cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Very unhappy with my Plusnet service

Mike0082
Newbie
Posts: 2
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎23-01-2018

Very unhappy with my Plusnet service

Having been with plus net now for 8 months I have constantly struggled with maintaining a reliable broadband speed. The difference in speeds throughout the day can be as little as 0.6 Mbps to 12Mbps via WiFi connection this generally results in very slow refresh rates when checking emails, viewing webpages, etc. Even my Smart TV which is connected via a network cable directly to the router cannot stream films or video and just constantly buffers. I have complained to Plusnet customer services on several occasions but they stipulate their speeds can only be guaranteed over hard wired connection. I wish this had been explained to me when I signed up as all devices within my household less my TV rely purely on Wi-Fi connection. In this modern era hardwired connections are a thing of the past and with most modern tablets and phones there is no option of hardwired connection. Plusnet have been extremely unhelpful or sympathetic to my complaint to the point where I need to look at an alternative provider as I’m completely fed up with very poor customer service and the lack of help offered to understand and indeed try to help resolve the issues I’m having. They certainly are not living up to there slogan ‘We’ll do you proud’ in any respect. My first question is how do I see when my contract ends and where do I stand if I were to cancel. Looking at my account details I can only see the start date. Am I liable to be charged for the remainder of the contract? Not that I know when that is at the time of posting this. Has anyone experienced the same issues and is there anything I can do in respect of breach of contract or even to improve my reliability and connection speeds? My router is currently plugged directly into my phone socket so distance to line is not the issue. Thanks in advance
4 REPLIES 4
runhare
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 556
Thanks: 69
Fixes: 3
Registered: ‎09-10-2007

Re: Very unhappy with my Plusnet service

Hi there @Mike0082

 

It's unusal for  PN CS to be totally unhelpful in the way you describe . However, the fact remains that despite your view that in this day and age wired conenctions are a thing of the past and that no one uses them any more,  wifi signals cannot be guaranteed and to test your line and broadband service properly you MUST use a device (such as a PC or lap top ) with a wired ethernet router connection.

 

I wish this had been explained to me when I signed up

 

This is clearly explained when you sign up to any ISP and is included in order to rule out faults with  the line serving your property. Unfortunately you must have missed this important point when you signed up.  

Plus Net, and any other ISP for that matter, will  only investigate a fault if the service at your line is faulty and to determine if this is the case you must test in the way described here using a wired conenction. If the line checks out OK then you need to  test if the router itself  is faulty, the only way to do this is with another router !

Wifi routers can easily go wrong and the free ones that PN and other ISP's supply are not the best in the world. They are offred to customers for nothing because they are cheap!

Even top quality routers sometimes struggle to maintain a decent connection due to factors such as interfrence and building construction.

Finally it may be that the local exchange is congested and that speeds are being reduced because too many customers are attempting to log on at the same time and that BT ( who supply & operate the equipment ) need to expand or upgrade the exchange . They will only do this if the ISP put pressure on them to do so and therefore customers need to ensure they have carried out all the checks. You may feel this is unhelpful but hopefully someone from PN CS will appear and give you a bit more advice as to what you need to do to improve things

Without more information it is very difficult to diagnose your problem or to help you.

Mike0082
Newbie
Posts: 2
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎23-01-2018

Re: Very unhappy with my Plusnet service

Thank you for the advice, I appreciate the time you have spent replying to my post, I am aware, since looking into the contract and the finer detail that WiFi connections are subject to interference and I have tried where I can to improve connections to WiFi devices but that does not really explain the lack of feed to my TV as I explained to the customer service agent I cannot even load a small Video clip never mind a film. It is totally unrealistic to then ask me to go buy a laptop and test the wired connection before they will look at further investigation. My mobile phone struggles to even load emails at times even when located next to the router. I am in a brand new property and the router is connected to the landline socket with no extension which would reduce the signal quality. The signal strength received when using the Okla Speedtest App is shocking and constantly bounces up and down the meter whilst carrying out the test. The lack of help other than the suggestion to go and purchase a device that can be hard wired to the router at a considerable cost is not helpful. Surely the lack of connection to my wired Smart TV is proof enough that there is an issue here? I’m at the stage now that I just want to change supplier as I feel I’m not getting value for money and Plusnet customer service is bar far the worst I have experienced across all of the ISPs I have used.
runhare
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 556
Thanks: 69
Fixes: 3
Registered: ‎09-10-2007

Re: Very unhappy with my Plusnet service

Hi @Mike0082

I understand your frustration with the situation but I have to concur with plus net that  the only way you can successfully test your connection is to first rule out any problem with the phone line.

First of all you must do a quiet line test to see if there is any noises, clicks or other interference on the telephone line. This is because your broadband is delivered via telephone line and this technology was never intended to deliver reliable Internet services so any faults however slight impact massivley on the quality of the broadband service.

To carry out a quiet line test you need to dial 17070 using a corded telephone plugged into the test socket of your main telephone point, assuming you have one, with all extension wiring disconnected.

Speed tests cannot be carried out on a mobile device via wifi and expect to get a reliable result. The one you quote is especially unreliable and the only spped and diagnostic  test that plus net will take any notice of is the BT wholesale speed test.

You can find it here http://www.speedtest.btwholesale.com.

your results are reported to BT for analysis and can be seen by Plus Net

The fact that your smart TV connected by Ethernet can't load a video clip or a film is not proof enough that you have a fault. You Need to carry out a proper speed test under the conditions explained in the preamble of the speed test from BT.

If I were you I would borrow a laptop with from a friend and carry out the test above making sure that everything else in your home is switched off at the time,  that is to say that nothing at all is connected via Wi-Fi.

I understand you feel that plus net are not being helpful, but there are plenty of people who can help you on this forum, and I do think that with other ISPs you would have exactly the same hoops to jump through.  

Internet usage is expanding exponentially in the uk and customers are bound to encounter problems with technical faults and congestion as usage increases.  The ageing copper-based  BT owned and operated telephone network is in no way reliable and was never designed as I stated earlier,  to carry broadband into our homes and businesses. It is very susceptible to faults and problems especially when the wires and cables travel overhead. My personal experience is that plus net and most other ISPs will help if you approach them in the right way, follow their advice and don't immediately criticise them or expect instant solutions.They are under a huge amount of pressure from us the customers and not helped by the technical difficulties which always seem to conspire with poor weather.  

Having said that, occasionally things do go very badly wrong and you should have no hesitation in persisting  with technical support to get your fault rectified if you can prove that it is not a fault within your home.  Usually this is due to  BT Open reach messing things up when they are under pressure .

Good luck but the first thing I would do is carry out the testing and trouble shooting procedures outlined above to the letter and make sure that your fault gets reported to plus net. Don't give up and ensure that you get regular updates.

 

RandallFlagg
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 1,915
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎11-01-2018

Re: Very unhappy with my Plusnet service

Hi @Mike0082

 

Just a quick check-in to establish whether your issue has been resolved.

 

I can see that other forum members have offered some good feedback/advice already but I'm happy to assist if required.

 

Let me know,

 

Best Wishes,

 

Dave