Plusnet "fixed" deals - by way of warning

Kinda "heads up" really.

About this time last year I got a decent 2 year fixed phone and broadband deal with Plusnet (thanks to a posting or two on here ).
When last year's Autumn price rise arrived I ignored the email as I knew I had a 2 year fix - wrong. At first Plusnet denied that there was any such thing. After a month or so of support tickets (couldn't really get the phone folk to listen to what I was saying mostly) I got a refund on what they had over charged me and confirmation that I had a further 21 months of my deal to run.

So I thought yesterday's call to Plusnet was just a formality to confirm that I needn't worry about the price rise email this year - wrong. So far the CSC guy I phoned didn't listen, ignored the info on support tickets I pointed to and a further CSC person has answered my support ticket with the boiler plate reply that I have to pay the increase obviously not having actual read the tickets from last year.

I'll update with the outcome but don't assume because you have a "deal" with Plusnet that they will actually see it the same way as you do...!
Cheers
Herby

Edited by deleted (Wed 27-Jul-16 11:27:32)

Forget the CS team and have a chat to the Customer Options Team if you are concerned about the 24 month contract which started last year not being honoured.

Sometimes with these deals, what is actually agreed is a fixed discount for the period, rather than a fixed price, so it's worth checking the small print.

Thanks - appreciated. I'll let the support tickets run for a day or two but I'll do that in the end. Both the CSC people have simply been stone walling and refusing to look/listen.

I guess on another level it saddens me - Plusnet used to be pretty good at service and I do get ok speeds too. Ho hum
Cheers

Agreed. What they agreed on the deal tho was a "fixed price" instead of me going to SSE on the deal they had then. Equally the refunded me the extra I'd paid on the line rental after last Autumn's increase and there is a support ticket quoting the figures (when someone actually gets around to reading them) so hopefully it will be clear.
Cheers

Doesn't really matter what deal you made, your stil subject to the general terms and conditions which states something along the lines of we may or are allowed to increase the price of your package...yadda yadda yadda...

As mentioned above, deals are based on a fixed discount and not a fixed price.

So your choice is renegotiate a deal with Plusnet which they might not do or leave.

In reply to a post by mlmclaren:

As mentioned above, deals are based on a fixed discount and not a fixed price.

Not necessarily, if the deal was for a fixed discount it was for a fixed discount, if it was for a fixed price it was for a fixed price. The OP seems adamant it was the latter.

Yep - it was a fixed price. Though they ignored that almost immediately when the price went up. Then refunded me the extra quid a month I'd paid eventually and confirmed the time to run at that rate.

However I take the point (from the previous poster) that it is all subject to T&C somewhere including whatever weasel words they've decided to include. In a sense that is the sadness - having in all good faith agreed something it bugs me to have to fight to get them to admit it a second time. I'll do the COT approach though if I get another boiler plate reply.

I did get a text survey from them.
Q1 - however satisfied are you - 1 = disatisfied, 5 = very satisfied - I responded with "1"
Q2 - however satisfied are you with CSC person - 1 = disatisfied, 5 = very satisfied - I responded with "1"
Q3 - in your own words why - I told them why
Final response - "thanks for taking part and helping us improve our customer service"....

I struggle to believe they truly meant fixed price... I am sure the CS advisor just mis-represented the truth, possibly without realising.

As with all of these price rises, they allow you to migrate ISP without a penalty. I appreciate it is frustrating for you and hopefully PlusNet offer the discount again.

For future, always assume you will be affected by future price increases, as you almost certainly will be. These things are always across the board, with the only exception if you have pre-paid something such as the line rental for 12 months.

The deal was actually done with COT people on the basis that I would be leaving for SSE's fixed 18 month deal (at that time) otherwise. In practice there are support tickets from Autumn 2015 that confirm the deal and they refunded last Autumn's price rise as a result of the tickets.

That said generally I agree with you and in future I'll never believe a fixed deal though - lessons get learnt.