A good word for Plusnet!

When you have more than 1.3 million customers, as Plusnet has, then you're bound to displease some of them. Even if you annoy only 0.1% that's still 1,300 disappointed customers who will understandably make their objections heard. I thought TBB readers might be interested in a few points which arose while upgrading and renewing my Plusnet contract, as usual with a couple of hiccups.

Over the past four years my PN ADSL has given 12Mb, fast enough for our needs, and hasn't had a single outage. The old TG582 router was equally reliable; £80 paid for a Billion 7800 gave no better performance but its wifi card failed just after the guarantee expired at two years, apparently a common problem. We think our package is good value at £13 per month plus line rental in advance for BB with unlimited phone calls.

With renewal due in November I asked for the deal mentioned last month among the TBB offers and was given the same package on a two year contract upgraded to FTTC for one extra penny per month. The new router arrived by post only 18 hours after it was ordered the previous afternoon.

The BB/phone package was confirmed by email with go-live date on August 23 but on the same day another email set out the same terms at the price of £42 per month. When I came down from the ceiling I gave up after 30 mins phone wait time and raised a ticket, answered two days later to say that the £42 referred to the price before discounts �

Next came my final ADSL bill with an extra £5 added, so another phone call. Seemingly part of my ADSL discount had been removed as my contract was changed, but £5 was immediately refunded to my bank account. The upgrade didn't happen on August 23 as stated, so I referred to the Openreach status page and found it was scheduled for September 3, but OR did not carry it out.

I called PN next day and was answered in a few seconds, surely a record. The operator said he would try to contact OR via PN's provisioning department, which might take some time; during the wait he confirmed that PN had difficulties with its new billing system and had transferred staff to handle them. BB is essential for much Govt business and for job-hunting, and that morning he had helped several people who wanted their payment dates moved to coincide with their salary payments, and one who could not pay at all. This side of call centre work can't be easy, nor can dealing with angry customers.

After 15 mins he offered to email the result of OR's reply, and within two hours he mailed OR's reference no. and promise of upgrade before the end of the week. In fact it happened next day and my speed was instantly trebled to 36Mb. To sum up: I can recommend PN for excellent BB over four years. Each contract renewal or change had brought minor problems often due to PN's byzantine discount system and new billing software. I have the impression that staff are better trained and do try to go the extra mile. So please don't shoot the operator, he's (usually) doing his best!

I certainly agree with your final comment. I always make a point of thanking the CS Agent for their help and it's genuinely felt on my part. I don't envy them their job at all especially at times like this when major changes are being implemented and causing various problems. I'm never slow to shout about it if I feel I've been wronged so I think the onus is on me to be equally outspoken when I've received very good service.