No landline or broadband for 14 days

[#1]

Can anybody advise whether it is necessary for an engineer to access my property to repair a fault that I have been told is due to a crossed line.

When I first reported this fault I told the lady who took the call that I have a dial tone but when I try to dial out the call goes direct to Talk Talk asking me to make a payment. I do not have an account with Talk Talk and I never have had an account with them. When I try to sign in to my WiFi I receive a message saying that I need to pay some money to Talk Talk. I believe that this indicates that there is a crossed wire at the switch! I explained this to <redacted> (see previous entry) and he agreed with me but was insistent that an Engineer would have to visit my property for repair this. He was unable to offer a Saturday appointment so I am having to take an afternoon off work to give the engineer access to my property. I am concerned that if the engineer comes to my property on Friday and finds that it is a crossed wire, he won't be able to repair the fault. This is day 14 of having no phoneline and no WIFI. This leaves me totally cut off without any means of communication as there is little mobile reception where I live. I am unable to work from home due to not having WIFI and this is causing me considerable expense .I have been repeatedly told that my fault has been escalated but I am still not receiving any service. Please respond immediately via text to confirm whether I need to take the afternoon off work on Friday.

Moderator's note:
CSA name(s) removed (to an area staff can see) as per Forum rules.

[#2]

@Mystified If it is merely a 'crossed line' which is causing this issue, I can see no reason why the engineer should need to visit your home - the issue is most likely in the exchange.

[#3]

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@jab1 wrote:

 - the issue is most likely in the exchange.

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... or the local cabinet.

[#4]

In both cases, outside the OP's premises.😉

[#5]

As they are getting a message from TT, the line may have been slammed, but as @jab1 states, not in the customer's premises

[#6]

@mystreet1 Had the connection been 'slammed' the OP would have received a 'sorry you are leaving us' message from Plusnet.

[#7]

@Mystified 

All that Plusnet can do is repeat the message from Openreach. Regardless of whether the fault is in your property, the technician might need to visit  to ensure that the fault is fixed.

[#8]

I find that very sad and quite distressing that Plusnet don't care that I am having to take the afternoon off work to let an engineer into my property who "might " need to get in to check that the fault is fixed. I am been with Plusnet for 15 years and I thought they were a good company but sadly I have been very let down.

[#9]

@Mystified 

Openreach may need to attach a phone cable checker to your master socket to allow them to trace your connection back to the roadside cabinet or exchange. 

Tone & Probe (The "Bleeper"): The engineer attaches a "tone generator" to your line at your house and then uses a handheld probe at the cabinet or pole. The probe emits a loud beep when it gets near the correct wire, allowing the engineer to find your specific "pair" among hundreds of others.

[#10]

@ mystified

Infuriating I know but readers of this forum will know that an Openreach fault can be fixed only by Openreach, who attend as soon as they can or when it suits them. Plusnet's pleas on your behalf have no more weight than any other ISP. I hope your connection is restored but if you require business backup you should move to a business provider rather then PN which provides a low-cost service to suit those on a budget.

Mike

[#11]

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@jab1 wrote:

Had the connection been 'slammed' the OP would have received a 'sorry you are leaving us' message from Plusnet.

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Only if the OP's connection was intended to be moved to TT - if the engineer just moved the wrong wires there wouldn't have been a message to the OP but to the intended victim.

[#12]

Even if the line IS crossed, I fail to see how a Plusnet router would connect to Talk Talk ?

[#13]

So do I , @MisterW . There's more to this than we are being told - IMO.

[#14]

I haven't used TT ADSL broadband (assuming that's what this is) but I guess the PN router would probably sync up and then the credentials would not be recognised, so it's "plausible" that some sort of error message might be returned. It would be useful to have a screenshot.

It does indeed sound very much like "crossed wires" somewhere, especially as both voice and broadband appear to be similarly affected. That also suggests it's more likely "traditional" POTS/ADSL not FTTC, but do we know that for sure?

[#15]

I had a similar problem, with no dialling tone, and frequent Internet disconnection sometimes 10 times a day), and speeds of sometimes less than 2MBps.

Eventually PlusNet support booked an appointment for an engineer (BT OpenReach) to visit.
They attended within a few days, were very competent, and found water/moisture damage to the line into the house, and a fault in the kerbside cabinet and a fault in the exchange.Others must have been afftected by the last two faults.

I've now had over 40 days of coninuous connectivity and a speed of around 50Mbps.
So it is worth raising an issue.

Kenneth