Plusnet vs BT

Hi,

My friend currently has broadband with Plusnet and line rental from BT. The telephone is working perfectly, but the broadband has very slow speeds.

syncs at 19Mb, but speedtests are 2-3Mb.

Plusnet have carried out line tests, and have said there is a fault on the line. They told her to contact BT as her line rental is from them. So she did as instructed by Plusnet and a BT engineer came out and said there is no fault found.

So she went back to Plusnet and they carried out the tests again, and again the test results said the line was faulty and go back to BT.
She went back to BT, and BT said it's a broadband fault. They told her to read the BT Terms and Conditions as their responsability is for the making and receiving of telephone calls and other services they provide. Go back to Plusnet because it's a broadband fault. Plusnet are still telling her to go back to BT as it's a line fault.

She's just going around in circles.


Jason

Have you tried a Quiet line test, with a (preferably corded) phone directly into the Test Socket? 17070 option 2. It should be silent.

Do you think you can find and post the line stats, including the error counts and other gubbage as well as the usual speed/attenuation/noise margins.

What does a BT Speed Test say her IP Profiles are? Best to post the contents of the two text boxes of results - the graphic bit is irrelevant.

What is the "Current Line Speed" shown in her Plusnet Member Centre? https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=data_transfer...

Edited by RobertoS (Sun 22-Jul-12 11:54:44)

I comment only through experience. What type of Broadband service is your friend on and what does a BTSpeedtest (www.speedtester.bt.com) show? Without the results of a BT Speedtest, no ISP will take the problem seriously. The test should also be run, ideally, from the 'test socket, behind the master faceplate. This will rule out any internal wiring issues. Have you checked to see whether the exchange is reporting broadband congestion; that is, too many users and not enough capacity? I am also a little surprised that BT sent out an engineer. In my experience, this only happens when BT line tests actually detect a line fault between the exchange and the telephone. You may well find that the line suddenly corrects itself and then there may be an argument about who pays for the engineer visit. Sorry to be a bit negative but there are a number of issues here.

Edit:

Over to you Robertos. Our responses crossed.

Edited by lexden16 (Sun 22-Jul-12 11:56:17)

Ask your friend to go through to Plusnet's 'faults department' and explain the entire problem. Explain that Plusnet must be the point of contact for the fault, since BTO have declared it a 'broadband fault'. If still told it's a phone fault, instruct Plusnet to contact BT and basically sort it out between them, and leave your friend out of the loop. Customer 'ping-pong' is not uncommon, but is completely pointless for all parties. The quicker it gets sorted, the cheaper it is for all.

If no joy, post back...the forum folk can 'escalate' this slightly (moan and whinge a lot to the PN reps on this site ).

She doesn't know what the BT engineer did on the phone, but she hasn't done the quiet line test. I cant hear any noise on the phone when I talk to her. (she lives 70 miles away).

She's done a few BT speedtests, she said they were between 2-3Mb. the profile was 16 something.

I will ask her for the other details another day, because she's a bit stressed.

Has it always been slow, or has this just happened and it used to be much better?

In reply to a post by lexden16:

Edit:

Over to you Robertos. Our responses crossed.

Eeee! Don't be daft. I've got iron toes so feel no pain .

Make sure you don't take the shortcut paste the magnet factory.

She sent me an email this morning, she hasn't worked out how to get the stats yet.

She also did another BT speedtest this morning and looked at the webpage on plusnet you asked for.

BT Speedtest
Plusnet Webpage

She noticed the problem two months ago, because the BBC Iplayer kept stopping when watching films.

Plusnet said the problem is caused by loop loss on the line.


Jason

Looking at that plusnet page it suggests that the plusnet profile has got stuck. The BT profile is over 16Mb but plusnet is 2Mb. Because Plusnet is low you will never get a speed above the plusnet setting.

This is ENTIRELY a plusnet issue and has nothing whatsover to do with BT. Ring Plusnet and say "BT Profile is 16Mb, plusnet profile is 2.1Mb - please reset the plusnet profile to the correct level".

There are some plusnet reps that post in the plusnet forum here. Might be worth looking through that and PM'ing one of them to ask them to give the profile a kick.

Can you PM me with your friends username and I'll get someone to take a look.

From the read through I've had on this thread, it sounds like we're performing a line check and it's coming back with a result saying that it's the copper line at fault, hence us asking them to contact their phone supplier.

See ian72's reply. That's why we needed to see those two sets of data . Also PM Chris with what he asks for, or your friend's phone number if you don't have the username handy. That might be the quickest way to sort out the Plusnet Line Speed setting.

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 24-Jul-12 09:57:41)

Sorry for not replying sooner, but thanks Ian72 as you were right.

I didn't reply earlier as I havent heard back from my friend until this morning. She had phoned plusnet, and they were still insisting it was BT's responsability. She then told them about what you posted (Ian72), and they made the change on that page.

Nothing had happened until the broadband disconnected and reconnected. She's had full speed ever since. So after all the phone calls to plusnet, bt and having an engineer visit because plusnet said it was a loop loss problem. She has decided to leave plusnet.

Thanks again Ian72.


Jason

It's very understandable why she is thinking of leaving. But with luck, after a few days, she will change her mind.

If you get a problem with other ISPs it can be the devil's own job to get things sorted. Here, once we had the IP Profile and the Plusnet Line Speed I asked for, it was relatively easy to get action. Including a Plusnet rep joining the thread - he would also have fixed it rapidly.

Including a Plusnet rep joining the thread - he would also have fixed it rapidly.

That is if he had spotted the obvious, which he didn't.

Edited by professor973 (Thu 02-Aug-12 19:59:20)

Sorry, sniper, but am I missing something? I don't see anything obvious in the thread or the links that easily identifies the friend to Chris. I suppose he could do an SQL search for those speed test results over the last week, or query all tickets for repeated mentions of loop loss .... [cough].

Sorry anorak, but I would have thought a 19Mb sync with constantly a 2Mb down was a pretty good pointer to a stuck profile. I really don't understand the fanatical support from some for what is obviously very poor PN support in some cases.

In reply to a post by professor973:

Sorry anorak, ...

No chance ... he's too old to be an anorak! Try duffel coat instead - with a pak-a-mac for really wet days!

Thanks again Ian72.

You're welcome. My parents are with Plusnet and the service is usually pretty good. But like many ISPs you sometimes have to teach them about ADSL to get a resolution (a few top end ISPs excepted).

I was referring to your silly comment about Chris, when all he did was request the username. There was nothing obvious he was missing, but nothing he could do about it without knowing which customer it was. Neither, for the same reason, could he find out why it wasn't picked up by first-line.

Get real. Your comments then and now are totally out of order. Why do you have to spoil your useful contributions elewhere with this apian infestation?

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 03-Aug-12 12:29:55)

I as always just put my opinion over in a polite manner, though you must remember I have suffered much admitted Plusnet incompetence, so their mention does make me a little tetchy. As far as my knowledge goes, such a vast ongoing difference between sync and download points to a stuck profile.
I could and may be wrong, as unlike some I don't claim to be perfect. But, that is no excuse for the usual clever dick's to start insulting me, you should know I will not take that from anyone. There is no need for it, but that is the nature of fora, where despite knowledgeable members like yourself offering help, they can rarely pass it on in a civil and polite manner.

This forum is the best place I know for fast and friendly advice on all aspects of BB. My limited knowledge does extend to realising that once one hits the big key under the right little finger, one's post or email has gone in a millisecond.

Calm down Prof, you seem to take umbrage when none was intended.

Calm down Prof, you seem to take umbrage when none was intended.

I probably do, though 3 or 4 hours sleep without a day off in 17 years, as a carer for a severely disabled and confused wife, probably contributes to my tolerance of forum tit-for tat.
Already I have taken 'Um-Brage' at umbrage when Offense is quite stufficient!

Edited by professor973 (Fri 03-Aug-12 13:00:29)

Please note:

- your first contribution in this thread was a personal attack on a person in no position to respond, who is doing an excellent job here and elsewhere;

- my first contribution was based on a probable diagnosis which was proved to be correct by the diagnostics I requested.

Your help to the OP here and elsewhere, when Plusnet is involved, is IIRC zilch. You just regard any request for aid as a vehicle for attacking Plusnet and now their reps on these forums. As mods, staff and posters have suggested to you before - make a suitable post or posts in the PN, Which ISP, ISP Unhappiness forums or wherever you choose then get on with your life!

In reply to a post by professor973:

I probably do, though 3 or 4 hours sleep without a day off in 17 years, as a carer for a severely disabled and confused wife, probably contributes to my tolerance of forum tit-for tat.
Already I have taken 'Um-Brage' at umbrage when Offense is quite stufficient!

That sounds remarkably similar to m0aur, whom you denied being.

Look at this strange coincidence:-

Last post by m0aur http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/which_isp/t/4125700... Tue 22-May-12 21:19:32

Registration date of our dear professor Fri 25-May-12 21:49:28

A lot explained, methinks. I knew there was something about the posting style ringing bells.

In reply to a post by professor973:

(Post deleted by MrSaffron) Containing Wrong clever-cloggs as I think you will find that with most boards will block via IP address and cookie" plus the unpleasantness that caused the deletion.

Your personal troubles, which you often raise when you've made a fool of yourself,and with which you well know I have much sympathy, have no relevance to your behaviour here.

Post deleted by MrSaffron

Edited by professor973 (Fri 03-Aug-12 14:02:51)

Post deleted by MrSaffron

Post deleted by MrSaffron

I believe I have warned you over language and attitudes.

Differences of opinion are fine around here, but the use of profanity and what some may interpret as a threat are not.

Post was removed due to re-quoting of original.

Took action on first read of the posts in question.