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Profitable circles

chips
Grafter
Posts: 43
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Registered: ‎26-04-2018

Profitable circles

So here I sit  contacting Plus net via an ad hoc BT wifi hotspot connection six days after reporting a fault. I'm effectively paying BT for a fault on their line is how I see it.  Of course I may be mistaken but I'm paying Plus net not to inform me of any progress or even if the line has been tested.  Given that  BT owns Plus Net does anyone have any incentive to break this profitable circle of inaction ?  I have spent hours diagnosing and checking my system but unless I know whether there is a line or not it's probably wasting time and I don't have as much to waste as I'd like.  What say BT provided disconnected plusnet cutomers with access to a BT hotspot free gratis and for nothing ?  - then there would be an incentive to deal with problems.

24 REPLIES 24
Baldrick1
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Re: Profitable circles

I would guess that the BT response would be along the line that if you want free access to their hot spots then you should pay the extra and move ISP to BT Retail.

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adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
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Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Profitable circles

Hi there, 

 

I'm sorry to see you've not had a response to the fault yet. 

 

I've just intervened and have been testing your line and reporting the fault to our suppliers. 

 

I'm adding a response to the open ticket shortly, here's a direct link to it: https://www.plus.net/wizard/?p=view_question&id=172906159 

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
chips
Grafter
Posts: 43
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Registered: ‎26-04-2018

Re: Profitable circles

Thank you. Action at last.  Too late to rearrange appointments tomorrow so that will be next week for a proper diagnosis.  But thank you.  If it's BT's line causing the problem do they pay me ? No answer required. But thank you.

Gandalf
Community Gaffer
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Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Profitable circles

Hi there.

Our tests are showing a potential line fault on the Openreach network.

As we're not your phone provider I'd recommend getting in touch with whichever your phone provider is. If they confirm that they can find no fault then we'll need to discuss this with our broadband suppliers BT Wholesale.

Apologies that this was not identified sooner. Let us know how you get on.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
chips
Grafter
Posts: 43
Thanks: 9
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Registered: ‎26-04-2018

Re: Profitable circles

Sorted within 5 hours of calling BT (on a Saturday mind).  Engineer climbed a pole and last vestige of connection crumbled at his touch.  No new router required :  no magic fangdoodlery: just a man with a bit of wit and pliers.  Hate to think of the time wasted reconfiguring and testing and doubting myself.  Had I not posted on here I'd still be waiting. 

jelv
Seasoned Hero
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Re: Profitable circles

When your broadband failed the first thing you should have done is to check if your phone was working. One of the requirements for having Plusnet broadband is to have a working telephone line from someone who provides a line supplied by BT Wholesale (that can be Plusnet, BT or another provider).

The best way of checking your line is with a wired phone plugged straight in to the test socket (without a filter), dialling 17070 and using the quiet line test (option 2). You should hear nothing - no crackles, hums etc. From what has been posted it sounds like that simple test should have told you there was an issue with the telephone line which needed reporting to your phone provider.

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)
adamwalker
Plusnet Help Team
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Registered: ‎27-04-2007

Re: Profitable circles

 I'm glad to see that it's been sorted. 

 

I'd bookmark this page which outlines the best things to check first in the event of a connection issue:

 

https://goo.gl/tu2WWu

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Adam Walker
 Plusnet Help Team
chips
Grafter
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Registered: ‎26-04-2018

Re: Profitable circles

I was prepared to forget this - closed business: BUT I have just received a smug, self-satisfied, patronising  message on my answering machine from  Plus.net.  Let me make clear why I am now angry rather than dissatisfied. 

My timeline and my perspective. When I initially reported loss of broadband to BT I still had a landline phone connection.  From previous experience this is what happens with a failing physical  connection,  Broadband goes down first and eventually all connection. 

BT quite correctly passed me to Plus.net as my ISP. 

FROM THAT POINT I was reliant on Plus.net to deal with the problem.  Plus.net requested interleaving and instructed me to wait and see.  I asked more than once if the line had been tested but received no reply.  Only when the landline failed completely ten days after the initial problem was I in a position to call BT directly.  In startlingly short time the whole problem was solved.  

Please do not ring again.

RealAleMadrid
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Re: Profitable circles

As has already been pointed out you should have checked your landline at the first sign of a problem. How does broadband work, it uses your phone line. If you had done that you could have got BT to sort it out much sooner. Don't know what the phone call from PlusNet was about but it obviously upset you but I'm sure you'll get over it.Smiley

chips
Grafter
Posts: 43
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Registered: ‎26-04-2018

Re: Profitable circles

Let me put this as simply as I can.

When broadband went down the phone line was checked as WORKING.  It took another 9-10 days for the line to completely fail.   Until that failure the only people in a position to request a broadband line-check were Plus.net.

I waited patiently as very little happened.  Only in response to starting this thread did Plus.net jump into some semblance of action - and eventually carrying out checks.   As previously outlined the line completely fell apart when the engineer touched the terminals 80m from my house.

I am not in my dotage and this sequence has occurred at least twice before since joining Plus.net in 2002.  Perhaps I'm unlucky and it has never happened to anyone else.

 

Baldrick1
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Re: Profitable circles

@chips wrote:

Only in response to starting this thread did Plus.net jump into some semblance of action - and eventually carrying out checks.

I guess that the lesson learnt is:to start a thread earlier. 

In my view having telephone and broadband providers as different companies is an invitation for buck passing. It's a crazy system where if Plusnet find a phone fault during testing for a broadband fault then the customer is sent to report to BT Retail, who then need to repeat the test and get the phone fault fixed before Plusnet will look at whether there's a broadband fault. However, if the phone noise is not detected during a quiet line test then Plusnet can manage the rectification of the exact same fault without involving BT Retail.

 



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jelv
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Re: Profitable circles


@chips wrote:

When broadband went down the phone line was checked as WORKING.  


Working as in you had a dial tone and could make and receive calls AND when you ran the quiet line test and listened for a while there was no background noise or crackles?

When the connection dropped were you immediately picking up the phone to check the line was still clear?

Has the audio quality of the line improved since the engineer fixed the issue?

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)
chips
Grafter
Posts: 43
Thanks: 9
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎26-04-2018

Re: Profitable circles

"Working" as in BT said it was when they referred me to Plus.net for broadband help.  Quiet line test is new to me.  Engineer recommended a new handset when he visited - old one usable but "noisy" and perhaps masking the problem.  Worn brakes syndrome - you don't notice gradual deterioration until the wall doesn't stop.

Baldrick1
Moderator
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Re: Profitable circles

So buck passing due to two companies involved in providing your telecoms. My case rests.

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