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Broadband still not working since 29 February - fixed on the 3 May :-)

Ronski
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Registered: ‎22-02-2012

Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Hi Jojo, thank you so much, I was really beginning to despair - seems like my last post to his support ticket was completely ignored/dismissed by the support personal.
The original ticket is still not accessible through his questions or the closed one's, but I still had the URL open on my home PC and when I refreshed the page and logged in the question came back up - there was a link in the last post for feedback - I bet you can guess what I left  Wink
Anyway prior to seeing your last post or being aware of the new fault being raised I tested his modem at my house, and it connected to his account with out problem, so we know thats OK, although I didn't have time to test the micro filter (filtered master socket).
I have spoken to support tonight, believe it was Nick that you spoke to and he's explained about a fault at the exchange, so hopefully this will get the problem resolved now. As I made this call from my brothers house I became aware of noise on the line - which Nick heard as well, my brother had previously mentioned this, but I completely forgot about it as it only happens when the  router is plugged in and I usually call my brother on his mobile.
Anyway, fingers crossed that this now gets fixed in the next few days.
Thanks for your help
Ronski
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Just an update on how things are proceeding, we are now getting regular updates, both from BT and on the support ticket, which is really good and the way it should be  Smiley which is the good news.
The bad news is that there is no spare lines left on his pole (he's still on a dacs), and they are now looking at moving lines around between poles or in a junction box to free up a line on his pole, so it's going to take a while, but this is bearable as we are being kept up to date with what's going on - so we know things are happening.
Ronski
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Hi Jojo, any chance of giving BT/OR a chase, nothing really seems to of happened in the last week.
Last Monday the help ticket stated they needed to reroute some cables, then later in the week it stated they needed to de-dacs the line, but no information about the cable rerouting - this was because there are no spare cables on his distribution pole, and they can't remove the dacs until they have a spare line to put him on.
I'm not sure if they'll need to apply for a street works licence to open the man hole, but nothing is showing on the Elgin Road works site (http://roadworks.org/index.cfm).
jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Hi, there should have been an update on a ticket this afternoon Smiley
Ronski
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Thanks Jojo, there is an update on the ticket:
Quote
Thanks for your patience.
Your issue at this time is that further work is required to removed that DACS.
BT are currently awaiting to complete work but are unable to do this at this time as they require permission from traffic control to complete the work required to remove the DACS box on your line.
We have now escalated your issue with BT to get this resolved and we will continue to update you as soon as we have further information.
My apologies for the delay in rectifying the issue

Any chance of a firm timescale for doing this work?
Ronski
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Hi Jojo,
Just had a reply to the ticket, which we unfortunately find unacceptable, remember it was BT/OR who created the problem in the first place by nicking his line - when you done your initial checks to transfer his broadband to his new address surely this would have shown that he had a DACS on his new line (which I don't think he did, until BT cut him off!). I'm sure this is the case because his previous address had a DACS and it showed this when intially checked for broadband.
In the support ticket BT/OR imply that they may need planning permission for the work, this is not correct and if BT/OR have stated this then I am 100% certain they are wrong, they may well need a street works permit, but this is not planning permission, and I can assure there is no river  Wink
I'm not sure how long it takes to get a street works licence, I think it's a matter of days, but I know a man who can tell me.
And I know it's not much, but he's just been billed for his broadband, that he's not had for a month now!
Anyway here's the post from the support ticket:
Quote
Thanks for your patience.
Our suppliers have informed us due to DACs on the line, they are unable to do much on this case, as they need more work to be done and potentially need planning etc.
The review date is now 10/04/12, we will place this ticket on hold until then to monitor the progress and keep you updated.
DACS is a device that splits your phone line into two phone lines, thus making one telephone line do the work of 2 telephone lines.
Normally with broadband each and every phone line needs to be free of this device from your premises all the way to the exchange and in order for us to proceed with your Broadband order we need to get the DACS removed.
This will happen in the provisioning process and this will result in your broadband order being delayed as we await for our suppliers to remove the DACS from your line.
This DACS can be located anywhere from within the house or on occasion they can be found under busy junctions or under rivers and this makes it very difficult to remove without planning permission from your local council and other authorities.
If you would like to find more information on what DACS is, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Access_Carrier_System
jelv
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Did he check broadband availability prior to committing to the move? If he did I suspect a claim for additional costs in getting an internet connection (e.g. via mobile) until the problem is resolved might have some legs!
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)
jojopillo
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

HI Ronski,
I'll see if there's anyone I can get tomorrow to chase any harder, but I'm not sure how much we can do until I ask, to be honest. Once the payment is cleared on our system I'll get it refunded back though. I'll certainly do what I can.
Jojo Smiley
Ronski
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Quote from: jelv
Did he check broadband availability prior to committing to the move? If he did I suspect a claim for additional costs in getting an internet connection (e.g. via mobile) until the problem is resolved might have some legs!

@jelv
I'm not sure if he actually checked, I doubt it, as far as I know he phoned PN and they proceeded to instigate the house move, his telephone started working on Tuesday 28 February as planned (handled by BT), his broadband was all scheduled to move on the 29. At some point on the 29 his phone line was disconnected - he did see a BT engineer up the distribution pole on the 29. It is my thinking that the BT engineer used his line to give to someone else, not aware that the line had been put back into service the day before. When BT reconnected his line the engineer told him he was now on a DACS.
In the most recent support ticket it states the phone number that his line is DACS with, and that it is LLU, now I've put this number in to various checkers and the only one that is able to provide any information is Sky, and this states the line is not compatible with broadband. So I think this pretty much confirms that the checkers can tell if the line has a DACS on it, and I presume PN would have carried out the checks prior to the move.
@Jojo
Thanks for organising the refund of his last months charges.
I don't wish to tell you how to suck eggs so to speak, but perhaps it would be worth raising the following points with your supplier, I presume BT Openreach.
1. Confirm if your initial checks would of indicated the line was on a DACS, if this is the case, and when his new line was checked showed it wasn't then it confirms the above scenario (in the reply to jelv).
       a.   If the above scenario is the case then this whole debacle is of BT/OR making and not just bad luck, so they should put it right ASAP
       b.   If  it is there fault they should provide him with mobile broadband, or even access to BT Fon (and suitable equipment to receive it), as there 5 hot spots within range until such time that it is put right.
2. The notes on the ticket for 11:35am, on Monday 19 Mar 2012 imply the DACS unit is located at the base of the pole opposite his house, however it does suggest that work will need to be done in the chamber on the corner of his road, which I believe is located in the pavement not the actual road.
3. I have confirmed that a Street Permit only takes a matter of days (they do not need planning permission), for minor works an application must be made a minimum of 3 days before date of works, and Kent County Council must respond within 2 days - see here for further details (opens a PDF file).
   a.    Has a street works permit been applied for?
   b.    If so what is the permit reference number?
4. An alternative suggestion my brother has made, and one that a BT engineer seemed to agree with as a possibility, was to move another line in his road to the distribution pole at the end of the road which does have spare lines apparently. There is a house fed from his pole which is about half way between the two poles, surely this can be done and then the lines switched at the PCP or exchange. His pole has 24 cable, the one at the top of road has only 13, so there must be spare capacity on that pole.

My main concern is that we are going to continuously get dates moved, after all the 10/04/12 is a review date, then it'll just be another date and so on, going round in circles.
My brother is a single parent on a low income, the lack of broadband is causing problems as he can't access his online banking or email amongst other things and now has to find the time to get into town to do check his bank accounts, or to come round and use my PC.
Hopefully the above will give you some different angles to try with them.
jojopillo
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Hi Ronski,
I've been liaising with one of our top house move people this morning. I've explained the situation so far and of the information you have supplied on this thread and he has agreed to take personal ownership to try to get some answers. I'm not sure what he can do or what he can find out, but if he can't then no-one can. You're in very capable hands.
Jojo Smiley
Ronski
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Registered: ‎22-02-2012

Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Thank you very much Jojo, let's hope he can do something.
jojopillo
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

I hope so too. I appreciate how frustrating it must be.
lexusuk
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

@Ronski,
The ticket ID: 53316861 has been updated with the latest details.
Ronski
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

@Alex,
Thanks for doing what you can, but can your answer three questions for me.

  • When you initiate a house move, do you carry out a Broadband check on the proposed line?

  • If yes, would that check show if the line was compatible with broadband?

  • If yes, did that check show whether the line was compatible or not when the move was initiated?


Thanks Ronski
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
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Re: Broadband still not working since 29 February

Sorry for the late reply to your questions Ronski,
Quote
When you initiate a house move, do you carry out a Broadband check on the proposed line?

Yes we do.
Quote
If yes, would that check show if the line was compatible with broadband?

Absolutely
Quote
If yes, did that check show whether the line was compatible or not when the move was initiated?

As per what's noted on ticket  52461778 we saw an RFS date of 1/3/12. I think the "learn" for us there is to make sure everyone is aware that the date of 1/3 is often used as a placeholder
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team