Sorry - more Greenby grief!

[#1]

Just over a week ago I started getting 300 bounce-back messages a day because someone had spoofed my email address to send out a load of scams. Greenby AI told me this isn't unusual and it would stop within a few days. To be fair, it did and nbow I'm getting only an occasional one.

However, for the last week I have been unable to send emails, getting the message "An error occurred while sending mail. The mail server responded <[Removed]@[Removed].plus.com> sender rejuect (blacklisted by local policy). Please verify that your email address is correct in your account settings and try again". I then established that the Greenby AI bot was unable to resolve this and opened a support ticket with a real person. His conclusion was:

"

I’ve double-checked this, and since you’re sending email from a mail client (Thunderbird), your outgoing mail is being sent directly via BT’s mail servers, not through our platform. The error you’re seeing “550 sender rejected (blacklisted by local policy)” is therefore coming from BT, not from us.

This also explains why webmail works, as webmail sends through a different system.

Unfortunately, because the SMTP service for Plusnet email is handled by BT, we don’t have the ability to remove or override this block from our side. The next step would be to contact BT / Plusnet support directly and ask them to investigate and clear the SMTP block on your account.

I’d recommend avoiding repeated send attempts for now, as that can sometimes extend these temporary blocks.

Regards,
Prashant J"

I eventually got through to someone at Plusnet who didn't really understand the problem and suggested some changes to my server settings, none of which work.

So I find myself unable to use by email program of choice and with Greenby blaming Plusnet and Plusnet denying they can do anything about it. But somewhere a SMTP server is blocking my outgoing emails (although I can use Greenby's webmail but that's not really satisfactory. 

Sorry to go on at such length but I thought I should spell out the full history (I have no idea whether the bounceback issue is related but it seems a coincidence. Can anybody please help or advise?

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Personal information removed from a public forum (to an area that staff can see).

[#2]

@terrydorset  I would say that Greenby are spouting absolute nonsense, they are taking over Plusnet email so how can they say the error message is coming from BT.  As far as I know Plusnet email has never had anything to do with BT and certainly SMTP is not handled by BT, do BT actually have any email service anymore, I don't think so. 

This migration program is going from bad to worse if Greenby are now blaming Plusnet for problems that users are having.

I am relieved that I have opted out from the migration as I don't use Plusnet email.

[#3]

@RealAleMadrid I read it like that at first but there is an element of fact there. I think it's just that Greenby are possibly using BT ias in BT Group of which Plusnet are part.

At the moment , the outgoing SMTP server for plus.com accounts is not going via the Greenby proxy. So any errors reported by the SMTP server are nothing to do with Greenby and need to be handled by Plusnet. It's disappointing that PN support aren't aware of this and looking into the problem but then again 1st line support have never been great with email issues!!

[#4]

@MisterW   I have been observing the migration of email to Greenby which to put it mildly has not gone well, I admit I do not know all the details but it looks to be a total mess.  I will just continue to view the wreckage from a safe distance.🙄 

[#5]

@RealAleMadrid 

which to put it mildly has not gone well,

That's an understatement!🙄

There's so much rubbish coming from Greenby support, not least the instructions to use non-encrypted connections, that its easy to treat their response in this case as incorrect. Whilst their response does have an element of truth, the reference to BT just adds confusion. These days a significant number of the Plusnet staff are BT group employed so it may be that Greenby's interaction for the migration is with BT group staff, hence the confusion. 

[#6]

I’m so glad I saw all this coming and migrated my email and website away from PN before they could mangle it. The move was simple and troublefree. It always seemed likely that the Greenby move would be a mess given the assortment of systems that PN have absorbed and the steady rundown of the wealth of technical experience they inherited.

[#7]

Can anyone suggest what else I can do to get this sorted? I've tried looking at a complaint to Plusnet, but they no longer have an "email" category for complaints!

[#8]

@terrydorset 

but they no longer have an "email" category for complaints!

You can still raise a complaint via the 'ticket' process. There's a link to the 'complaints code of practice' at the bottom of every forum page

[#9]

I use Thunderbird but this has not connected since the take-over. I was able to use webmail (Roundcube) but this keeps giving Server errors today (Sunday), sometimes giving just email headers and no message content. To connect up I have to go via MyGreenby, logging directly into RoundCube doesn't work.

The AI bot has stopped talking to me!

It's a mess.

[#10 · Accepted solution]

Update. After 2 weeks banging my head against a brick wall I think it's sorted. My complaint handler leaned on the server team and eventually got my address unblocked. Since I'm not at home at the moment I can't check on my home computer but on my phone it works with both the Gmail and the Thunderbird apps.

[#11]

I see my problem isn't as awful as some of you clearly have experienced - but I feel Plusnet should be made aware of, and act on this, as it feels they no longer care, since they 'washed their hands of' us email users by dumping us in some dysfunctional realm run only by AI bots.   

But - as it was Plusnet who chose to dump us in this way, it's they who should take responsibility, and make the effort to read all our complaints and to really look into this for us.

MY PROBLEM: Actually, the problem/request I had been trying to convey to Greenby was that my (Thunderbird) Inbox keeps filling up with junk emails, and - remembering that Plusnet had done this for me - I asked Greenby if they could do a Server-side spam configuration, the way Plusnet always had.

But so far - over a fortnight later - no result.

[#12]

---

@glowworm wrote:

I use Thunderbird but this has not connected since the take-over. I was able to use webmail (Roundcube) but this keeps giving Server errors today (Sunday), sometimes giving just email headers and no message content. To connect up I have to go via MyGreenby, logging directly into RoundCube doesn't work.

The AI bot has stopped talking to me!

It's a mess.

---

I gave up on Greenby a week ago due to persistent problems like the above.

I signed up for email hosting with Mythic Beasts. What a breath of fresh air!

• Fast, responsive website.
• Tons of good setup advice.
• Excellent, easy to set up controls for creating/managing mailboxes, auto-forwarding emails, setting SPF, DKIM, etc.
• For me, easy connection setup from Thunderbird and fast delivery of email (unlike what I got with Greenby).
• For my partner, auto-forwarding to her Gmail account and sending from there, using her preferred address, via Mythic Beasts SMTP.
• And Mythic Beasts provide email support! Directly to people who have a clue! No AI bots.

I figured I would be paying for Greenby after 2 years anyway so not such a hit to start paying earlier with Mythic Beasts, especially as their service works and I can stop wasting time fighting Greenby.

[#13]

There are more than one strands about this. As I mentioned elsewhere:

   https://community.plus.net/t5/Email/Greenby-Webmail-Flakey/td-p/2033851/page/6

I used my original password to get Thunderbird back. Junk mail has not been unusually high, touch wood!

[#14]

I had 1000s of previously deleted emails come back. Incredibly frustrating.