No Email Access

[#1]

Managed to send two emails BUT the Bcc of one to myself was rejected:-

"Delivery to the following recipients failed permanently:

  * <Snip, my PN email>

Reason: A message that you sent to the following recipient could not be delivered due to a permanent error. ** The remote server ?? responded with: ** <snip, my email> ??:?? This message was created automatically by mail delivery software on the server ."

An email from another account of mine to the PN address was received.

Still some problems to unravel.

[#2]

Yep, it's just the luck of the draw !  Two different systems, two different DNS lookups meaning two different end results   I can even get two different end results when trying to access ftp.plus.net and homepages.plus.net on the same equipment despite both being exactly the same thing.

It could equally well have been the other way round, both of your systems working or both not working.  Given sufficent time for all cached data to expire, the next time you try the results will likely be quite different.

Servce status posts have been over-optimistic and somewhat disengenuous IMHO. Of course PN know exactly what's going on and even if they possibly didn't at the time the 'real' problem began, they definitely must do now.

[#3]

We are now more that 48 hours into this issue and Plusnet's latest update is "We’re working to fix this as quickly as possible. " (9.17am). Given the protracted nature of this major issue, customers deserve more detail of what the problem is, what is being done to fix it and most importantly, what will be done to prevent it recurring.

[#4]

Yesterday I was able to use Thunderbird to download my emails. Today, nope "Sending of password for user <redacted> did not succeed. Mail server mail.globalnet.co.uk responded: Temporary problem, please try again later"

Webmail wont even load the page properly, probably overloaded with people trying to get to their emails. Half the icons on the page are even missing. I does say 71 unread emails....

So somehow, and this seems almost impossible, it is now worse than yesterday for me.

[#5]

And...... back to login failures and time outs when checking mail again!

[#6]

I think there has been some sort of hack that we have not been told about.   Email is currently working, but everytime I go to check our website it says service not available.

Something very fishy going on here...

[#7]

Into day 3 of email disruptions. We're using the Thunderbird email client and we are now getting emails through, I'm not certain that all have been received.

Latest update says "Plusnet emails can be accessed using an email client as normal"

Not so, still unable to send emails - Server name relay.plus.net, Port 587.

[#8]

I'm still having issues receiving and sending emails. It's affected our business pretty badly

[#9]

My client email worked fine first thing this morning and I thought I was on my way.  Just now I find its packed up again and unusable.  There seem to be windows of opportunity now and then before it reverts.

[#10]

As we’re now into day 4 of the outage (remember it started late in the evening on the 9^th),  it’s worth calling out Plusnet for their handling of this shambles.   This is the worst outage I’ve experienced in 20+ years of using email,  and I’m appalled at how Plusnet are managing it.  They really should step up to the mark and act in a more credible and professional manner.    

In particular, they should

• Be honest about the extent of the impact. This Is just anecdotal,  but from simply talking to people in the street yesterday evening,  in the supermarket, or over Whatsapp, it’s clear that this is a massive issue affecting large numbers of people, businesses and community groups. at variance with the “some customers…” line.  (Which is a particularly odious device as it tries to suggest to people who complain that they’re in a minority,  and therefore demanding attention unreasonably).  
  
  
• Try and be a bit more open about what’s caused the problem. People would be a lot more forgiving and understanding of Plusnet, and less stressed-up, if they had a bit of insight to the challenges being faced.    To resort to silence is disrespectful to customers – it also suggests paralysis and fear at senior management level.
  
  
• For the benefit of those people who’ve been seriously derailed by this, and can’t afford for this to happen again – be honest about Plusnet’s provision of email, given what people have suggested above.   Is it always going to be a badly-supported afterthought, because it’s a freebie as a consequence of some bad business decision in the past?   (Plusnet don’t have to put it quite like this,  but we’ll know what they mean).   Customers should be given the courtesy of planning an exit if that’s the reality.

I’m writing this as a non-technical user,  typical of Plusnet’s customer base.  So I’m not interested in technical advice that I don’t have the bandwidth to take on board.   I just want to see the points above addressed.

[#11]

 iwas going to write "As of 10:42 my email service appears to be OK (fingers crossed) on three Plusnet postboxes.  I am using Thunderbird on PC and K-( on Android; all pports are set to 110 for Incoming, 587 for SMTP outgoing."  However I just did another test and service is still patchy and inconsistent both sending and receiving - so there still appears to be some small improvement but certainly not reliable yet.

[#12]

Two days now without fully working email.

Do you realise, PN, how disruptive this is?

The system has been creaking for years, and now it has collapsed.

It's about time you put some investment into repairing this dog of a system.

[#13]

@Mgnl1983 that's what I was thinking too.  It would be nice to be told what the problem is, and how it has happened, and how it is being fixed, and an updated timescale for fixed 😀

[#14]

In my case, my email failed during the evening of the 9th (not the 10th as Plusnet claims). While appreciating the complexity of solving some of these issues, the part that I find annoying is being told that using an email client is the way to go. That is what doesn't work. I've raised a complaint ticket and kept it updated, but keep being told that using a client is working.

So, I am still receiving dribbles of emails from the 9th and 10th, though new ones seem to be coming through. Nothing shows in webmail as backed up waiting to be read. But I cannot send new mails; the client just tells me the connection has been interrupted and to contact my ISP.

This is now severely affecting my business account and use. It would be nice if at least Plusnet acknowledged that no, not all email clients are capable of working correctly with whatever is going on at their end, instead of 'emails can be accessed using an email client as normal' (latest Plusnet update). No, they cannot.

[#15]

I welcome the PN response/update but really, this does not attempt to explain the nature of the problem.

Maybe the responder has been kept out of the loop by PN techies.

If this is so please don't suggest a couple of days ago via a status update that you know what the problem is and then not inform customers as to the true nature of problem. This suggests that either PN do not know what the problem is, or do and are not informing their customer base (whom they appear to treat with disdain).
Lack of info can also create a vacum which will be filled by varies theories such as an external hack, huge system failure or part of PN to remove emails altogether from their offer in the spring. All or some of which may be true.

Apologies to Adam945 if he has been given as little information as we have, but as has been suggested elsewhere this is now serious and affecting peoples lives/livelihoods The least PN should do is communicate regularly, effectively and with real information. If PN do not treat their customers with respect they cannot expect any back and many will ultimately leave.