if PN wanted a tie-in. Been looking at Freeola.

Edited by deleted (Sun 12-Feb-12 16:17:51)

Is Freeola still L2TP Entanet? Or have they moved on?

All Plusnet residential contracts are 10 days notice. There are no other charges except for deferred charges for router etc

http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/entanet/3584316-new...

It is a job to find out much about them, barely a mention here or elsewhere. What I do find are satisfied customers. They are based about a half hour from me, so may go take a look. Their last Twatter post was Jul 2010 which is a little strange.
Edit: Looks like they have switched to Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/Freeola

Edited by deleted (Sun 12-Feb-12 17:23:49)

Well Freeola confirmed to me this week that they are still using Enta for my Market One 20cn exchange, what else they offer I don't know.

Looks like I will be heading their way soon, my current reseller seems to have issues.

The Freeola unlimited off-peak hours of 7.00pm till 7.00am and ALL weekend are very attractive.
TT unbundled my exchange in December, but it is still classed as Market 1. Despite being the other side of my village from the exchange 1.5Km, it seems little else matches my current speed.
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/2858/speedr.jpg

Edited by deleted (Mon 13-Feb-12 00:10:14)

In reply to a post by Oldjim:

All Plusnet residential contracts are 10 days notice. There are no other charges except for deferred charges for router etc

Yes, you're right in general. Slip of the brain.

I was thinking of the 18-month fibre contract. On that the deferred charges disappear after 12 months, as they do on ADSLx, but the whole thing can be cancelled at any time in the 18 months subject to those charges in the first 12, and £4pm outstanding instead of the standard subscription.

Hi all,

scottme, I'm assuming all is sorted with your change of account type. Just drop me a DM if not and I'll get involved.

Adam