Safeguard won't stay enabled

[#1]

@steve440 

Plusnet need to take the advert / page down on the website that promotes Safeguard what I posted at the top of this page the other day as a lot of folk will be signing up due to the Safeguard feature being included

Can it be classed as false advertising? Not sure as it is free.....no idea

[#2]

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@Kelly wrote:

 @JonoH can you make sure this is talked about in the Digital Teams?   Bit of a shotgun to the foot moment. 😕

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If you look closely you'll see that that tweet has disappeared now 😉 and I agree that whilst it's not working for everybody it is something that we shouldn't be shouting about, until it's resolved. Unfortunately I have no visibility of what others send until it is sent.

Regarding this issue, we have made progress with this and I'll update as soon as we have something concrete to share.

[#3]

@JonoH 

A week ago you said progress has been made with fixing Safeguard. So...has the concrete dried yet?

It is now starting to get very annoying as this Safeguard issue started at the end of March

This is nothing to do with me but there are even some recent Plusnet reviews mentioning the Safeguard issue (amongst all the other poor reviews) on a well known review site.

It cannot be doing Plusnet any favours whatsoever with all the negativity flying about whether it be on review sites or social media

[#4]

Once we've an update I'll share it, there's little value in me sharing anything else I'm afraid.

[#5]

I have just discovered that my Safeguard isn't working and then found this thread.

Frankly this is shocking. 

Just managed to speak to them on the phone

No timeline for a fix and will only update me when it is fixed. Not helpful

@JonoH Plusnet need to be more proactive in communicating with customers and keeping them informed of progress.

Amazed this hasn't hit the media yet.

Andrew

[daggermonkey]

It's been over a month since I raised the issue and I have no idea how long before that it actually stopped working.  It then took me several phone calls to get past "switch it off and on again then wait 2 hours".  I thought I was making progress when Plusnet finally admitted there was a problem at their end but it seems not.

Like daggermonkey, I'm very disappointed with the lack of communication, especially that Plusnet made no attempt whatsoever to warn customers that there could be a problem.

As a temporary fix I've started using CloudFlare's filtered DNS.  You can only do this if you can change the DNS settings on the router, which I understand you CANNOT do on a Plusnet One Hub. If you can change your DNS settings it could be worth a try, see;

https://blog.cloudflare.com/introducing-1-1-1-1-for-families/

It's free and easy to set up.  Blocks adult content and malware but the free service doesn't allow any customisation, for example, I would like to be able to block gambling sites but I can't.  There are other similar services.

My contract ends next month so the problem will be solved for me one way or another.

[#7]

I have also been chasing this for a month ... and wrote yesterday on another thread about it.

A manager should be phoning me back today and am currently writing to my MP.

This should be a priority for Plusnet.

[#8]

It should be top of the list of priorities @adamskirton 

Considering what was mentioned in the Queens speech yesterday about The Online Safety Bill, you would have thought the powers that be at Plusnet HQ get their act together

The last thing they would want is to make the headlines for the wrong reasons for advertising a product that does not work in Broadband Safeguard, especially such an important subject as this with Online Safety, as their isn't any with Plusnet due to the fact that they supply you with a rubbish router (Hub One) in which the DNS cannot be altered for a temporary fix using Cloudflare DNS or Open DNS settings

Another thing I wondered. Is Broadband Safeguard actually managed in-house at Plusnet, or is it a third party that provides the service (when it worked)

[#9]

@adamskirton @tcj1971 

I work in IT, I'm perplexed as to why they haven't implemented their DR plan on this.

Frankly it's been out of service so long that by now they could have rebuilt the entire system from scratch, tested it and put it live. 

Please let us know what the manager says. I'm considering an email to philip.jansen@bt.com is there isn't any positive news by the weekend.

[#10]

I didn't get a phone call back, so had to phone up and spent 40 minutes talking to a very helpful Cortney in Sheffield, whose manager has offered to release me from the contract for free if i want to leave.

He has since emailed me also confirming: "As discussed on the call I've spoken with a manger who has authorised a credit for the for cost of internet security software. What would be able to be used until the issue with safeguard has been resolved. Credit would be for up 25.00."

Courtney then put me through to a manager called Keela. When she read the comments on this chat (well done everyone for contributing!) and saw how long this had been unresolved, as a parent herself, she was horrified.

Keela is looking into it immediately and phoning me back in the morning.

Plusnet have a duty of care to it's customers which is clearly being breached. I have asked how they intend to warn all parents that the reason some of their children may have been acting strangely is very possibly due to them accessing inappropriate content online.

[#11]

@adamskirton 

Good effort👍

For a start Plusnet could do with removing this page until Safeguard is fixed https://www.plus.net/broadband/extras/online-security/ as it misleads folk into purchasing a broadband contract thinking their home internet will be protected from viewing harmful and pornographic content when of course it will not be blocked

[#12]

That’s good progress, thanks for that positive update. However, there’s one thing that alarms me:

“Courtney then put me through to a manager called Keela. When she read the comments on this chat (well done everyone for contributing!) and saw how long this had been unresolved, as a parent herself, she was horrified.”

Are you saying that the Plusnet management team had not been made aware of this very serious issue? if so, I’m staggered. This has been going on for over a year now with still no resolution in sight, and yet management had not been made aware?

I find this really hard to believe… 

[#13]

@hawmead 

Of course the 'managment' will be aware but the excuses and delays are just piling up. I have contacted 'support' through Twitter a month ago and just got fobbed off with the usual we are aware rubbish. Like @daggermonkey posted yesterday - Safeguard has been out of service so long that by now they could have rebuilt the entire system from scratch, tested it and put it live. 

Nothing is getting done and this is why I am wondering if Broadband Safeguard is actually a service that Plusnet maintain or a third party who no longer want to supply this service for Plusnet for whatever reason

And yet again a review has appeared on a well lnown review website where the reviewer has discovered Safeguard does not work followed by the copy and paste reply from a 'support team' member

Plusnet need to get something sorted asap without constant excuses because it seems the news is spreading fast and it won't be long before it hits the media

[#14]

We seem to be stuck on a hamster wheel here - no real progress. I'm an IT person too, a server could have been rebuilt from scratch and hardware replaced etc so this is very low on their priority list. Has anybody contacted their MP yet? A number of us should write to our local MPs if no action next week to ask about bringing it up in parliament?

[#15]

When I was resolving the Safeguard issues last year, they were very high on the radar (I'd report on progress weekly to the senior Technology team) and unless something massive has changed, these issues will be also just as high on the radar.  Plusnet just has become very reluctant to provide inside information as to how changes/fixes etc are progressing. (Which is a million miles away from the entire point of these forums and the main thing that really upset me about my final years at PN)

My old team who are in the Technology side are aware of this (told them directly) so it is very likely that there is a fix either in progress right now, or is done and awaiting a test or release slot.  I'd have given out this information (and probably upset someone about it!) if I was still on the inside!    

It's [-Censored-] though, the frustration is absolutely understandable, and I share it.   However @JonoH will let us know once he's got something he can say.