Re: Email Blocked rbl issue

jamesdaunt · ‎21-11-2012

We have been unable to send emails for 5 days after sending out a newsletter to 2500 of our subscribers (we are a bookshop)

error message is 554 mail from 217.36.230.188 refused see rbl server rbl.btinternet.com. We can recieve ok. two days of hours on hold produced promises of ringbacks and no help - we were told on day 2 that the first two fault reports were closed because we didn't leave contact details - absolutely untrue, and in fact on both days my call was cut off. Finally a chap on live chat logged the fault, and explained that our static ip address had been blocked - it shouldn't have been. and promised we'd get a call this morning (we haven't.)

We suspect BT are not going to fix this fault and will need to move all our shops(7) to a different broadband provider, but can anyone else offer any help as we cannot continue without being able to send emails.

DaveA · ‎21-11-2012

Hi,

Sorry you're having problems with your email.

Checked the notes and the case has been escalated to the Advanced Diagnostics Team and a callback was booked for tomorrow while you spoke to the Live Chat agent.

Callbacks are unfortunately hard to get for the next day, so that was probably the best he could do.

Dave

jamesdaunt · ‎21-11-2012

It is simply unacceptable service if after 3 days (my first call to Bt was on Monday morning) we have no ability to send email from outlook.My first call was on Monday and took at least an hour, ending when the man helping me, who spent ages accessing our pc to no avail (given the error message clearly indicating a server issue) told me that technical support would ring me. This report I discover the next day has been logged as closed because a telephone number was not given - untrue, and in any case you have endless details of our account. My afternoon telephone call on Monday also had me waiting for over half an hour, and ended with me being cut -off. This was also listed as fault closed. The following day I rang agian, was again put on hold, then told me the technical team were busy, asked to wait longer given the poor handling of the fault, and then I was cut off again. Three calls lasting probably 2 hours plus to no avail. Only through online help have we had any service - and now you effectively say it will be Thursday before you act. You should prioritise when you've given shoddy service, not send to the back of a queue that shouldn't be there anyway.

Would we be able to set up google apps for business using the BT registered domain name as a way out of this? Failing that, can we change the email address that webmail sends as?

DaveA · ‎21-11-2012

Hi,

To be honest we do the best that we can, and with the best will in the world you're not the only person who's having problems.

I'm geniuinely sorry you're having issues, but all we can do is escalate them and try and get them fixed. Sometimes this takes longer than we'd like.

Now if people have promised something and then not done it then that is an issue for complaint, although I've checked the notes and it looks like the call was cut off when the transfer took place the first time, and because the details hadn't been passed properly the agent who tried to call you didn't have a working contact number.

Unfortunate? Yes. Deliberate? No.

I checked the next case and the same thing seems to have happened. The agent tried to put you through and the call cut off. I would say that your phone doesn't like being transferred on our system. It does happen occasionally where a call will drop during a transfer, although it isn't as common as it once was. Did you make the call on a normal phone or a mobile?

As far as the sending is concerned, if you have a domain on your account and aliases set up, and haven't been migrated yet, then you could change the From address for that email address through the Manage Services area of http://myoffice.bt.com.

Hope that helps.

Dave

jamesdaunt · ‎21-11-2012

Thanks for the reply.

1. You need to check again - The first call on Monday morning wasn't cut off, a call from the tech team was promised, but never came and on later calls(which were cut off) we were told the fault was marked closed, and that we had not given phone details. That is not true, and secondly I see that contact details are all correctly recorded on the account online (which the first helpdesk man accessed during the call.)

2. I'm not sure why our very standard phones would decide to cut out only when being transferred by the business BT braodband help team, and I will leave others to draw their own conclusions about an organization that would offer this as an explanation. As I say, the call details are clearly linked to our account - and you don't have any trouble contacting us when you want to sell things.

PatrickNagle · ‎22-11-2012

We have had the same problem (554 Mail from 217.34.XXX.XXX refused, see RBL server rbl.btconnect.com) since the early hours of Tuesday. I have also been twice promised that someone would be in touch and no one has. email is very important to our business as it's the main form of communication with our external sales force.

I don't suppose they've sorted out your problem yet?

PatrickNagle · ‎22-11-2012

It's just started working now. Hooray.

Furness · ‎22-11-2012

We are suffering the exact same issue. Yesterday our sales department sent a survey to all our customers and partway through the send the BT server started refusing mails with a 554 error referencing the rbl server rbl.btconnect.com.

This left 1300 emails in our smtp queue. I deleted the remaining mails from the queue but subsequent mails will still not send.

No help was obtained via live chat. The representative (the term engineer was clearly not applicable) suggested rebooting our router to obtained a new IP address. We have a static IP address. They suggested setting up reverse dns which has been in place for years. They suggested registering our domain for relaying which again has been setup for years. They finally stuck on insisting that our authentication was at fault but again this hasn't changed for years.

The problem would seem to be that the BT server identified unusual email activity as spamming and blacklisted our IP address. Our IP address is not listed on any of the common blacklists. It is purely the BT server refusing mails from our IP address. It doesn't even get as far as authenticating. My own testing has shown that mails are rejected before anything else happens.

The live chat representative couldn't see this, seemed to have no knowledge of the rbl.btconnect.com server or of any way to have IP addresses remove from it and simply gave up saying he had exhasuted his knowledge.

So we are currently stuck with non-functional outgoing mail.

I'm going to try phoning the helpline but judging by previous posts I'm not at all optimistic that I'll even get to talk to anyone let alone anyone being of any help.

DaveA · ‎22-11-2012

@jamesdaunt wrote:

Thanks for the reply.

1. You need to check again - The first call on Monday morning wasn't cut off, a call from the tech team was promised, but never came and on later calls(which were cut off) we were told the fault was marked closed, and that we had not given phone details. That is not true, and secondly I see that contact details are all correctly recorded on the account online (which the first helpdesk man accessed during the call.)

2. I'm not sure why our very standard phones would decide to cut out only when being transferred by the business BT braodband help team, and I will leave others to draw their own conclusions about an organization that would offer this as an explanation. As I say, the call details are clearly linked to our account - and you don't have any trouble contacting us when you want to sell things.

Hi,

I did check. Both agents put the same thing in their notes - in other words they both said that the call was cut when they tried to transfer you. Now I have absolutely no idea whether that was the case, as I wasn't there. I'm just telling you what I can see.

And as far as your phones are concerned, I also have no idea on this either. I do know for a fact that there was an issue at one point with calls being cut off as they were being answered or transferred, but it was a while ago and I don't know if it still happens or why it happened. All I know is that it happened.

Or would you prefer just to think of me as a liar? If that's what you've decided then there isn't much I can do to help that.

Dave

jamesdaunt · ‎23-11-2012

Yesterday we had a call from a Bt person to ask what error code we were receiving - an error code given by me in every communication including online chat for nearly a week as we speak. In other words we were starting from scratch as from yesterday. It is clear that they just don't have enough high-grade techies to solve what should be a simple issue, nor an ability to prioritise longer-standing faults..

Very unhelpfully we were told that, given this error code, if it was caused by a large email sending (it was, and I've been telling them this since Monday) we should be unblocked after 24 hours. We know this, and it is the fact that the email sending remained blocked for far longer that prpmpted our first call for help. This is now seriously damaging our business at a very busy time of year.

Does anyone know an independent IT firm that has good links with BT and can help?