I'm inclined to say I feel lucky in retrospect that Zen offered a like-for-like PSTN switchover at same monthly price, and no router change needed and no additional hardware at that time.
It meant I did not have to worry about interruptions to my remote working, fixed IP assignments or missing calls.

I only found out afterwards on this forum that new customers would not be offered bundled Digital Voice without inclusive minutes and our "line-only" style offer was only available by being grandfathered-in (from a comparable lifetime-price-guaranteed bundle).

Because I had previously bought a DECT handset the only change needed was to pair it with the Fritz!box instead of the PSTN base. And I could have plugged that DECT base into the router otherwise.

Zen's minimum package is still overpriced IMO (when on mobile, SIM-only UK mins+SMS and modest 3GB data is £5/month recurring and no contract).
Which makes it less attractive for switching over a new customer unless the convenience of an all-in-one box is enough.

Edited by prlzx (Mon 15-Dec-25 16:54:04)

In reply to a post by prlzx:

The timing is quite challenging or scary for older people being told that they have to decide something over the Christmas holiday that may involve a break in Internet access and being sent something else to plug in,
when they don't understand the terminology
especially the part
"if you don't reply we'll assume you want us to move your to EE and be given a new account and package there and you'll need to swap out your router".

Especially as by default their landline will just stop working until they figure out what to plug in where if it's at all unclear on the date and time of changeover.

It does seem like bad planning on the part of Plusnet given that deliveries take significantly longer over they Christmas period, and it isn't as if they didn't know about the PSTN switch off so could have started on these transfers months earlier.

Does their communication say anything about them providing additional support for vulnerable users or those using telecare devices? BT are a signatories to the PSTN charter, so they should be offering prove telecare visits and/or backup power solutions if there are no other means for making emergency calls, but it isn't clear if that is just BT Retail or the whole BT Group including EE & Plusnet.

A lot of this is answered in the Plusnet Terms and Conditions which you signed up to when you took the service, and it gives Plusnet broad authority to do this.

"16. Our right to suspend your service or end our agreement

16.1. We can suspend or stop providing our services and/or end our agreement where:

16.1.1. our ability to continue to provide the service to you is materially and adversely affected because: (i) any of our telecommunications carrier(s) or supplier(s) ceases to provide services to us; or (ii) any authorisation required by us ends or is changed;

[...]

16.1.10. we are no longer providing the service to customers.

[...]

16.4 We can terminate our services and/or end our agreement at any time by giving you 28 days' notice."

Under this part, Plusnet could have said "we are terminating the service because Openreach are no longer providing WLR". However, instead, they've chosen to allow people to migrate seamlessly to EE, or to drop the voice part of the service.

The contract allows them wide scope to make such changes:

"18. Changing these terms, prices or our services

18.1. We may change the price, or other charges, the service or the terms of our agreement:

18.1.1. if we materially change the service, or introduce new services, features or benefits (for example if we increase the maximum upload speed for your broadband service);

[...]

18.1.4. to reflect changes in technology (for example if we develop new systems which provide you with a better service);

[...]

18.1.7. due to any other change in circumstances in the future, that we can't predict, which means a change is necessary."

The question is, does this allow you to exit the contract penalty-free? Well, it depends. There is this:

"18.6.3 We’ve changed the service in a way that is not exclusively to your benefit

[...]

If you give us notice to terminate this agreement for any of the reasons set out in this clause (excluding 18.6.6) and 18.8 then the agreement will terminate on the day before the proposed change comes into effect. Where that is not possible, the agreement will terminate as soon as reasonably possible, and the change will not apply to you."

It's then down to a discussion around whether an imposed migration to EE is exclusively to your benefit ("EE is the better provider" etc). You could argue that the hassle of having to swap routers and reconnect your phone line and/or rewire extensions is not to your benefit, and I think that would be fairly strong. Even one minor inconvenience means the whole bundle is not *exclusively* to your benefit.

Therefore, with enough complaining, maybe you could get an early contract exit - if that is indeed what you're looking for.

However, Plusnet might instead consider it as "transferring" the agreement, especially since the financial terms are being carried forward. In which case:

"19.1.[...] We can transfer our agreement to another company provided this does not adversely affect your rights under the agreement."

Then it's a question of whether being moved to EE "adversely" affects your rights - and in this case, it's not necessary that such a transfer must be *exclusively* to your benefit. You'd have to argue a significant adverse impact overall.

Hi,

In reply to a post by prlzx:

Are you a PlusNet customer or have you received the letters and emails to know what I am talking about?
I have received copies of the comms from the affected customer that I am quoting from.

It is not a name change or rebranding of what they have to continue - they are NOT being sold an EE branded package through PlusNet while remaining a customer of PlusNet.

I never said it was, it is a transfer of a customer from one company to another as provided for by the contract.

In reply to a post by prlzx:

And it involves a replacement router with a new VDSL account with EE, new billing agreement/dates from EE, new Direct Debit from EE. They have not been told what model (or how many LAN ports) either.

A new account is not a material change, a new billing date is not a material change, a new direct debit is not a material change. If you are saying that it is a new contract (you mention "agreement") then that might be a material change, similarly, a new router might be a material change depending on how the Plusnet service was sold (although I suspect the contract will be emphatic that it isn't).

In reply to a post by prlzx:

They are either being transferred over or are having part of their current service turned off - those are the 2 choices as well as being made anxious by "early termination fee" warnings.

By the way the "Novation" you are choosing to categorise this (as compared with "Assignment"), both types still requires informed consent of both parties and the party being impacted should not be threatened with early termination fees if wanting to make a contract at that time with a 3rd party of their own choice.

Why are they being made anxious about early termination fees - that doesn't make sense unless they are planning to actively terminate the contract. The informed consent for the change is part of the existing contract. There would be no point in putting it in the existing contract if further agreement was required to implement it.

In reply to a post by prlzx:

Stating that there is "no change" as long as price and end date are the same is wrong as those are not the only material changes that matter. PlusNet are not claiming that either.

PlusNet should not have offered 18 months contracts with financial lock-ins in 2025 if they already knew they were going to break this out at less that half way through the term but only to allow in ways that suit PlusNet.

If you had read my posts fully and my sig you would know I am posting here on behalf of an affected customer, and the sole purpose is so that this forum has information on how PlusNet are handling the PSTN switchover and how it impacts vulnerable customers.

My purpose in posting is not for other people to try to dismiss the concerns (and lived experience) of my associate and how this is affecting them.

Please indicate which part of this post you do not understand.

I fully understand your post. I don't understand why you consider that there is an issue. To mirror your comment, if the customer wasn't happy for Plusnet to be responsible for the provision of phose and internet for 18 months, why did they sign the contract. The fact that Plusnet could do this by passing the customer to another company was agreed in the contract.

Your original post was based solely around an argument that there was a right to terminate which I disagree with. Only in subsequent posts have you started to criticise the clarity of the communications themselves, which to me is the important bit.

Was the customer you are supporting previously flagged up to Plusnet as vulnerable? That should have a significant bearing on what level of support was being offered.

I absolutely agree that the vulnerable need to be supported and that change can be difficult. I don't think it is appropriate to create a two tier society where the vulnerable are unable to contract for goods and services (which would be the net result if vulnerability was a get out of contract free card).

Did you come here to ask a question? You're being given correct answers but because you don't like them you're saying that people are wrong.

I am very glad that I ported my landline to A&A some months ago and moved to a broadband only deal with Plusnet thus pre-empting all of this and giving me control.

This is really helpful to know, thank you. I have elderly parents on Plusnet, who want to retain their landline (no amount of persuasion has yet worked for them to drop it), and I’m finding more information here than I am on Plusnet’s own website/forums! As yet they haven’t received this email, but it can’t be much longer surely.

In reply to a post by HealthNut:

This is really helpful to know, thank you. I have elderly parents on Plusnet, who want to retain their landline (no amount of persuasion has yet worked for them to drop it), and I’m finding more information here than I am on Plusnet’s own website/forums! As yet they haven’t received this email, but it can’t be much longer surely.

By January 2027, there will be no analogue "landlines" any more, *except* for standalone analogue lines (i.e. those which don't have broadband on top). These legacy lines will be supported for the time being via an exchange-based service called "SOTAP for Analogue" which is basically some VOIP equipment in the exchange which drives the line.

But:

1. You cannot order such a service. It's only for existing PSTN lines. (It's not been possible to order new PSTN lines since 5 September 2023).
2. It doesn't apply to lines which carry both voice and data.

Such lines will have to be migrated to SOGEA (FTTC) or SOTAP (ADSL) with digital voice on top. This means that if your parents want to retain their "landline" it will be provided as a digital voice service on a port on the router, where their current phones and/or extension wiring have to be connected. Since Plusnet don't do this, they'll have to migrate to a different provider if they want to keep the voice service.

If they are elderly, make sure they are registered with Plusnet as "vulnerable" so they get extra support in this process. And try to get yourself added as a secondary support contact, if you're not already.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

These legacy lines will be supported for the time being via an exchange-based service called "SOTAP for Analogue" which is basically some VOIP equipment in the exchange which drives the line.

We had this for a short time last year at one of our properties, the occupant received a letter giving a date of change and a warning to check equipment and that area codes would be needed for local numbers. On the day there was nothing of note to report, service continued as normal, I did ring 'our' number without area code and it rang straight through without issue, but I guess it's wise to add area code just in case.

Thank you for the advice, I will try to get them registered as vulnerable – which is something else they are reluctant to do. They don’t want to be seen as being vulnerable, even when at 80 and not especially technically literate, they are.

I have spent the afternoon reading up on the PSTN switch off and have a better idea of what is involved now.

They want to keep the landline as long as they can. As a landline – they’ve had some power cuts recently which have reinforced that. They are aware now that by the end of January 2027 they will have no choice but to move to VoIP, and potentially it could be as little as within 30 days, depending when Plusnet get around to them. They are adamant that they will wait until they’re forced to move to VoIP.

They’re not bothered that FTTP is available right now via a non-OpenReach provider who would buy out their Plusnet contract (still in contract until September I think), and that they could save money that way. They want their traditional landline until it is forcibly removed from them.

The annoying thing is that they both have mobile phones and rarely make landline calls. They rarely make any calls on their mobiles either tbf. It’s just resistance to change. I am sure that when they do eventually go VoIP that they might find the ability to listen to voice mail from anywhere useful.

Would I be right to assume that when they do get moved to EE that it would just be a new router through the post and plugging in the phone to the back of it? (They don’t have any extension wiring in use, just a traditional corded landline plus a single cordless base station; I think there’s a splitter somewhere to do that.)