Fair warning: Plusnet broadband prices just got hiked
Buyer beware: Plusnet have raised the costs for line rental and broadband services for all new and existing customers from 29 June onwards.
These changes mark the second Plusnet broadband price increase in just two years.
The BT-owned provider is coming off the back of an £880,000 Ofcom fine for wrongly billing former customers.
Line rental getting more expensive
Among the changes is an increase in line rental from £17.99 a month to £18.99 a month, for an overall increase of £12 a year.
As line rental is a required for all Plusnet services this increase hits all customers regardless of their broadband package.
If you paid for a year of line rental up-front with Plusnet’s Line Rental Saver option, you won’t have to pay anything extra until the minimum-term of your contract expires.
The new cost of Line Rental Saver reflects the same £12 a year increase.
Calls will be more costly
Plusnet’s Anytime 300 International call plan, which is bundled with many broadband packages, is increasing from £7.50 a month to £8.00 a month.
This plan features 300 minutes of free calls to mobile numbers in the USA and Canada and free calls to UK landlines.
In addition to the price increase, calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers have been limited to 150 calls or 1000 minutes a month (depending which limit you reach first).
The costs of calling mobiles and making calls that aren’t included in your plan have also risen.
The call set-up fee (a flat rate paid for any non-inclusive call) has gone up to 21p per call and calls to mobiles are now 14.65p a minute.
So is it time to switch broadband?
Any time your bill increases unexpectedly is a good time to think about switching and, although some termination charges have risen, many have actually decreased. This means switching before your minimum-term expires could actually save you money.
Check the table below to see if your plan’s termination charges have decreased. You’ll need to pay the appropriate charge for each month remaining on your contract.
What are your best broadband deal options?
We’ve gathered up the best three home broadband deals for overall value, so if you’re considering switching away from Plusnet these listings are a great place to start.
Provider: EE
Best Deal: Unlimited Broadband with Anytime Calls and 1500 mobile
Download Speed: 17Mbps
If you’re looking for basic ADSL broadband deals with up to 17Mbps speeds, EE provides immense value with anytime calls and a whopping 5GB of free data for an EE mobile phone contract or SIM Only deal.
Provider: TalkTalk
Best Deal: Faster Fibre 18 Month
Download Speed: 38Mbps
If you’re just looking for fast, cheap broadband deals, TalkTalk’s 38Mbps package gives you exactly what you need. Even better is that TalkTalk guarantee a fixed contract price, so your bill won’t unexpectedly get more expensive – unlike Plusnet.
Provider: BT
Best Deal: Unlimited Infinity 2 and Weekend Calls
Download Speed: 76Mbps
BT offer some of the best value when it comes to deals on fast broadband. In addition to a free weekend call plan, BT also offer their exclusive reward card worth £75 with all fibre broadband packages.
