The IP address you have does work. It is correctly registered as being in the UK and Plusnet have made sure that the organisation that handles the location information for Sky has the correct information. It's Sky you need to have a go at, not Plusnet!

Please read my other comments. It's not a customers job to chase up another company like sky, when it's plusnet giving me the IP's that are causing me the problem. I have already tried to contact sky if you care to read this thread right through and got nowhere. PN can email sky about it as they would have the correct contacts.

SKY retail does not deal with this problem. Now stop trying to pass the buck about who is responsable. And again I keep getting new problem IP's, so not old ones thank you very much. (rolleyes)

Edited by deleted (Wed 23-Jan-13 19:12:44)

PlusNet are not responsible for the use other organisations make of incorrect geolocation data. I'd agree that they have a moral obligation to make reasonable efforts to update data with major geolocation providers when errors are drawn to their attention, but that is as far as their obligation goes. You would certainly have no grounds for contractual action against PlusNet if this wasn't sorted out, and it's most unlikely you would have grounds to allege PlusNet were negligent - they cannot be held responsible for the actions of a third party with whom they have no business relationship, whilst making reasonable efforts to update the geolocation data would discharge any duty of care they owed you.

If you have a cause of action against anyone, I'd argue it is against Sky for failing to take reasonable care to implement their country blocking correctly, thereby denying you access to a service you're paying for (I believe - if you're not paying for the Sky service your rights are weaker as it's debatable whether there's any consideration and therefore any contract). I doubt you'd be able to prove breach of contract (if there is a contract) or negligence to the satisfaction of a court, as geolocation relies on databases that are inherently fallible.

For all we know, the data has been updated and Sky haven't downloaded updated geolocation files from Neustar.


PlusNet are providing you with a valid IP address, which is sufficient to fulfil their contractual obligations to provide you with Internet access. It's your choice to remain with dynamic IP, though static IP tends to help with this sort of problem as, at most, you have to solve the problem once. If this is important enough to you to post here, I'd suggest it is important enough to spend £5 on a static IP address - though, as I say, it's your choice to stay with dynamic IP. The availability of static IP is likely to nullify any claim you have against PlusNet, as there's an option reasonably available to you which should minimise these problems.


The order from Winegarten CM in the Chancery Division that you linked to required a reasonable search of ISP records to reveal links between IP addresses and individual subscribers. So as not to open themselves to accusations that reasonable efforts were not made, also to assist in identifying the party responsible for any defamation, I would expect ISPs to keep RADIUS logs sufficient to link IP addresses to subscribers for at least six years (the limitation period for most civil action under the Limitation Act 1980). If that is the case, dynamic IP would leaves you in the same position as static IP in any legal action.

If you are the subscriber implicated in any legal action relating to the Internet, there's multiple possible defences. I haven't researched the recent case law, however.


(If you hadn't realised, I have a legal background, though stress I'm writing here off the top of my head without proper legal research).

If you have a problem with your television do you contact the electricity company to fix it because they supply the electricity that runs it?

Plusnet have fulfilled their obligations, they are providing you with an IP address that works, it is correctly registered as being in the UK, they are correctly forwarding the gets when you request the Sky page to Sky's website, it is Sky that are doing the blocking. Just because Sky are so awful that they refuse to talk to you and do anything about it is not Plusnet's problem!

In reply to a post by jelv:

If you have a problem with your television do you contact the electricity company to fix it because they supply the electricity that runs it?

If they supply the wrong voltage and it ruins your TV then of course you contact the electricity company.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

If they supply the wrong voltage and it ruins your TV then of course you contact the electricity company.

But it's not the wrong voltage (in this over-stretched analogy!) it's the right voltage. It's just that the picture tube in his TV has decided it doesn't like that voltage and refuses to light up!

Whilst I appreciate the difficulty and frustration of a customer trying to get any kind of meaningful response out of Sky to fix what seems to be a problem at their end, and also that an ISP like PlusNet may have better routes into Sky to get it sorted, I also think PlusNet seem to have done everything that could reasonably be expected of them in their role as a responsible ISP. The problem is ultimately that Sky seems to be blocking a valid IP, which is something Sky is responsible to sort out.

The fact remains that if something supplied is unsuitable for the purpose, it's the supplier whose fault it is, not the customer. I'm sure someone with claimed legal training will be able to confirm that

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

The fact remains that if something supplied is unsuitable for the purpose, it's the supplier whose fault it is, not the customer. I'm sure someone with claimed legal training will be able to confirm that

Sure. Absolutely correct. But what is "unsuitable for the purpose" about the OP's internet service? I haven't checked, but I don't think PlusNet's T&C state "we guarantee access to every server on the internet". If Sky decides to block certain IP addresses, that is PlusNet's fault? It is totally outside PlusNet's control. They are being helpful and trying to make sure that the third party geo database provider has the correct information about their services. But again, the responsibility for the accuracy of that information rests with the supplier of the database.

Anyway, let's hope the issue gets resolved. I can understand the OP's frustration, but I think it should be directed at Sky.

ISTR that AOL used to supply IP addresses that were located outside of the UK and after lots of complaints they changed them.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

ISTR that AOL used to supply IP addresses that were located outside of the UK and after lots of complaints they changed them.

Relevance? Nil, that I can see. Plusnet are supplying UK-located IP addresses. Sky are ignoring the relevant data on the databases they use to determine country of origin.