Constant disconnects for over a year - Terrible Service

[#1]

For the last year now I have been experiencing some of the worst internet disconnects. I have just had one which lasted well over 30 minutes, with it attempting to connect and just doing nothing.

I have had perhaps 4-5 engineers out, who have had no clue as to why It's happening. I have had myself moved on the exchange, the fibre ports moved, a new master socket put into my house and the connection downstairs being cut to only work in one place in the house. Every engineer I've had they have suggested that I need a new router. Now, I messaged Plusnet many times asking for a new one and I just get faced with a no, basically. I was recently told that I had some sort of cap on my connection as well, which I find to be an insult, the fact that my connection was capped at 25mbs is actually amazing, I pay for Fibre Extra, yet I get what feels like dial-up.

I have had an engineer come to my property on 21/12/18 and he suggested a new router. After a follow-up call with Plusnet, they basically said that unless I renew my contract with them, they will not provide a new router. Which I find to be absolutely terrible service, the fact that no engineer has found a fault, they've suggested it's a router. So to me, this lies with Plusnet but, I'm being blackmailed into taking out another contract. Believe me, this is the worst internet I think you could ask for. How do I know I want to renew my contract if my problem isn't fixed?

I was promised a MINIMUM not a maximum of 56mb I am barely getting 25mbs. This isn't the main issue, the fact is that I can't even use the terrible internet I've got with the constant disconnects. I am happy to send back this piece of rubbish you call a router for a replacement, and even if it doesn't fix the situation I'm happy when I go with another company to send that piece of junk back as well.

I have had so many tickets placed out, they take so long to get replied to, that I've come to the forums. I will be contacting watchdog on the problems I've been facing for well over a year. I am not going to rest until I get some sort of justice. I have been promised compensation so many times, but I am yet to see anything come from it. 

I just want the internet I'm paying for. Would Plusnet like it if I sent half the money every month? No. It's ridiculous.

Can I state for the record that if someone suggests another engineer to visit me I will just ignore it. 

[#2]

I've just been sent a new Router by the best customer service person I've dealt with. Is it a coincidence I post here and I get one? Who knows. But I will be keeping this page updated with what's happening.

[#3]

Hi @_Josh_,

I'm very sorry for the length of time that this connection issue has been ongoing for and for the poor experience that you've had when trying to obtain a new router. I'm glad to hear that you've now been sent a router - please let us know if you continue to experience any connection problems with the new router.

[#4]

The issue is still on going. To be honest it's actually becoming a joke. For over a year of having the same problem and countless engineers coming out, I've been told I may need another one haha.

The new router has increased my speeds, and increased the time it takes for the router to reconnect. But I'm still disconnecting.

I'm losing the will to live. Wish I was being dramatic but when you're sat trying to do something and it just disconnects and you know it's about to as for the next 5-10 minutes you can't even open a web page up. My partner is watching Netflix and it's just disconnecting constantly. It's down for a few minutes but it's pretty much everyday. Well apart from the connect I had stable for 2 days haha must be some sort of record.

I sometimes get DNS issues popping up when I troubleshoot the connection. I do this when I start to lag as I know a disconnect is imminent. Can this be something on your end you need to take a look into? I've done everything my end that I can find online.

[#5]

No idea if any of this is relevant but I've just noticed this on my router

8. Noise margin:	5.8 / 3.5
9. Line attenuation:	46.9 / 27.0
10. Signal attenuation:	31.0 / 23.9

They seem to be over the other numbers next to them. Maybe it's nothing but I just want to do anything I can to help the situation. My download speeds are high but my general browsing is so slow. I can't even use google chrome. I'm resorting to using internet explorer, which is still slow, but at least it works.

[#6]

Hi @_Josh_,

Thank you for getting back in touch. I'm very sorry to hear that you're still experiencing connection problems despite the new router.

I've tested your line but the test isn't picking up the cause of the problem from here:

GEA Test Detail
Circuit ID	NA	Service ID	BBEUXXXXXXXXXXX

Test Outcome	Pass
Test Outcome Code	GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_0000
Description	GEA service test completed and no fault found .
Main Fault Location	OK
Sync Status	In Sync
Downstream Speed	35.8 Mbps
Upstream Speed	7.0 Mbps
Appointment Required	N
Fault Report Advised	N
NTE Power Status	PowerOn
Voice Line Test Result	Pass
Bridge Tap	Not Detected
Radio Frequency Ingress	Not Detected
Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise	Not Detected
Cross Talk	Not Detected
Estimated Line Length In Metres	1155.7
Upstream Rate Assessment	Very Good
Downstream Rate Assessment	Very Good
Interference Pattern	Not Detected
Service Impact	No Impact Observed
Home Wiring Problem	Not Detected
Downstream Policing Discard Rate	0.0
Customer Traffic Level	Upstream and Downstream Traffic Detected
Technology	VDSL
Profile Name	0.128M-80M Downstream 5dB, Retransmission High - 0.128M-20M Upstream, Error Protection Off
Time Stamp	2018-12-25T09:45:00

Parameters	MIN	MAX	AVG
Down Stream Line Rate	30.8 Mbps	36.1 Mbps	34.9 Mbps
Up Stream Line Rate	6.9 Mbps	7.0 Mbps	7.0 Mbps
Up Time	317.0 Sec	900.0 Sec	895.7 Sec
Retrains	0.0	5.0	0.0

Current and Last 15 Minute Bin Performance
Parameters	Last Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins)	Current Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins)
Start Time Stamp	2019-01-07T09:07:13Z	2019-01-07T09:22:13Z
Ingress Code Violation	0	0
Egress Code Violation	5	3
Errored Seconds	1	1
Severely Errored Seconds	0	0
Unavailable Seconds	0	0

As this is the case, we'll need to arrange another engineer visit I'm afraid. Once this has been booked, we should be able to raise an escalation with our suppliers due to the length of time that this has been ongoing and the previous engineer visits.

Please can you reply to the ticket here with your availability for an engineer? If you get back in touch on here once you've done this, we'll pick this back up and get your engineer booked for the earliest available suitable slot.

[#7]

@EmilyD wrote:

Hi @_Josh_,
I've tested your line but the test isn't picking up the cause of the problem from here:

 Apart from:

Profile Name

0.128M-80M Downstream 5dB, Retransmission High - 0.128M-20M Upstream, Error Protection Off

As this is the case, we'll need to arrange another engineer visit I'm afraid. Once this has been booked, we should be able to raise an escalation with our suppliers due to the length of time that this has been ongoing and the previous engineer visits.

With the elapsed length of time and No. of engineering visits already made, is it possible to escalate this case now rather than later?

[#8]

Hi @MauriceC,

Although the test is indicating that there's definitely a problem, it's not showing whereabouts this lies or what has led to this. It's not possible to escalate this with our suppliers until an engineer appointment has been booked in, I'm afraid, but we can escalate this as soon as this is booked in.