So PLUSNET are increasing their charges again???

[#1]

I must be mad. I thought I was already paying enough for the pathetic 4mbps download speeds I was getting from plusnet . . . .
On a speedtest.net test this morning I'm getting 0.24mbps!!
You want to charge me more for that performance???
Before you ask, yes I have complained. I know what the issue is and so do plusnet. The problem is getting something done about it.
Time for me to look at the alternatives I think . . . . .

[#2]

Morning Curbo,
I'm sorry to hear that you feel this way regarding the price change we're implementing as well as the problem you seem to be having with the speed of your service.
I've taken a browse through the fault ticket on your account and had a bit of a brainstorm with one of our top faults guys and I've updated the support ticket for you with a couple of possible options we could look at working on to resolve the issue.
If you can either drop an update on the support ticket on in this thread I'll pick this up for you.

[#3]

Price increases again!?
Oh boy!

[#4]

Thanks for your reply Adam.
In your reply to my ticket you are asking me to contact the council personally over the trees that are affecting my broadband and telephone quality because some idiot placed the BT telegraph pole right between them?? Is that my job?
I pay Plusnet for my service. The equipment Plusnet uses to bring the service to my home isn't operating well enough to provide me with an adequate service.
Plusnet has to fix that.
I am on a download speed of 0.24mbps at the moment. Why should I have to pay  extra in September for a service where the quality has dropped dramatically???
With all respect Adam, if Plusnet are stating here that they can't fix my situation then it is time for me to move on. It's sad, because up until the addressing of this problem I am currently having, I was quite happy with plusnet and have even recommended it . . . .

[#5]

Hi Curbo,
Thanks for getting back to me on this one.
As mentioned in the support ticket update, it's a difficult one to resolve as there isn't a set process for raising this type of issue directly with the supplier. They can't legally go out and prune the offending tree and I'm unaware of any internal process they would have for requesting this type of work and they certainly don't offer this up to ourselves.
To summarise the ticket, we could continue to raise this with them as a fault however we couldn't say when or even if matter of the tree would be addressed. To make this more complex it seems that the branches are causing an intermittent fault which means that we also have a high chance that testing will return a 'No Fault Found' result which ultimately leads to no further action.
The idea raised with you via the support ticket was for us both to approach this with the tools we have available to us to see if we can get some kind of resolution. If contact to the tree owner on your part has even a remote possibility to have some work carried out then surely this is worth exploring when looking for a solution to an already complex problem.
Even if the final outcome from our fault flagging is that the supplier gets in touch with the council to prune the tree, it may well be that planning permission as well as engineering coordination could work out to be a longer fix when measured up against the council being contacted directly by a resident to undertake the work themselves.
We're still happy to push forward with this however with this being a bit of an unknown it could work better if we attack the problem from both sides. I'll pass the fault back to the supplier and we should hear back on the testing and possible engineer visit shortly.

[#6]

Thanks for getting back to me again Adam.
All I can add here is that I have always had a bad telephone connection from that line. I am guessing that engineers can't actually access the junction box to check that out because the branches have grown in such a way as to make it impossible to place a ladder near the box. That probably means that the cable coming to my house is older than the trees.
As I said, I have always had a bad line, internet connection has been dropping out regularly over the past 6 months, and this morning I've done another speedtest.net test and am getting a download speed of 0.18mbps. Can you tell me why my speed has dropped so drastically?? Can you fix that?
This is not an unusual occurance by the way, many other people have had the same problem . . . . .
https://community.bt.com/t5/Phones/Tree-swallowing-phone-lines/td-p/17629
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1733178

[#7]

Morning Curbo,
Thanks for supplying the links, it made for some good reading and it seems there are a few trails to explore with regards to getting this sorted.
It sounds like there have been a few different resolutions to the problems and pushing down the fault root has been one of them however the post from bfg on the BT forum seems promising if Openreach provide a line for reporting therse types of things directly -

Quote

If the Tree is on your property (within the boundaries of your garden/house) then any issues with the line would need to be reported to your service provider. The service providor will only be able to deal with a 'fault' where the tree is actually affecting the line, noise, loss of service during high winds, slow broadband or damaging the cable etc. If off your boundaries need to report directly to Openreach on 0800 023 023 Service providors and Openreach will not complete any work to avoid faults, so if there isnt a fault it would be worth trimming the tree (if its your tree a local tree surgeon can do this safely, also covered under their insurance if any damage done while prunning, may be worth speaking to the service providor to temporarily move the line if concerned, as a repair to a damaged line will cost. if off your propery speak to local coucils or highways agencies to find who is responsible for the tree).

As updated on the support ticket for you last night I'm happy to push the fault back over to our supplier so if you can pop an update on the ticket I'll get this done. In the meantime it may be worth giving the number mentioned above a call to see if you're able to arrange something with them direct as well.

[#8]

Morning Adam.
There are a couple of problems I have here.
Firstly, if you go onto the Openreach site it clearly states that you should contact your internet provider and not them directly.
Secondly someone from Openreach came out the other day, did a line test, decided it was OK and told me that the tree would not be affecting the line because the branches touching the cable were only "small ones". What he should've said was "Oh dear, I can't get near the junction box to check that or to fit a new cable because all of these tree branches are in the way and there's nowhere for me to place a ladder" . . . .
Lastly, I am really disturbed that in the private message you sent to me, you suggest that I might have to pay £60 for Openreach to come out.
As I said (which you haven't answered yet) my phone line is not too noisy at the moment yet I have a download speed of 0.18mbps?? I have tested my laptop in a local pub and there I'm getting normal speeds so my laptop is not the problem. Can you tell me what is?
Cheers . . .

[#9]

There is not a tree for miles in my area and they just used a hoist. I am sure they could use a hoist there too - but really the council should be sorting that tree it's what we pay our council tax for
The £60 fee is an Abortive Visit Charge and Adam has to tell you this however as the problem seems to lie outside of your property (from information given anyway) then you wouldn't pay for it. It only applies should the engineer find a problem from the NTE5 inwards  from said NTE5 outwards it's their responsibility.

[#10]

I've just got my e-mail. I don't know what to do.
FTTC is good over cable due to ( for now) the 24/7 upload BUT it keeps slowing down and getting hit with IL and DLM dosen't do it' job, and also I have to run the kit 24/7 where as with cable it connects full speed every time and I can turn it off at night.
Grrrr