Plusnet Newsletter Issue 4   back to news

Plus - Newsletter
Plusnet
The Plusnet Newsletter
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Welcome to the latest edition of Plus, the Plusnet newsletter

Since the last edition of Plus, we've started to deliver the free speed upgrades we talked about last month.

The faster speeds are great for everyone that has been upgraded, but we have received lots of extra support calls here at Plusnet Towers leading to a backlog and a lower level of service than you would usually receive. Many people who’ve had their free speed upgrades didn’t know why their speeds were suddenly going up and down.

We’ve been explaining that this is normal for the first couple of weeks with 8Mb, as your phone line adjusts to the new speed. After this, your broadband will quickly settle down. Now thousands of Plusnet customers are enjoying faster speeds with more coming over the summer months.

Also this month we've got some hints and tips to help you enjoy your speed upgrade, the winner of our £6,000 dream holiday competition and more.

Enjoy this month’s newsletter!

Carol Axe
(Customer Support Manager and Plus Editor)
Carol Axe


  Contents
01 Editor's comment
Update on up to 8Mb broadband upgrades
Plusnet grabs a couple of awards
Get more for less with Broadband Pay As You Go from June
Switch your landline to Plusnet and save
Plusnet is evolving - Changes to customer support
Getting the best out of up to 8Mb broadband
Competition winner and one more reason to recommend Plusnet
The PUG needs YOU!
 

Update on up to 8Mb broadband upgrades

We're continuing to upgrade broadband customers to up to 8Mb speeds as fast as we can. Around 35,000 customers have had their upgrade so far, with thousands more to come over the next couple of months. Due to restrictions imposed by our suppliers, it could take until October to complete all the upgrades.

Please don't call the Customer Support Centre if you want to know when your upgrade is due, as they won't have any extra information. You’ll get an email when your upgrade is completed so you don’t need to do anything until you receive this email.

 

Free upgrades to up to 8Mb Plusnet broadband
Free upgrades to up to 8Mb Plusnet broadband
Free upgrades to up to 8Mb Plusnet broadband

Plusnet grabs a couple of awards

You might have heard of uSwitch.com, an online comparison service that helps customers compare prices on a range of services including broadband. They recently commissioned the UK’s biggest ever broadband survey to find out more about people's opinions on their broadband provider.

The great news was that we came top in the survey with 92% customer satisfaction, making you guys the happiest broadband customers in the UK! Thanks to those of you who took part and helped us to this fantastic result.

We've also picked up the award for 'Best South Yorkshire Internet Company' at the 'Digital Yorkshire Internet Awards', another fine achievement considering the strong competition in the area.

 

uSwitch award for highest overall customer satisfaction

Get more for less with Broadband Pay As You Go from June

Broadband Pay As You Go will be even better value this summer. If you’re using this service we’re doubling the included data transfer, so you'll have 2GB included each month instead of 1GB. We're also changing the way you buy extra data transfer, with additional usage sold in 2GB blocks for just £1.50 each - that's 25% off the previous price. The new prices will apply automatically, so you won't need to do anything to take advantage of these lower prices. All customers will have their accounts upgraded by the end of July.


Switch your landline to Plusnet and save

We know how frustrating it can be to deal with one company for broadband and one for your phone line. You have different bills, different ways of managing your account, and different ways to get help. Well, from July 4th, we'll be giving you the chance to ditch your home phone company and switch to Plusnet.

You'll be able to manage your phone and your broadband account online and you'll have one simple monthly payment that covers broadband, calls and line rental. Prices will start at just £11 a month - that's the same price as BT.

Register your interest now!

We've also introduced Broadband PAYG Basic, a no-frills service for light users for the bargain price of £9.99 a month. Why not recommend this to friends who are still using dial-up?

View details of these new products at our website

Switch your landline to Plusnet and save

Plusnet is evolving - Changes to customer support

We're an online company and we want you to be able to support yourself online. You should have received an email explaining the changes to the way we offer support. Here's a quick summary of what's changed:

New Service Status line
We've set up a new Service Status phone line, so if you have a problem and you can't see Service Status online, call 0845 002 0173 to hear about any service-wide issues we are experiencing. Of course you can still check Service Status online too.

New Help Assistant
This is the new and improved version of the Contact Us tool. You'll be directed to a help page that's relevant to your issue or you can send a message to the Support Team directly. We're going to be focusing on improving our already extensive Help pages too so you can find all the information you need online.

New Telephone Support
We now have two telephone support lines: Standard Support and Premium Support. Standard Support is the number to call if you have a problem that means you can't connect to any of our services. Calls to this number are charged at lo-call rate.

Premium Support is for if you want us to help you with a complex configuration issue or need help to get the most from your broadband connection. Calls to this number are charged at 50p per minute, which covers the cost of training our staff to deal with more complicated issues.


Getting the best out of up to 8Mb broadband

There used to be a speed limit of 2Mb on broadband, but that’s now been lifted to 8Mb - much faster! Your broadband speed will depend on your equipment though, so now’s the time to ‘MOT’ your hardware, cables and filters.

Unfortunately going faster is causing problems for some people whose equipment is old or not set up in the right way. It's a bit like if you have an older car or your engine isn't tuned perfectly; you might not notice any problems at 30mph but at 70mph the performance starts to suffer.

To really enjoy the faster speeds, you need to look after your car. In the case of broadband, you need to make sure that the setup of your equipment is spot on.

Take a look at our high-speed broadband guide to find out more about getting the best possible performance out of your connection.

Sorry, we can't help you if you're having car problems :)


Competition winner and one more reason to recommend Plusnet

In the last newsletter we ran a fantastic competition to win a dream holiday worth £6,000. Our lucky winner was Ceri Vale from Mid Glamorgan - thanks to all of you who entered by recommending Plusnet to your friends and family.

Now we've got another reason for you to recommend our service. From 31st May we started offering a one month free trial to anyone switching to Plusnet from another broadband provider. That means you've got nothing to lose, you can tell your friends about us and even if they don't like our service (which of course we think they will!) they can leave and it won't cost them a penny. Of course, if they stay you can earn discounts on your own monthly payments.

 

And the WINNER of the dream holiday is ...
Ceri Vale, Mid Glamorgan

The PUG needs YOU!

The Plusnet UserGroup (PUG) is an independent group of customers from Plusnet and its sister companies. The PUG works with us to make our products, services and support the best that anyone could ask for.

The volunteers that formed the PUG recently launched a new website and are now looking for lots more participation from the Plusnet customers they serve (which includes you!).

The work that the PUG does is valuable to customers and Plusnet alike: it helps us to develop new ideas and products, provides feedback on many aspects of our service and assists with testing of new developments.

You don't need to be a techie, an expert or a geek - you'll be welcomed whatever your experience and knowledge. If you’re interested in making a difference to your ISP and other people in the Plusnet community, the PUG is the answer. Why not visit the new PUG website and get involved now?

http://usergroup.plus.net/takepart

 

PlusNet Usergroup

Phew, well that's all for this issue, goes to show that we've got an exciting month ahead. I hope you've learned something from this newsletter that will improve your Plusnet experience.

Give us your feedback on the latest issue of Plus.

PlusNet

© PlusNet plc. All Rights Reserved. E&OE


Company

We sell broadband and phone to homes and businesses in the UK. We won "Best Value Home Broadband" in the Top 10 Broadband Awards 2009.

† The uSwitch Customer Satisfaction Survey 2009 reported that 79% of Plusnet users would recommend us to a friend.

© Plusnet plc All Rights Reserved. E&OE