Plusnet to Gmail addresses - what's the problem?

[#1]

Many thanks, JonoH.

It helps more than you may realise to be given this sort of insight - frustrating though it may sometimes be.

The problem is the measure that resolves this issue for customers will have a hugely detrimental effect on potentially tens of thousands of other Plusnet customers mail accounts. The problem is the measure that resolves this issue for customers will have a hugely detrimental effect on potentially tens of thousands of other Plusnet customers mail accounts. 

Is there any reason why you can't let us know - at least in general terms - what the nature of the possible fix is and how it would risk adversely affecting so many other customers?

[#2]

And why Google took this action and singled out PN and possibly other ISPs?

[#3]

---

@PeterB1 wrote:

Is there any reason why you can't let us know - at least in general terms - what the nature of the possible fix is and how it would risk adversely affecting so many other customers?

---

Sure, it's essentially caused by older accounts. For many years when people have left Force9, MAAF, Plusnet etc,(some of them migrated directly to Plusnet & some returned later or never at all)  but wanted to maintain their email addresses with us rather than go through the hassle of migrating them, we'd change their account type on our systems as a courtesy to a free account type. This allowed them to continue to access the inbox but not use our outbound mail servers. 

Many of these came up with alternative solutions to send emails from their Plusnet email address. Our solution to the issue will mean none of these mailboxes will work as they did before.

The irony here is that doing the right thing and allowing customers who leave us to continue to use their email addresses is the thing that's made it most difficult for us to just roll out a change (I'm aware that many migrated to Plusnet) 

@JHA1E wrote:

And why Google took this action and singled out PN and possibly other ISPs?

---

We will never know why Google took this action, they don't have to tell us, or anyone, anything. It's not to single out PN or other ISP's it's likely as they've pointed out that they just prefer certain (optional) settings to be provided.

[#4]

Speaking for myself, JonoH, I find your response hugely enlightening. Thank you.

I can see your dilemma in the short term.

However, if I understand you correctly, all or most of the customers who would be adversely affected by your proposed fix for the Gmail problem are people who've left PlusNet and are thus not now fee-paying customers.

Since you decided to extend to them, as a courtesy, the privilege of keeping their PlusNet email addresses, I can understand why you wouldn't want to leave them in the lurch without warning.

If it's not technically possible to mitigate the adverse effect on those other customers, they should clearly be given notice of what's about to happen -and be offered the option, presumably, of re-joining PlusNet.

In the longer term, though, current fee-paying PlusNet customers must surely take priority.

If you accept this, it must surely then be possible fairly soon to let us know what deadline you decide to set for the these people. That would allow us to know when you will be in a position to implement what you hope is the fix that would solve the Gmail problem.

I should emphasise I bear no animosity towards PlusNet. Quite the reverse. My broadband service - and until recently the email service, have been virtually flawless - and such problems as there have been have been promptly  fixed. I frequently recommended PlusNet enthusiastically to new customers, I can't do that at the moment, knowing as I do that there's a big hole in the way email works.

A date for when you can at least start implementing your possible fix would work wonders!

[#5]

I sent an email about a rota I am setting up for a charity on Saturday 24th at 1259. The rota needs to be confirmed asap.

It arrived at an @softwaredesign.co.uk email address today, Tuesday 27th at about 8pm.

I cannot live with this so am migrating to a Gmail address starting today. 

[#6]

I asked the twenty plus people on the list to say when they got my email. 5 replies so far.

[#7]

@PeterB1,

That’s the sentiment I’ve raised with PN. Can the solution be rolled out in phases?

[#8]

---

@PeterB1 wrote:

However, if I understand you correctly, all or most of the customers who would be adversely affected by your proposed fix for the Gmail problem are people who've left PlusNet and are thus not now fee-paying customers.

Here's the dilemma, many of these are Plusnet customers who simply moved from old brands that we'd acquired and we have no ability to move their email address to their current live account.

We also know that when we communicate this to customers it will cause a rush of contacts to the contact centre and then when the change finally happens we will have another rush of people (who didn't read the comms) all calling at the same time as well.

If it's not technically possible to mitigate the adverse effect on those other customers, they should clearly be given notice of what's about to happen -and be offered the option, presumably, of re-joining PlusNet.

Rejoining Plusnet won't fix the problem, we're not able to reactivate old accounts and we cant move the email addresses to another Plusnet account. 

In the longer term, though, current fee-paying PlusNet customers must surely take priority.

there are fee-paying customers both sides of this issue.

 A date for when you can at least start implementing your possible fix would work wonders!

---

I'd love to but I can't give dates because to implement these changes we have dependant work required. That work has been scheduled but has already slipped once.

[#9]

Thanks again, JonoH.

The last few days have been hugely helpful in understanding what's going on.

The key questions now seems to me to be this:

1) Has a decision been  made that a  fix for the Gmail problem MUST be found somehow even if that inevitably means some difficulty for customers with legacy email addresses? If not, we seem to be in a stalemate.

2) Has PlusNet yet identified a least-worst approach to the conflict of interest between the majority of customers and those who, for the reasons you've explained, stand to be adversely affected by a fix for the Gmail problem?

To a layman, the obvious way ahead seems to be to phase your notifications to the latter group over a period of time so as to avoid a deluge hitting the contact centre.

Until this or some other course of action with these customers is agreed, it seems there's no chance you will implement the fix.

Is there any reason why such notifications can't start soon as they involve administrative action rather than technical work which will be delayed by the Christmas pause?

If nothing is done until the New Year, this will means a further enormous delay well in to 2019 while both the conflict of interest is sorted out and the technical fix implemented. The former won't get any easier jus because it's parked for a few more weeks, will it?

[#10]

@PeterB1,

That is an excellent summary of the status quo - it would appear that it is being planned as a "one dose cure mitigation attempt".

I can imagine that there is a complex mix of both administration and technical activity.  There is also a need for admin activity to inform the technical process and technical input required for the admin / communication.

Whilst I too would favour a "do it to some now and leave the rest until later..." approach, I can see the potential for great confusion sorting our the "I cannot send email" type problem reports.  Every such issue report would need the means of determining where the specific account is in the phased roll-out programme.

For support simplicity I would favour a single drop change, however that needs a lot of dominoes to be lined up neatly in a row.

All of that said, @JonoH did refer to particular enabling changes - until they are complete, the mitigation attempt cannot start to be implemented.

If I were to be harsh here, there is some sentiment here that this is consequential of a history of not fixing what is not broken (moving technology with the times).  Problem is that when it breaks, there is often a need to then make significant changes!!  The suggested mitigation is not a trivial change.

[#11]

I'm glad I found this thread as it explains what I too have been experiencing. Until the last couple of weeks I hadn't noticed an issue. It was only when my wife didn't receive an mportant email from me and we got caught up in the " you said you would do it and you didn't/ but I'm sure I did/Well you couldn't have!" duiscussion" that it surfaced

I'm not glad that I saw the reply, and now see what google seems to say and what plusnet says.I want it sorted out, and quickly!

This is a real nightmare. Like someone else I send out hundreds of emails as Chairman of a small not-for-profit organisation and I do this by mailmerging through Word/Outlook/Plusnet. Now I have no idea when people are getting my (to me) important stuff. Er.... and I'm paying plusnet for a service I'm not getting.

Thank you guys for getting on the case.

[#12]

This only impacts emails sent as @youraccount.plus.com to free Gmail accounts. This problem came about out of inhibitors implemented by Google.

[#13]

And just to add, Google did not inform its' users of this change.

[#14]

I rather get the sense around here that many believe Google to be whiter than snow whilst Plusnet is all bad. Whilst neither are a realistic view - Google has a very challenged reputation for transparency - see https://www.youoweus.co.uk/faqs/ #9

[#15]

I had to discover the problem for myself. I would have more sympathy with Plusnet if it had made the problem known to its customers.