From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

What on earth has happened to Plusnet? They uset to be good but their
service today has been dreadful.

An elderly neighbour who rents his landline from Pluusnet, asked me for
help, as his landline 'phone wasn't working. I found the line was open circuit, so he used my landline to call Plusnet and report the fault.
The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security questions
because he hadn't specified which letters in his password were upper or
lower case and then asked for his bank details instead. They got into a deadlock situation and the Plusnet operator was completely obstinate and unhelpful

My neighbour hung up and rang Plusnet again. This time he got someone
pleasant who took minimal details and then confirmed that there was a widespread fault affecting many lines in the area. Estimated time to
repair: 8 days.

Meanwhile I checked Plusnet's fault reporting page and found that they
only accepted written reports by text and not by e-mail. They claim to
'phone back within some specified time to let you know when they will be
doing the repairs. How they expect someone with a faulty 'phone to text
them and receive a reply is beyond me.

Following up the 'widespread fault' comment, I put a TDM on his line and
found a pulsting open circuit (one second on, one second off) at 300
metres distant. I paced out the distance and found an exposed BT
jointing chamber with damaged brickwork in the middle of some
roadwaorks.

There was a parked-up digger but no sign of anyone working, so that
doesn't explain the pulsating open-circuit - it does, however explain
BT's estimate of 8 days to repair the fault.
--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) writes:

The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security questions because he hadn't specified which letters in his password were upper or

This is the kind of denial of service attack pioneered by
Vodafone. Eventually all companies will be like this.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

On 02/03/2026 14:57, Richmond wrote:

liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) writes:

The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security questions
because he hadn't specified which letters in his password were upper or

This is the kind of denial of service attack pioneered by
Vodafone. Eventually all companies will be like this.

I would be concerned if 'a' was accepted instead of 'A' in either an
online login, or in a phone-based security check.

I doubt that the report

"

The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security questions
because he hadn't specified which letters in his password were upper

or [lower case]
"

is accurate - the support person will not know if that was the reason,
they will just see 'fail'



--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

On 02/03/2026 13:27, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

Meanwhile I checked Plusnet's fault reporting page and found that they
only accepted written reports by text and not by e-mail. They claim to 'phone back within some specified time to let you know when they will be doing the repairs. How they expect someone with a faulty 'phone to text
them and receive a reply is beyond me.

They probably assume most people have a mobile phone, and can find out or already know about 07800008121. They may then send urls in the text
messages about a thefault, assuming that you have 4g/5g coverage too.

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

jkn <jkn+nin@nicorp.co.uk> writes:

On 02/03/2026 14:57, Richmond wrote:

liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) writes:

The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions because he hadn't specified which letters in his password
were upper or >> This is the kind of denial of service attack
pioneered by >> Vodafone. Eventually all companies will be like
this.

I would be concerned if 'a' was accepted instead of 'A' in either an
online login, or in a phone-based security check.

I doubt that the report

" >> The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions >> because he hadn't specified which letters in his password
were upper or [lower case] "

is accurate - the support person will not know if that was the reason,
they will just see 'fail'

The support would have needed to know whether it was upper or lower case
in order to type it in, they wouldn't need to get as far as a pass or
fail.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

On 02/03/2026 17:13, Richmond wrote:

jkn <jkn+nin@nicorp.co.uk> writes:

On 02/03/2026 14:57, Richmond wrote:

liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) writes:

The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions because he hadn't specified which letters in his password
were upper or >> This is the kind of denial of service attack
pioneered by >> Vodafone. Eventually all companies will be like
this.

I would be concerned if 'a' was accepted instead of 'A' in either an
online login, or in a phone-based security check.

I doubt that the report

" >> The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions >> because he hadn't specified which letters in his password
were upper or [lower case] "

is accurate - the support person will not know if that was the reason,
they will just see 'fail'

The support would have needed to know whether it was upper or lower case
in order to type it in, they wouldn't need to get as far as a pass or
fail.

Perhaps they should say 'make sure you tell me the correct case' - but
if the attempt fails with the supplied values they will have no
knowledge of whether those supplied letters/digits were simply 'wrong',
or 'the wrong case'. All they will have is 'attempt failed'. That is why
I doubt the report.




--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

Nick Finnigan <nix@genie.co.uk> wrote:

On 02/03/2026 13:27, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

Meanwhile I checked Plusnet's fault reporting page and found that they
only accepted written reports by text and not by e-mail. They claim to 'phone back within some specified time to let you know when they will be doing the repairs. How they expect someone with a faulty 'phone to text them and receive a reply is beyond me.

They probably assume most people have a mobile phone, and can find out or already know about 07800008121. They may then send urls in the text
messages about a thefault, assuming that you have 4g/5g coverage too.

That's one way of doing it but it shouldn't be the only one.
--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

jkn <jkn+nin@nicorp.co.uk> wrote:

On 02/03/2026 17:13, Richmond wrote:

jkn <jkn+nin@nicorp.co.uk> writes:

On 02/03/2026 14:57, Richmond wrote:

liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) writes:

The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions because he hadn't specified which letters in his password
were upper or >> This is the kind of denial of service attack
pioneered by >> Vodafone. Eventually all companies will be like
this.

I would be concerned if 'a' was accepted instead of 'A' in either an
online login, or in a phone-based security check.

I doubt that the report

" >> The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions >> because he hadn't specified which letters in his password
were upper or [lower case] "

is accurate - the support person will not know if that was the reason,
they will just see 'fail'

The support would have needed to know whether it was upper or lower case
in order to type it in, they wouldn't need to get as far as a pass or
fail.

Perhaps they should say 'make sure you tell me the correct case' - but
if the attempt fails with the supplied values they will have no
knowledge of whether those supplied letters/digits were simply 'wrong',
or 'the wrong case'. All they will have is 'attempt failed'. That is why
I doubt the report.

My neighbour is well into his late 80's and didn't even know the correct terminology for upper and lower case. Even then, the Pusnet operator
could have asked whether the letters were big or small and typed them accordingly.
--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

On 02/03/2026 18:25, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

jkn <jkn+nin@nicorp.co.uk> wrote:

On 02/03/2026 17:13, Richmond wrote:

jkn <jkn+nin@nicorp.co.uk> writes:

On 02/03/2026 14:57, Richmond wrote:

liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) writes:

The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions because he hadn't specified which letters in his password >>>>>> were upper or >> This is the kind of denial of service attack
pioneered by >> Vodafone. Eventually all companies will be like
this.

I would be concerned if 'a' was accepted instead of 'A' in either an
online login, or in a phone-based security check.

I doubt that the report

" >> The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions >> because he hadn't specified which letters in his password >>>> were upper or [lower case] "

is accurate - the support person will not know if that was the reason, >>>> they will just see 'fail'

The support would have needed to know whether it was upper or lower case >>> in order to type it in, they wouldn't need to get as far as a pass or
fail.

Perhaps they should say 'make sure you tell me the correct case' - but
if the attempt fails with the supplied values they will have no
knowledge of whether those supplied letters/digits were simply 'wrong',
or 'the wrong case'. All they will have is 'attempt failed'. That is why
I doubt the report.

My neighbour is well into his late 80's and didn't even know the correct terminology for upper and lower case. Even then, the Pusnet operator
could have asked whether the letters were big or small and typed them accordingly.

I agree - but they cannot have meaningfully been told that that was the
cause of the failure. Perhaps the Plusnet Operator said something like
"if you say a big letter instead of a small one, it will fail"...


--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

On 2026/3/2 18:25:46, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

Nick Finnigan <nix@genie.co.uk> wrote:

On 02/03/2026 13:27, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

Meanwhile I checked Plusnet's fault reporting page and found that they
only accepted written reports by text and not by e-mail. They claim to
'phone back within some specified time to let you know when they will be >>> doing the repairs. How they expect someone with a faulty 'phone to text >>> them and receive a reply is beyond me.

They probably assume most people have a mobile phone, and can find out or

An infuriatingly common assumption. And AFAIK possession of a mobile
'phone is _not_ a condition of Plusnet account holding.

already know about 07800008121. They may then send urls in the text

I don't (know about 078...).

messages about a thefault, assuming that you have 4g/5g coverage too.

Not all even those who do have a fobile moan have one that can use a URL.

That's one way of doing it but it shouldn't be the only one.

Indeed. The 80+-yo customer in this case should be used to shame them -
or at least the first responder.

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()ALIS-Ch++(p)Ar++T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Philosophy is questions that may never be answered.
Religion is answers that may never be questioned.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

jkn <jkn+nin@nicorp.co.uk> wrote:

On 02/03/2026 18:25, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

jkn <jkn+nin@nicorp.co.uk> wrote:

On 02/03/2026 17:13, Richmond wrote:

jkn <jkn+nin@nicorp.co.uk> writes:

On 02/03/2026 14:57, Richmond wrote:

liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) writes:

The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions because he hadn't specified which letters in his password >>>>>> were upper or >> This is the kind of denial of service attack
pioneered by >> Vodafone. Eventually all companies will be like
this.

I would be concerned if 'a' was accepted instead of 'A' in either an >>>> online login, or in a phone-based security check.

I doubt that the report

" >> The person he dealt with told him he had failed the security
questions >> because he hadn't specified which letters in his password >>>> were upper or [lower case] "

is accurate - the support person will not know if that was the reason, >>>> they will just see 'fail'

The support would have needed to know whether it was upper or lower case >>> in order to type it in, they wouldn't need to get as far as a pass or
fail.

Perhaps they should say 'make sure you tell me the correct case' - but
if the attempt fails with the supplied values they will have no
knowledge of whether those supplied letters/digits were simply 'wrong',
or 'the wrong case'. All they will have is 'attempt failed'. That is why >> I doubt the report.

My neighbour is well into his late 80's and didn't even know the correct terminology for upper and lower case. Even then, the Pusnet operator
could have asked whether the letters were big or small and typed them accordingly.

I agree - but they cannot have meaningfully been told that that was the
cause of the failure. Perhaps the Plusnet Operator said something like
"if you say a big letter instead of a small one, it will fail"...

From what I overheard of the conversation, the operator just typed in
the password and said "That failed so I shall have to ask you some more questions". When he started asking about recemt bills and bank details
my neighbour said he could only answer that by going to his bank; I
gather the operator told hm that was what he would have to do. Then my neighbour asked if he could give the password again, this time with big
and small letters and the operator said he couldn't.

It wasn't as if this was a high-security situation, my neighbour just
wanted to report a faulty line.
--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

On 2026/3/2 22:17:29, Liz Tuddenham wrote:
[]

From what I overheard of the conversation, the operator just typed in
the password and said "That failed so I shall have to ask you some more questions". When he started asking about recemt bills and bank details
my neighbour said he could only answer that by going to his bank; I
gather the operator told hm that was what he would have to do. Then my neighbour asked if he could give the password again, this time with big
and small letters and the operator said he couldn't.

It wasn't as if this was a high-security situation, my neighbour just
wanted to report a faulty line.

That last is the kicker. That shouldn't need _any_ security check -
since the existence of the faulty line could be verified by (trying to)
call it, and/or doing whatever tests they'd normally do on a line.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()ALIS-Ch++(p)Ar++T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I've always found ideals
Don't take the place of meals - Tom Lehrer ("Selling Out")
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 20:39:43 +0000
"J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:

They probably assume most people have a mobile phone, and can
find out or

And all the institutions who only use 'apps' and only provide squiggly
little boxes of pixels to let you contact them.
--

Davey.

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom


On 03/03/2026 09:02, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 2 Mar 2026 20:39:43 +0000
"J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:

They probably assume most people have a mobile phone, and can
find out or

And all the institutions who only use 'apps' and only provide squiggly
little boxes of pixels to let you contact them.

I have yet to successful read a box of squiggles except on Whatsapp web.

Everybody assumes everybody can.

Likewise using the web interface on the mobile is so awful I cant just
'tap on the url' in a text message. My friend says 'forward it by email'
but I dont really use email on the mobile phone, either.
My phone gives me the option to delete and that's it. To a casual
inspection.
--
No Apple devices were knowingly used in the preparation of this post.

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

On 03/03/2026 04:01, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

On 2026/3/2 22:17:29, Liz Tuddenham wrote:
[]

From what I overheard of the conversation, the operator just typed in
the password and said "That failed so I shall have to ask you some more
questions". When he started asking about recemt bills and bank details
my neighbour said he could only answer that by going to his bank; I
gather the operator told hm that was what he would have to do. Then my
neighbour asked if he could give the password again, this time with big
and small letters and the operator said he couldn't.

It wasn't as if this was a high-security situation, my neighbour just
wanted to report a faulty line.

That last is the kicker. That shouldn't need _any_ security check -
since the existence of the faulty line could be verified by (trying to)
call it, and/or doing whatever tests they'd normally do on a line.

It's total bolleaux really. If I contact IDnet to report a fault they
just want to know the minimum to locate my account.

But that's what the 5% higher charges pay for.

People go around proudly saying 'I got 5% off my [monthly contract]
charges' and then bitch when there is no support, or the insurance
company wont pay up or whatever or when the vendor refuses to fix the
faulty goods

Perhaps running businesses made me more aware of 'total cost of ownership/service' INCLUDING all the crap when it goes wrong...
--
Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.
rCo Will Durant

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2