Can't send attachments - V poor upload problem - Page 5

THE RIFLE · 02-09-2004, 07:36

checked speeds this morning , downstream = 699kbps \ 87.4kb/sec
upstream = 116kbps \ 14.5kb/sec
fairly happy with that , but have this sudden urge to start "pinging" NTL vans with my air rifle

still no change on the attachment side

Web-Junkie · 02-09-2004, 12:42

Well the Engineer *DID* turn up!! /me faints!!!

And guess what, he KNOWS there is a problem and therefore couldn't do anything for me as it's NTL'S Network at fault, he suspects the UBR that feeds the area where I live is the problem. He said someone up near Sutton firestation has the same problem and somewhere on the estate near the same place! I was the 5th person on his list reporting the same problem.

Got his name and TEC number so now we wait and see what happens as he didn't give me any info other than 'Leave it with me'!!

So at last an NTL guy has acknowledged a problem that is NOT a customer problem

Now how long will it take for them to fix it? Any guesses this side of Christmas??

DeadKenny · 02-09-2004, 13:02

Hmm, now my connection is going up and down. I don't think my router is dead this time as once it dies it stays dead (I'm at work so can't tell for sure, at least no until it comes back online again). This means it's could be the modem is rebooting

IP address doesn't appear to have changed today.

I still maintain the point that all of this started exactly when NTL started messing about on the 26th.

edit: Yep, modem rebooting...

Code:

040902121338 	4-Error 	X501.35 	Unit Update Failed.
040902121338 	7-Information 	F502.1 	Bridge Forwarding Enabled.
040902121337 	4-Error 	X501.28 	Unit Update - Not updating. This image is not for this platform.
040902121337 	7-Information 	F502.2 	Bridge Forwarding Disabled.
040902121337 	7-Information 	X500.0 	Attempting Unit Update
040902121331 	7-Information 	F502.1 	Bridge Forwarding Enabled.
040902121331 	7-Information 	F502.3 	Bridge Learning Enabled.
040902121331 	7-Information 	B518.0 	Baseline Privacy is skipped
040902121330 	7-Information 	I500.0 	Registration Completed
040902121330 	7-Information 	I0.0 	REG-RSP Registration Response
040902121330 	7-Information 	I0.0 	REG-REQ Registration Request
040902121330 	7-Information 	D509.0 	Retrieved TFTP Config mota4100-gold.cm SUCCESS
040902121330 	7-Information 	D507.0 	Retrieved Time....... SUCCESS
************ 	7-Information 	D511.0 	Retrieved DHCP .......... SUCCESS
************ 	5-Warning 	D520.2 	DHCP Attempt# 1 BkOff: 4s Tot DSC:1 OFF:1 REQ:1 ACK:1
************ 	7-Information 	D0.0 	DHCP CM Net Configuration download and Time of Day
************ 	7-Information 	T500.0 	Acquired Upstream .......... SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T503.1 	Acquire US with status OK, powerLevel 58, tempSid 1033
************ 	8-Debug 	T505.0 	Acquired Upstream with status OK
************ 	7-Information 	T501.0 	Acquired Downstream (402750000 Hz)........ SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status OK, DS Freq 402750000, US Id 2
************ 	7-Information 	H501.17 	HFC: UCD Minislot size change.
************ 	7-Information 	I510.0 	*** BOOTING *** SB4100-4.0.6-SCM-NOSHELL
040902121227 	7-Information 	H501.2 	HFC: Shutting Downstream Down
040902121227 	2-Alert 	T507.0 	Received Async Error Range Failed
040902120808 	4-Error 	X501.35 	Unit Update Failed.
040902120808 	7-Information 	F502.1 	Bridge Forwarding Enabled.
040902120807 	4-Error 	X501.28 	Unit Update - Not updating. This image is not for this platform.
040902120807 	7-Information 	F502.2 	Bridge Forwarding Disabled.
040902120807 	7-Information 	X500.0 	Attempting Unit Update
040902120801 	7-Information 	F502.1 	Bridge Forwarding Enabled.
040902120801 	7-Information 	F502.3 	Bridge Learning Enabled.
040902120801 	7-Information 	B518.0 	Baseline Privacy is skipped
040902120800 	7-Information 	I500.0 	Registration Completed
040902120800 	7-Information 	I0.0 	REG-RSP Registration Response
040902120800 	7-Information 	I0.0 	REG-REQ Registration Request
040902120800 	7-Information 	D509.0 	Retrieved TFTP Config mota4100-gold.cm SUCCESS
040902120758 	7-Information 	D507.0 	Retrieved Time....... SUCCESS
************ 	7-Information 	D511.0 	Retrieved DHCP .......... SUCCESS
************ 	5-Warning 	D520.2 	DHCP Attempt# 1 BkOff: 4s Tot DSC:1 OFF:1 REQ:1 ACK:1
************ 	7-Information 	D0.0 	DHCP CM Net Configuration download and Time of Day
************ 	7-Information 	T500.0 	Acquired Upstream .......... SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T503.1 	Acquire US with status OK, powerLevel 58, tempSid 1033
************ 	8-Debug 	T505.0 	Acquired Upstream with status OK
************ 	7-Information 	T501.0 	Acquired Downstream (402750000 Hz)........ SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status OK, DS Freq 402750000, US Id 5
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 594750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 586750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 578750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 570750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 562750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 554750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 546750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 538750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 530750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 522750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 514750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 506750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 498750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 490750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 482750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 474750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 466750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 458750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 450750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 442750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 434750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 426750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 418750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 410750000, US Id 0
************ 	7-Information 	H501.2 	HFC: Shutting Downstream Down
************ 	8-Debug 	T503.1 	Acquire US with status RR ABORT, powerLevel 0, tempSid 0
************ 	7-Information 	T501.0 	Acquired Downstream (402750000 Hz)........ SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status OK, DS Freq 402750000, US Id 5
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 394750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 386750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 378750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 370750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 362750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 354750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 346750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 338750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 330750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 322750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 314750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 306750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 298750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 290750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 282750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 274750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 266750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 258750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 250750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 242750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 234750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 226750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 218750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 210750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 202750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 194750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 186750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 178750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 170750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 162750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 154750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 146750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 138750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 130750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 122750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 114750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 106750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 98750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 90750000, US Id 0
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status NO FEC lock, DS Freq 403000000, US Id 0
************ 	7-Information 	H501.2 	HFC: Shutting Downstream Down
************ 	8-Debug 	T503.1 	Acquire US with status RR ABORT, powerLevel 0, tempSid 0
************ 	7-Information 	T501.0 	Acquired Downstream (402750000 Hz)........ SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status OK, DS Freq 402750000, US Id 5
************ 	7-Information 	H501.17 	HFC: UCD Minislot size change.
************ 	7-Information 	I510.0 	*** BOOTING *** SB4100-4.0.6-SCM-NOSHELL
040902115840 	7-Information 	H501.2 	HFC: Shutting Downstream Down
040902115840 	2-Alert 	T507.0 	Received Async Error Range Failed
040902115743 	4-Error 	X501.35 	Unit Update Failed.
040902115743 	7-Information 	F502.1 	Bridge Forwarding Enabled.
040902115742 	4-Error 	X501.28 	Unit Update - Not updating. This image is not for this platform.
040902115742 	7-Information 	F502.2 	Bridge Forwarding Disabled.
040902115742 	7-Information 	X500.0 	Attempting Unit Update
040902115736 	7-Information 	F502.1 	Bridge Forwarding Enabled.
040902115736 	7-Information 	F502.3 	Bridge Learning Enabled.
040902115736 	7-Information 	B518.0 	Baseline Privacy is skipped
040902115735 	7-Information 	I500.0 	Registration Completed
040902115735 	7-Information 	I0.0 	REG-RSP Registration Response
040902115735 	7-Information 	I0.0 	REG-REQ Registration Request
040902115735 	7-Information 	D509.0 	Retrieved TFTP Config mota4100-gold.cm SUCCESS
040902115735 	7-Information 	D507.0 	Retrieved Time....... SUCCESS
************ 	7-Information 	D511.0 	Retrieved DHCP .......... SUCCESS
************ 	5-Warning 	D520.2 	DHCP Attempt# 1 BkOff: 4s Tot DSC:1 OFF:1 REQ:1 ACK:1
************ 	7-Information 	D0.0 	DHCP CM Net Configuration download and Time of Day
************ 	7-Information 	T500.0 	Acquired Upstream .......... SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T503.1 	Acquire US with status OK, powerLevel 58, tempSid 1033
************ 	8-Debug 	T505.0 	Acquired Upstream with status OK
************ 	7-Information 	T501.0 	Acquired Downstream (402750000 Hz)........ SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status OK, DS Freq 402750000, US Id 5
************ 	7-Information 	H501.17 	HFC: UCD Minislot size change.
************ 	7-Information 	I510.0 	*** BOOTING *** SB4100-4.0.6-SCM-NOSHELL
040902115706 	7-Information 	H501.2 	HFC: Shutting Downstream Down
040902115706 	2-Alert 	T507.0 	Received Async Error Range Failed
040902115627 	4-Error 	X501.35 	Unit Update Failed.
040902115627 	7-Information 	F502.1 	Bridge Forwarding Enabled.
040902115626 	4-Error 	X501.28 	Unit Update - Not updating. This image is not for this platform.
040902115626 	7-Information 	F502.2 	Bridge Forwarding Disabled.
040902115626 	7-Information 	X500.0 	Attempting Unit Update
040902115620 	7-Information 	F502.1 	Bridge Forwarding Enabled.
040902115620 	7-Information 	F502.3 	Bridge Learning Enabled.
040902115620 	7-Information 	B518.0 	Baseline Privacy is skipped
040902115619 	7-Information 	I500.0 	Registration Completed
040902115619 	7-Information 	I0.0 	REG-RSP Registration Response
040902115619 	7-Information 	I0.0 	REG-REQ Registration Request
040902115619 	7-Information 	D509.0 	Retrieved TFTP Config mota4100-gold.cm SUCCESS
040902115619 	7-Information 	D507.0 	Retrieved Time....... SUCCESS
************ 	7-Information 	D511.0 	Retrieved DHCP .......... SUCCESS
************ 	5-Warning 	D520.2 	DHCP Attempt# 1 BkOff: 4s Tot DSC:1 OFF:1 REQ:1 ACK:1
************ 	7-Information 	D0.0 	DHCP CM Net Configuration download and Time of Day
************ 	7-Information 	T500.0 	Acquired Upstream .......... SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T503.1 	Acquire US with status OK, powerLevel 58, tempSid 1033
************ 	8-Debug 	T505.0 	Acquired Upstream with status OK
************ 	7-Information 	T501.0 	Acquired Downstream (402750000 Hz)........ SUCCESS
************ 	8-Debug 	T509.0 	Acquired DS with status OK, DS Freq 402750000, US Id 5
************ 	7-Information 	H501.17 	HFC: UCD Minislot size change.
************ 	7-Information 	I510.0 	*** BOOTING *** SB4100-4.0.6-SCM-NOSHELL
040902115550 	7-Information 	H501.2 	HFC: Shutting Downstream Down
040902115550 	2-Alert 	T507.0 	Received Async Error Range Failed
040902115454 	4-Error 	X501.35 	Unit Update Failed.

Web-Junkie · 02-09-2004, 16:38

It started before the 26th as I had upload problems before that. For me it all points to an outage we had a few weeks ago during a thunderstorm, after that is when the problems started, at least for me and others in my area!

I also had an interesting conversation today with a lady from www.svp.co.uk!!

I was trying to order some stuff today online at their site, when i'd entered all my CC details and clicked the 'Authorise' button to finalise the transaction, I got 'The page cannot be displayed' error. So I rung them up to ask if the transaction had gone through and the first thing she asked me was 'Are you on NTL?', I said I was and she told me she'd had no end of complaints from other NTL customers who are unable to access or use their site!! Interesting no? So I told her to ring up NTL a tell them to get it sorted on our behalf

My transaction hadn't gone through anyway!

Had to reinput all the details again but thankfully the second transaction was successful! So even online stores are aware of problems with NTL!

DeadKenny · 02-09-2004, 19:12

Well, things are getting worse. My cable modem has now been endlessly rebooting meaning I've effectively got a dead broadband connection. I'm now right back to where I was over a year ago when I had exactly the same hassle. It was "fixed" supposedly (thanks eventually to some on nthellworld.com), but now I'm back to square one

I'm on dial-up currently, and it's very slow, plus ntlworld.com is extremely slow (even for dial-up).

NTL: Whatever you did in Woking on the 26th, can you please UNDO IT!

I've had a perfect working system for over a year until that change

.

Well, I'd better ask my boss for a day off work then to sort it out. Just hope I can do that next week sometime, but it might be later.

DeadKenny · 03-09-2004, 14:59

2nd day 'dead'. It recovered late evening yesterday but died mid-morning today and has not come back up.

Web-Junkie · 03-09-2004, 18:13

Have you *COUGH* phoned NTL?

DeadKenny · 03-09-2004, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Web-Junkie

Have you *COUGH* phoned NTL?

Yes. It's a total joke

...

Blah, blah, blah, waste a load of my money (why no free support no. for broadband?) with numerous idiot advice and options, blah, blah...

"please note our technical support are only able to offer limited support due to technical dificulties"

(priceless)

"... they will be unable to access your account details or check on local problems in your area, blah, blah... and because of the technical problems our lines are extremely busy, blah, blah"

Okay, wait for a dozen more options, get to the bit where I can press '2' to report my broadband as not being working...

Guess what?

Go on...

Okay...

CUT OFF!!!

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

This is EXACTLY how it used to be a year or two back when it was a 40 minute wait on the phone every time, only to be cut off. People have been saying it's improved, but has it hell

Obviously no point in it anyway as they won't have access to the account or diagnostics stuff I guess.

There's not much they can do anyway until next week when I get a chance to ask for time off (which is likely to be at the mid to end of next week at the earliest as I'm quite busy at work). This weekend is out of the question but they don't do weekends anyway.

Oh well, I'll just have to enjoy my 36kbps analogue modem for now (yep, even analogue isn't giving me the full 56kbps

)), at extra expense to me of course. It means my webserver and mailserver is now down and I have to work around that (redirecting mail to NTL's spam-tastic, ever offline mail server

).

I still maintain that if this was all installed properly in the first place I wouldn't have this trouble. Even when it was "fixed" before all they did was get the upstream to the mid 50s and it drifted back to the limit again, but whatever they did on the 26th has broken it totally.

Oh well, I'm try using the email form on their web site...

(I never get replies from that, but what the hell

).

It's been a while, but the stuffed modem GIF is now back as my avatar.

Ashover · 04-09-2004, 08:02

At least Web Junkie seems to be getting somewhere(?). I think that Rifle and myself should get the engineer out given that it seems the only way to get NTL to acknowledge that we have a problem.

Ignition · 04-09-2004, 10:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashover

At least Web Junkie seems to be getting somewhere(?). I think that Rifle and myself should get the engineer out given that it seems the only way to get NTL to acknowledge that we have a problem.

Which is of course madly inefficient, sending engineer(s) to a series of faults that all stem from a single network issue, as well as irritating customers due to the slow resolution of their faults.

I think things are in progress to try and improve fault diagnosis, I *hope* they do!

Ashover · 04-09-2004, 10:37

I couldn't agree more, but I don't know how else to approach it. The last time that I spoke to TS, I was promised a call back (2 weeks ago) and it hasn't materialised, so the conclusion that I drew was that they would say anything just to get rid of me.

If anyone from TS would like to follow this up and find out why I've been fobbed off, I would be grateful - otherwise Rifle and myself will have to call out an engineer just to acknowledge that we have a genuine problem.

DeadKenny · 04-09-2004, 11:48

Hmm, there seems to be a pattern to this.

Mid-morning to mid-day (i.e. between 11am and 1pm)... modem reboots and fails to recover for more than a couple of minutes at a time before rebooting again.

Evening (around 7pm ish)... modem locks on and stays on until the next morning.

DeadKenny · 04-09-2004, 20:48

Well the email form on ntlworld was hopeless. All they said was to contact them by phone on the regular tech support number (which is just as hopeless)

I don't suppose (anyone cares but...) does anyone know when NTL's "technical problems" on the tech support line will be resolved? I got the impression all of this was just supposed to last the bank holiday weekend, but it's been over a week now.

Are NTL going to admit there's been an almightly cock-up somewhere?

Also, for this level of work going on we should have been contacted in advance by email for each of the affected areas, seeing as it was planned work.

Web-Junkie · 06-09-2004, 17:21

Well, the problem is still there for me but as JustAnotherN00b says, it's annoying when an engineer turns to tell you exactly what you've been telling NTL for the past 2 weeks, their Network is the fault! And he can't do anything for you except report the problem back to NTL whereupon we are right back where we started, same poor service and no idea what's being done to resolve it!

I still have no idea what is going to be done (if anything) to resolve the issue and as DeadKenny has found out NTL are unable, or more likely, unwilling to give you any information whatsoever!

And if monkeybreath is reading this, can you find out if "Mick Services TEC #3411" has reported a problem in the Sutton in Ashfield area regarding upload problems/packet loss please?

And Ashover, keep looking for an alternate ISP, this may take a while!!

DeadKenny · 06-09-2004, 18:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Web-Junkie

Well, the problem is still there for me but as JustAnotherN00b says, it's annoying when an engineer turns to tell you exactly what you've been telling NTL for the past 2 weeks, their Network is the fault! And he can't do anything for you except report the problem back to NTL whereupon we are right back where we started, same poor service and no idea what's being done to resolve it!

Yep, and that's basically what happened a year or two back when I last had this problem. Going round in circles endlessly explaining from scratch what the problem is every time I call them (they had no history of previous calls) and each time they just shrug and send a basic engineer who doesn't really know the answer and does the same diagnostics every time. Every time I say it's not my modem, it's your network (or at least the box down the road), stop coming round to check my modem/PC/etc, and each time they don't listen.

On and off my modem would be up and down, with periods of hours, days or weeks of down time depending on god knows what (maybe even the weather!), and I never got anywhere with the official NTL tech support. A year later (with some months of no problems and some really bad) and certain people at nthellworld had some proper experts out quickly and they did fix it... for about a year until NTL did some "work" in my area on the 26th August and now it's bust again, and I can't get through to the right people to complain.