OK. This is a reply to all but not sure how to tag everyone who has been helpful. The Engineer has been and was definitely from Openreach. He said himself and another of his colleagues had attended at least a dozen call outs in this area for the same problem this week. He said they had found in all cases, that there was nothing wrong with Openreaches network and the problem was definitely with Plusnet. He said his colleague had told him the only thing that fixes it, is to issue a static IP address.
He did some tests on the Router, ONT, outside where the cable comes in, and did something at the bottom of the road (I'm not sure what he actually checked). He said everything was fine with the network. He then connected to the network himself and was finding the same problems that I was having. He said the previous customers He had seen all had the same problems, to varying degrees. He then rang Plusnet Technical.
Plusnet Technical ARE FULLY AWARE of this problem. They have been getting swathes of customers calling in from certain areas of the country, currently, Northamptonshire, Wiltshire and Cornwall, with the same problem. Plusnet also, do not know what is causing the problem, but, the only way to fix it at the moment, is to issue a Static IP Address, which he did immediately. The router rebooted and hey presto, everything is working perfectly. It HAS to be done through Plusnet Technical and there's no charge for it, Customer Services will refuse to do it. Plusnet Technical are currently collating all the incidents of this for investigation.
The Engineer stayed for a while to observe things working, did a few more tests, then left.
Hope this helps and thank you.
Ian
