thinking of moving to Plusnet - don't bother

lazyade

A few weeks ago I thought I'd try and save a new pounds a month by moving my broadband from Sky to Plusnet (and keep my line and calls with BT). I requested my MAC code from SKY, who rather annoyingly told me this would have to be snail mailed to me, this arrived after about three days. I passed on the MAC code to PlusNet who activated the service last Wednesday (7th) - I signed up for their 'no contract' option. I was away for a few days so wasn't able to reconfigure my router until Thursday night.

Initially the connection was pretty fast, it tested around 8 mbps (via a PC connected to the router using an ethernet connection, using speedtest.net). But come Friday the connection was dropping out every ten minutes or so. I know the providers say it takes 10 days for the connection to stabilise, but my past experiences show that if the connection is unstable after a few days then it doesn't get any better. I tried to contact Plusnet support on Friday evening, I was told there was a 20 minute wait, so I hung-up. I tried again Saturday morning (still having drop out issues), again I was told there was a 20 minute wait. Now it's Sunday and I'm testing 0.01 mbps, and still getting dropouts every 10 minutes or so! I'm writing this using a tethered connection from my iPhone.

I phoned Plusnet this morning and got through to support and explained the problems. The guy said that he couldn't do anything until the initial 10 days has passed. He also said the problems would be with my BT line to my exchange, I refuted this (given Sky used the same line to the exchange and the connection was fine). I said I think the problem related to their backbone (the connection from the exchange to their internet servers) - he replied by telling me I'd better change providers then, as they share BT's backbone.

So, moral of the story is, don't be taken in by Plusnet's nice marketing and pricing. Their service is no better than the others (both customer and broadband speed). As an aside, I also lost the ability to use Sky's Anytime+ service when I moved my broadband from them. I'll be going back to Sky, who despite being infuriating at times, do provide a fast broadband service and their support isn't too bad.

Mark_In_Hampshire

Regarding the ten day training period - this is correct for certain ISPs who use BT Wholesale as their supplier. Like Plusnet, but not like e.g. O2, Sky, Talk Talk, BE which are LLU based (not BT Wholesale)

During this period the exchange equipment at the other end will adjust the sync rate/ip profile to what is seen to be stable for the line. So, if it syncs at, say, 8Mbps, but that causes drop outs, it might try lower syncs until it stops dropping out. The maximum sync that will "hold" is thanks to a varety of conditions. The average is between about 4Mbps and 6Mbps on an ADSL2+ service (17Mbps is pretty rare, needs a very short line)

That's why Plusnet won't do anything for 10 days. It doesn't mean that it's all working perfectly, and that there is no fault. If, after 10 days the SYNC light on the modem keeps going out then back on again (which is what I am assuming you mean by dropouts, but if it is not then do clarify) then it can be raised as a fault.

lazyade

Saver0811 wrote: »

What a load of rubbish.

During the 10 days, BT will up & down your line speed whilst THEY do tests.

It is a brand new service, not a continuation of your old one.

You didn't wait the 10 days did you. Looks like you waited less than three.

" I was away for a few days so wasn't able to reconfigure my router until Thursday night."

There may also be a BT problem on the line, to be corrected.

My Plusnet line speed is 17mb/s, so no complaints.

As to bad CS, perhaps they are reacting to your contact with them !!

You have a cooling off period, use it.

Like I said in my post, in my experience if broadband isn't stable after a couple of days, it doesn't get better. Also I believe I should be getting more than 0.01mbps, even in the 10 day period. But you may be right and maybe it will sort itself out in 10 days - time will tell.

However I don't agree with your comment about customer service. I doubt anyone on this forum would find a 20 minute wait time to speak to technical support is acceptable.

spannerzone

I've never had to wait more than a few minutes either and I think I had a recorded message saying about a 10 or 20 min wait and yet I got an answer in a minute of dialling.

I think the OP has to at least go through the motions of giving Plusnet the chance to sort this out after 10 days, who knows but maybe plugging in the new modem caused an issue or something went wrong at the exchange? things go wrong and you have to at least let them try sort it out.

As the OP is clearly experienced in broadband we can assume he/she has plugged the modem directly into the test socket to elliminate internal wiring as a possible issue?

Owain_Moneysaver

If you've got an internet connection you can see current call waiting times online

mardatha

I changed to Plusnet a month ago and they've been terrific. A breath of fresh air after AOL and BT. They are easy to contact and I can understand what they're saying:)

wendy05

dont need to call .. go to their website forum and all you do is post your problem .. and they generally have it resolved (or at least you get to know the problem and how it will be resolved) in a matter of 1 or 2 hours .. if its a connection / speed issue

UncleZen

Like I said in my post, in my experience if broadband isn't stable after a couple of days, it doesn't get better.

Then youve had a bad expeience and you're wrong

Give them the 10 days then post back.

iniltous

I had a problem quite a while ago, never had a good speed, too far away from the exchange, but a solid enough 0.5Mb, then I had terrible speed, checking on the BTW speedchecker I had something like 0.13Mb down, the upload was faster than the download !!, spoke to BT ( my ISP) and the offshore call centre were poor, I had read somewhere that you could insist on a call back from a UK customer rep, so I asked for this....the next day someone from Newcastle called and explained that my line had been upgraded, ADSL to ADSLmax and I was in the 10 day training period, and that there were now about 3 days left ( it was a few days before I called BT about the speed)...he said that nothing much could be done until this period ended, but looking at some line rate info, he said my speed would be a lot better than the 0.5Mb i was getting, so didnt actually do anything the offshore CS did, but was miles better at explaining what was going on........anyway a couple of days later, speed went upto 3Mb and has remained there....now 3Mb may not be great but its better than 0.5...so let the DLM period run its course, may be frustrating now but may be worth in in the long run

Electron1944

"may be frustrating now but may be worth in in the long run"

With BT Vision, phone line and broadband I found it impossible to use Vison on demand due to a line profile of 250kb/s

After complaints to BT and other delays, i.e. diversions to Bangladesh and the usual, "It's your internal wiring" rubbish, I asked for a MAC code to transfer to PlusNet.

The line download speed suddenly shot up from a paltry 243kb/s (34kb/s at one point) to 3400+kb/s, STILL ON THE SAME INTERNAL WIRING.

I cancelled all with BT and went to PlusNet, the line speed has settled nicely to a steady 3300kb/s and I am now happily able to download pages without having time to make tea and sandwiches while they load.

beautifylife

I understand the frustations here, I've had many myself with other providers. About a year ago I changed to Plusnet, and I have been very happy with the service to date overall.

1. Like others it is a relief to speak to someone who I can understand, I have had some real help from customer service and it was a relief. They were patient and helpful.

2. I think on the whole they are competitive and the service has been reliable and it's easy to get help in my experience and billing has been good.

If I ever need to move let's hope that works well too.

If you haven't already moved back to Sky, give them a chance to prove what they can do, although it sounds like the restriction on service with sky+ is part of the issue.

best of luck, hope all works out well in the end.