mechanic presented the following explanation :
Yes the supplied PlusNet router is rubbish, and before anyone signs
up for a new PlusNet account, take a look at their forums,
particularly the feedback one, for a fair view on current customer
service. 'Dire' would be putting a gloss on it. Billing and account
management seems particularly badly run. This degradation in what
used to be a well regarded supplier seems to date from the BT
takeover.

Perhaps so, but in the 13 months since I joined them, their service has
been exemplary. No issues with the line, no issues with billing, a
slight delay (couple of days) when I swapped to FTTC a few months ago.
No spam from the email account at all, no blocked ports, the email has
never been off that I noticed, no traffic shaping, no slowups - all of
these so unlike Talktalk I was used to.