Just how do you get a problem resolved or esculated?

[#1]

I had broadband issues starting in May which I resolved by leaving the router switched off for a time. These problems reappeared at the beginning of August and have been logged as a problem. I have been without a reliable broadband connection for two weeks now.
It is taking days before a I get a reply or update and usually by that point the connection has started working again. The latest joy is that after waiting for a number of days for a response I did my own fix by leaving the router powered off for a while, only to get a response five days later saying my line had been tested and was ok, but the testing process appears to have broken the connection! I am now back to being without broadband and no response to the problem.
I tried telephoning to escalate the problem but gave up after waiting on the phone for 30 mins.
It is really annoying when the service status pages flag that an average response is 22 minutes when I wait days and the average call resolution is 2 days when I have been waiting two weeks for work on a resolution to start.
In desperation I registered for this forum and posted this as a last ditch attempt to flag the issue to someone who might be able to get something done. I assume that most people just give up and move to another provider, which is probably what I need to do...

[#2]

Hi slunk,
Welcome to the forums.  Regrettably PlusNET are struggling with tickets, phone calls and indeed at the moment the forums.
It sounds like you have an intermittent line issue.  Have you followed the advice given in the speed issues thread at the top of the broadband forum?  Gathering that information might enable another customer to offer some assistance.
Is the phone line noisy? Dial 17070 option 2 if it is you have a voice circuit fault.  Check this from time to time.
Is the router plugged into the master socket?  Have you tried a new filter?  Are the disconnects associated with incoming or out going calls?
Note that the BTOR test systems are not always dependable.  Recently one user had an issue where BTOR's copper line test passed, but the broadband test said there was a copper line issue.  BTOR do not make fault finding easy!
Hth.
Kevin

[#3]

Kevin,
Apologies for the delay responding, it's a bit difficult without an Internet connection or 3G access at home.
Thanks for the help. I will check to see if the phone line is noisy but I am unable to check anything on the broadband because the connection dropped out Monday morning when they "tested" the line and is has not worked since.
The router is plugged into the master socket, I have tried a new filter and I have tried another router.
Two days later and PlusNet still have not responded.
You don't realise how much you depend on an Internet connection until it is gone and even then it is fine for a few days but after a month it is becoming a real problem.
Ian

[#4]

Hi slfuk,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this one.
From looking at your account I can see that the fault testing was inconclusive which could have been down to a number of issues, one of which would be not having the router plugged in and powered up so could you confirm that this has been done for us and we can then test it again to see if we can see the equipment when testing. It will probably be best to leave this plugged in and powered up for the duration of the fault just so that we don't cause any problems.
Moving forward from this, as Kevin rightly points out, we would need to get the answers to these questions in order to ensure that this isn't a fault at your side or something that we can fix quickly for you without the need for testing or sending out an engineer.
Here is a quick guide to testing from the master sockets test port behind the faceplate, if you can leave the equipment plugged in here for a while to see if the service returns then we can rule it out as a problem.
Finally, if we find that none of these tests do anything we would look to have BT send out an engineer to you and investigate the line from the exchange to your address however we need those test results before we can get to this stage.
Edited to add the intended link 

[#5]

Quote from: Adam

Here is a quick guide to testing from the master sockets test port behind the faceplate, if you can leave the equipment plugged in here for a while to see if the service returns then we can rule it out as a problem.

Adam,
Was this the intended link?

[#6]

In my response on the 6th August I confirmed that I had completed these tests. The router is currently plugged in and powered on. All exceptions to this have been reported within the call log complete with the rational for doing so.
As stated previously I believe the next action is with PlusNet.

[#7]

Quote from: slfuk

.... All exceptions to this have been reported within the call log complete with the rational for doing so.

Were you aware that if you add information to a Fault Ticket you reset the clock so fall to the back of the queue? 

[#8]

No I was not aware that it reset the clock, thanks for letting me know.
My last update was two days ago. The call stats currently state that the average response is 25 minutes and 27 calls are in the queue, so I guess that translates to me needing to wait at least another week for a response....
Yesterday I used a borrowed Internet connection to post to this forum and send something to the twitter account. Today's time will be looking for another provider as they have tested my tenacity to the limit.
I came to that conclusion last night when we realised that we will need to cancel the family day out over the weekend to go supermarket shopping instead, as we have not been able to do an online shop for weeks.