I have had no phone or internet for over 6 weeks.

[#1]

I think the issue is that we see so many cases of PN just not keeping on top of the issue. So whilst the proximate cause of many of the issues is OR, I often don't believe PN are doing everything in their power to resolve it.
There is the other argument that the customer's contract is with PN, not OR. What goes on behind the scenes is PN's concern, they just need to fix it.
There are so many other examples in life where we hammer the organisation that we have the contract with when they cite problems with their supplier. Yet it sometimes seems PN should be cut some slack when the problem is OR. I would have more sympathy with that argument if I didn't see endless posts where PN fail to grasp or take control of the situation, prolonging the problems. With all the problems OR has, it still sometimes feels like the blind leading the blind.

[#2]

Indeed it does.  I do not disagree that PN have been poor in catching these dropped balls.  The issue though is with BT making so many cock-ups it is understandable why PN is so overwhelmed with so many dropped balls.  PlusNet is not alone in having supply issues from BTOR.  Sadly (and I can understand why) unlike other ISPs they have yet to take the issue (as a complaint) to Ofcom.
Can you imagine the media headlines...

Quote

Infighting in BT Group Today PlusNet (BT Group's budget ISP) lodged a formal complaint with Ofcom against BT Openreach (a sibling BT Group company) for their persistent failure to deliver a professional service of the expected standard.  Amongst several issues, PlusNet cited BTOR's frequent failure to attend appointments when scheduled, failures in BTOR's order processing systems, protracted service provision and fault resolutions times. It is also rumoured that subsequent to the formal complaint being lodged with Ofcom, several senior managers at PlusNet are now seeking new career opportunities outside of the BT Group...

You just isn't going to see change in this neck of the woods.  We've not heard anything further about Sky's complaint to Ofcom (I suspect that they are trying to sweep it under the carpet) so we ought not to expect PlusNet senior management to be putting their jobs on the line to fix BTOR's issues, even if that is the right thing to do.

[#3]

Let's face it, Plusnet is more useless than most ISPs at managing OR because of the reasons Townman has given regarding the common ownership.
If you are a BT OR manager sat facing an overwhelming workload and you have to decide between prioritising the jobs for a non-BT ISP who's likely to complain to OFCOM and the jobs for BT owned company where the management value their jobs above giving a decent service to their users and hence won't complain to OFCOM or the parent company, what would you do?
Excusing Plusnet by saying it's OR's fault isn't helpful - our contracts are with Plusnet, is up to Plusnet to manage the interface with 'their supplier'.

[#4]

Quote from: spoon

Excusing Plusnet by saying it's OR's fault isn't helpful - our contracts are with Plusnet, is up to Plusnet to manage the interface with 'their supplier'.

Precisely.

[#5]

Here here, something - at least on the face of it - the current CEO has failed to do, and he is therefore directly responsible for Plusnet having "lost" it's excellent reputation.
I feel sorry for many of the Plusnet staff, especially those that support/have supported this forum - many of whom I have interfaced with over the years and who feel passionately about Plusnet, they must be thoroughly demoralised by this appalling situation but of course can't speak out.
I just hope things can improve before they decide to move on!

[#6]

despite promises about improvements , these are sadly empty promises  nothing has improved in fact it has got WORSE !
I find it hard to believe that them in charge of PN are unaware of the shortcomings , its going to get worse before it gets any better   

[#7]

Well, make that 8 weeks! The Plusnet promise to "Do Me Proud"---
              « Reply #5 on 02/01/2016, 15:03 »

I am very sorry to hear about the trouble caused by this issue.
I have now escalated this issue to a team leader who will pass all details across to our faults team, along with specific instructions that we need to contact BT to provide them with all of this information. Fingers crossed we will have an answer, and be on the way to a fix within 24-48 hours. I can assure you this is being handled as a priority and we will do all we can to get you on line.
So an Open Reach engineer did come on the 7th Jan, out of the blue. He actually showed some initiative and finished up connecting me a new line, cabinet to the exchange. Guess what, I had a working phone. He also connected the switch to fibre which I have been paying for but never received in mid November; and even better, his tester showed a good internet signal at my master switch. The bad news was that the new fibre router wouldn't synchronize and he could not figure out why.
My personal conclusion was a faulty new router, so back to the website, and after a lot of persistence, the very helpful chat assistant got permission to send me a new router first class post to save time.
Before that, though, came a call from Plusnet (on my new working phone) to set up another engineer's visit. After another long and persistent discussion, it turned out that I should have had a modem supplied in addition to the router when the fibre was connected back in November. Fortunately, the new router on its way had a built in modem. So we made a provisional booking for an engineer just in case the new modem/router still didn't solve the problem.
Can you guess---plugging in the router cut the phone line. Removing it restored the phone. In any case, the router couldn't connect, so still no internet. Well, only another 3 days wait and an engineer would come; great!
What is 3 days in 8 weeks, after all?
Day before the visit, a phone message to confirm--from Open Reach India. I called back to be answered by a local sub contractor. He looked and reported that Open Reach had cancelled the visit.
I still have a "question" on hold, so maybe someone will reopen it soon? What to do? Anything beyond venting here seems futile---so that is what I am doing.
Exposing this totally dysfunctional outfit for the world to see.

[#8]

Hello Buttercup. Oh dear would seem to be somewhat of an understatement, however it would seem that the dysfunctional outfit is primarily Openreach, but it at least sounds like you had an Openreach engineer this time that knew where the cables and cabinet were etc.
Leaving aside cancelled engineers for one moment, it would probably be a good idea to establish what equipment you actually have.
The Router that you had supplied last November I take it was a 2704N? which as you've been advised won't work on Fibre without a modem (which wasn't supplied by Openreach).
If things have happened correctly, you have now been supplied with a Plusnet Hub One - please refer to this page - where you will see a picture (not to scale) of the Hub One on the extreme left of section one.
Also if the Openreach engineer has done the job correctly, you should have a Master Socket (an NTE5a) - the item I think you are referring to as a switch, which should have has a Mk3 vDSL Service Specific Filtered Plate fitted to it and looks like what Plusnet have called a "double master socket" on the extreme right of section 2.
If that is not what you've got, please try and describe what socket you have got with reference to that section 2 as well.
Assuming you have got the correct socket, you should be plugging the Hub One into the top socket of that NTE5a and your phone into the bottom socket and there is no need to use a plug-in filter. If you have any other extension sockets, you should be able to plug a phone into them without a filter - if the engineer has done the job right! Please say if you have other sockets and if they work.
If you have been trying to plug the Hub One in anywhere else other than the top socket then that may be the reason it's not connecting. If you are plugging in there please tell us what lights are lit on the front of the Hub One and the colour.

[#9]

Thanks for your interest, Anotherone.
You are dead right.
My new hub is the Plusnet One, and it is plugged in to the top socket of the new master socket, and the phone into the bottom socket.
I did try putting a filter into the phone socket and then the hub and phone connection through that, but it made no difference.
The hub has the big front bar light which starts off green for a few seconds, then dull blue, then bright blue then goes yellow flashing, then steady yellow. A red flashing ear shaped icon then illuminates below the yellow bar. That is it. The single red flashing and the steady yellow just continue indefinitely, and the phone connection is gone.
Now, I have just discovered that the phone dial tone disappears just by plugging the hub cable in to the hub master socket--instantly- even if there is nothing on the other end of the hub cable. Unplugging it again does not restore the phone dial tone. You have to switch the phone off and on again to get the dial tone back. The same is true if I remove the face plate and plug a filter into the primary socket to connect phone and hub(less) cable.
Hope that means something to you.
Thanks

[#10]

Have you tried a different hub cable? One from an old ADSL router should do the job.

[#11]

Yes, makes no difference.
Just managed to get through to Plusnet by phone. Trying to establish why appointment today has been cancelled. Should be calling back.

[#12]

Well that is certainly one of the more weird faults that I've encountered, good suggestion from spoon whittler, but when you say the same is true when you connect a filter to that test socket behind the faceplate does the dial-tone disappear when plugging a different ADSL cable into the filter because that really would be weird. If the dial-tone stays then connect up the hub with that cable and see what the lights do.

[#13]

Thanks guys---problem solved: and without Plusnet engineer who, in spite of being assured via a phone call to Plusnet at 7.30am that he was coming today ( in spite of being told yesterday that the visit was cancelled ), didn't turn up.
So, issue 1---get a working phone line; only took 71/2 weeks.
      issue 2---get the correct modem/router for fibre; only my own persistent questioning revealed they had supplied the wrong router
      issue3---persist, with your help, because customer service is effectively non-existent.
So what happened was bizarre, you may think I am nuts, but it is true.
On your advice, confirmed that plugging any hub cable end in (without hub), with or without face plate, cut out phone line.
Then things started to change, and it was only when I added the hub that it cut out the phone. Go figure.
Anyhow, the penny then dropped. The previous (new) router socket was right next to the 4 Ethernet sockets, and so when I transferred it over, I had naturally used the equivalent socket in the same location on the new hub.
While puzzling over all this mess, I noticed another lone hub socket right at the other end of the device. Guess what---that is where the connection should have been. After a few blinks, it started working and the phone did also.
Perhaps that is why an engineer is supposed to come and set up a new fibre installation: so where was the engineer?
I'll let you decide whether I am an idiot, but thanks for the ideas anyway.
Cheers

[#14]

Hi Buttercup..
All your latest  probelms with using the wrong socket on the hub could have been easily solved had you had access to the fibre set up guide which would have explained which equipment you are meant to be supplied with and how it is meant to be connected ; The details are on line here :
http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/hardware/index.shtml?supporta=setupguides
And for new fibre set ups you should  also be sent  an easy to read and undertand booklet. If none of that was made available to you and you were not in possesion of the right equipment then it is not surprising that you could not connect effectively . Also sounds like you were very  unlucky and had visits from especially uninformed/ unhelpful BT engineers.
I think I also have a good idea why your phone cut out when you plugged the 2704n to the master socket!
Hopefully  your problems are now solved.!
Plus Net should offer you some recompense for the poor advice and failure to supply the correct kit - if indeed they are at fault here.