FTTP switch to Plusnet gone seriously wrong

[#1]

Hi,
I'm posting here on this forum for advice as there seem to be a lot of knowledgeable people on here and I've just about reached the end of my tether with my FTTP switch from BT to Plusnet. I've had FTTP with BT for the past 6 years without any issues but made the decision to switch to Plusnet as I had heard good reports and the prices were very competitive.

The switch was arranged to take place with Plusnet on 21st December and should have been a simple switchover however that didn't happen as planned, instead our broadband service stopped working and we have been left with no service since then.
Obviously I contacted Plusnet and was told that the order was "stuck" with BT wholesale. Plusnet said they tried activating the order and got me to enter my user details manually on the router but that didn't work. I was then told the service would be activated by midnight, that didn't happen. Then I was told BT wholesale needed 48 hours, still nothing, then another 72 hours and still nothing and then told to give them another week!

Earlier this week on one of my numerous calls chasing this up I was told that a complaint has been raised for me and my case has been escalated to the CAT team and they would contact me within 48 hours. Of course after 48 hours there had been no contact so I called and asked to speak to someone in the CAT team to see how this issue can be progressed. I was told that someone from the team would call me back with an update by 6pm and again this did not happen. I then called back only to be told that the CAT team had gone home for the day and to try again tomorrow. As I can imagine I am running out of ideas and just don't know what to do any more. No-one in Plusnet seems interested in taking ownership of this issue and trying to see it through to a successful resolution.

We are now over two weeks without an internet connection. We are unable to work from home, access streaming services that we are paying for etc. and perhaps most frustrating is my son has xmas presents that he is unable to use due to not having online access.

I understand that the issue might lie with BT Wholesale but I can only speak to Plusnet and my contract is with them, surely someone in Plusnet should be liaising with BT Wholesale to get this resolved.

All lights are green on my ONT but solid orange on the router. When I look at the router event log I see CHAP authentication failed and PPP LCP Failed to authenticate ourselves to peer failures.

Any advice for an extremely frustrated and disappointed new customer? I'm just about ready to walk away and try a new provider, I know I'll end up waiting for service elsewhere but surely the customer service experience can't be as bad as I have experienced here.

[#2]

Hi @CJAM 

I'm really sorry that we're no further forward with this for you. 

I've just contacted BT Wholesale for an update on this and was advised that work to fix the order "exception" ( their name for an order system issue) is still being worked on and should be fixed for us within 48 hours. 

I'm conscious you've been given a number of dates already so I'll make sure we keep on top of this for you, the case is with the CAT team so I'll need to leave it with them but I will liase with them to make sure we get back in touch with an update as soon as we can and apologies that promises haven't been kept with that so far. 

Adam

[#3]

Hi @adamwalker,

I really appreciate you getting back to me and while I don't doubt your sincerity in trying to help I'm finding it difficult to have any confidence that the issue will be resolved within 48 hours. I've been told since the start that it would be 48 hours and it is just continually pushed out. Can you please make sure that CAT team management are aware of this issue and it is given highest priority. I'm fed up with false promises of fixes and updates that never happen and now feel that if it is not resolved within 48 hours I have no other choice but to cancel and go elsewhere.

[#4]

---

@CJAM wrote:

... ...  if it is not resolved within 48 hours I have no other choice but to cancel and go elsewhere.

---

Be aware that if you cancel AFTER the first 14 days from SIGN-UP (not from when your service was due to start),  that you will have to pay the remaining cost of ALL the outstanding months of your contract (presumably a 24 month contract * monthly cost), PLUS any other early termination charges. You can check what you would owe in your Account Summary

https://www.plus.net/help/legal/cancellation-policy/#initial-14-day- cancellation-period 

[#5]

Hi @Anonymous, thanks for that but I have been assured during a call yesterday with Plusnet that I would be able to cancel without any issues as in this case my service has never been activated and there have been so many failings with this order. I'm sure the recording of this call can be checked if necessary

[#6]

Ok, it sounds like you managed to talk to someone being reasonable ! - previously others haven't been so lucky.

Good luck with getting your issue resolved. 

[#7]

@CJAM - given you seem to have an authentication issue, and you came from BT, then I'm wondering if you can still establish a connection to the BT network? Might be worth a shot whilst you wait for the issue to be resolved?

To try, you would need to log into the Hub Manager at http://192.168.1.254, navigate to Advanced Settings > Broadband, and change the broadband username and password to: -

username: bthomehub@btbroadband.com
password: BT

To revert the change once the issue has been resolved, you can simply factory reset the hub by inserting something into the pinhiole at the rear of the device until the status light flashes green.

[#8]

Hi @bobpullen,
Thanks for the suggestion, I have given that a try but no joy. I'm still seeing the same authentication issues in the log.

[#9]

That's a shame, but thanks for sharing results.

[#10]

Hi @adamwalker,
Unfortunately we're another 48 hours down the line and I'm still without any working internet. I have had no updates from the CAT team or anyone else from Plusnet. Will someone be contacting me today with the current plan of action and how this is going to be resolved asap?

[#11]

Hi @CJAM I have chased this with our CAT team and they're a little bit behind at the moment, however, this will be getting picked up today.

Please bear in mind, the 48 hours is a review date not an activation date. 

[#12]

Did you get your issue sorted? We should have moved yesterday 23/1 but I’m told the order is stuck in a system?!?!

[#13]

Hi @stone23 I'm really sorry that there's an issue with your order too. 

I've checked your account and can see an advisor called you earlier today, please bear with us and we'll keep you updated. 

Adam

[#14]

Hi,
Got the same here, switched over from BT on Tuesday and been told the same every time I ring.

[#15]

Hi , sorry for the late reply and sorry to hear you are also having issues with your switchover. My issue did get sorted eventually on 8th January, 19 days after my original date. Someone from the CAT team called me on the 8th Jan, they were very knowledgeable and seemed to have a good idea of what the issue might be. They said that they were going to get in touch with BT Wholesale right away and I got a message back within an hour saying that BT Wholesale confirmed there was a configuration issue on their side which they were manually resolving now. I was then online within minutes of recieving that message.

All the Plusnet support staff were very nice and sympathetic but I found it very frustrating that it took almost 3 weeks to finally get someone who was able to speak to BT directly and get the issue resolved within an hour.

Hopefully your issue has been resolved or will be soon.