Plusnet FTTP Woes

At present I am on a fully copper ADSL connection with speeds of 10mbs. I am still in contract, but ultimately negotiated a new contract for the lowest tier of full fibre and the contract would start after the FTTP had been installed.

My home is in a poor condition caused by all the tradesmen I have used in the past and have only noticed problems some weeks, months or years after the so called tradesmen have left. I have learnt to live with the conditions.

This being said I am limited in what I will now allow. I will give the Openreach engineer or representative an option of removing two satellite cable wires where there is considerable room to thread their cable, but because fibre cable is inherently fragile he may refuse due to the diagonal angle the wires use to get outside or he may have other reasons.

I want to keep the appointment to at least give the engineer this option or hear what he suggests, but I am not holding out much hope.

PlusNet have already told me under no circumstances can I stay on my old ADSL contract that still has three months to run. If I do not have FTTP they will cut me off and charge a termination fee !

How can they stop my service and at the same time charge a termination fee when I am prepared to stay with them until the end of my contract

In reply to a post by sadguy:

I will give the Openreach engineer or representative an option of removing two satellite cable wires

Why don't you or a family member or friend remove the satellite cables, asking an Openreach engineer to do it is unfair as there are all sorts of ramifications if they do.

But leaving them in could allow Openreach to use them as a pull line so could make the job easier.

In reply to a post by ian72:

But leaving them in could allow Openreach to use them as a pull line so could make the job easier.

Ian, I expected more from you! suggesting an Openreach guy should use a satellite cable (running through a wall) to pull a fibre cable through is nuts.

Had you not negotiated a new contract, I don't think they could charge you a termination fee on the old contract for them (or Openreach) deciding that you need to migrate to FTTP. Presumably the termination fee is against the new contract; which could be cancelled within 14 days of it being made.

I assume that you don't have a landline or are willing to forego it as Plusnet don't provide digital voice.

Openreach (or their contractor) won't remove cables for other services. They often won't even remove copper openreach cables unless they intend to use the same cable route so you should remove them and ask the installer to use the route, which he may do if he thinks it is practical.