How wrong could I have been
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How wrong could I have been
25-07-2014 1:52 PM
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I was so pleased that I posted a very positive report on the community web site to counter the many negatives that are posted.
Unfortunately the fix lasted less than 12 hours and my telephone line had died after the engineer left. That is when the problems started.
I rang the following day but had to wait for over 30 minutes for a response. After running through a few checks it was confirmed that there was a problem and that I should expect a resolution in 48 hours. The following day I rang again and was told the issue was with the faults team (after going through the same checks once the call was answered,) that there was no progress but it should be within 48 hours.
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After another call the following day (again waiting for 20 minutes or so for the call to be answered)and further testing I was told to expect a resolution with 72 hours (up from 48 the previous day) and by the way the internet problem would not be progressed until the line fault was fixed, which would not be for another 5 days. I got a little annoyed at this stage as this was the first time this had been mentioned. I asked the help desk to progress the internet problem as I would get the line fault fixed myself. That was not possible I was told.
I had the line fixed at lunchtime and responded to the text I had received (the first contact from Plusnet initiated by them) and also rang to confirm asking to progress the internet fix.
I had a text later that day to say there was a problem that required a multi skilled engineer to fix and there was a lack of this resource. When I showed the text to a multi skilled BT Open Reach engineer in the local team he was a little surprised as he believes there is sufficient resource locally.
There seems to be a mismatch between the engineers on the ground, Open Reach and Plus Net.
I rang again today and after waiting 20 minutes or so for the call to be answered I was told there is no progress so I have now been without internet for a week and it is going to be next week before this problem is fixed.
There was one other odd thing. The 0800 number was engaged when I rang this morning so I had to use the 0345 number
This raises a number of interesting points.
The UK based support that I was so pleased with initially doesn't seem any better than non UK based support as the length of time before the phone is answered can be quite long, I have to go through the same steps each time, progress is so very slow and there is little communication from Plusnet.
Why am I paying Plusnet almost £40 month when I can get equally bad service from BT for less than that (for 6 months at least) as well as getting free BT sport, a Home Hub 5 (which is far superior to the separate modem/router supplied by Plusnet and access to community wi fi.
Who has the mandatory payment received from Open reach for the early life failure of a repair and missing appointment targets? It doesn't seem to be me and the call handler did not know.
Do I get compensation for the lack of a phone line for a couple of days and internet for over a week. The call handler was unable to explain.
Once back on line I will certainly be looking at my options.
I will not be able to look at replies until I have saved enough money for another visit to a wi fi enabled coffee shop but perhaps Chris or one of the other Plusnet employees who visit the site could ring and advise.
Re: How wrong could I have been
26-07-2014 2:21 PM
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To add insult to injury a few hours later I was sent a text with a web address to complete a survey about the call I had just made. It was not possible to reply to the text otherwise I would have asked how to do that with no internet (I am using my daughter's internet to catch up on important stuff - not complete surveys)
Re: How wrong could I have been
26-07-2014 2:46 PM
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Quite surprised that they haven't picked this up and answered already though - they are usually quite good at responding to the forum threads
Re: How wrong could I have been
28-07-2014 12:32 PM
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I apologise this wasn't picked up sooner (There may be some news relating to this shortly :-X)
First of all, I apologise for the call wait times, we are doing our best to ensure they are improved in the near future. I'm not sure why you got an engaged tone when you rang through to the 0800 number, they should both route through to the same IVR. If you come across this again, please let us know.
I'll do my best to try and explain what is happening with the fault. After your service was disconnected the second time, we were getting multiple errors when running diagnostics tests on the line. The overriding factor was the 'dis in network' fault picked up by the copper line test. This is usually a disconnection of the phone line at some point between your property and the exchange and therefore treated as a phone fault. As a consequence of this result we had no choice but to raise the matter as a phone fault to Openreach (Broadband faults are reported to Wholesale) and the lead time in your area at that time was 4/5 days. Later that day you advised us that the phone line was working; the phone fault was closed and we began to chase Wholesale again.
Wholesale then advised us that multi skilled UG (Under Ground) engineer was required to fix the fault. We can only go on the information given to us at this stage, we have no direct communication with the engineers. Some engineer's can do phone faults, some can do broadband faults and some can do other skilled tasks. There are fewer engineers that can do everything and usually the lead times are slightly longer. I appreciate the information you've received at your end differs slightly, we can ask our suppliers about situations like this if there is an obvious discrepancy.
I understand how frustrating this is for you. When we have updates, we will call you and I've spoken to the faults team who have assured me that someone will be in touch with you today. We should have advised initially that it could take up to 72 hours for an update on your fault, I apologise for the incorrect advice given.
The survey you received was sent completely randomly and is triggered by your contact with us. Feel free to respond once your broadband is back up and running.
Re: How wrong could I have been
28-07-2014 12:42 PM
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It turns out there was no physical problem (so not sure why a multi skilled specialist underground engineer was required) but the transfer of account details to the new port was done wrongly. Once corrected I was able to get back on line. Nobody knows how I was able to access the internet for a few hours after the first fix but I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stays up this time.
I have two outstanding problems in that my download speed has dropped from almost 60 to just under 30 and my HH5 is no longer working. Perhaps one of the Plusnet team can confirm this speed will go back up and whether anything can be done about my HH5.
I have just seen LukeS' post as I went to post this response. Hopefully he is still on line
Re: How wrong could I have been
28-07-2014 2:27 PM
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I'm pleased you're back online. Someone from our faults team will call you later today to discuss your outstanding problems.
Re: How wrong could I have been
28-07-2014 8:06 PM
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My anger and annoyance has subsided now I am back on line, especially after lengthy discussions with the engineer about how the various bits of BT link up and my problems were caused by open reach staff failing to transfer my settings correctly to the new port which led to the second failure.
I never did get a call today so I am hoping you or the team can solve my last two problems. My download speed is still at less than half it was before I lost the internet and my HH5 is still not working. How long should I leave the speed issue before reporting it as a fault and will Plusnet help with the HH5 fault (probably not). I would prefer not to ring again although I suppose I can now raise a fault without calling
Re: How wrong could I have been
29-07-2014 9:10 AM
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I'm really sorry that you didn't receive a call back, we're investigating what happened with that. I've taken a look at your line and I've made some changes to your Speed Profile set on our systems which I think should resolve the speed issue (you may need to restart your router for the changes to take effect).
What's wrong with the HH5? We'll try our best to help with it, but as we don't supply this hardware, we're a little unfamiliar with it, but I'm sure other members of the Community would be happy to chip in with ideas on what might be causing you a problem.
Re: How wrong could I have been
29-07-2014 9:50 AM
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Username = yourusername@plusdsl.net
Password = the password you use to sign on to
PPPoE connection and use DHCP (or ISP assigned) for IP / DNS
On some of my routers I also had to disable the auto disconnect and set the timeout for zero for this otherwise it would only connect on demand rather than a 24/7 connection.
Re: How wrong could I have been
29-07-2014 10:02 AM
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jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler) Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!) Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20) Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month) Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month) |
Re: How wrong could I have been
29-07-2014 11:16 AM
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Re: How wrong could I have been
29-07-2014 12:21 PM
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If I can get the HH5 working again my need to change provider will reduce but I'm not sure how I can live with the very poor wi fi performance of the one supplied by Plusnet. If it doesn't I will have to try and recover my Asus
I have now switched my router off and back on and I am very pleased to say download and upload speeds are back to where they were before my problems. Thanks for doing that Chris. Testing the HH5 will have to wait until later as I need to get out into the sun and finish erecting my polytunnel
Re: How wrong could I have been
29-07-2014 2:43 PM
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I'll be sure to pass on your thanks to Chris for applying the fix
Re: How wrong could I have been
29-07-2014 4:15 PM
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Anybody any ideas
Perhaps I should move this to the broadband/router thread
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