In reply to a post by Ignitionnet:

That's the free market for you, competition breeds lower prices and/or better services.

I did say a much the same thing to me nephew who is on a Market 1 exchange............my words went a long way to console him.

Thank's for all the replies.
I do understand the Market 1 / 2 / 3 system and the BTwholesale pricing.

BUT, PlusNet being wholy owned subsidiary of BT is in anomalous position.
Yes, they may well be charged by BTw the OFCOM regulated price, but in this case that is just a bit of internal accounting.

If they want to keep and promote the PlusNet brand, they SHOULD treat their Market 1 loyal (many pre BT ones I bet) customers better.
Otherwise, why not just go totally BT ?
Regards,
Martin

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

If they want to keep and promote the PlusNet brand, they SHOULD treat their Market 1 loyal (many pre BT ones I bet) customers better.
Otherwise, why not just go totally BT ?
Regards,
Martin

Plusnet are at the budget end of the market, I would guess that they're more interested in customer numbers than customer loyalty.

Loyalty to customers costs money... as Don said (more or less): welcome to the free market

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Thank's for all the replies.
I do understand the Market 1 / 2 / 3 system and the BTwholesale pricing.

Well you do now it seems.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

If they want to keep and promote the PlusNet brand, they SHOULD treat their Market 1 loyal (many pre BT ones I bet) customers better.
Otherwise, why not just go totally BT ?
Regards,
Martin

Not much point in doing that if it leads to a loss, and it would. All ISPs are in business to make money, on a Market 1 exchange Plusnet are in competition with every other non LLU supplier, BTW included, so people will vote with their feet.

This BT angle is misleading. If any ISP caught wind that BTw was giving any preferential treatment to either BT Retail or Plusnet there would be ructions.

If anyone is loyal to their ISP I hope they do it for the right reason. How it works is that an ISP works in their own interest and a customer should do the same. Each individual has different priorities so therefore a good number of ISPs providing offerings to match those differing priorities.

In reply to a post by billford:

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

If they want to keep and promote the PlusNet brand, they SHOULD treat their Market 1 loyal (many pre BT ones I bet) customers better.
Otherwise, why not just go totally BT ?
Regards,
Martin

Plusnet are at the budget end of the market, I would guess that they're more interested in customer numbers than customer loyalty.

Loyalty to customers costs money... as Don said (more or less): welcome to the free market

Quite wrong. PlusNet marketing relies heavilly on existing cutomers introducing new ones in exchange for small but continuous discount. On top of that, I have had at least 3 emails in last 3 moths promising up to £100 vouchers on top of the discount and now 3 months free BB. So they know the value of loyalty very well.
Trouble is their reputation isn't what it used to be before the BT takeover, so it's not easy to persuade people tp switch, even though their LLU prices are amongst the lowest.
Regards,
Martin

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

I have had at least 3 emails in last 3 moths promising up to £100 vouchers on top of the discount and now 3 months free BB. So they know the value of loyalty very well.

No disrespect to Plusnet users, but that sounds like they're trying to buy it

Trouble is their reputation isn't what it used to be before the BT takeover

Compared to their reputation when I joined this site, it's sky high! I used to be with Metronet, an excellent small ISP. Got an email telling me that Plusnet had bought them out... I'd never heard of Plusnet then, so came here to see what they were like and decided it was "not with a bargepole" time.

But now, I'd be quite happy to recommend them to a friend if they had the appropriate usage pattern and wanted a not-too-expensive ISP, they've improved out of all recognition.

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

Trouble is their reputation isn't what it used to be before the BT takeover, so it's not easy to persuade people tp switch, even though their LLU prices are amongst the lowest.
Regards,
Martin

Plusnet are not an LLU ISP.

Plusnet years ago were an excellent ISP. They then went through a serious downturn for some time which was largely improved when BT took over.

Plusnet may be part of BT now but their accounts are separate and they make their own profit/loss. They also effectively operate independently and are treated the same as any other ISP by BT Wholesale/Openreach. It is not just internal accounting as it is a separate company within the same group.

Personally I would complain about all the other ISPs who are using the money garnered from the Market 3 exchanges where BT charge less but the ISP still charge the same - they are all using that money to subsidise the "more expensive" areas of the country. Plusnet are the only ISP I know of that differentiate where the BT wholesale costs are lower in market 3 - but in the end it is down to the business model and any ISP can use whatever business model they like.