On Thu, 13 May 2004 12:53:28 +0100, Tiscali Tim <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> I have recently upgraded my internet connection (from Home Highway) to
> ADSL, using PlusNet (Easy Start) as my new ISP, and thought that my
> experiences may be of interest to others contemplating something
> similar. I
> have posted separately about the BT line conversion - this post is
> mainly
> about the PlusNet order and activation processes.
>
>
>
> I chose PlusNet because they have a good reputation in this NG and
> because
> they offered a managed conversion from Home Highway. I had decided that
> 500k
> bps was the right level for me (rather than anything cheap or nasty on
> the
> one hand, or exotic and expensive on the other). I also had decided that
> lots of webspace and a fax to email facility would be a good idea - so
> this
> limited the choice to ADSL Home or Easy Start. I opted for Easy Start
> since,
> at 3 quid per month extra for the first year but no activation charge, it
> worked out cheaper overall than ADSL Home - even though I didn't want the
> 'free' modem or micro-filters (because I had already bought a PCI modem
> on
> Ebay and intended using a filtered faceplate on the master socket).
>
>
>
> I signed up on line, and was given the option of various methods of
> payment - including Direct Debit and Credit Card. There was also an
> option
> to make regular payments by Direct Debit, but to make the initial payment
> (for the first month's service plus carriage on the "Starter Kit") by
> credit
> card. This last option was claimed to speed the whole process up, since
> the
> credit card payment could be made instantly without waiting for the DD
> to be
> set up. However, since I was going on holiday and didn't want the
> installation/line conversion to take place until my return, I opted to do
> the whole thing by DD. Bad idea! For reasons which I totally fail to
> understand, it takes PlusNet for ever to recognise that a DD has been
> set up
> and that charges can be made against it. Until they had the right kind of
> acknowledgement from my bank, nothing moved - even though I could see
> that
> the DD existed through on-line access to my bank account. This all got
> very
> frustrating, because I needed to get a confirmed installtion date agreed
> before going on holiday - with the installation itself to take place
> immediately after I returned. After I had raised several tickets and
> started
> to get quite irate, they did eventally provide the required confirmation
> on
> the eve of my holiday!
>
>
>
> [If anyone is signing up, and wants the installation ASAP, I would advise
> making the first payment by credit card - even if regular payments will
> be
> by DD]
>
>
>
> Because my line was being converted from Home Highway - and might
> potentially fail the ADSL line test - PlusNet don't order and despatch
> the
> welcome pack until the conversion has been successfully completed.
> Whilst I
> can understand this, the effect was that I had an ADSL enabled line
> which I
> would not have been able to use for several days had I relied on the
> arrival
> of the welcome pack. As it happened, because I had already acquired a PCI
> ADSL modem, I was able to get up and running on the day of the
> conversion -
> albeit *without* concurrent phone usage.
>
>
>
> [There has been a lot of discussion here about micro-filters - with some
> people claiming that phones won't work without them, but ADSL will. My
> experience was that, with *any* unfiltered phones plugged in, my ADSL
> modem
> wouldn't synch. When I unplugged everything, and connected the modem to
> the
> test socket with the master's faceplate removed, it was fine. Similarly,
> as
> soon as I fitted a filtered faceplate 2 days later, it was fine with all
> the
> phones plugged in - enabling concurrent use of ADSL and telephone].
>
>
>
> Within a few minutes of my first attempt to connect to PlusNet's service,
> they enabled my account and I was up and running. They also updated the
> status on their ADSL tracker system fairly quickly.
>
>
>
> The "Welcome Pack" arrived when I had been operational for a couple of
> days!
> I had fondly imagined that, in addition to containing the 'free' modem
> and
> micro-filters, this would have a booklet full of useful information about
> all the features - like email accounts, fax-to-email, BBCi, etc. Forget
> it!
> There was one grotty sheet of A4 - mainly containing supplementary
> information about the modem setup - and that was it! All other
> information
> has to be obtained from on-line sources - which are actually quite good,
> but
> I did expect to receive more printed information. In addition, I assumed
> that the pack would specify my 0870 fax number. Not so! It seems that
> this
> is not automatically allocated, and that you have to request it on-line -
> and also that it lapses if you don't receive any faxes in a three month
> period. This is by no means clear in the on-line sales information!
>
>
>
> OK, what do I think of the service? Well, it's a hell of a lot faster
> than a
> 64k HH connection (as it should be) - with streaming audio and video
> working
> well. Newsgroup access (using Individual.net - I haven't tried PlusNet's
> news server), browsing and software downloads are all fast.
>
>
>
> At the time of writing, it has been on virtually continuously for a week.
> [It did drop out and re-connect automatically 2 days ago. However, for
> reasons which I don't understand, when this happened, I couldn't access
> anything on-line until I had manually disconnected and reconnected (using
> the internal modem's menu).
>
>
>
> Overall, and I am well pleased with the service supplied by PlusNet.
>
>
>
> [In case it's of interest, I'm using an old (PII, W98) computer running
> WinRoute (free on a PC Plus Magazine Cover CD) as a software router to
> share
> the connection across my network. I will probably replace it in due
> course
> with a wireless ADSL router - so that I can sit in the garden and surf
> the
> web using my laptop computer!]
Hi Tim,
Thanks for taking time to write this out, feedback is much appreciated and
without it we cannot change the things that are wrong.
Just to reply to a couple of things. Firstly, Direct Debits. Unfortunately
this is something that is outside of our control. We can only accept a
Direct Debit and activate it when we get confirmation from the bank. Until
we get this we have no idea if the information you've given us is correct
or not.
Regarding the starter packs, for non-ISDN orders these are sent out in
advance of the activation date, it is only because an ISDN conversion can
fail on activation day that we don't send out the modem. We are able to
send out the hardware in advance but you would be responsible to return it
to us at your own expense should the line check fail.
--
Regards,
| Dave Tomlinson Broadband Solutions For
| Technical Support for Home & Business
| PlusNet Technologies Ltd. @
http://www.plus.net
+ ----- My Referrals - It pays to recommend PlusNet -----
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