topic Re: Service gone horribly downwards in Plusnet Feedback

Service gone horribly downwards

Kati — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 08:32:53 GMT

For the past week my connection has been very slow, pages hanging and failing to load. Yesterday afternoon I posted a message in the forum but have not had a reply. This morning I received a billing notification which makes no sense at all. I pay my line rental annually and £6.49/month for unlimited BB plus calls. Today the bill is for £14.99/month line rental plus $9.99 BB plus calls. If my costs have changed I should have been notified in advance, surely? Now today my connection is dropping off every few minutes. Looks like service, billing and customer service are in the toilet. If I can retain a connection I will be looking for an alternative provider unless this lot is rectified asap.
Tried phoning but get auto message saying very high volume of calls and waiting time is at least 15 minutes - that says a lot about the service methinks!

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Acassim — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 08:54:44 GMT

Morning Kati,
It looks like my colleague Chris has responded to both of the threads regarding the speeds and dropping connection and it looks as though there have been some potential issues spotted on the initial faults checks, we would need to have you follow the link he posted so we can raise a fault and investigate.
Regarding the billing, it looks as thought you signed up for this on the 2013-05-08 which means this has now expired which reverts back to the standard line rental. We do issue a reminder for the expiration of this service 3 months before it happens and this was sent to the email address on your account. If you wish to renew your Line Rental Saver, it can be done here once you log into the portal.
We apologise for the call wait times you mentioned, unfortunately we have been busy of late and the work we carried out on the DNS platform this morning has compounded this somewhat. We are working to combat our wait times though and now have a second call centre in place which is being staffed up as we speak so this should be getting better as time goes on.
Moving forward, if we could ask that you please keep your posting to a minimum of threads so that we can more effectively provide support to you.
Thanks
Adam C

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

confident — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 08:59:09 GMT

You have my deepest sympathy Kati. The best of luck getting your fault sorted, I'm still waiting for mine to be sorted after 3 ½ weeks. Customer service IS down the toilet.

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Kati — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 09:31:28 GMT

Accassim, Thank you for your reply. You say "Moving forward, if we could ask that you please keep your posting to a minimum of threads so that we can more effectively provide support to you." which I did initially but got no response so I sent you a bundle instead in the hope someone would take notice.
Confident - thanks for the sympathy. It is so frustrating dealing with Plusnet when a problem arises. I am looking at alternative providers as I don't think I can take much more of this. Just looked at reviews on the internet and customers are saying it is dire! Hope your problem is resolved soon.

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

confident — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 10:15:40 GMT

Thanks Kati, but I'm not holding my breath. Frustrating isn't even close - more like incandescent rage.

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Kati — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 10:38:57 GMT

Confident - read your posts and it sounds appalling. I have been with plusnet for years and they used to be good but lately have become really rubbish. Oversubscribed I think and still advertising for new customers when they can't even provide a reliable service for the ones they already have. Then they try and imply that the fault is with the customers equipment rather than their poor service. On two previous occasions when I have had to report problems they said it ws probably a fault with my kit and if they send an engineer it will cost me £60. Both times an engineer came and my equipment was fine. Things were ok again for a while then things got bad again. I am looking into changing to another provider.
Good luck!

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

confident — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 12:38:11 GMT

Thanks Kati, I've been with PN since Force 9 days, but not for much longer at this rate.
"Oversubscribed I think and still advertising for new customers when they can't even provide a reliable service for the ones they already have. "
Quite agree they used to be excellent, but not any longer. Don't talk to me about engineers visits, fed up looking at them, have had about 6 out I think, still haven't paid for one.
Good Luck

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Townman — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 16:22:46 GMT

Quote from: Kati
Things were ok again for a while then things got bad again. I am looking into changing to another provider.

If the fault is with the line, then changing ISP will deliver no benefit, indeed you could be in a worse position in having to deal with off-shore call centres.
If the fault is down to a poor line joint, then there is the possibility that when the BTOR engineer (or contractor) attends, the fault is not manifest, thus cannot be located and therefore cannot be fixed. There is also the possibility that there is more than one fault with the wring. The best that PN can do is to ask their supplier to investigate the issue and fix what they FIND. If no fault is found, then they cannot deliver a fix on that occasion.
Is your problem related to bad weather? Is you line noisy? Dial 17070 option 2.
From you other thread, delaying paying the LRS is likely to end up costing you more, as you'll be considered to be a new LRS user and will most likely end up paying the new higher price.

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Chris — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 16:29:28 GMT

Hi Kati,
It doesn't seem like you've completed the faults checker yet. Can you finish whatever questions remain so we can get this to our faults team?

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Kati — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 15:24:44 GMT

Townsman,
If the fault is with the line, then changing ISP will deliver no benefit, indeed you could be in a worse position in having to deal with off-shore call centres.
My connection has improved of its own accord, as it has done in the past when I have complained of poor speeds and disconnections. PN always assume the fault is at the customer end before checking for possible problems at theirs. I read on the forums about some kind of DNS (?) fault at the time I was having my problem. The fault was not with my line as I checked it and it was clear with no noise. As for dealing with off shore call centres, I have yet to see the benefit of dealing with PN's UK call centre as they take an age to reply and respond and when they do they talk techy gobbledygook so what's the difference?
If the fault is down to a poor line joint, then there is the possibility that when the BTOR engineer (or contractor) attends, the fault is not manifest, thus cannot be located and therefore cannot be fixed. There is also the possibility that there is more than one fault with the wring. The best that PN can do is to ask their supplier to investigate the issue and fix what they FIND. If no fault is found, then they cannot deliver a fix on that occasion.

Less than a year ago I had to have an engineer callout and had my rewiring done at the same time. The problem was not with my wiring.
Is your problem related to bad weather? Is you line noisy? Dial 17070 option 2.
Don't know where you are but the weather has been ok here in London. Nothing dramatic. Apart from a few showers it has been warm and quite sunny.
[font=Verdana]From you other thread, delaying paying the LRS is likely to end up costing you more, as you'll be considered to be a new LRS user and will most likely end up paying the new higher price.[/font]
I enquired on Saturday about the cost of renewing the LRS and apart from receiving an automatic message with a ticket number, am still waiting for a reply. As for costing more, renewing for a further 12 months for poor service is not a saving as far as I am concerned as the cost to my health with the stress is greater than the monetary value. I would rather keep my options open and look around at other isp's. Even if they cost more, if they are reliable and helpful when needed it would be worth it.

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Kati — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 15:44:30 GMT

Hi Chris,
As my problem was to do with slowdowns and diconnections the faults checker was not much help. As long as I could get a connection all the checks were ok and it concluded that my problem had been solved even though the problem was still ongoing.
Since the weekend my connections have improved somewhat, though images are slow to load or remain blank. Just did the BT speedtest thing again and got the following :
Download 3.68
Upload 0.38
Ping latency 52.00
The upload and ping latency are only marginally different from before but the downlaod speed is significantly different as previously when I first reported a problem it was 0.61
I do not understand the significance of these numbers or if they are good, bad or normal. Can you enlighten me further please?
Thanks,
Kati

PS : Please also could PN bear in mind that not all of their customers (I am almost a pensioner!) are familiar with jargon so rattling off various phrases in explanation as I have seen on the forums when trying to find useful answers to my own problem is not helpful.

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

newagetraveller — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 15:56:10 GMT

"PS : Please also could PN bear in mind that not all of their customers (I am almost a pensioner!) are familiar with jargon so rattling off various phrases in explanation as I have seen on the forums when trying to find useful answers to my own problem is not helpful. "
Be careful what you say in this respect Kati.
In a post I made, I said "Unfortunately I don't do tech speak" and was pounced on by the forum police! I'm more than "almost a pensioner", I already am.
I too have a speed problem, definitely not my side of the master socket, for which there seems to be no desire/will to do anything about. So I've just given up on it.

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

LinnPlusnet — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 16:04:41 GMT

Quote
PS : Please also could PN bear in mind that not all of their customers (I am almost a pensioner!) are familiar with jargon so rattling off various phrases in explanation as I have seen on the forums when trying to find useful answers to my own problem is not helpful.

I understand where you're coming from Kati. We certainly don't expect everyone to understand any jargon so if there's anything that isn't clear please do ask and we'll do our best to explain it.
The reason Chris asked you to complete the fault checker is so that this can be raised to our Faults team to investigate. Without the fault checker being completed they won't have the information they need to investigate the problem. If you don't feel comfortable raising it via the fault checker online then you can give our Technical Support team a call and they can talk you through it - 0800 432 0200.

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Kati — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 18:12:51 GMT

Hi Newagetraveller,
Thanks for the warning but so far the forum police haven't come after me! I would be surprised if I was taken to task over not being able to understand all the terminology though - these bright young things must surely make allowances for the older generation!
See the reply below yours from PN who said they understood my discomfort with some of the jargon and offered a suggestion that I do it by phone if I prefer. I took up their suggestion and called the freephone 0800 number and spoke to a member of the support team who gave me very clear instructions on what to do to try an alternative filter in the test socket. He called me back on my mobile and talked me through it step by step and then he did a few tweaks at his end and ran speed tests and the speed has almost doubled! He was incredibly helpful and did not make me feel at all stu[pid for my lack of knowledge.
I would recommend you try calling them and sorting out your speed issues over the phone rather than via the forums/online support. You should not have to live with poor speeds so don't give up.
Altogether it took an hour of my time but well worth it (and a lot quicker than using online tickets!) Have a screwdriver and a spare filter handy as you will need those but it was not too complicated with the phone help.
Best of luck!

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Kati — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 18:16:12 GMT

Hi Linn K,
Thanks for your understanding about the jargon and the suggestion I try the phone support. I took up your suggestion and got a very helpful fellow who talked me through the test process, did something at his end, ran some speed tests and had me do the same from my end and my speed has now incresed substantially.
Thanks for the advice!
Kati

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Townman — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 18:39:08 GMT

Quote from: newagetraveller
Be careful what you say in this respect Kati.
In a post I made, I said "Unfortunately I don't do tech speak" and was pounced on by the forum police! I'm more than "almost a pensioner", I already am.

You got a robust response for being rude and disparaging to someone trying to help you with what is a complex set of technologies - which when they work are find, but when they fail they can be difficult to fix. Dismissing factual advice and explanations rather indicates a reluctance to accept that some times a fix is not straight forwards and a great deal of tolerance might be required to identify what is failing. As advised at that time, if there are explanations you did not understand, please ask for clarification - learning is a life long journey.
@Kati,

Quote from: Kati
My connection has improved of its own accord, as it has done in the past when I have complained of poor speeds and disconnections

This is not untypical of bad cable joints, they cause problems in wet weather and when the sun comes out, the problems go away all of their own accord... until the rain comes back. Alternatively (and even more technically complex) intermittent poor performance can be caused by electrical interference (REIN) which causes transmitted data to be damaged, requiring repeated retransmission before it is successfully received. Let us hope that this does not apply here!

Quote from: Kati
PN always assume the fault is at the customer end before checking for possible problems at theirs.

There is a marked difference between assuming the fault is at the customer's end and eliminating the possibility of the fault being at the customer's end. A BTOR engineer call out finding that there is no fault with the BTOR network, but rather a fault with the customer equipment or internal wiring will lead to a substantial charge being levied. I would expect that you would prefer that your equipment is eliminated from the equation before being exposed to the risk of sizable BTOR charges?

Quote from: Kati
I read on the forums about some kind of DNS (?) fault at the time I was having my problem.

Highly improbable that this has any bearing on your issues.

Quote from: Kati
The fault was not with my line as I checked it and it was clear with no noise.

Audible noise on a line is but one indication of there being a line fault. Your line could be totally silent (no dial tone) and BB will still work, although poorly. The absence of noise is no assurance there is no line fault.

Quote from: Kati
Less than a year ago I had to have an engineer callout and had my rewiring done at the same time. The problem was not with my wiring.

No one suggested that the problem was with your internal wiring.

Quote from: Kati
I would rather keep my options open and look around at other isp's. Even if they cost more, if they are reliable and helpful when needed it would be worth it.

If the fault is with your line, it will move with you to any new ISP.

Quote from: Kati
I took up your suggestion and got a very helpful fellow who talked me through the test process, did something at his end, ran some speed tests and had me do the same from my end and my speed has now incresed substantially.

Hmmm... this is just so typical of bad joint issues. The line tests performed by the remote diagnostic system can be enough to temporarily fix bad joint issues. Sorry for a bit of a technical explanation here - when lines are tested higher voltages are sent down the line; this can cause bad joints to be improved, however such improvements are short lived.
Though a little bit technically challenging, gathering some (if not all) of the information requested on the speed issues thread at the top of this forum would provide factual information upon which to assess what your line is doing. Speed tests are not really suitable at this level of problem investigation - one needs to see the line synch speed and other (sorry) technical parameters.
If you need help with this, please ask. I'm in North London Thursday / Friday, so if you are near by (Euston / The Strand / Bloomsbury) I could even offer hand holding support.

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Kati — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 21:59:30 GMT

Thank you for your reply Townman.
Not really sure what to make of a lot of it but I appreciate you are trying to help. 5 hours on and my speed seems to be good and holding steady. In case of a future drop in speed and connection issues I have been given instructions by PN on what to do to test the modem directly from the test socket over an extended period and a text number to use to alert the support dept so they can monitor the situation. Hopefully that won't happen but having done it once I feel more in control and less frustrated than before. I hope the fix is not short lived as you are predicting!
The tech fellow said my speed was still not as good as they would like but it is an awful lot faster than before and as I don't play games on line I am happy with what I have got now.
Thanks for the offer of help if needed, I will keep it in mind.
Regards,
Kati

Re: Service gone horribly downwards

Townman — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 22:20:42 GMT

@Kati,
How are things progressing? Sorry not to have sought an update sooner, however I've had my own disconnection - a river crossing phone cable has been damaged, taking me (and row villages) completely off air since 18th.
Kevin