Cant access a website that I use regularly

[#1]

Sorry, that is simply not the right approach.  It might help some (Plusnet) users, but not all and this is not the responsibility of just one ISP.

Any ISP using previously loved IP ranges will suffer the same experience where a website service provider decides to restrict user access based on a presumption of their location based on flawed geolocation data.  There are 3 fundamental issues here...

1. Some geo location data providers are incapable of reading the same source information and reaching the same correct conclusion that many others get right
2. Some organisations who decide to restrict access based on location, choose to use the poor data providers, rather than the better data providers
3. Said organisations implement location access restrictions where there is no business necessity to do so

This is a fundemental design / implementation flaw of SO's systems - not fit for purpose - creating a barrier to accessing NHS services.

Which one of the above is PlusNet's responsibility to fix?  Yes they have "reached out" in an attempt to resolve matters, but they are not in the customer chain here - why does anyone expect SO to do anything out of PlusNet's contact.

As many are fond of saying - they don't care if its a supplier problem, they have a relationship with a body and it is that body who should fix the issue.  Well here, patients using SO's system have a relationship with their GP's surgery; it is the GP surgeries who (one way or another) commissioned SO to provide this service.  So the correct resolution route is that those suffering from this issue should complain to their GP practices.  Lots of complaints within the NHS is going to have more impact that Plusnet helpfully "reaching out".

Plusnet have many other issues to focus on.

[#2]

>>>patients using SO's system have a relationship with their GP's surgery.....

Agreed.

>>> it is the GP surgeries who (one way or another) commissioned SO to provide this service.....

Almost certainly NO. It is far more likely in my experience that their local Clinical Commissioning Group would have been responsible for placing the appropriate 'service contract' and determining what IT system is used by the various GP practices in their area.

>>>So the correct resolution route is that those suffering from this issue should complain to their GP practices.

Probably the best starting point, but.....from my experience, and that of others here, there will only be one or two patients affected by this problem in any one GP practice, so it is likely that the initial - and understandable IMHO - response from the Practice will be that it is a problem at the patient's end. You may well have to 'bother' the Practice Manager quite a bit to get them to take it up with the CCG (or whoever) on your behalf.

This could be the case where the 'correct' route will not necessarily be the most effective.

[#3]

Steady on boys and girls, why are you all sniping at each other? You've been told what the fix is, why it happens and who is causing the problem.  The title of the post is the clue 'Cant access a website that I use regularly'.  Who cares who originally 'ordered' the system on behalf of the NHS, it doesn't matter.  Does your GP practice manager care? Probably not, they have enough to worry about already.  If you cannot reach SO via the internet, use the telephone, it really is that simple.  You do not pay a subscription for the SO access and SO will be contracted to the NHS so they do not care if a few percent of users cannot use the system, they are so big that it would take thousands of complaints before they even heard of it.  The SO portal is to make it convenient for you and your surgery because people's time costs more on the telephone than it costs when you use SO.  The original question has been explored and answered, people have given their time and knowledge to try and help.  Say thank you to those people, don't argue with them and don't nit pick.  The PN forums are full of helpful souls that give the expertise freely to try to help others.

[#4]

Thank you all for your responses. I am new to the PN community, as the messages are not time stamped  I am not sure in which order they were posted.  More importantly though does anyone know how long this problem in the SO system has existed and how many people may have been affected. Clearly this is not just affecting PN users. I intend to write to my Practice Manager in the hope she will push it up the chain, so any such information would be very helpful to reinforce her position.

[#5]

The posts are in date order in the thread

[#6]

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@Mart1 wrote:

as the messages are not time stamped 

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Your post was made today at 5:51pm!

[#7]

only if you've changed the settings away from the default, you need to select absolute dates in settings.

[#8]

@Mart1,

It is difficult to know the full extent of impacted users. Clearly there are those who have reported problems here and in another recent topic around here.

Are are then those who have encountered the issue ... done nothing specific about it and later found it working after a router restart and picking up an original UK IP address.

The number impacted are, as legion, as the number of ex-USA IP addresses migrated to PN via BT. I guess that there are over 100k such addresses potentially in use by PN.

That is without consideration of the other ISPs using relocated IP addresses.

[#9]

Can anyone experiencing this problem post a screenshot of the error message they're presented with along with steps taken to re-create the problem occurring please.

Feel free to PM Me if you prefer.

Thanks.

[#10]

Just to be really clear on this:

1) Flagging this to our call centre should be being handled better.  A couple of the examples on this thread haven't worked out how we'd like it to.  We're working to improve the briefing and process around this.

2) People who are flagging up they are affected are being giving a static IP to allow them access to SO.  This is our fall back position for a temporary fix really.  We'd rather not do it this way as it causes us management challenges internally, but because this is a large range meaning our other solutions aren't possible.   

3) If you've added a static IP to get around this and don't actually want it, drop a PM to myself.  I'll make sure it gets removed once we've fixed this with Systmonline and we'll refund you the charge.  If you want to keep it, fine, but you'll need to pay the £5er.

4) We are trying to get this fixed on Systmonline's side (as it's their error!).  I'm not working today though, so I'm not sure of the progress of that atm.   Will be top of my agenda when I'm in tomorrow.

[#11]

@HarryB Not sure what a blank screen shot is going to tell you! You can see what you get when you get when you are on a non-UK IP by using the VPN privacy option in the Opera browser. The DNS resolves but the web site just does not respond and gives no error. From the posts others have made I believe that is what they are seeing as well.

[#12]

>>>The DNS resolves but the web site just does not respond and gives no error. From the posts others have made I believe that is what they are seeing as well.

Indeed, that's all I used to get - you sat and waited...and waited.... and eventually it timed out. Likewise the destination IP timed out on a 'ping'.

[#13]

Thanks @jelv and @Nemo2000.

I've passed this info on to the person who's looking in to this that asked me for it.

EDIT:

Would you mind right clicking on the page and clicking 'View Page Source' and send me a screenshot of this please/thanks

[#14]

Not sure how this might help you but this is the blank sreen I get after a few minutes

[#15]

@HarryB There is no page loaded.  It's an outright block on the ip range.