Plusnet customers face £30 a year bill hike after it axes popular discount scheme
TENS of thousands of loyal Plusnet customers face paying an extra £30 a year as it plans to axe a popular discount scheme. Customers will no longer be able to get a discount on their home phone line rental by paying for a year upfront. This is because the telecoms firm has axed its “line […]
TENS of thousands of loyal Plusnet customers face paying an extra £30 a year as it plans to axe a popular discount scheme.
Customers will no longer be able to get a discount on their home phone line rental by paying for a year upfront.
This is because the telecoms firm has axed its “line rental saver” option for existing customers.
Plusnet stopped offering the line rental saver option, which it first launched in 2011, on Monday February 22.
If you’re on the line rental saver currently, you won’t pay any more until your minimum contract term expires.
However, when it does expire, you’ll be switched to paying line rental monthly, which costs just over £30 a year more.
What do these changes mean?
Here's what customers need to know:
- Existing customers will be able to enjoy the benefits of Line Rental Saver discount until they reach the end of their contract.
- When their contract comes to an end, they will receive an end-of-contract notification to inform them of the best deal.
- New customers, and existing customers whose minimum contract term ends after 22 February, will no longer be able to get discounted line rental. This had cost £213.12 for the year upfront, which is equivalent to £17.76 a month.
- Instead, customers will have to pay for line rental on a monthly basus. It’ll cost £20.29 per month – which is equivalent to £243.48 a year – which works out at an extra £30.36 more over a year.
Plusnet customers have shared their frustration about the change in price on Plusnet’s forum.
One user on the forum wrote: “Terribly disappointing news and this results in a significant monthly increase for customers.”
If you’re a Plusnet customer who’s affected by this change, then you won’t be able to leave penalty free until your minimum contract term ends.
The broadband provider also confirmed that existing customers will not face extra charges, and will be able to enjoy the benefits of Line Rental Saver discount until they reach the end of their contract.
Whilst the company couldn’t tell us exactly how many customers this will affect, they did say that figures are in “the tens of thousands”.
A Plusnet spokesperson told The Sun “We’ve replaced Line Rental Saver with more flexible and competitive offers – such as our current 18 month fibre contract for £22.99.
“This means we can change our offers to suit our customer’s needs but always with the same great value.”
Plusnet confirmed that customers have been contacted to make sure they have all the information they need.
If you’ve already paid for a year’s line rental upfront and are midway through that period, there’ll be no change until the year’s up, and there’s no change to broadband or other home phone prices.
If you need to find out how this change affects you, contact the Plusnet customer service team here.
Remember to compare prices using a website like uSwitch.com or Moneysupermarket.com as you near the end of your contract to find a cheaper deal.
Most read in Money
If you’re looking for the best broadband deal, we rounded up the top offers of the year.
Looking to save pennies elsewhere? Find out how to get cash for ‘free’ from Sainsburys.
Get top tips from a couple who wiped off £40K worth of debt with these simple tricks.