ADSL Shenanigans Since Friday!

[#1]

So this must be the first reason I have had to post to this forum since changing to voice+adsl package and loss of my coveted static ip owned for years but given to another customer - but hey, thats another story.
OK, I have enjoyed faultless 6MB connections up for months for the last few years and see no reason to change it.
On Friday afternoon I noticed that my connection was pretty slow so I rebooted the router [Zyxel P-660H-D1] and thats when the trouble started ...
The router would not get stable instead renegotiating and dropping every 30 secs. Tried unplugging everything and ended up with just the router and a filter in the master test socket. Just before speaking to +net listened to a service announcement about BT outage. Was told that I had to leave the router in the test socket and things would improve. Well, it gets to Monday and still no improvement so I go out and buy a new filter and a new extension lead. I plug it all in and its back to the cyclic behaviour. Long story longer, spoke to faults who categorically ensured me that if a router works in test socket but not with front plate on and extension in - it *must* be to do with my wiring !!!
Now, I am sure I cant be the only one with a home office upstairs on an extension lead. Short of bringing a PC / Printer Fax and Scanner into the hall I *had* to get to the bottom of this as its really hurting me by this stage.
So I go out and borrow a router. Guess what? With everything back as it was on Friday morning, with the original filter and wiring - I am now on the net [albeit very slow]
Tech now says they cannot comment how a router can work on test socket but not on extension or how this router is working on extension when the other one isnt or if indeed BT's *outage* could cause a bizar fault on my router or anything else for that matter - no explanation really.
All I know is I had a stable connection I was very happy with for years, following BT's outage [or changes at the exchange] I now have a router I cannot use. Least +net are sending me out a Thompson - which cant come soon enough.
Think I should get some freebiies for my troubles!
Comments invited!

[#2]

Welcome to my World
Support don't seem to be able to explain the extreme slowness since this problem on Friday, doesn't matter whether you chuck Plusnet hardware at the problem or expensive hardware the speed remains the same. I have been looking around a number of ISP forums and this seems to be affecting a lot of ISP's.
Just a shame it's taking ISP's so long to get this resolved! it's annoying only having dialup speeds but watching your sync rate increasing in your routers statistics page!

[#3]

Sadly, what can happen is these outages can put networks out of balance and no sooner are they balanced again the another one comes along. Normally we don't see this kind of disruption all at once, so it's been an interesting time.