Alas Plusnet, I remember it well !!

[#1]

Its nice and sometimes frustrating to look back at the way things or a service used to be, but alas Plusnet has gone down the same route as a lot of other small companies that grew too large and forgot about their customers.
I remember back in the good old days - 8/9 years ago- back even when I had a dial up connection with PN.  If you had a problem you could ring PN, get someone in customer support, explain your problem and if it couldn't be remedied immediately it would be solved in 48 hrs.  But if this wasn't possible at least they would ring you back and explain why not. 
About the 1st Nov I tried to access a web site http://www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk and it Bombed out "Server not found".  No problem - server is down, I'll try tomorrow night.  Next night, dito.  The following day at work I tried to access the site and got in straight away.  That night, tried it a home and it was the same old story.  Hey, this is strange, no problem with any other sites just this one.  After some investigating, I found that I also couldn't ping the site.  This to me was a DNS problem - time to contact Plusnet.
Ring customer services, explained my problem, answer - dial test !!  (No use in arguing, I'll just phone back tomorrow and hopefully get someone else.)  Rang the following night - answer, "problem is with your MTU Router Setting !!"  By now I'm getting frustrated, how do I get them to take this further?  Rang back and stated again the problem and told them that it couldn't be my line or my router unless my friend was using the same router and the same line as he also couldn't access the same web site! 
Hey presto - the ticket got escalated and on the 9th Nov, I got confirmation that there was "a DNS server problem and the problem was being looked at as we speak". 
Due to work committments and to give them an opportunity to rectify the problem (ie 5 working days) I didn't get a chance to check if the site was working, until Mon 16th Nov. 
To my suprise the site was still not accessible.  At this stage I was a little more than miffed to say the least.  Rang customer services, yet again, and he stated that "the ticket had been referred to me instead of the engineers". 
He stated "that he would get it looked at first thing in the morning and that someone would contact me about the problem".  I stated that "I was escalating the fault" that if the problem wasn't fixed within 24 hrs that I would be looking for my MAC KEY.

As of today - I've had the same level of customer support - namely - absolutely NOTHING !!!
So when I get a chance at the weekend I will sit down and decide which ISP  will be getting my custom in the future.
I seems in this age loyal customers don't matter /count.  Any wonder that they have slipped to 3rd in PCPRO reviews.
Can I also state Plusnet that I have referred you to a large number of people and set up a number of accounts with yourselves over the years but I will not be doing it in the future and don't be suprised if there are a few more people looking their MAC KEYS. 

[#2]

Definitely a DNS problem. I use my own caching DNS server, not the Plusnet ones and can access the website. Here's the results of my testing all the PN DNS servers plus the result from my own:

C:\Documents and Settings\John>nslookup www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk 212.159.6.9
Server:  ptn-cdns01.plus.net
Address:  212.159.6.9
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to ptn-cdns01.plus.net timed-out
C:\Documents and Settings\John>nslookup www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk 212.159.6.10
Server:  ptn-cdns02.plus.net
Address:  212.159.6.10
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to ptn-cdns02.plus.net timed-out
C:\Documents and Settings\John>nslookup www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk 212.159.13.49
Server:  pth-cdns01.plus.net
Address:  212.159.13.49
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to pth-cdns01.plus.net timed-out
C:\Documents and Settings\John>nslookup www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk 212.159.13.50
Server:  pth-cdns02.plus.net
Address:  212.159.13.50
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to pth-cdns02.plus.net timed-out
C:\Documents and Settings\John>nslookup www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk
Server:  localhost
Address:  127.0.0.1
Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    hyundaiownersclub.co.uk
Address:  74.54.16.82
Aliases:  www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk

You could either add another DNS server such as OpenDNS or add an entry to your hosts file which would allow you to access the site.

[#3]

Hi Horse (yes, seems to me you have every right to get on it!)
I also have been a subscriber to Plusnet for yonks and thankfully only had problems in the early days when problems were settled within a couple of days by staff which knew what they were talking about.
Sadly, by reading several similar complaints such as yours, those balmy days seem to be over.
I only hope that I do not get any problems in the near future.
I would have suggested that your full letter should be shown to the "new" boss at Plusnet, but I fear that would be a waste of time...I remember that when he first arrived a few months ago, there was a general suggestion from members of the Forum that he should introduce himself via the Forum so that we could work together knowing that he cared.
Sadly, again, I do not remember any introduction from him.
I also am very glad that I did not recommend any of my friends to Plusnet in the past...I was afraid that things may go wrong and I would be blamed for their demise....what a wise decision I made!
I have to say that I ,personally, have had no need to complain about the Plusnet service, simply because fortunately I have not needed it...but I would hate to tempt fate.
I wonder if the "new boss" ever reads these Forum threads?
All bosses and employees of any company should be reminded that it is their customers who pay their wages.
Oh well, thankfully there are now other ISP's out there who really do want our business............

[#4]

Alas dear Plusnet, it is a DNS problem, and this is the second one I've read about in the last few days, the other was about some caravanning website.

[#5]

i see lots of this and it strikes me that peeps should get going on the forum at the same time as they get onto plusnet for help.  this way the members can help diagnose the fault and experience shows that someone on the staff will get in quickly to try to resolve the conundrum while being unfailingly polite.
no need to get a hair across.

[#6]

Quote from: Anotherone

Alas dear Plusnet, it is a DNS problem, and this is the second one I've read about in the last few days, the other was about some caravanning website.

I've a sneaking suspicion that it's something to do with this.
I'm not getting a response when trying to querying the root hint servers for the authoritative NS for the domain.

>nslookup -type=ns hyundaiownersclub.co.uk 212.159.6.9
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
Server:  UnKnown
Address:  212.159.6.9
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to UnKnown timed-out

I can get a response from OpenDNS though ???:

>nslookup -type=ns hyundaiownersclub.co.uk 208.67.222.222
Server:  resolver1.opendns.com
Address:  208.67.222.222
Non-authoritative answer:
hyundaiownersclub.co.uk nameserver = ns1.sitehq7.com
hyundaiownersclub.co.uk nameserver = ns2.sitehq7.com

I'm going to raise a problem I think to haveb this looked into because like @Anotherone, I've seen similar problems elsewhere of late.
@HORSE, are you happy with the workaraounds that @jelv's provided you with or do you need some more guidance to get things working again?

[#7]

Ahoy there fellow ship mates.
Thanks to one and all for your support and to jelv for a possible work around.
The reason I was so angry was at the amount time it has taken for this problem to be solved and the lack of feedback from Plusnet Support (we will call you back - I'm still waiting), remember this has been happening for almost a month now. It wasn't that I couldn't get around the problem, the issue is that I have been paying for a service that I was not receiving in full. I shouldn't have to work around the problem - "BT your line keeps dropping in and out " - would you call that a service, and less of a service if they didn't fix it!
This was the final nail in the coffin as far as I was concerned. Some months back I noted that my download speed in the evenings was getting less and less and waiting 20-30 secs for a page to load, so upgraded when advised to do so, great to start off with but has been dropping off again.
Anyhow, just to let you know that I tried the hyundai site about an hour ago( via PN) and I can report that it is up and running 
Now, the only question I'm left with is, was this the timely intervention by Bob Pullen or the request for my MAC code on Monday!
If it was you Bob, thanks - but I fear it my be to little too late!!

[#8]

I understand where you are coming from there. My speed has dropped to 0.1mbpa after been with PN for three months now.
http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/speedtest/#
shows other PN users getting 3.6.
to be honest I am that fed up with the slow speed that I am disillusioned by the whole thing and have given up

[#9]

If I was you, that web site is the biggest load of rubbish there is, it shows people on ISP that dont serve this area and ridiculous results for those that do and are not on LLU , my exchange has no cable or ADSL2

[#10]

Sorry, I was wrong, the site is still not working.
Thought that I had reset the secondary DNS in my router that was pointing to OpenDNS.
Ah well, back to the drawing board.

[#11]

Quote from: HORSE

The reason I was so angry was at the amount time it has taken for this problem to be solved and the lack of feedback from Plusnet Support (we will call you back - I'm still waiting), remember this has been happening for almost a month now.

The problem is related to how we're using Unbound's secure DNS implementation to sanitise lookups. It's now far more susceptible to problems where it encounters misconfigured domains however is does offer additional protection from things like DNS poisoning.
If you take a look here you'll see that the domain is advertising ns1.staticdns.com and ns2.staticdns.com as resolvers.
These servers return two 67.15.56.X A records.

C:\Users\bpullen>nslookup ns1.staticdns.com ns1.staticdns.com
Server:  euston.sitehq7.com
Address:  74.54.16.82
Name:    ns1.staticdns.com
Address:  67.15.56.21

C:\Users\bpullen>nslookup ns2.sitehq7.com ns2.sitehq7.com
Server:  53.10.364a.static.theplanet.com
Address:  74.54.16.83
Name:    ns2.sitehq7.com
Address:  67.15.56.213

Neither of which replies to DNS requests:

C:\Users\bpullen>nslookup www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk 67.15.56.213
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
Server:  UnKnown
Address:  67.15.56.213
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to UnKnown timed-out

C:\Users\bpullen>nslookup www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk 67.15.56.21
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
Server:  UnKnown
Address:  67.15.56.21
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
    timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to UnKnown timed-out

Quote

Anyhow, just to let you know that I tried the hyundai site about an hour ago( via PN) and I can report that it is up and running  Now, the only question I'm left with is, was this the timely intervention by Bob Pullen or the request for my MAC code on Monday! If it was you Bob, thanks - but I fear it my be to little too late!!

I didn't do anything so I'm not sure why you were able to access the site again. I asked one of our engineers to look at this again, however they concur with the information above and maintain that the administration of the domain is sloppy. The site still resolves when using OpenDNS so you should be able to access it if you've switched to using these servers

C:\Users\Bobby>nslookup www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk 208.67.222.222
Server:  resolver1.opendns.com
Address:  208.67.222.222
Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    hyundaiownersclub.co.uk
Address:  74.54.16.82
Aliases:  www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk

Quote from: whitehead14

I understand where you are coming from there. My speed has dropped to 0.1mbpa after been with PN for three months now. http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/speedtest/# shows other PN users getting 3.6. to be honest I am that fed up with the slow speed that I am disillusioned by the whole thing and have given up

Your problem looks to be outside of our network. Over recent weeks your IP Profile has plummeted:

2009-11-28 22:08:27 - 350kbps
2009-11-21 01:51:32	- 250kbps
2009-11-20 02:32:12	- 500kbps
2009-11-19 02:37:22	- 750kbps
2009-11-11 22:31:15	- 1500kbps
2009-11-05 18:56:03	- 1250kbps
2009-11-01 18:16:46	- 1750kbps
2009-09-16 19:30:50	- 1500kbps

Just run a test on your line and your downstream SNR is a massive 18db and you're router's synchronising  at a pretty paltry 544kbps. This is well below your 'Fault Threshold Rate' of 1382kbps so as long as we can rule out your internal wiring/equipment then it should be pretty easy to get BT Wholesale to fix it.
You need to unplug *everything* from your phone line (including devices connected to other extension sockets) and plug you modem/router directly into your main master socket via a filter avoiding the use of any extension cabling. Have a look to see what your line rate is then, you should be able to get this information from the router configuration pages. If you can get your synchronisation rate back up  to a respectable level then your download speed should follow suit about three days later.