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Mail delivery to recipients taking 5hrs plus

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JHA1E
Grafter
Posts: 41
Thanks: 13
Registered: ‎11-09-2015

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

I have grasped the issue but my contract is with Plus Net not Google and therefore it is Plus Net's responsibility to resolve it.

Townman
Superuser
Superuser
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Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

... you expect Plusnet to go fix the behaviour of Google’s email servers?

Is that not a bit like expecting PC World to fix a MS Windows OS problem because you bought the PC from them?

Google are not responding to support queries asking what’s the cause of this. In that situation how do you expect Plusnet (or any other passing email provider) to fix this?

Yes there are somethings which could be done, which might have a bearing, but there is very clear evidence that the email service works fine WITHOUT those measures being in place. In the presence of total non-cooperation from Google all that anyone can do is guess at measures which MIGHT have a bearing on the observed behaviour. The implementation of such measures is not trivial.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

fxbronte
Grafter
Posts: 97
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎09-06-2007

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

If I bought a PC to run windows10 and it was not capable of running the op system. I would certainly take it back to the shop, I would not go to MS asking them to change their op system so it will run on my PC.

In the other hand, if my PC was that old that it did not meet the specification of the latest Op system, then I would buy/move to another PC.

 

I have tried, with exactly the same email address, Outlook, EM, Yahoo, Mozilla and several other mail services without any problems sending emails to Gmail.

Eavestile
Dabbler
Posts: 16
Thanks: 4
Registered: ‎25-09-2018

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

First thanks to Plusnet staff who are taking the trouble to reply to their frustrated customers.

Assuming Andy Baker is still the CEO of Plusnet can anyone confirm he is aware of this issue?

In 2017 he said in an interview:

"Being a great leader requires the confidence to make decisions that will ultimately benefit the whole company".

The leadership required is for Andy to make a formal complaint to Google - at the highest level - and, just as importantly, be brave enough to tell his customers he has done so.  A bit difficult i suppose if Plusnet think it might not all be Google's fault. In which case Andy may recall saying:

"At Plusnet, we’re straight talking, open and honest and I endeavour to practice this and lead by example."

My question is what have Google said to Andy about this issue?

cotswoldpuffin
Newbie
Posts: 3
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎21-10-2018

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

In recent weeks it has been made aware to me that my PN e-mails were taking days to arrive at their Gmail destinations. Limited experimentation with sending e-mails to my Gmail accounts gave similar results to those discussed previously by others. Googling the problem left me no wiser. PN advised me to change my email account to Gmail or Outlook or only work though a browser using PN webmail.  In the end and as these delays were significantly affecting the ability of both my partner and myself to communicate  I set us up with two Outlook accounts which were to have been our private default accounts through Office Outlook 2007. However one entry in this forum has given me cause for concern that because these e-mails will go through the PN servers  they could still be subject to delays.

Whatever the reason for the problem the two companies involved are failing their customers (free or not) and the service that Gmail and PN are giving is unacceptable. To see that people on this forum are going to move away to avoid the issue is sad and should start alarm bells ringing at PN. I suspect Gmail are not bothered. Has anyone considered that this is of such a scale that the press etc. and/or OFCOM should be involved?

sirjestalot
Grafter
Posts: 37
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Registered: ‎08-09-2018

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

A friend of mine in the US says that his daughters often experience delays with deliveries to their free Gmail accounts from other service providers, though apparently these delays seem to be only of the order of an hour or two rather than the tens of hours some of us Plusnet users often experience.

As for holding Google accountable, bringing in OFCOM and so on as cotswoldpuffin suggests, we have to remember that word "free" with Gmail:  it's a free service and you pay nothing, so one should expect to get what one pays for....   If Google pulled the plug entirely on free Gmail, I suspect that there's not a thing anyone could do about it, though of course it would massively damage Google's public image.   And in Plusnet's defence, they cannot force Gmail to accept delivery, and although townman suggests that there are tweaks that Plusnet could make that might improve the situation, it's still up to Google to "open the door and let 'em in", as it were.

It also needs to be remembered that the method you use to send email from Plusnet probably makes no difference to its delivery, whether it be by the webmail service in your browser, or with Outlook, or whatever other application (I myself use Thunderbird). Your email will still follow the same route through the Plusnet and Gmail SMTP servers.

I've recently opened an outlook.com account and for now I am using that (again via Thunderbird) to send email to Gmail addresses.  My regular correspondent on Gmail reports that all my emails from outlook.com have so far delivered more or less instantly, whereas one sent from Plusnet last week took more than 50 hours to deliver.

cotswoldpuffin
Newbie
Posts: 3
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Registered: ‎21-10-2018

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

Thanks for your response Sirjestalot

Scary to think that Google might pull the plug on all free Gmail if one goes to OFCOM or the press. (No sarcasm intended.)  I was thinking more on the lines of Plusnet as I pay them for a service which they cannot maintain. Having to find cunning plans and solutions to circumnavigate our problem seems unacceptable. It is also rather worrying to think that Gmail can choose who they accept e-mails from and Plusnet are powerless to make them.

Thanks for the info about an outlook.com account on Thunderbird, which I assume is running locally like Office. It is early days with my new default Outlook e-mail through Outlook Office 2007 and I am going to monitor it before any big switch over. It does pose the question that if it is e-mails coming via Plusnet servers that are affected then moving to another broadband provider might have to be considered. Having just tied myself into Plusnet for 18 months that is another good reason for getting them to sort things out now.

Like many I find it amazing that I am spending an inordinate amount of time trying to resolve this e-mail issue.  

Townman
Superuser
Superuser
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Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

It does pose the question that if it is e-mails coming via Plusnet servers that are affected then moving to another broadband provider might have to be considered.

If only it were that simple!  And it is not just Plusnet who is impacted here.

The one common factor in all reports of such issues, is Google FREE email accounts.  I have seen ZERO reports of delayed receipt (acceptance of a delivery attempt) in respect of paid for Gmail accounts.

Further it is not a matter of email "coming via**" Plusnet servers.  All of my test emails have been sent via Plusnet servers, but not all of it has been similarly impacted.  Only a specific profile chosen by Google is impacted.

Can all impacted third parties by the "one" at fault?

Google are talking to no one about the issues … I doubt that they are going to take any notice of a communication from the CEO of one ISP in the little old United Kingdom.

Personally I think this will be solved by the elimination of "it could be this, it could be that … but the observed behaviours do not support an assertion that they are the cause … for none of such is obligatory … and the service clearly works (after a fashion) without them" thereby removing any grounds for doubt that they have a bearing.

 

**via Plusnet servers does raise and interesting profile which I have not tested, which I will if I can find time.  It would be informative to know if email sent to a Plusnet user account configured to forward to a free Gmail account is similarly impacted.  Tests previously performed have only considered emails originating from @myaccount.plus.com email addresses - not those relayed via such an address.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

shiggsy
Newbie
Posts: 5
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎12-08-2018

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

 

Are other ISP's affected ?

Since this problem started I have resorted to using my old BT email account when sending to gmail addresses and that experiences no delays.

 

 

 

 

 

PeterB1
Rising Star
Posts: 64
Thanks: 36
Registered: ‎19-10-2018

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

If it's true that emails from @btinternet.com addresses to Gmail accounts are NOT delayed, are there lessons to be learned here? As I understand it, PlusNet is owned by BT so there should be  no barriers to collaboration between the two. I'm no expert, but could PlusNet's servers not be configured in a way which matches those behind @btinternet.com (which appear to work when sending to Gmail), thereby bypassing the need to communicate with a reluctant Google?

fxbronte
Grafter
Posts: 97
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎09-06-2007

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

So far a list of reported ISPs NOT having significant delays by the Gmail recipients:

 

BT

Mozilla Thunderbirds

Outlook

eM mail

Yahoo

 

please add to the list at will, as I suspect there many other leading e-mail providers without the problem. Perhaps because they comply with the Gmail “unfair”, “unreasonable”, etc acceptance specifications.

sirjestalot
Grafter
Posts: 37
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Registered: ‎08-09-2018

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

Hi cotswoldpuffin, you asked "Thanks for the info about an outlook.com account on Thunderbird, which I assume is running locally like Office."    Yes, Thunderbird is a free standalone program from the Mozilla stable (as is the Firefox browser).

See: https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/

When I set it up to access an outlook.com account, all I needed to do was provide my outlook.com email address (this of course has to be set up beforehand on outlook.com) and it did the rest, finding the correct server names.  I can't remember if it did this with Plusnet, because I set it up years ago, but I would expect it to now.

I note that Plusnet's webmail uses what appears to be the 'Roundcube' webmail application, which was provided and supported at my former place of work, the University of Sussex, before we converted to Microsoft Exchange, Outlook and Outlook Web App back in 2011.  I haven't used it since then, either at work or for Plusnet email.

But remember, no matter what you use to send email from Plusnet, it won't make a jot of difference to the ongoing delivery delay issues.

 

 

Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,923
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Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

“PlusNet is owned by BT so there should be no barriers to collaboration between the two”

Group ownership has no bearing it. Ofcom’s prime purpose is to inhibit collaboration. BT Retail, BT Wholesale, BT Openreach, EE and Plusnet all function as distinct competitors and / or equal suppliers.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

jab1
Legend
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Registered: ‎24-02-2012

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?


@fxbronte wrote:

So far a list of reported ISPs NOT having significant delays by the Gmail recipients:

 

BT

Mozilla Thunderbirds

Outlook

eM mail

Yahoo

 

please add to the list at will, as I suspect there many other leading e-mail providers without the problem. Perhaps because they comply with the Gmail “unfair”, “unreasonable”, etc acceptance specifications.


Point of important information here, @fxbronte - of the above mentioned five, only one, BT, are email 'providers', the other four are actually email programs, which can be used by clients of any ISP., so I'm at a loss to quite see your point..

John
fxbronte
Grafter
Posts: 97
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎09-06-2007

Re: Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

My point is that I suspect that it is the mailer supplied by PN, not the mailer used. As I stated previously, my tests show that using the same PN address but another mailer the fault does not occur.