First experience with Plusnet and extremely disappointed

[#1]

Hi,
I placed an order with plusnet on the 31st of May and received an email a few days later informing me that my transfer date would be the 16th of June.
So far only my home phone line has been transferred and I currently have no broadband. Yesterday evening (16/06/15), I had called the technical support line and after being on hold for more than 40 minutes, someone finally reassured me that I was going to be connected by midnight. However, this morning I still had no connection. So once again I called and waited in the queue for another 40 minutes to be told that there was some sort of issue with the order and that it would have to be replaced and that I would have to wait another 7 days before my broadband is active. Given that I have students in my household that rely heavily on the Internet during this exam season, this in itself is incredibly disappointing especially as I was told numerous times that they would be no downtime during the transfer.
However,  today I had recieved the following message:
'Your router is in the post, it'll arrive in a few days. We'll text you again when your broadband is ready, please don't set up your router until then.'
For starters, I don't really need a router as I have a fairly new netgear one that is suitable for the number of people in my house. So I am in no particular rush for the router. But the one thing that stands out from this message is that the router was despatched after the day my broadband was to become active.
This to me indicates that someone was clearly aware that my broadband will not be active on the 16th. Surely if it was due to be active on the 16th, my router would have been with me on or before the 16th of June?  The fact that it was only dispatched this morning and that the message indicates that the procedure is router first, broadband connection second leads me to believe that I have been lied to and the date given and subsequent assurances have been deceptive. 
I am now forced to buy passes for BTwifi for my kids sitting exams at my own expense. I should point out that person I spoke to today offered 1 month free broadband as a goodwill gesture...but I think I am only paying £2.50 for mine as a new customer so all in all rather pointless.
If for some reason or the other I still do not have broadband connection  by next week, what are my options? If I'm let down a second time before I have even started my service, I have no interest in remaining with plusnet. I would rather pay more elsewhere but have an actual broadband service.

[#2]

I will be interested to hear Plusnet's explanation of yet another order that failed to complete on the day that Plusnet advised.

[#3]

So this is a common problem? Not the 'rare' occasion it was made out to be?

[#4]

It possibly isn't that common compared to the number of customers that sign up per day, but I'm sick and tired of reading posts on here where that's happened and no feedback from Plusnet on what they are doing to prevent these issues caused by their suppliers BT Wholesale and OpenReach.
One of the CRT will no doubt respond tomorrow with an explanation and sort your order out. The support here is generally very good, make no mistake about that, it's unlikely to have been Plusnet's fault, it will be due to a failure by BT Wholesale no doubt if your phone service has already transferred OK. Hopefully they'll be able to expedite the order for you.
I guess you have signed up for an ADSL package, out of curiosity if you connect your modem/router is the DSL/Broadband light on it lit steadily?

[#5]

Oh that's good to hear. We will see.
Yes, I've signed up to the ADSL package, the only one available in my area. No, the DSL light is off.

[#6]

Oh that's a shame, I was hoping it might just be a case of authentication.
And my apologies, I forgot to say welcome to the forum.

[#7]

Thank you!

[#8]

I'm investigating for you now @newj, will update this post shortly.
Matty

---

Hi newj,
Really sorry to see that this has happened. It's agent error in this circumstance so I have to hold my hands up and apologise. I have fed back on the agent that placed your order for you. To elaborate a little, a simultaneous order was placed to migrate you over from an LLU network (Sky or TalkTalk?). In order for both services to come over, there is a little reference number that ties the two orders together. This is where something has gone wrong, as the services didn't match, and only the phone has come over.

Quote from: newj

However,  today I had recieved the following message: 'Your router is in the post, it'll arrive in a few days. We'll text you again when your broadband is ready, please don't set up your router until then.' For starters, I don't really need a router as I have a fairly new netgear one that is suitable for the number of people in my house. So I am in no particular rush for the router. But the one thing that stands out from this message is that the router was despatched after the day my broadband was to become active.

Now this is the bit that is automated. As our database didn't find the missing broadband order, the router was never dispatched. Your router was recently dispatched, as a standalone broadband order has now been placed.
I have requested that the service be expedited to tomorrow. I'll be able to let you know whether the proforma I have sent in has been accepted or not by this afternoon.
Once again, apologies. I hope this hasn't impacted the kids' revision too much.
Matty

[#9]

Thank you for your reply and honesty.  I appreciate any and all help on this matter.
Just to clarify the text about the router, I had recieved that text before the new order was placed, early morning of the 17th. I then called soon afterwards and thats when the new order was placed. I recieved another text for the router being dispatched again this morning which I assume is in relation to the new order.

[#10]

Thanks for letting me know, this requires investigation on my part.
Your order is due to complete today. If you have received the router, feel free to set up once you have the text from us.
Matty

[#11]

Still no connection so far and no text.
On another note, I received another router today.  I don't know what is going on at this point...

[#12]

Just a last update...I have connection.
I came back from work to find the DSL light on and after one short phone call ( if we exclude the lengthy initial wait in the queue) ...one click of a button and the internet light came on too.
I also mentioned that I had recieved a second router so a prepaid packaging/envelope thing will be sent to me send it back.
All in all, aside from the initial hiccup with the connection, I am actually pretty happy with help I have recieved. I somehow cannot imagine it would have been this quick to resolve with my old provider.
So thank you very much for your help MattyC! You have spared me from a weekend of moaning teenagers.

[#13]

Well you certainly don't want two of those 2704n's !  I suspect you will find your Netgear a much better bet (depends on the model I suppose), at least you will have a spare for testing purposes

[#14]

I'm pretty happy with my netgear one. One of the reasons I switched providers was because with my last one I was losing connection every 45 or so minutes for about 1.5 min. This only started 2 years ago and since then my previous supplier did nothing to fix the problem. I bought my netgear router about a year ago after they suggested that maybe the probelm but still no luck. Given that I have been with this provider and in this address for 8 years now and the problem only started 2 years ago I don't think it's the 'distance from the exchange'  (as I heard so many times) that's the issue.
I figured if the problem continued with plusnet someone would undoubtedly suggest a fault in the modem and at that point I would have to pay £40 for a plusnet one before other possible solutions would be suggested. So I figured no harm in getting a spare for £5.99 now rather than spending £40 later.

[#15]

Wise decision, but it's always possible you have an intermittent connection/fault on your line.
Can you hear/have you ever heard any crackling or other noises on the line when using the phone? Have you ever had any problems with incoming or outgoing calls? (eg,the phone rings, then stops, but the caller is still there when you pick up the phone).
If you need to, use the Quiet Line Test 17070 option 2, especially if you are unlucky enough to start seeing any drops.
If you post your Full DSL stats, we can give you an idea of how well your line appears to be working.
Full stats mean DSL Uptime, Sync speeds, SNRM, Attenuation & any Error figures. If you are using the 2704n at the moment the link in my sig will take you to the stats, but the DSL Uptime is on Line 6 of the Helpdesk tab (note though the stats there contain no error figures) and should you choose the post that page on the Forum at any time, I'd advise redacting lines 2, 21, & 26.