Thousands of broadband customers to lose TV service in dramatic shake-up from Plusnet

jimb

"PLUSNET will finally close its paid-for television service in November."
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/1480599/Thousands-Of-Broadband-Lose-TV-Service-Shake-Up-Plusnet

Looks like Visionman's crystal ball was working well back in May:
https://community.youview.com/youview/discussion/comment/19009877/#Comment_19009877

jonesh

My contract with Plusnet came up for renewal in July. I agreed to a new eighteen month deal, and I was told that the monthly cost would not increase until after March next year.

Earlier this month the first payment under the new contract came due, and it was £1.20 more than the amount that I had agreed to pay. I called to ask them why my monthly payment had increased, and I was told that it was written into my contract that there would be an annual increase. I quoted from the contract, which said: On or after 1st March every year from March 2022, prices will increase by the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation published in January of that year plus 3.9%.

The reason that I was given for being liable to pay the increased amount this year was that I am an existing Plusnet customer, so I have to accept this year's price increase. I questioned the explanation, and a "Goodwill" payment of £1.20 was made into my account.

I rejected the gesture, and I received a phonecall from a representative of Plusnet. This time the reason given for the increase was different. The reason was that the monthly amount that I had agreed to pay was a discounted proportion of the full price of the product. The full price of the product had increased, and therefore my portion had increased accordingly.

That made sense, but I asked why it was possible for someone to agree to a monthly price, "fixed" for eighteen months, when not one of the monthly payments would be at the agreed amount.

They offered me a goodwill payment of ten quid to shut me up. It worked.

Apologies to @jimb for my off-topic post.

jimb

jonesh said:

... I asked why it was possible for someone to agree to a monthly price, "fixed" for eighteen months, when not one of the monthly payments would be at the agreed amount.

I had pretty much the same experience with TalkTalk.
I agreed a new contract with them which explicitly said the payments would be fixed. One month later the price went up. I complained and they quoted a bit of "small print" to justify this. 

kodikid

Seems odd that you brought this up.
This is not a new phenomenon, been happening for  a couple of years. 
Would have been far more surprised if you said your isp hadn't increased your monthly payment due to the CPI
It's stranded practice with broadband contracts these days.

Roy

kodikid said:

Seems odd that you brought this up.
This is not a new phenomenon, been happening for  a couple of years. 
Would have been far more surprised if you said your isp hadn't increased your monthly payment due to the CPI
It's stranded practice with broadband contracts these days.

But odd that PlusNet are gaily adding 3.9% on top of that, according to @jonesh, something I would have queried. What justification is there for this overtopping?

kodikid

Roy said:

kodikid said:

Seems odd that you brought this up.
This is not a new phenomenon, been happening for  a couple of years. 
Would have been far more surprised if you said your isp hadn't increased your monthly payment due to the CPI
It's stranded practice with broadband contracts these days.

But odd that PlusNet are gaily adding 3.9% on top of that, according to @jonesh, something I would have queried. What justification is there for this overtopping?

Apparently BT announced last year that it's bills will increase by CPI +3.9% annually. 
This also includes it's subsidiaries EE, Plusnet and others that BT supply like John Lewis broadband. 
One time if ISP'S increased their prices mid contract there would be a mass exodus. 
Clever clogs BT ( some might say devious) have obviously found that if you hide it in the T&C's they can hack up prices mid contract without repercussions. 

jonesh

kodikid said:

Seems odd that you brought this up.
This is not a new phenomenon, been happening for  a couple of years. 
Would have been far more surprised if you said your isp hadn't increased your monthly payment due to the CPI
It's stranded practice with broadband contracts these days.

I discussed the annual CPI plus 3.9% price increase with the call handler who dealt with my contract renewal @kodikid. He said that my new contract would not have any price increases until March, next year.

The small print in the new contract said On or after 1st March every year from March 2022, prices will increase by the Consumer Price Index rate of inflation published in January of that year plus 3.9%.

They banged it on in July, this year.

kodikid

I would have stood my ground in that case Jonesh.
You clearly was mislead at renewal. 
If they told you your contract would not rise till March then you certainly shouldn't be paying more now.
Ask for a transcript of said conversation since all calls are recorded and inform them you have been mislead. 
It's the principle if nothing else. 

jonesh

I did my best @kodikid.

There was tacit acceptance that a mistake had been made when they offered me a goodwill payment. It was a victory of sorts, so I decided that it wasn't worth me spending any more time on the issue and accepted their offer.

I think that the problem was the timing of my renewal. It was dated the second of July, and the chap who dealt with it said that this year's price increase wouldn't affect me because it had gone through in June. The price increase didn't affect new customers, but it applied to me because I was an existing customer.

Hey-Ho . 

kodikid

The most dreaded 2 words in the English language 
Existing customer 

Roy

kodikid said:

The most dreaded 2 words in the English language 
Existing customer 

Not ‘YouView Update’?

kodikid

OK
The second most dreaded 2 words. 

redchiz

Interesting topic. Shame that we have moved so far from it. 

TalkTalk have long since stopped offering their TV "Boosts" i.e. multicast channels, although legacy customers still have access until a time yet to be announced. They don't even supply a recording box anymore. New customers are directed to discounted NOW offers. An "exciting new TV offering" has long been mooted, but nothing there yet either.

Retail is dead as we know.

So, where next for YouView?

kodikid

Afraid it will just die.
Once the supply of decent boxes drys up (looks like there's no chance of the new Pro box going retail) then long time users like ourselves will be forced to use alternatives. 
I already find I'm using my Roku streambar more as I use YouTube and Disney + a lot. 
I would never in a million years subscribe to expensive offer free BT tv to gain access to youview. 

Roy

@redchiz

YouView’s business model has never been sustainable; if they had been able to patent the backwards EPG, things might have been different, though.

But fortunately, BT wanted a replacement for its BT Vision box, lighted on YouView, and started shifting units like they were going out of style; which they would have been if not for BT.

And TalkTalk moved a few as well. And retail a few, maybe to people like me who bought into what I think was genuinely YouView’s initial view of itself.

But BT’s use of YouView was the overwhelming success, except that it got the broadcasters worried that ‘free’ was getting lost, hence Freeview Play in its various incarnations, which took away YouView’s USP of the backwards EPG.

So YouView became a de facto subsidiary of BT, if not actually a de juro one; and those of us who regret the loss of the retail dream must be thankful to BT for at least keeping the platform alive. And indeed moving forward, with their new box. As YouView is a pretty high maintenance service, which will die if YouView dies, unless someone takes it over. Unlike the DigitalStream PVR, which I could put back into service tomorrow if need be, though DigitalStream are long gone. Purely for recording of course, as its internet smarts never came to be; but as @kodikid describes, there are a wealth of ways of getting internet smarts without YouView, if you don’t mind losing, or have to lose, the integration.

I haven’t heard so much bitter complaint about the YouView UI on Sony TVs recently, perhaps because is no longer the default option that you have to actively move away from if you want to use those features of the TV that YouView doesn’t support. And because moving away no longer loses you the catchup apps that YouView supply.

But somebody loves it, as we do get the odd person who can’t find YouView. because for Sony, as for BT, YouView is an unword, and it’s always called something else.

Visionman

Are you a theologian of internet and TV now Roy? And of YouView?

kodikid

I had to look theologian up because when I first read your comment I thought that doesn't make sense. 
After doing my homework I found I was right in the first place.
Talking of which...
Anyone thinking of signing up to Go sober in October?
Great chance to get healthy and all proceeds go to Mcmillan Cancer support. 
Also a good test of willpower. 

Roy

Visionman said:

Are you a theologian of internet and TV now Roy? And of YouView?

@Visionman

God knows 😇

redchiz

And have a look at this guys:
https://community.youview.com/youview/discussion/7606686/talktalk-huawei-372t-box-can-no-longer-access-more-tv#latest

Behind the ostensible issue lies the information that the TalkTalk TV store is in the process of closing (thanks to @Stevef_fr8ys). Are TalkTalk heading the same way as Plusnet i.e. towards the exit door? There has been previous speculation of a "new" TV product, but this looks like they may be pulling out entirely. 

Visionman

Its my information that TalkTalk have a new box in the works. Perhaps @Stevef_fr8ys, who's far more in the know than I, could confirm?

kodikid

 Hmmmm....dramatic?
Look on the bright side....you get to keep the box.
 All you need to do now is invest in a stick to use alongside your box and I guarantee within a week you wouldn't return even if they asked you to.

Stevef_fr8ys

@Visionman maybe you know more than me, or maybe you can surmise more than me, or comment more than me or......

redchiz

@kodikid Not sure who you are addressing there, but I have long been sticked up thank you very much. The Roku comes closest to covering all the bases. And Visionman is a well know (notorious?) BT customer, so what TalkTalk may or may be not doing will be only of academic interest to him. 

Visionman

Stevef_fr8ys said:

@Visionman maybe you know more than me, or maybe you can surmise more than me, or comment more than me or......

Sorry @Stevef_fr8ys, I meant no offence and my query was honestly genuine. 

kodikid

redchiz said:

@kodikid Not sure who you are addressing there, but I have long been sticked up thank you very much. The Roku comes closest to covering all the bases. And Visionman is a well know (notorious?) BT customer, so what TalkTalk may or may be not doing will be only of academic interest to him. 

It was aimed at those that are worrying over losing the talk talk/ Plusnet tv.
Anything the latter pair offered can definitely be found cheaper and probably better (4K) elsewhere. 

redchiz

@kodikid I doubt Plusnet customers (in their thousands) will count for much. TalkTalk, with their substantially larger user base, is a different kettle of aquatic lifeforms. 

Roy

redchiz said:

And have a look at this guys:
https://community.youview.com/youview/discussion/7606686/talktalk-huawei-372t-box-can-no-longer-access-more-tv#latest

Behind the ostensible issue lies the information that the TalkTalk TV store is in the process of closing (thanks to @Stevef_fr8ys). Are TalkTalk heading the same way as Plusnet i.e. towards the exit door? There has been previous speculation of a "new" TV product, but this looks like they may be pulling out entirely. 

What on Earth did @Stevef_fr8ys do that made TalkTalk close their Store? 😛

redchiz

Ha-ha, thanks @Roy, syntax error duly noted!  

Visionman

kodikid said:

It was aimed at those that are worrying over losing the talk talk/ Plusnet tv.
Anything the latter pair offered can definitely be found cheaper and probably better (4K) elsewhere. 

Which is their choice, isn't it? Not yours.

Roy

Visionman said:

Its my information that TalkTalk have a new box in the works. Perhaps @Stevef_fr8ys, who's far more in the know than I, could confirm?

Kirstie and Phil have a new TV programme in the works about upcoming technology developments. Rumour has it that it is to be called “Citation, Citation, Citation” 😛

https://community.youview.com/youview/discussion/7606252/new-box-for-talktalk

But it looks like TalkTalk have had a change of direction, and this planned box may never come to fruition. [EDIT: for the avoidance of doubt, ‘fruition’ here means announced, and available to customers within a specified time frame.

Not coming to fruition is] something I thought might happen with the BT box of which details emerged at the same time, but that one did happen.

But I’m racking my brains to see the merits of the zapper boxes TalkTalk are dropping back to now. Sure, the UI of a YouView box, even without a recording capability, still beats the UI of a Fire or Roku device, but Freeview Play will give it a run for its money. So, who is going to subscribe just to get pause and rewind live TV?

Visionman

The TalkTalk UZW4054TTG box exists. If you want to claim it doesn't then do so. I won't disclaim it.
I'm going to shut the **** up now.