Emails to BT Internet addresses being silently dropped

[BobPenrose69]

Hi,
I’m trying to reach BT Internet users via email, but messages are being silently dropped—no bounce, no error, no delivery. This happens even when sending from Outlook.com with no links or attachments. I’ve also tried contacting postmaster@btinternet.com, but those messages are blocked too.
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly configured on my domain, and I’ve tested from multiple accounts and networks. Is there a way to escalate this or get clarification from BT’s postmaster team?
Thanks in advance.
Bob

[gg30340]

From previous posters on the forum the BT Postmaster is very slow at responding.

Try using a different email domain to contact the postmaster and keep emailing and they will eventualy respond.

See link

https://www.bt.com/help/email/fix-a-problem/sending-or-receiving-email/bt-email---best-practices-for...

[CanardNoir]

But don't try to follow any of what might look like helpful links in that article as they refer to non-existent pages on the BT site.

For example, "check your reputation" or "blacklist."

[ob123]

Bob, I has similar issue, and found I had setup an email client on the iPad.. and selected do not retain on imap. I stops seeing email on my bt app lol…doh!

[Dave_]

FYI I've experienced this twice over the past few weeks, where e-mail messages are reported as despatched, but have not reached the destination e-mail address (me at btinternet.com, part of a Plusnet package) without any indication that they have not been sent, namely:

#1 from a gmail.com sender to me (usual address at btinternet.com), and, #2 from a different gmail.com sender to me this week (usual address at btinternet.com). In both cases, e-mail communication was re-established by me using a spare btinternet.com e-mail address.

In case #1 the Spamhaus reputation checker reported no problem with either of the original e-mail addresses. In both cases, the 'missing messages' were not in my spam folder (BT web mail).

In the same timescale, I've also heard reports involving: #3 a 3rd gmail.com address, and, #4 a talktalk.net sender to an e-mail address and not arriving (ISP details not supplied).

Case #3 was remedied by changing the recipient's e-mail address (previously gmail.com).

I have received no indication that messages sent by me (btinternet.com) to elsewhere have not arrived. But I wouldn't necessarily expect to, given the foregoing problems.

I have not been aware of any similar problem previously (I've had the usual btinternet.com address for 20+ years).

[gg30340]

@Dave_ 

Your post is a bit confusing and not clear if you are the sender and your emails are not getting through or are you the recipient and the emails sent to your BTMail email address are not getting through.

If it is that you are not receiving emails sent to your BTMail account have you checked your BTMail "blocked sender" list in the BTMail settings to see if the email addresses and or their domain (gmail) is in the list.

To do that log onto your BTMail account using a browser, not an email client/app, and then click on your username at the right hand side. Select "Settings" then go to the left hand side and select "Mail". Scroll down and click on "Blocked Senders". Scroll down the list until you find the one you want to unblock and select it. Click on the small "Trash" symbol at the right hand side. It will only delete the email address from the blocked senders list not your contacts list.

[CharlotteMartin456]

Hi Bob, I’ve faced similar silent drops with BT addresses. Even with SPF/DKIM/DMARC correct, some BT mail servers block new or low-reputation domains silently. You could try raising a support ticket with BT’s abuse team (abuse@btinternet.com) or check if your domain is on any blacklists. Also, gradually warming up your sending domain sometimes helps.

[Dave_]

Many thanks: "have you checked your BTMail "blocked sender" list in the BTMail settings" - I wasn't aware of this feature and hadn't.

However, I can see "gmail.com" amongst the "blocked sender" list. I can also see several suspicious gmail.com addresses amongst the list (fredwatsogf56y45@, fredwatsoguye56y45@, freuw456i46ye56@ etc.), and I guess that "gmail.com" was added accidentally in connection with incoming spam messages.

I've therefore removed "gmail.com" from the list and will let the two @gmail.com senders know about this.

This begs a (rhetorical) question as to why gmail isn't flagging to gmail senders when messages have been rejected (possibly due to a "blocked sender" listing) ?

[Dave_]

Please disregard cases #3 & #4

[gg30340]

gmail would not be getting a message about the email address being blocked. It is BT who are dropping it at the request of the BT customer, in this instance you, albeit you may have blocked the gmail domain inadvertently while trying to block spam email.

If an email is on a blocked senders list, contacting the sender to tell them that the email has been placed on a blocked senders list would also mean that any spammers would be getting informed that their spam emails are being blocked  which would in turn assist them to change their spamming addresses so as to avoid the block and also informing them that they have found an active email address that they can sell onto other spammers.