Extremely Poor Customer Service

[#1]

If there’s a fault on the line, there’s a fault on the line. If you change ISPs, it will not change your line, the line test equipment nor the people who service the line.

Did the engineer run the remote automated eclipse exit test? It would not be the first time an engineer has tested a line from the premises, declared it clean only for the eclipse exit test to still report a fault. “Oh test is not valid” claimed 3 engineers. The 4th went and tested the d-side from the cabinet to the property and found the fault reported by the exchange test head.

A line testing clear from the property, but faulty when tested from the exchange is not uncommon ... nor is a line having multiple intermittent faults.

@EmilyD - does this line qualify for a multiple fault review with your suppliers? Might a d-side pair swap be appropriate here?

[#2]

@Townman @EmilyD

Firstly - I'm in a Virgin Media cabled area and that looks like who I'm going to go with so your poorly worded, scornful reply really isn't correct.

Secondly - I think that some other ISPs who use BT's local line service would maybe have more robust contracts with their suppliers to ensure that they meet deadlines.

Thirdly - Why should the customer have to ask these questions?

Fourthly - Why aren't Plusnet doing this?

@Townman I really would just like to reiterate my previous statement that you appear to be an apologist for Plusnet's poor service and inability to get their contractors to respond in a timely manner. It might be better if you refrained from comment on this particular instance.

[#3]

I repeat, I am not an apologist, I am a realist.  I recognise that there is absolutely no point pursuing a broadband performance complaint whilst there is an outstanding POTS issue … and that boots on the ground BTOR engineers do not know everything.  Given the nature of the fault reported on your line, it is possible that the engineer sent might not have been a broadband specialist.

Is this really "Plusnt's" poor service?  They ask BTOR to send their (skilled?) engineers to go fix a problem,  Then engineer claims to have fixed the issue, you report a continuing issue and Plusnet check the line and find it still faulty.  Given the reality of the facts, all that Plusnet can do is ask BTOR to go fix the line again … which is why I asked about the multiple fault review process. 

I have experienced your exact issues and frustrations on more than one occasion. In one case I had 18 BTOR engineer visits over 6+ months, many reporting "No issue" only for the performance issue to persist.  Indeed on one occasion the phone line died completely just 30 minutes after having being repaired.  I know that (within the limits that BTOR are prepared to act) Plusnet moved heaven and earth to get things sorted, but still the BTOR engineers reported "No fault".  That persisted, REIN engineers, SPF engineers … they could not see a fault from the premises, but the exchange head test still reported an issue.  Eventually two key things happened

1. They found that even at the exchange, the full speed for the service was not being "sent" down the line
2. An engineer prepared to listen to the customer accepted the fault being reported by exchange to premises which was not identified by premises to exchange testing as being there somewhere … resulting in it being found and fixed

Unbelievably many engineers do not know (are not trained to know) that a line can test fault free in one direct, but faulty on the other.

Lines can have multiple intermittent issues - that is they are there and then they are not - often due to wet / damp weather.

In the case referred to above, after the line was made as good as it could be, I got a doubling in the line speed with great stability.  The only residual issue (in the mix) was unfixable REIN arising from passing Virgin West Coast Trains.

You need a firm foundation to move this forward, whilst there is a reported copper circuit issue, you do not have that firm ground.

Clearly I'd have no knowledge that you are lucky enough to have the ability to choose an alternative network provider.  Very few people have that option, so I trust you'll forgive the perceived presumptiveness.  Nice to know that you do have that choice.

[#4]

Is this really "Plusnt's" poor service?

The answer is a resounding Yes. 

At the risk of repeating myself

1. Fault raised 9 July - closed with no update to customer or action taken.

2 Fault raised 23 July - no action until I chased on 1 August. Before today only 2 Plusnet CSC entries in the whole time - 1 of which was obviously not meant for me to see. No chasing of BT, no escalation when BT didn't meet repair timescale, no interaction with BT when onsite. No testing by Plusnet after BT had repaired the 'battery contact'. As of today I'm being asked by Plusnet to contact them via this forum if I haven't heard from BT after 72 hours.

I've just had to recompose this reply as my broadband internet connectivity failed as I hit the post button.

If you've worked in the service industry you'll recognise the term - No Service Recovery. Well that's Plusnet for you - other than offering a refund for a degraded service I've been paying for they have done very little.

[#5]

Test after repair - that’s a fair angle which I’ll take to the topic escalation.

I've just had to recompose this reply as my broadband internet connectivity failed as I hit the post button.

A connection STABILITY issue is highly likely to have a POTS fault as its cause.  Is the phone line still quiet?

Which router are you using?  If it is one which is amiable to working with one of the monitoring tools, such monitoring might be helpful.

[#6]

A connection STABILITY issue is highly likely to have a POTS fault as its cause.  Is the phone line still quiet?

No hisses, squeaks, hum, or anything else out of the ordinary. As soon as the PC flagged no internet connection - wired PC, Win 10 pro 64 bit I checked the router and a big red led on my internet indicator I checked my line and called my mobile ok. My broadband indicator stayed solid green. Service came back on after a few minutes without any recourse by me to power off/on. VDSL modem had Power and DSL solid green and lan 1 flashing.

Which router are you using?  If it is one which is amiable to working with one of the monitoring tools, such monitoring might be helpful.

It's the original Plusnet provided Technicolor TG582n with BTOpenreach FTTC VDSL modem EchoLife HG612 3B

[#7]

It's now academic I've just set up a contract with Virgin Media starting 21 August. I'll cancel my Plusnet service tomorrow morning.

[#8]

I hope that you fair better off the BT network. Would be very interesting to hear how things go with your new provider. Good luck & best wishes.

[#9]

The fact of the matter is I'm not a BT customer for my existing service - Plusnet are. I'm a Plusnet customer. Plusnet should be exerting pressure on BT to fix any problem I encounter. They seem hopelessly incapable of doing so. 

BT have no commercial contract with me. I cannot ask any BT engineer who turns up to a fault to perform a specific task - I'm not BT's customer - Plusnet are. I'd be willing to wager that if I were a Sky customer I wouldn't be getting this runaround. I'd be willing to wager Sky customer service would be thumping the table to BT by now. But that's conjecture the only fact so far is that Plusnet are unwilling to escalate this problem with BT why else would they ask ME to contact them via this forum if BT haven't been in contact in another 72 hours. 

[#10]

Hopefully this will be my last post on this subject - but I have my doubts. I signed a contract with Virgin Media to provide me with broadband and phone services this morning. As my wife is the Plusnet account holder she is the only one able to cease the service. She has just spent 40 minutes (mostly music on hold) to try to cancel our Plusnet service and get the ' pro-rata refund of your subscription charges for the period of time that the fault has been open and we can also look into arranging a gesture of goodwill for the poor experience that you've had.' - as stated by EmilyD. The agent she dealt with was very pleasant but didn't know anything about this. She had to give him the fault number and quote verbatim what  EmilyD in the fault call had written - as it now runs to 5 pages - mainly my input.. My wife followed this up by quoting verbatim the next entry by a CSC in the fault 'I have allocated your fault to the personal pool for the social media time and will ensure that irrespective of your decision to leave, the downtime for your fault and any other relevant steps are resolved once the engineer has attended following Emily's intervention earlier today. '  He has simply applied a refund from 23 July until today - not until the fault is fixed(if ever). Our service with Plusnet will continue until 21 August according to the agent. He then could not close the account or apply the refund so then more music on hold whilst my wife was transferred to the accounts department where she had to explain everything again. She is presently lying in a darkened room with steam coming from her ears.

So how about a new Plusnet advertising slogan - 'Plusnet we'll do your head in'.

[#11]

A BT engineer arrived at approx 1130 yesterday 11/08/18 unannounced. He spent approx 4 hours attempting to resolve the local loop 'battery contact' fault. He could not do so as the fault is in an underground joint on the network side of the pole DP in my garden. The underground cable actually runs through a neighbours garden and that is where the fault is. The neighbour has a pavioured drive, a large garden shed and decking over the area where the underground joint is so there is no possibility of accessing this joint. There are no working spare pairs in the cable according to the engineer. So there is no possibility of a short term fix to this battery contact. Therefore the overall fault will not be fixed in the remaining timeframe before we leave Plusnet as Plusnet will not address the broadband instability until this 'battery contact' fault is fixed. I would expect the rebate of charges to be extended for the rest of our time with Plusnet.

[#12]

“Plusnet will not address the broadband instability until this 'battery contact' fault is fixed.

As advised before, it is BT WHOLESALE who will not address a perceived broadband fault in the presence of an open POTS fault ... irrespective of who the ISP is.

As for access to the joint box, one can reasonably expect that BT has long established wayleave access rights to their network.

[#13]

Hi @jamieallan,

Thank you for getting back in touch. I'm sorry to hear that the battery contact fault has been found to be underground and appreciate the inconvenience that this is causing as this is going to affect the time that it takes to resolve the fault - particularly given that the underground fault lies on your neigbour's property. Our suppliers will need to work with your neighbour towards a resolution on this.

I can confirm that @Townman is correct in that we are unable to raise a broadband fault with our suppliers if there is an open fault on the copper line side of things. It is likely that the problems with the broadband fault are linked to the battery contact fault issue but if this issue is still ongoing after the battery contact has been fixed this can be investigated further.

In terms of a refund for your services, I will keep an eye on your account and once it has been cancelled I will issue a pro-rata refund to cover your subscription charges from the date that your last refund was sent up to the date of cancellation and I'll contact you to let you know the refund amount.

Unfortunately, with this being a physical fault, if you switch your services to another provider that use the BT Wholesale network this battery contact fault will carry over and they will need to re-raise this with the suppliers. We will continue to work with our suppliers towards a resolution from this side up until the services are cancelled.

[#14]

Apologies, I've just noticed that you've advised that you're moving to Virgin media. As they use their own network, this issue won't carry over when you move to them.

[#15]

@EmilyD

 It is likely that the problems with the broadband fault are linked to the battery contact fault issue but if this issue is still ongoing after the battery contact has been fixed this can be investigated further.

When this issue arises I get slow or no browser page opening and I immediately try my testing regime. I've said from the outset that every time I run the BT Wholesale Performance Test it tests cleanly - every time. If I then immediately run a speed test to Ookla/uSwitch/Which/Think Broadband I see speed drops down to as low as 0.5M download but the upload speed always remains relatively constant at 7.5M. Unless the approved BT Broadband test is in error that doesn't point to this local loop battery contact being the issue.

In terms of a refund for your services, I will keep an eye on your account and once it has been cancelled I will issue a pro-rata refund to cover your subscription charges from the date that your last refund was sent up to the date of cancellation and I'll contact you to let you know the refund amount.

I'd appreciate if you would do that.