plusnet network page broken?

http://www.plus.net/support/service/network_performa...

those graphs load for others?

Down here as well, so probably a system problem.

Unless it is something to do with

Posted: Thu, Dec 05 2013 at 13:40:55
Subject: Planned Broadband Faults Troubleshooter Maintenance - Sat 7th December 10.00pm - 7.00am

When's this work happening?
Saturday morning, 7th December.

What does it affect?
Access to the Broadband Faults Troubleshooter on our website.

How long will it take?
Approximately 9 hours.

What does the work involve?
Some essential maintenance is being carried out on the back-end systems our Broadband Faults Troubleshooter depends on.

Quite possibly could be, from the wording, if we assume 10pm Friday.

Edited by RobertoS (Sat 07-Dec-13 00:19:18)

No , I get a raft of Image Unavailable???

It shows how often you visit that page - it's been like that for some time!

http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,120706

Edited by jelv (Sat 07-Dec-13 10:14:32)

well yeah as I am not a customer but now I am considering plusnet I wanted to check it.

The network capacity is fine because they plan ahead and have extra capacity read for the numbers of expected new customers.

Just wish you could say the same for the way they forward plan the numbers of support staff required. Suggest you monitor http://www.plus.net/supportpages.html?a=212. They changed the telephone system two weeks ago so as it says so the call waiting time is not available - typically waiting times are around an hour. 37 hours average to close tickets will be a lot longer than when you were on Plusnet before.

In reply to a post by jelv:

The network capacity is fine because they plan ahead and have extra capacity read for the numbers of expected new customers.

I've heard that before.... back in 2006 or so when they said that was not the top of the graph... until they added more capacity and the green went above what it had been doing before

whats going on here?

http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,1203...

kitz I think was incredibly polite, her speed mysteriously started increasing as it got later, a guy posted with great ftp speeds but then in the same post the good speeds were not consistent and that unencrypted ftp usually slows down by plusnet's qos. Another person said they have issues making new connections via ftp and uploading.

Also in the thread linked to from here someone said the network graphs that have been removed usually dont look good.

Ok so if silver and below traffic is problematic but gold i always ok, I can live with that since I will buy pro But these reports are concerning and the pm's I have from people. I wouldnt be so bothered if I could signup, try the service and leave if I didnt like it but is a 18 month commitment.

I suggest you read on through that topic! Kitz posted further down that the problem was with the settings in Wndows 7!

Pro is not recommended on the new unlimited packages. As you can turn it on and off at will, (I think monthly), I suggest you try without first. Then if you have issues, try with, and see whether it improves or is worse.

that setting alone woulndt cause what she seen.

plus according to her post on kitz forum she was initially getting full speed on the x6 but not on the single threaded, the settign apaprently fixed that.

but when she started getting slow speeds on everything I doubt it would be down to that settng especially when she had it on XP as well.

like I said it got misdiagnosed.

I have my pc on autotuning and dont see anything of that nature so to me this is concerning.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Pro is not recommended on the new unlimited packages. As you can turn it on and off at will, (I think monthly), I suggest you try without first. Then if you have issues, try with, and see whether it improves or is worse.

yeah true I guess.

Alot of my activity is on things that arent gold by default tho such as external ftp, and game download servers. I want those things to not be affected when plusnet's pipes fill up.

Post deleted by RobertoS

Edited by RobertoS (Sat 07-Dec-13 17:05:10)

I probably am going to move, but I may hold of for a month or so as although I got my MAC if I move now its still £78 to pay off BT to feb 4 2013.

Well if you are willing to shell out £5 a month for the two or three times a year when something big happens and the pipes fill up and the Pro add on makes a difference it's up to you.

Speed and capacity on the network isn't a concern. However I wouldn't recommend moving to Plusnet at the moment for the reason I've posted about earlier in this topic.

Have you checked the payoff amount? I thought BT had signed up to the OfCom reduced rate for early terminations.

I am going to as they may be trying to pull a fast one.

But infinitys early terminate fees are still quite high I think at least 60% or so of the normal fees.

seems they have quoted me roughly 3 months of full price.

BT retail to be honest arent a whole lot better that side.

If I ring accounts/sales its fast answer with uk operator, but tech support/faults is india AND a long queue. When I reported a fault a few weeks back I was on hold for well over an hour.

I guess its possibly BT policy to have customers waiting and holding or they consider their staff underworked.

Edited by Chrysalis (Sat 07-Dec-13 18:53:19)

What will you be doing about the line rental?IIRC there are differences in the termination for just b/b and bundles.

keeping it with BT.

I was considering moving, but it seems plusnet have changed their call rental plans.

Ronski told me plusnet used to include weekend calls on line rental saver, but for new customers that is removed. Also a monthly fee for ringback put me off. So I guess BT will keep ym custom on line rental.

Is it possible BT added line rental to the termination fee? They said in the email my line rental is paid up until 4 january so that would mean just 1 month of line rental added if they think I am also moving line rental.

I wonder now if BT will cease the line rental if I just move the broadband or cease both if I dont use the mac.

Edited by Chrysalis (Sat 07-Dec-13 18:56:41)

Pass on the line rental. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't have to start a new contract with them though, as the bundle is tight isn't it? Not just a case of combined billing. If you don't use the MAC nothing at all should stop. Unless you've also given notice for the bundle - which doesn't seem likely from your other posts.

Zen looks good for lines at the moment.

notice wasnt given I just asked for mac and the way the reply was typed out said "if I leave this amount is payable" so hopefully they have not treated as notice to cancel.

I think it is a bundle so you are right that they may not accept part of it been left unless I recontract for just voice or something. I will check with them.

You have spotted that if you don't have the line rental with Plusnet there is a £2.50 surcharge

I did but its not looking pretty when I analyse things more.

So plusnet now operate a 2 tier structure on prices.

new customers subsidise the old on voice I would find it tough to accept I am subsidising older customers, easier to take when they get price increase to match.

paying double call connection fees
essentials package no inclusive calls, existing customers get inclusive.
line rental saver not including weekends and evenings like old customers get

overall plusnet is now more expensive than BT for voice services and has added complications if I were to switch voice, not something I want to do.

On the other side we have high agressiveness for line rental revenue.

going BB only costs the following.

lose 4 months of £8 discount (this would cover half my termination fee)
the £2.50 month on top of that
the £50 install on top of that

I forsee myself having to pay £5 for pro to get performance levels i get from BT, so it would seem moving over to plusnet is not any financial gain, this I can accept if it performs ok, but a financial gain would have softened blow if the performance is worse.

If it was a monthly contract I would have already signed up and took the punt on it, 18 months is a barrier.

Edited by Chrysalis (Sun 08-Dec-13 03:05:30)

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

overall plusnet is now more expensive than BT for voice services and has added complications if I were to switch voice, not something I want to do.

On the other side we have high agressiveness for line rental revenue.

I decided to keep the Vonage VOIP package I'm using on cable. I paid up front for the line and took no call package. That does mean I get no free 0870 and 0845 calls but most of the time saynoto0870 comes up trumps on the few of those I need to make. The in package call feature pretty much make up for the £1 extra over the PN anytime package.

My VM is congested and I see few complaints that Plusnet are so I think that's covered or me.

I tend to use forums rather than phone TS but I think I'd rather wait an hour to get decent support than a shorter time to get VM offshore support.

Anyhow Chrys what problems are you getting with BT that make you want to move?

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

I forsee myself having to pay £5 for pro to get performance levels i get from BT,

Not correct we are told
On unlimited the only effect on speeds is traffic prioritisation within your connection

When are BTOR going to drop the requirement for ISP's to agree a 12mth min term for FTTC to FTTC migrations they are suposed to be doing this i read somewhere, Once they do we should see some 1mth min term contracts appear, and hopefully the bigger isp's will reduce their 18mths min terms too

The other thing that i would like to know is this, if someone with FTTC switches ISP using the MAC code system do the gaining ISP's still charge an install fee ,even though the service is already installed and active, and therefore has no requirement for BTOR to carry out any related work ,?
Although i have read about the way BT seem to work in regards to what should be a simple FTTC migration from one isp to another , where somehow the customer has had their slot/line card in the fttc cab to given another customer ,whilst migrating due to the way they do things who else could fail in such a way bt lead the way in that department

Edited by tommy45 (Sun 08-Dec-13 18:16:33)

Current Openreach price list

CP-CP GEA Migration - same product/premises 50.00 + Vat

The ISP gets charged that. Whether they charge the customer or swallow it generally seems to depend on whether or not the customer also takes line rental.

I am not sure I will be moving now.

Basically I want a static ip and uk support, I want a new investigation on my line which I believe will be much easier to get done via plusnet.

However BT has pretty much no congestion anywhere on any protocol, that is hard to turn my back to.

I wont move to zen due to their policy on line faults, aaisp is still an option. I may also sign upto plusnet on a 2nd line and keep my BT on the 1st line, another option.
Havent thought about it too much tho this afternoon/evening, had other things to do.

If I was to move the most sensible thing financial wise is probably move voice as well, line rental saver, and only use landline for 0800 calls (plus if I need ringback). the 4 month discount then pays half of my termination to BT. Also as robertos said initially not have pro to determine how things are without it.

if I move tho with least likely problems, keep voice on BT, and just move the broadband. However since voice has annual price rises, and if I move both then the contract is for both services and its almost a cert there will be price rises during 2014 at some point, this would mean if the performance is bad I can use the price rises to leave without penalty.

the main issue for me is moving isp is a journey into the unknown, when the service is activated by openreach then am tied into a 18month deal.

I thought Zen were one of the best - am I missing something

And the ISP's have so far not challeged this charge for apparently nothing ? of course they at the end of the aren't out of pocket,it's the customer who is ,Openreach should be asked to justify this fee, it could make interesting reading

Plusnet early termination charges per month.

Plusnet Unlimited Fibre (with phone) £5.75
Plusnet Unlimited Fibre (without phone) £7.80

Then any phone charges. I don't know what happens with LRS. Without it they are

Plusnet Weekends £4.80
Plusnet Evenings & Weekends £6.00
Plusnet Anytime £8.10
Plusnet Anytime International 300 £9.60
Plusnet Mobile £8.10
Talk Anytime £4.25
Talk Anytime International £5.25
Talk Evening & Weekends £2.25
Talk Mobile £4.25
Talk Mobile 1 £4.25

Don't forget bundled PN phone is now the same minimum term as the associated broadband.

yeah those early termination fees are incredibly low compared to BT.

so if I leave in first month and plusnet refuse to relieve me of contract it would cost me approx £140 on bb only which I guess isnt the end of the world but still throwing money down the drain.

you know the early termination for voice?

If I left their bb, would I be able to leave the voice with plusnet, probably not if going back to BT as BT dont do bb only, so I would have to also early terminate voice if going back to BT, plus if I left for another isp that accepts bb only would plusnet be happy with a voice only customer or would they require both to be terminated.

The FTTC market isnt great at the moment, a false illusion of competition when the reality is everyone selling it is a tie in.

Edited by Chrysalis (Sun 08-Dec-13 20:56:33)

In case you haven't already checked Quidco £100 cash back FTTC unlimited & home phone but only 3hrs left on that offer

Post deleted by Oldjim

I think I remember using those guys when ordering from VM years back, seems a bit hit and miss, it seems for it to work, the browser has to be allowing all sorts of cookies, has to be an online order, if something goes wrong in that process they wont pay out, and I didnt find out until months after I signed up somethng was wrong, when they refused to pay me.

wow pretty strict t&c's for that cashback.

including no plusnet refferals and no cashback if cancel even tho plusnet get early termination fees.

Edited by Chrysalis (Sun 08-Dec-13 21:28:13)

I didn't see a line termination charge, just the call packages and addons as per my previous post. Plusnet full price list. Don't get mixed up between PlusNet Talk and PlusNet Broadband phone. The latter is VOIP.

Years ago I asked the question about keeping the phone if you migrate the broadband away, and a rep said you could. I've seen that contradicted a couple of times since, but I'm not sure they were right, or just guessing.

I believe BT can do just broadband if the prospect is in a minimum term phone contract elsewhere. Not online though, only through a help person who really knows what they are on about.

looks like the full line rental is due in early voice termination, so the penalty is much higher on voice.

but I guess taking that £100 quidco offer (if works) is a way to compensate for that. as thats equivelent to almost 10 months of line rental with LRS.

Where did you get that? Other than on LRS where you would already have paid it?

I dug in the legal pages, it mentions any line rental has to be paid up on cancellation for remaining months, the with it been full rate is my assumption based on that another amount isnt mentioned anywhere.

Can you provide a link for that as the cancellation charges posted by RobertoS include line rental and being charged the full line rental is against OFCOM rules

Edited by deleted (Mon 09-Dec-13 10:05:05)

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

but I guess taking that £100 quidco offer (if works) is a way to compensate for that. as thats equivelent to almost 10 months of line rental with LRS.

I took it and it has registered for me. I only use IE for cashbacks and still clear all cookies every time even though I've never visted the sites I'm buying from with it anyway.

It was a short time deal with not long to run when I took it. TopCashBack who I normally use these days was only £38.

I said I assumed is full, but if the number robertos provided include line rental then plusnet havent explained it well as its under the broadband section of their legal terms and specifically states cancellation of fiber broadband.

link here.

http://www.plus.net/info2/legal/index.html

Ok I found for line rental, apologies it isnt full.

http://www.plus.net/info2/legal/price_guide.html#talk table 3.6

however line rental saver is excluded and it would seem if thats paid in advance its simply lost.

Edited by Chrysalis (Mon 09-Dec-13 17:07:52)

You are correct about the LRS not being refundable

so is it against the rules or not?

if it is how is LRS non refundable?

The rules refer to unfair and/or unreasonable cancellation charges.
This doesn't apply to LRS as there is no charge for cancellation

then it doesnt refer to none LRS either.

There is technically no difference between not refunding LRS and asking for the customer to pay up the rest of their contract.

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

There is technically no difference between not refunding LRS and asking for the customer to pay up the rest of their contract.

Yes there is, the terms are different. When you sign up to LRS, you agree that it is non-refundable.

Edited by kasg (Mon 09-Dec-13 20:39:40)

I'm not saying that isn't the case but I've just taken out a contract including LRS and there was no warning given about it being non-refundable. That said the fibre contract is 18 months anyway.

http://www.plus.net/home-broadband/line-rental-saver/
Things you need to know - No. 2

I know that but what would be wrong with them stating before signup on cancellation the line rental has to be paid fully?

oldjim seems to be indicating there is some kind of regulatory difference. Which makes no sense to me, have ofcom left some giant loophole?

Yes it's there all right. I didn't read that page sfaik I just selected it as an option during the order process and that didn't draw my attention to that condition. Doubtless there was a checkbox somewhere where I agreed that I had read all the T&C though.

In my case I don't care as the fibre contract runs longer than the line saver anyway.

In reply to a post by kwikbreaks:

That said the fibre contract is 18 months anyway.

True, but the point is that if you terminate the fibre contract early, you don't have to pay the full contracted amount for the remaining months, just a reduced amount. The difference with LRS is that you make an up-front payment which is not refundable.

Yes I realised the difference. Given the cost of terminating the fibre early I'm unlikely to do that anyway.

I'm moving away from VM and am unlikely to return as they have irritated me once too often. Only FTTC comes close to the speeds I've got used to and there is only one version of that albeit with a number of resellers.

The only way this Plusnet contract will be ditched by me before end of term is if the same thing happens as last time I ordered FTTC and Openreach don't bother arriving. If that happens I'll cancel due to that failure and get a full refund anyway. If I don't I'll be outside the VM penalty free period to cancel due to their price rise. I hope this won't happen as I'm tired of playing pricing games with VM and their cavalier approach to fixing congestion issues. As it happens since I ordered FTTC my local VM connection seems to have improved - I can only guess that the local torrent freak has completed downloading the internet.

In reply to a post by kwikbreaks:

The only way this Plusnet contract will be ditched by me before end of term is if the same thing happens as last time I ordered FTTC and Openreach don't bother arriving. If that happens I'll cancel due to that failure and get a full refund anyway.

I understand that you will be annoyed if that happens but cancelling for that reason is somewhat cutting off your nose to spite your face, as the chances of an Openreach no-show with Plusnet are the same as with any other ISP, BT included.

I'm fully aware of that but I only have a 30 day window to cancel cable penalty free. The initial lead time is nearly 3 weeks and I won't be cancelling until the new connection is in place. Last time around I had cancelled cable with a termination date two weeks after the FTTC install date. One engineer arrived and reinstalled the phone but the FTTC bloke was a no show. The date they scheduled to try again was another 3 weeks away and of course there is no guarantee that it wouldn't be another no-show.

Openreach are completely unaccountable and the genius in Ofcom who dreamed up the ida of an unaccountable monopoly service should be first up against the wall imo.

one reason isp's dont crack down on this is that when there is a no show openreach pay them compensation which = profit. In regards to openreach been unaccountable I agree with you fully.

You have no 3g or anything else as intermediate solution?

what happens if you inform VM you cancelling but giving them 2 months notice? I believe you can do that. So you tell them your intention to cancel within the 30 day window but just give them a longer notice period. Also it would have been better to wait till near the end of the 30 day period to even inform them, to buy time for this to get sorted out, good luck but I think changing the notice to 2 months might be a way to get more breathing room, to allow for a no show as well as any possible faults to get fixed.

What I can do and probably will in the event of a no-show is give 30 days notice nearer to my no penalty deadline and take a chance. If the worst comes to the worst I do have a MiFi and can get a 3GB sim off eBay.

Last time around I'd already cancelled and negotiated an upgrade and discount to stay with VM at the cost of a new minimum term. I could probably have survived on 3G then instead but I was pretty incensed with the casual way BT assumed I would take any old [censored] from them so I cancelled mostly to cost them money and waste their time as they had wasted mine.

This time VM have annoyed me enough to be more determined to go. A couple of months back I negotiated a discount instead of their second over inflation price rise in less than a year. We agreed a price which I'd assumed would last a year. Now they want another above inflation increase. If I accept it what's to say they won't want to jack the price up again in another couple of months? With my area congested already I'm not looking forward to the effects of virtually scrapping STM so they can still advertise unlimited plus yet another downstream speed increase. Plus there is still no sign of the originally promised 10% upstream.