A Silver Surfer's Frustrations

[#1]

Is anybody else beginning to doubt the “Good, honest broadband” epithet that Plusnet are so keen to use?
Following the demise of UK Online almost 12 months ago I chose Plusnet and was, initially, well pleased with the service. Indeed the company was very good to me in August this year when my line speed was all over the place. I had enjoyed a 3,500Kbps speed for 4 days in July – my best ever - but then it dropped for no apparent reason to 1,200 or so. Plusnet managed to stabilise it at around 2,800Kbps and it stayed steady for a couple of weeks. Then it started falling again, initially to around 2,300 for about 4 weeks before plummeting to 1,400 or so on/around the 24th September. And now – it’s gone down again to 1,100. Still, mustn’t grumble; the speed is at least static between the sharp falls.
I have not changed any equipment/connections nor have I acquired any gismos or changed my telephone in any way.
I have done 2 speed tests via www.speedtester.bt.com today at 6-hourly intervals and both reveal more or less identical results, namely:
Download speed achieved during the test was - 1107 Kbps
For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 1200-4000 Kbps.
Additional Information:
Your DSL Connection Rate :4337 Kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 440 Kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP Profile for your line is - 3825 Kbps
Looking at the ‘High-speed Broadband’ page in my Member Centre it currently shows:
________________________________________
Telephone number:
(xxxxxxxxxxx)
Phone exchange:
(xxxxxxxxxx)
Estimated line speed:
3.0Mb (This may vary between 2Mb and 5.5Mb) - Checked on 2011-06-21 21:54:56
Current line speed:
1.25 Mb
Does this mean that Plusnet have not checked my estimated line speed since mid June? Have they put a block on my available speed for some reason?

Thompson Gateway router stats taken a few moments ago state:
Uptime: 0 days, 6:29:03 (about the time of my 1st speed test this morning)
DSL Type: G.992.3 annex A
Maximum Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 888 / 4,596
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 440 / 4,338
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 18.74 / 83.37
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.5 / 17.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 30.5 / 52.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 20.5 / 6.5
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / IFTN
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 756 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 393,212 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 1,048,572 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 101 / 38,595
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 12 / 991
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 13 / 8,834

Can somebody please help a Silver Surfer who is not well versed in the technicalities of such problems and, hopefully, suggest a course of action to get my speed back up? At the same time can I be persuaded to stay with Plusnet rather than start looking into moving to Virgin cable?

[#2]

Hi siltshifter,
Your profile on our side is set to 1.25Mb and just hasn't lifted in response to the change in your BT IP profile. I'll change that manually for you now, so you'll see the increase within the next 15 minutes. We don't block anyone's speed, just limit it to reflect the BT IP profile. We should respond to any changes in your BT profile within 12 hours normally.
I certainly wouldn't say we were being dishonest in any way. We do pride ourselves on our openness.
Jojo

[#3]

Jojo you're a star - as you were last time I had a problem I seem to remember.
You sorted something in 15 minutes that your colleagues in Customer Support seemed reluctant to do anything about since I drew their attention to my concerns on Sunday.
I am on the test socket at the moment and, despite the protestations of my wife as the cable stretches across the lounge, I will leave it plugged in there for the next couple of days (unless you advise otherwise of course).
My thanks again - I can honestly say the epithet is definitely applicable to you and your colleagues on the Forum..........
Siltshifter

[#4]

Glad to hear it's better now. I do think it's worth checking out your internal wiring though before you put it back, as it may be what caused you the trouble initially