Beware Of PlusNet Broadband (Follow up Part 5)

If you are looking for a new Broadband Provider or your first Broadband Provider and live in the UK then Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

In this post I'll be  commenting about my reply that I got from PlusNet  about the complaint I made about the random disconnection from the Internet when using Wi-Fi that we were suffering.

We finally got a reply from PlunNet Customer Services.

According to the CS Agent that dealt with my complaint there CS is not in professional and that the delay in getting a response was due to the fact that I submitted a complaint instead of a Support Question, but when they hide the Support Question that it's impossible to find but the Complaint link is easy to find then what do they expect people to do?

There response to the complaint about poor connection was that it's nothing to do with the connection to the Internet but to do with the WiFi channel that the router is set to use.  This is there standard answer when they can't be bothered to help or possibly in this case when they are doing something that they shouldn't be doing.

I'll try changing the WiFi Channel number on the router to see if this sorts it out and will post back with my findings, and if this doesn't work I'll also be back onto PlusNet CS again.

In closing Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

Rant over

Roland

Netgear DGN2200 ADSL 2+ Modem/Wireless Router Review

This is my Netgear DGN2200 ADSL 2+ Modem/Wireless Router Review

The Netgear DGN2200 ADSL 2+ Modem/Wireless Router works out of the box with all the major UK ISP's as the simple Auto Setup Wizard takes all the hassle out of setting it up, all you have to do is select your Country and add your account log in details and your all setup.  WPS also takes the hassle out of adding devices to your Network. The front of the Router has status lights for everything from WPS to Broadband Connection.  There is a WPS button and a Wi-Fi on off button, and using the included stand makes it easy to see all the status lights.

[caption id="attachment_1086" align="aligncenter" width="194"] The Netgear DGN2200 ADSL 2+ Modem/Wireless Router using the included Stand[/caption]

The back of the Router comes with all the usual connection options that you would expect on a Modem/Wireless Router but one thing that sets the DGN2200 apart from the rest of the  Routers in the price range is the included USB Port to turn a USB Memory Key or USB HDD into a NAS Drive.

[caption id="attachment_1089" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Back View of the DGN 2200 ADSL 2+ Modem/Wireless Router showing all the Ports[/caption]

The DGN2200 has non routable HTTP & FTP & routable HTTPS & FTP access to the USB Storage the non routable access to the USB Storage is via fully functional URL and the routable access is via a routable IP Address.  If you want to add items to your USB disk then it's best to connect to the Drive via a Network Drive connection as the HTTP access is just a list of items and folders with no upload option, the routable & non routable FTP access may include the option to upload if you use a FTP Client, but I haven't tried it yet.

The USB Storage feature even supports multiple Partitions on a single disk & may even support multiple drives via a USB Hub, but as I've not got a spare 2.5" SATA-USB Caddy I've not been able to explore more complicated setups.  The routable access to USB Storage connected to the Router makes for a cheap and highly upgrade-able Cloud Storage option, & with 4 Ethernet Ports available you could also attach proper NAS  Storage but that would only be available internally as the Routable IP address is only attached to the USB Port.

The DGN2200 has a very capable web management interface but that is for another post as I need to source Screenshots of the web interface.

I hope you have enjoyed my Netgear DGN2200 ADSL 2+ Modem/Wireless Router Review and hope that you come back and read my detailed review of the DGN2200 web interface.

Roland

Beware Of PlusNet Broadband (Follow up Part 4)

If you are looking for a new Broadband Provider or your first Broadband Provider and live in the UK then Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

In this post I'll be  commenting about my reply that I got from PlusNet  about the complaint I made about the random disconnection from the Internet when using Wi-Fi that we were suffering.

I am still awaiting a reply from PlusNet about the random Internet disconnection that we were suffering that I commented on in my last post, but the random disconnection  from the Internet has cleared up.

The re-classification of our usage breakdown seems to have started again as we had 1% of our allowance used on Streaming 2% of our allowance used on Peer-to-peer when I last wrote an update, this has now changed to 1% of usage on Streaming & 2% on Other.

I have submitted a complaint on the poor level of Customer Service.

I'll update as soon as I receive any replies from PlusNet Customer Services.

So in closing Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

Rant over

Roland

Beware Of PlusNet Broadband (Follow up Part 3)

If you are looking for a new Broadband Provider or your first Broadband Provider and live in the UK then Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

This post is to highlight a new problem that has just cropped up of random disconnection from the Internet when using Wi-Fi.

As the random Wi-Fi disconnection is only effecting traffic leaving our Network for the Internet as access to the Router is unaffected it seems like PlusNet are throttling or shaping our connection to the Internet as this problem is only showing up after the free period of usage between Midnight & 8am.

If this is being implemented on our connection then there is something fishy going on at PlusNet as this has only started happening since our problem with Bandwidth usage started.

I wonder what PlusNet have got to say about this.

Rant over

Roland

Beware Of PlusNet Broadband (Roll-up)

This post is a rollup of all three of my previous post on the subject & I’ve done it to allow easier reading for people that have not read it from the start.

If you are looking for a new Broadband Provider or your first Broadband Provider and live in the UK then Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

The wife and I have been with PlusNet Broadband since 28/08/2010 and have until now have found that they have a very high standard of customer service, then recently the Thomson Router that they provide started dropping signal (this is the second Router that we have had from them, as the first one  would not let the Laptop connect only and the Router had only been used for a few months), so a quick call to customer services and they suggested that we change the channel number of the Router, and all was fine until I upgraded the Laptop to Windows 8 Pro and the connection problems started again.

Then on Thursday we found out that we had gone over our monthly allowance of 60GB which is odd as we only use between 20-40GB a month.  I then contacted customer services about the problem as soon as I spotted it through their online messaging service while the wife phoned customer services who said that it sounded like we had our Wi-Fi hacked and to change the Wireless encryption key which we did, we then got a reply from my complaint yesterday basically making out that it was our own fault for doing downloads during the day instead of between Midnight and 8am when it's free and to set a limit on how much excess we want to pay.

So yesterday we made a trip to PC World and purchased the Netgear DGN 2200 ADSL 2+ Modem Router for £54.99 to replace the Thomson TG585 Modem Router that PlusNet provided and we thought that all was fine until I checked the usage this morning to find that we had apparently used 2% of our monthly allowance on Broadband Phone Calls which is impossible as we have not got Broadband Phone added to our Package, and used 1% of our allowance on Streaming which also is impossible as I've not even been on YouTube and neither has the wife.  So the wife contacted customer services online about it and was met with the response after sending saying that there is a 13 hour response time.

Our setup is a pretty modest one:

Netgear DGN2200 connected to the phone line  an 80GB HDD connected to the DGN2200's USB Port for the network Storage feature, Ethernet cable connected from Port 1 on the DGN2200 to a Power-line Ethernet Plug, Power-line Ethernet plug connected to port 1 on a Belkin 5 Port Ethernet Switch, Port 2 used for the Laptop or Netbook when using it at the Desk, a Humax Foxsat-HDR connected to Port 3 on the Belkin Switch, a Skybox F3 FTA Satellite Receiver connected to Port 4 on the Belkin Switch and Port 5 unused. My Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, wife's Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S and her Amazon Kindle all connected via Wi-Fi along with the Netbook and Laptop, and it's mostly just the Laptop that is connected to the Internet most of the time and wife's Phone and Kindle connected when she needs Internet and my phone very rarely is connected via Wi-Fi.

We got a reply to our complaint and are basically trying to fob us off by saying that we've used something that uses the same Port as there Broadband phone service and so we are going to get 1% of our usage accredited to something that we have not used because something is set to use the exact same Port as what they have assigned to their Broadband phone service, and that the 1% of our allowance used on streaming is down to visiting a website that has got video on it, and since we haven't visited any websites that have auto playing video this month it's impossible to have used 1% of our allowance on streaming as they claim.

I've replied to their response to our complaint saying that they are just making up the usage figures and that they are classing non routable ip traffic as routable ip traffic.

Well the response I got back was more helpful than the first response as the Customer Services Agent that replied back stated that the previous agent was wrong with his reply and sometimes the usage gets miss classified by their system, and this morning when I looked at the usage breakdown I've notice that the 1% usage on Broadband Phone Calls has been removed along with 1% of Peer to Peer being wiped and dropping from 2% to 1% of the usage.

I think we are still unhappy with the level of service that we are receiving  as the level of knowledge of some of the Customer Services Agent seems pretty poor for Customer Service Agents in a Technology Field such as Broadband, and while doing some shopping around we found some cheaper Providers for a better Bandwidth Allowance each month.

Primus Saver & Tesco Broadband both seem better options as they offer Unlimited Bandwidth capped at 100GB a Month and they Total up to less than PlusNet when you factor in the cost of a Phone line from them as well, and they also both offer Phone only unlike PlusNet who offer Broadband only or Phone and Broadband.

I'll keep this series updated with any further issues that we may have with PlusNet and may even have a new series of Broadband related posts in the future.

So in closing Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

Roland

Beware Of PlusNet Broadband (Follow up Part 2)

If you are looking for a new Broadband Provider or your first Broadband Provider and live in the UK then Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

In my last post Beware Of PlusNet Broadband (Follow up) I wrote about the response we got to our latest problem about our alleged Allowance usage and about my response I sent in reply.

Well the response I got back was more helpful than the first response as the Customer Services Agent that replied back stated that the previous agent was wrong with his reply and sometimes the usage gets miss classified by their system, and this morning when I looked at the usage breakdown I've notice that the 1% usage on Broadband Phone Calls has been removed along with 1% of Peer to Peer being wiped and dropping from 2% to 1% of the usage.

I think we are still unhappy with the level of service that we are receiving  as the level of knowledge of some of the Customer Services Agent seems pretty poor for Customer Service Agents in a Technology Field such as Broadband, and while doing some shopping around we found some cheaper Providers for a better Bandwidth Allowance each month.

Primus Saver & Tesco Broadband both seem better options as they offer Unlimited Bandwidth capped at 100GB a Month and they Total up to less than PlusNet when you factor in the cost of  a Phone line from them as well, and they also both offer Phone only unlike PlusNet who offer Broadband only or Phone and Broadband.

I'll keep this series updated with any further issues that we may have with PlusNet and may even have a new series of Broadband related posts in the future.

So in closing Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

Roland

Beware Of PlusNet Broadband (Follow Up)

If you are looking for a new Broadband Provider or your first Broadband Provider and live in the UK then Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

In my last post Beware Of PlusNet Broadband I wrote about how PlusNet were trying to rip the wife and I off for our service last month by adding phantom usage that we had not used and how they were trying to add phantom usage onto this Month.  We got a reply to our complaint and are basically trying to fob us off by saying that we've used something that uses the same Port as there Broadband phone service and so we are going to get 1% of our usage accredited to something that we have not used because something is set to use the exact same Port as what they have assigned to there Broadband phone service, and that the 1% of our allowance used on streaming is down to visiting a website that has got video on it, and since we haven't visited any websites that have auto playing video this month it's impossible to have used 1% of our allowance on streaming as they claim.

I've replied to their response to our complaint saying that they are just making up the usage figures and that they are classing non routable ip traffic as routable ip traffic.

I'll update with another post once they get back to us.

So in closing Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

Rant over

Roland

Beware Of PlusNet Broadband

If you are looking for a new Broadband Provider or your first Broadband Provider and live in the UK then Beware Of PlusNet Broadband.

The wife and I have been with PlusNet Broadband since 28/08/2010 and have until now have found that they have a very high standard of customer service, then recently the Thomson Router that they provide started dropping signal (this is the second Router that we have had from them, as the first one  would not let the Laptop connect only and the Router had only been used for a few months), so a quick call to customer services and they suggested that we change the channel number of the Router, and all was fine until I upgraded the Laptop to Windows 8 Pro and the connection problems started again.

Then on Thursday we found out that we had gone over our monthly allowance of 60GB which is odd as we only use between 20-40GB a month.  I then contacted customer services about the problem as soon as I spotted it through their online messaging service while the wife phoned customer services who said that it sounded like we had our WiFi hacked and to change the Wireless encryption key which we did, we then got a reply from my complaint yesterday basically making out that it was our own fault for doing downloads during the day in stead of between Midnight and 8am when it's free and to set a limit on how much excess we want to pay.

So yesterday we made a trip to PC World and purchased the Netgear DGN 2200 ADSL 2+ Modem Router for £54.99 to replace the Thomson TG585 Modem Router that PlusNet provided and we thought that all was fine until I checked the usage this morning to find that we had apparently used 2% of our monthly allowance on Broadband Phone Calls which is impossible as we have not got Broadband Phone added to our Package, and used 1% of our allowance on Streaming which also is impossible as I've not even been on YouTube and neither has the wife.  So the wife contacted customer services online about it and was met with the response after sending saying that there is a 13 hour response time.


Our setup is a pretty modest one:

Netgear DGN2200 connected to the phone line  an 80GB HDD connected to the DGN2200's USB Port for the network Storage feature, Ethernet cable connected from Port 1 on the DGN2200 to a Power-line Ethernet Plug, Power-line Ethernet plug connected to port 1 on a Belkin 5 Port Ethernet Switch, Port 2 used for the Laptop or Netbook when using it at the Desk, a Humax Foxsat-HDR connected to Port 3 on the Belkin Switch, a SkyBox F3 FTA Satellite Receiver connected to Port 4 on the Belkin Switch and Port 5 unused. My Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, wife's Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S and her Amazon Kindle all connected via WiFi along with the Netbook and Laptop, and it's mostly just the Laptop that is connected to the Internet most of the time and wife's Phone and Kindle connected when she needs Internet and my phone very rarely is connected via WiFi.

We're still waiting for a reply from PlusNet customer services, but I'll update when we do.

So in closing Beware Of PlusNet Broadband

Rant over

Roland