Plusnet cessation charge ripoff

If anyone thinks of explicitly or implicitly cancelling broadband while with plusnet, (eg moving BT services to another location but leaving plusnet, or just switching to cable etc) bear in mind they will charge £20+VAT justifying by their being a small ISP and being unable to absorb the cost BT would impose. Conveniently, this information is nowhere to be found on their cancellation terms page.

On the upside, makes you even more happy to be leaving their sluggish service.

Why do you consider this to be a ripoff?

The charge is made by BT for ceasing your Broadband. It doesn't apply if you migrate away with a MAC.

The alternative would be to spread this cost across the user base which would be unfair. I would rather not pay for charges unrelated to MY service.

IMHO of course.

In reply to a post by Wheel_Nut:

Why do you consider this to be a ripoff?

The alternative would be to spread this cost across the user base which would be unfair. I would rather not pay for charges unrelated to MY service.

IMHO of course.

Because:
* the charge was not specified in my initial contract
* it's not mentioned on the cancellation terms page
* By their own admission, many other ISPs don't impose the charge

As a consumer I don't care about their cost structure (how much would they be saving by if they were subscribing beyond their capacity?) and don't accept arbitrarily passing some of the more plausible costs down to the consumer in the form of extra charges as a fair practice, especially if it's done in a fairly opaque manner.

Edited by eternal1337 (Wed 11-Mar-09 15:34:32)

first 2 points valid, last isnt. Just because other companies dont charge for something it doesnt make it a ripoff.

In reply to a post by Wheel_Nut:

Why do you consider this to be a ripoff?

The charge is made by BT for ceasing your Broadband.

One ripoff after another - BT only charge £18 .11 (inc vat), so this £20 seems to see pn making a profit.

And they will also try and charge you £15 "deferred migration" if you migrated in to them and want to leave before your minimum term is up.

But isn't the whole idea of them changing existing contract terms to the detriment of customers a ripoff?

I think this subject has been done to death on these forums - why raise it yet again?

I agree. There are plenty of ISP's out there and it costs little or nothing to migrate.

PlusNet is just an ISP ... you don't have to love it. If it doesn't meet your needs, move on!

In reply to a post by kasg:

I think this subject has been done to death on these forums - why raise it yet again?

Sorry for any inconvenience Unfortunately the least I could do is warn other customers. I suspect there are few non-recurring topics on the forums anyway.

In reply to a post by Wheel_Nut:

I agree. There are plenty of ISP's out there and it costs little or nothing to migrate.

PlusNet is just an ISP ... you don't have to love it. If it doesn't meet your needs, move on!

I'm not saying I'll go broke because they stabbed me with an extra £20 on my way out. It's just disgusting, especially after my having spent 5 years with them (mainly due to hassle aversion really).

It's not just Plusnet who charge for cessation, I have just ceased an account with Newnet and also had to pay the charge, plus part of next months sub because of the 30 day notice rule. So you needn't feel isolated and think it's a Plusnet conspiracy plot, the ISP gets charged by BT for ceasing and it's up to them whether or not to pass it on to you for your loyalty.

Not that I think loyalty has any meaning in business these days, you pay for your service, you take your choice.