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Unimpressive customer support

kevinrt
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎04-06-2012

Unimpressive customer support

I've had a problem with decreasing download speeds on my FTTC service; before changing from my previous provider (who gave an excellent ADSL2 service) so that I could get a fibre connection, I was advised that I could get 37 Mbps - which I did initially.This dropped off incrementally, and it seems now that PN accept there is a fault, after initially denying this without any testing. My problem is I've been asked to give 3 half days of availability when I can be at home so that BTW can call at their convenience to complete the line testing. This is virtually impossible for me, so I phoned the helpline tonight to ask for further advice. The poor attitude of the PN person was remarkable - and as a result I posted this message on the Help Assistant response page :-
"I've just phoned up your helpline to discuss the problem, having been out of the country for the last week. I explained to your "adviser" that I have great difficulty in being able to free up 3 half days to be at home for the BT engineer to call, due to the nature of my work . His attitude was to say the least unhelpful, and I was not at all impressed with his take it or leave it approach. I moved to your company from one which provided excellent remote assistance and polite advice, and I am regretting this now. I have had my initial query fobbed off as being within normal limits, subsequently proven to be incorrect, and although I appreciate on site access can be necessary, I would have liked some educated discussion during my phone call tonight.
I am unsure how to resolve this issue now, as I am currently receiving a 16Mbps download on a line that you first told me could deliver 37, and initially did. I have done all the on site checks possible, including removing all additional connections to the router and carrying out the advised power down/up sequence, with no benefit.
Could you suggest any options now please that would enable me to get this problem sorted. "

The line test result is copied below,  apologies for the formatting. The text states    Appointment Required N   not sure what this means.  Has anyone got any suggestions as to how I can try and sort this out?
Thanks


[removed] - BOT - DSL Logged Faults
3:07pm, Friday 26 Oct 2012
[Internal]

Line ok





Test Outcome

Fail

Test Outcome Code

GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_1603

Description

Downstream Line rate changed by 25% or more in the analysis period. Continue submitting trouble report.

Main Fault Location

DT

Sync Status

In Sync

Downstream Speed

20.0 Mbps

Upstream Speed

6.1 Mbps

Appointment Required

N

Fault Target Fix Time



Fault Report Advised

Y

Profile Name

10M-20M Downstream, Interleaving High - 3.6M-7.2M Upstream, Interleaving Off

Time Stamp

2012-10-26T04:30:00


Parameters
MIN
MAX
AVG

Down Stream Line Rate
20.0 Mbps
30.0 Mbps
27.7 Mbps

Up Stream Line Rate
5.5 Mbps
6.0 Mbps
5.6 Mbps

Up Time
24300 Sec
78881 Sec
54653 Sec

Retrains
0
1
0


Current and Last 15 Minute Bin Performance


Last Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins)
Current Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins)

Start Time Stamp
2012-10-26T14:45:12.370+01:00
2012-10-26T15:00:12.370+01:00

Ingress Code Violation
0
0

Egress Code Violation
0
0

Errored Seconds
10
3

Severely Errored Seconds
10
3

Unavailable Seconds
0
0

estimated speed 30Mbps downstream and upstream line speed of 5.6Mbps.

Line banded.

Problem Explanation: [GEA503] An issue has been identified. Appointment Not required.
Resolution/Recommendation: Report fault to BTW for OR investigation.
raising fault.


Kind regards,

[removed]
adie:red CSA name removed as per link:rules
25 REPLIES 25
w23
Pro
Posts: 6,347
Thanks: 96
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Registered: ‎08-01-2008

Re: Unimpressive customer support

This does surprise me.  Nobody who works should be expected to commit to three different days.  Could it be that they were asking for 3 possible dates from which they would arrange an appointment (you'd then need to book 1 day (or half day) off work)?
Do you have anyone else who can be at home on a given day?  Even a neighbour with a key or similar, I don't see why they couldn't accept an instruction to knock at number x to get access?
I'd have also thought, for example, if you specify a date well in the furure they should be able to get an engineer organised for that day (BT dependent).
Call me 'w23'
At any given moment in the universe many things happen. Coincidence is a matter of how close these events are in space, time and relationship.
Opinions expressed in forum posts are those of the poster, others may have different views.
vultura
Rising Star
Posts: 325
Thanks: 14
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎22-05-2011

Re: Unimpressive customer support

You are correct w23, you give 3 dates you can be available, specifying a time slot preferred and then the appointment is selected based on those details.
@kevinrt - please check your "my messages" folder.
Has anyone seen my signature, it's gone missing.
kevinrt
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎04-06-2012

Re: Unimpressive customer support

I'm sure they only wanted one actual half day, but asked for 3 possibilities - I tried to explain the difficulty I have with even one date, but got the message that this wasn't up for discussion.No suggestions were made about any alternative checks that may be possible - I accept there may not be any possible, but it would have been nice to have some dialogue rather than the old style BT support approach.
w23
Pro
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Registered: ‎08-01-2008

Re: Unimpressive customer support

I certainly understand the difficulties this can cause if you have work commitments, particularly if they're not always known well in advance.
I'd suggest calling again in case the particular agent you spoke to was not fully aware of the situation.
If you get no further then post back here (first thing in the morning is usually a good time), there are some top PN staff regularly on the forums who will likely do whatever they resonably can to accommodate you.
Call me 'w23'
At any given moment in the universe many things happen. Coincidence is a matter of how close these events are in space, time and relationship.
Opinions expressed in forum posts are those of the poster, others may have different views.
spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
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Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Can you manage to be available on a Saturday morning? Saturday appointments are not always possible but it's worth asking.
David
kevinrt
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎04-06-2012

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Thanks  yes I could do  this option wasn't offered by the PN support person who was happy to just leave me with the problem
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Hi there,
We wouldn't routinely offer saturday appointments I'm afraid because it is very rare that they're actually available unfortunately. We'll certainly try and get one for you though, but if not the three dates requested are only possibles - you'd only need to take one of them off for the visit and we'd inform you which date has been booked as soon as we've been able to confirm it. We'll get on it for you and get in touch later today to try and arrange another appointment as that's the next step needed to progress this for you.
kevinrt
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎04-06-2012

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Ok Thanks
I'll try and sort out some availability but this is going to be difficult on a weekday due to work issues as stated previously - I have now received email and sms confirmation that the only way to proceed is to book an appointment , and advice to get back in touch.  I did have an apology for the approach taken by the fault advisory person last night, but some background as to the nature of the problem would be useful. Again, my main issue is with the approach, from a company that presents itself as supportive yet allows the typical BT support approach to show through. I obviously know about the commercial link between Plusnet and BT, but had hoped that the traditionally awful customer service response from the latter would not find its way into Plusnet.
I hope my impressions are proven wrong in due course.
chrispurvey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 5,369
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-07-2012

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Hi kevinrt,
I'm glad to see that there is progress and we're just waiting for your availability now.
One of the reasons for sending an engineer is to identify and then resolve the fault, so until he engineer has identified this we do not know exactly what the cause is.
We are given strict timeslots that we have to adhere to where arranging appointments, they are not convenient in all cases and maybe in some cases we can let you know what date is available instead of getting 3 dates when you are struggling to get one.
I'll keep an eye on the progress of this and if you need anything then just give me a nudge and I'll be happy to help.
Chris
w23
Pro
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Registered: ‎08-01-2008

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Quote from: chrispurvey
We are given strict timeslots that we have to adhere to where arranging appointments, they are not convenient in all cases and maybe in some cases we can let you know what date is available instead of getting 3 dates when you are struggling to get one.


That sounds like good news Chris but kept well hidden from most of us.
Most importantly I'm sure we all wish kevinrt a quick and happy solution.
Call me 'w23'
At any given moment in the universe many things happen. Coincidence is a matter of how close these events are in space, time and relationship.
Opinions expressed in forum posts are those of the poster, others may have different views.
kevinrt
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎04-06-2012

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Thanks for the further replies.
To update you - I managed to arrange time off Monday afternoon this week (admittedly very short notice), so I phoned in on Saturday morning and spoke to a very helpful adviser, to give that date and the coming Saturday morning as possible timeslots. I was told that both might well be possible, and that someone would phone me back within a short time to confirm.
No surprise to me now when no-one did call back; instead I got an sms message stating that a fault had been found on the line (no news there!), and an engineer visit would be aranged within 48-72 hours.
No further contact received after 80 hours - but who's counting....
Seems little point in chasing this actively now - I'm just spending time on the phone for no good reason; my broadband is working at less than half the intended speed on download, but at least is connecting.
As mentioned previously - this is very nostalgic - reminds me of why I moved from BT.
Kevin
kevinrt
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎04-06-2012

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Engineer visit now booked for Saturday morning - will report back after.
kevinrt
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎04-06-2012

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Update following BTO engineer visit yesterday.
Very helpful and thorough engineer - found as expected the service had been capped at 18Mbps for the last 6 weeeks -apparently due to drop outs over a few days at that time. I don't understand why this hadn't adjusted back up dynamically, engineer suggested the limit had been requested to be set at 18?Huh
He found some induced voltage on the line -"battery" effect, of 4 volts, and said this was probably due to a jointing issue, but shouldn't really affect download speeds.
The maximum sync speed he got after asking for the cap to be lifted to 50Meg was 39, and the lowest 37, on repeated testing, with no significant errors. I thought we'd got it sorted, but on connecting up (wired LAN), could only get 20Meg download - he checked again withg his equipment and got 37 again.
We swapped routers from the netgear N150 to the awful technicolour supplied device, with the same results.
So  - a bit further forward - the engineer is not closing the job, and they'll look at the line again, but it seems I've got an internal problem as well.
Given that we tried 2 routers, with everything else on the LAN disconnected, could this be a modem issue - the engineer thought not, as they either work or don't according to him.
Is it worth trying connecting directly to the modem -and if so could I have advice on how to do this please.
Incidentally, the engineer told me that despite changing to the 80/20 service some time ago my profile was still 40/10 with them - although I don't suppose this would make any difference?
Thanks - all advice appreciated.
Kevin
Pettitto
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 6,346
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎26-11-2011

Re: Unimpressive customer support

Hi Kevin,
Having read through this thread, first of all, I am really sorry to hear that you've experienced such a rough time getting this issue resolved. With regards to the problem, if the line is restricted (banded) it isn't something that can be corrected remotely by ourselves, it does require an engineers visit. It is good to see that problems have been identified and most issues resolved.
I'll be keeping a close eye on this until the issue is fully resolved for you. What you have endured thus far certainly isn't how we would like you to feel when raising or reporting a fault with your service.