Shell Energy Broadband

iain_london_busdriver

OK, so I was unhappy with the Sky broadband service I was getting mainly because the speed and the amount of connected devices to the router.
I decided to change provider so on a visit to Curry's 1st June i looked at the options for switching to a fibre provider. The man there said the best option was Shell Energy and the speed they offered coupled with the price it seemed a good choice.
I decided to have the switchover done on the 20th of that month which was my day off and all seemed to be going well.  My new router arrived a few days before the changeover date.
Sky disconnected me from their service on the 20th as assured and all I needed to do was plug in the new router and wait for the system to live.
I found I had a working connection as soon as the router was plugged in around 10am in the morning and was eager to check the speed. The figures were not that increased over sky's  but it was still fast enough to stream 4k footage from my phone to the TV so I was happy.
The next day my wife had informed me while I was at work that there was no Internet on the TV so no Netflix or YouTube. On arriving home I switched the router off and then back on and all connections were made and all was well. And then on the next day same thing.
On entering the routers admin setting I discovered that all connections made to the router were timed at 12 hours after which the connection would be dumped, although devices were displaying connection, they no longer received Internet signal. And no settings would override this. The only was to reestablish a connection was to switch the router off and back on again. This was even true of the heating system connected via the ethernet cable.
I phoned Shell Energy who seemed unknowledgable and unhelpful and the only suggestion they offered was to leave the system switched on for it to settle in. Which would be impossible as after 12 hours of connection we would loose Internet and not regain it unless re booting the router.
My security cameras rely on a permanent connection as does my video doorbell and monitored security system.
When I told Shell the service was not fit for service and wanted to be released from the contract they said I would have to pay in excess of £300.
I told them that this was unacceptable as I had only had the system in place for 4 days and their cooling off period was 14 days. They then replied that the cooling off period of 14 days started when the initial order was placed on 1st June, therefore had expired before the system had even gone live.
I have emailed them for the record of complaint to which a week later still gone un answered, and under advice from Offcom cannot pursue it with the communications ombudsmen until a period of 8 weeks has passed.
Which means a weekend trip away for my 31st anniversary may need to be cancelled as after 12 of leaving my property it will no longer be protected by the Internet.

IN SHORT IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE INTERNET PROVIDERS AVOID SHELL ENERGY.

the router they supplied is outdated and rebadged to which there is no longer any firmware updates or help forums listed
The dropouts of service can be as regular as every hour
Every 11 hours or so I need to turn off the router and then back on again just to keep said alarm system connected.

At my wits end and were it not for my good data plan on my phone and its hotspot I would have had a hard time using my tablet for r and r purposes. 

I look forward to the day when this fiasco with Shell is over as I have already received an email of my first bill but yet cannot answer my email of complaint even after a week.

Neil_Jones

Your cameras probably record to a local box that doesn't care whether its on the internet or not.  The internet access will probably only be for remote viewing.

The monitored security system (by which I presume you mean an alarm) is more likely to be done down the phone line, not the internet connection.

Cooling off period only applies to decision to switch to provider, it is not a 14 day trial.

Go back to Shell and request a replacement router; in the meantime if it does need a required reboot every 11 hours or so, use a plug-in timer.  Your claim you can't go away on a trip because of the router is ridiculous - until you get a replacement router use a seven day timer you can get from the pound shop or similar.

LeesArt

iain_london_busdriver said:

OK, so I was unhappy with the Sky broadband service I was getting mainly because the speed and the amount of connected devices to the router.

I decided to change provider so on a visit to Curry's 1st June i looked at the options for switching to a fibre provider. The man there said the best option was Shell Energy and the speed they offered coupled with the price it seemed a good choice.

I decided to have the switchover done on the 20th of that month which was my day off and all seemed to be going well.  My new router arrived a few days before the changeover date.

Sky disconnected me from their service on the 20th as assured and all I needed to do was plug in the new router and wait for the system to live.

I found I had a working connection as soon as the router was plugged in around 10am in the morning and was eager to check the speed. The figures were not that increased over sky's  but it was still fast enough to stream 4k footage from my phone to the TV so I was happy.

The next day my wife had informed me while I was at work that there was no Internet on the TV so no Netflix or YouTube. On arriving home I switched the router off and then back on and all connections were made and all was well. And then on the next day same thing.

On entering the routers admin setting I discovered that all connections made to the router were timed at 12 hours after which the connection would be dumped, although devices were displaying connection, they no longer received Internet signal. And no settings would override this. The only was to reestablish a connection was to switch the router off and back on again. This was even true of the heating system connected via the ethernet cable.

I phoned Shell Energy who seemed unknowledgable and unhelpful and the only suggestion they offered was to leave the system switched on for it to settle in. Which would be impossible as after 12 hours of connection we would loose Internet and not regain it unless re booting the router.

My security cameras rely on a permanent connection as does my video doorbell and monitored security system.
When I told Shell the service was not fit for service and wanted to be released from the contract they said I would have to pay in excess of £300.

I told them that this was unacceptable as I had only had the system in place for 4 days and their cooling off period was 14 days. They then replied that the cooling off period of 14 days started when the initial order was placed on 1st June, therefore had expired before the system had even gone live.

I have emailed them for the record of complaint to which a week later still gone un answered, and under advice from Offcom cannot pursue it with the communications ombudsmen until a period of 8 weeks has passed.
Which means a weekend trip away for my 31st anniversary may need to be cancelled as after 12 of leaving my property it will no longer be protected by the Internet.

IN SHORT IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE INTERNET PROVIDERS AVOID SHELL ENERGY.

the router they supplied is outdated and rebadged to which there is no longer any firmware updates or help forums listed

The dropouts of service can be as regular as every hour

Every 11 hours or so I need to turn off the router and then back on again just to keep said alarm system connected.

At my wits end and were it not for my good data plan on my phone and its hotspot I would have had a hard time using my tablet for r and r purposes. 

I look forward to the day when this fiasco with Shell is over as I have already received an email of my first bill but yet cannot answer my email of complaint even after a week.

Thanks SO MUCH for your post, I considered joining Shell Energy but been put off by posts of others, so your post just confirms my thinking.

Regarding your requested information, email dpo at shellenergy dot co dot uk and make a Subject Access Request for all your data including phone calls, include your account number. 

You need to determine whether this cut off is happening at the ISP or on your router.  When I travel I use hotspots that time out, so I used 3rd party routers to log out and log back in to avoid cut outs.

It could be a simple lease setting in the Router but these usually log in by themselves, they do not need a reboot.

If you have a device that creates a connection it will use a TCP/IP connection (socket) and so if lost you either reboot that device to establish a new connection or reboot the router, but there may be settings inside the router that would not require the reboot or that could do the reboot automatically.  It really depends where the drop is, it could be the router has dropped the line, the ISP has dropped the connection or a combination of the two.

When I travel and use hotspots I find that youtube will recover reasonably gracefully once the broadband is back up, but Netflix requires you at least go back to main menu or reboot the Netflix app.  This shows a difference in how they make their connections.  In my home I find some of the light switches that work with Alexa lose their connection and need router reboot to fix them.

What you describe is all devices losing connection and at the same time, which does point to a Router config issue.

You could ask Shell Energy for another router, but I never like ISP routers, however, it could be that there is a more technical menu, so find the model Shell are using and do some Google research to see if such an option exists.  

For router replacement I use old high end Netgear 7800 or LinkSys WRT32 routers that cost me under £60 on ebay, I either run DD-WRT or more recently OpenWRT firmware, the latter is a more technical but has way more capability.  So before you order a router make sure it runs the firmware you want to use and that it is easy to install.  If you want to experiment you can find a BT Router with OpenWRT installed on ebay for around £16.

With these router firmwares  you will have way more capability than an ISP offers you.  You can configure the ports into two different switches, you can configure firewall rules on top of that, you can configure, Lans and Wifi as you see fit and you can install a VPN into the Router.  OpenWRT is essentially linux with a router like GUI called LUCI that resembles other firmware, you can also connect to the router with terminal software like winSCP and install code.

Even on old ISP routers I used to have keep alive settings or I would set a device to keep the connection open. 

I have checked online and Shell Energy do allow you to use your own router

"If you need to know the username and password to connect your own router then please call us on 0330 094 5801. Lines are open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday and 9am to 4pm on Saturday.

Once you have been provided with your router credentials, if you’re on Fast Broadband you’ll need to do the following:

• Type or encapsulation 'PPPoA' or 'PPP over ATM'
• Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) 0
• Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) 38
• Multiplexing method 'VC Based' or 'VCMUX' or 'VC-Multiplexing'

If you’re on one of our fibre packages:

• Set connection type to PPPoE
• Leave all settings as default except enable 802.1Q and set VLAN tag to 101"

Also there are some options for you, in the first place, the Consumer Rights Act 2015. 

Would anyone buy Broadband if they thought it was cut off every 12 hours and needed a physical intervention to make it work, risking loss of data and massive inconvenience. 

The answer is NO and it seems to me that it is a core term that should have been disclosed before you signed up, the CRA says such terms need to be very prominent and this gives you a get out. Remember the CRA overrides any company terms to contrary as companies can't contract out of common law.

So I would tell them that they are in breach of contract because the service is not fit for purpose as defined under the CRA, if they argue ask them for a deadlock letter and refer it to the ombudsman.  Meanwhile, advise Shell Energy that as they have failed to provide you with a proper service you will be buying an unlimited data SIM which cost £16 a month, a router for said sim and you will hold them liable for any minimum term, tell them you are advising them of this to give them an opportunity to mitigate their loss.

Tell them you will dispute any exit fees and are happy to let a Judge in the County Court decide.

Once I had determined that there was not a setting to change this 12 hour nonsense I would go down the heavy route.  First by complaining and telling them you will get your own alternative device and seek your costs from them in the Small Claims Court.  I did that recently with a company and I cautioned them that I would be charging them £15 per email I have to send and £10 for each email I have to read, plus the telephone calls.  I did a money claim online, they settled the main amount but did not pay the £270 for the emails etc. So I pushed on and it was referred to a Judge who made an Order for them to pay.  I had great delight in telling them if they did not settle I would escalate to High Court enforcement and they paid up in 7 days. 

What matters is that you are very clear with Shell Energy on the Consumer Rights Act, that the service needs to be 

1. Fit for purpose
2. Of reasonable quality
3. Match Description
4. Last for a reasonable length of time.

Point out how their service fails these and give them 7 days to provide a remedy.

After the 7 days inform them that you will be getting an alternative service via sim and will hold them responsible for the costs of a router for the SIM plus £16 a month and any sign up or exit fees.

It would probably help your legal case to get on chat with other ISP's and ask if they provide a 24/7 service, ask if they cut you off with any regularity rather than when they need to install an update.

You say your service started on 20th June 2022, so you are in the first 30 days, this gives you SHORT TERM RIGHT TO REJECT under consumer rights act.  Call Shell Energy, tell them that you are invoking your Short Term Right to Reject under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.  In first 30 days the burden is on you to prove it is faulty, after 30 days they have to prove it is NOT faulty.

Two lessons here:

1. Never ask Currys ANYTHING
2. Check online for Supplier reviews, I just saw Shell Energy Broadband has 2 star rating on broadband dot co dot uk.

Norman_Castle

I was with Shell for a few years and this was never a problem. Its clearly a setting or fault. Have you tried using your old router or borrowing one from a friend?

Phone them again, explain the repeated disconnections are still happening and ask them to register it as a fault which they need to repair.

Schmipper

I've had a similar issue. I can't fault the connection speed/reliabilty and price for my Shell Fibre Broadband package, however, the supplied Techicolor router is absolutely dire. I suspect they're customer returned units from another ISP.

You can change the lease time settings for IP addresses on your local network as follows -

Log into the router (details are on the card you received with the router, or on the bottom of it). Click the 'Local Network' icon (far left, 2nd row down). Click 'Show Advanced' at the top of the pop-up window that's just opened. Scroll down to 'DHCP Pool LAN'. In the 3rd text box down called 'Lease Time' enter the new value. I have entered 104w in mine, which stands for 104 weeks, or 2 years. Save your settings and reboot the router. Log back into your router as before. Click the 'Devices' icon. A pop-up window will open and diplayed will be all of the connected devices on your netwok. It will show the connected time and the IP address lease expiry time, which will be 727 days, 50 something minutes and however many seconds. 

This may possibly solve your issue, however you may also need to assign static IP addresses to some of your devices also. It's unfortuante that the Customer Advisors at Shell Broadband are useless and their 'clever person department' can't simply roll out a quick firmware upgrade to address this problem (and others). Supplied routers should be a bit more plug & play. 

I hope this helps. If not I would suggest you purchase a router that you own outright and can endlessly configure. ISP supplied routers are generally rubbish, and this Technicolor is by far the worst! I have encountered further issues with the supplied router, it's a bit trial and error, but I haven't thrown it away (just yet)!

Dave