Inbound attachments missing from emails

[#1]

Hi, I'm not new to PlusNet but have registered a new name as I can't remember my old details.

Anyway I've been having problems with emails from a small company sent to me at my PlusNet email address. I receive the email but three times now when it has said there was an attachment there hasn't been one. I checked with the sender and they didn't forget to attach them, and when they resent them they arrived on the second sending. Anyone any idea what might be happening please?

[#2]

How/what application are you using to access the emails? If this is not webmail (https://webmail.plus.net), do the attachments appear if you try this?

[#3]

I'm picking them up using Windows Live Mail. Unfortunately I've not been able to try using webmail as it's business email and I don't feel able to say to them can you keep sending me random attachments to see if they get through.

Is it likely to be a problem with PN's spam filters stripping the attachments? Or the server they're sent from? The first time it happened I asked if the sender had forgotten to attach the document (who hasn't?!) but they said not and the same has happened again...

[#4]

Are you using POP3 or IMAP in Windows Live Mail to collect messages? If it's the latter the original message should still be on the server allowing use of webmail to check for attachments.

[#5]

POP3.

I did check my webmail 'junk folder' when the first email attachment 'went missing' but (obviously I suppose) there was nothing there. 

The sender is the same person/email address each time. So all I can think is the attachment is being stripped, but why then would it be allowed through the second time of sending the same attachment?

[#6]

Is there a setting in Windows Live Mail (perhaps in advanced settings) to leave POP3 collected messages on the server for a number of days? Setting it to 14 days would provide time for Webmail to be checked if another attachment is found to be missing.

The object of this check is to establish whether the attachments are being lost in transit or by Windows Live Mail.

[#7]

But it downloaded the attachments when resent. It also downloads plenty of other attachments.

It seems to me that my suggestions of it being to do with PNs spam filter more likely. Is it possible that PN doesn't like the server it's being sent from?

[#8]

There is nothing baked into our spam filtering that would strip attachments like this. I was in dialogue with a postmaster recently who was suffering this issue though. I wonder if your sender's email routes through them?

[#9]

Thanks Bob. Can I tell from the email received where it was sent from/via? I don't feel able to ask the sender - the emails are from a relatively new professional arrangement  and it might sound a bit 'odd' to them especially if the person is a non-techy sort.

[#10]

Yes, if you private message me the mail headers I should be able to tell. If you're not sure how to extract them, then a spot of Googling should help.