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Godi
05-09-2007, 14:58
My broadband went off last week after 11 months good service, despite having the lights on the modem lit correctly. I was told from India that the problem was with my desktop. Virgin were about to abandon me with no broadband service when I hooked up a new laptop out of the box and demonstrated that even with a new machine there was the same lost packets fault. They said a higher level of technical support would call me back the next day.

Next day i noticed both lights out on the modem. I called India and they agreed it must therefore be a Virgin fault and they booked me an engineer, but it would take 6 days. They refunded the cost of this call, but refused to refund me the previous days (several pounds) as they said that was a different fault.

An engineer was scheduled between 8 and 1 today. I rang at 9 and 11 to confirm the booking, at 12.20 someone rang to say they had just been given my job and it would be 4PM when they arrived. I complained and someone came within the hour.

The fault proved to be this, I live at the end of the street and the distance makes the signal weak. In the green engineer box on the street rows of sockets. Those at the top have the strongest signal, those at the bottom are the weakest. Looks as though another engineer last week had disconnected my cable from the top, presumably to repair a neighbours connection and connected me further down.

Today to repair my connection, the engineer diconnected someone else from the top row of the box and shoved them further down. I was reconnected to the top and my internet started working again.

The engineer said this method of repair was simply generating faults, but the organisation isn't interested in sorting it out as it would require investment. :shocked:

Virgin caused my fault to resolve another customers problem, then tried to deny it, charged me several pounds for the pleasure of notifying them, left me without broadband for a week and cost me a days leave.

And I could be disconnected again at anytime. At least I know know how to repair this fault myself in future!

Nice one Virgin.

Mick Fisher
05-09-2007, 16:21
VM as a company are seemingly becoming ever more pathetic as time goes by. :rolleyes:

7@m3 G33k
05-09-2007, 16:23
Hi Godi

I think your experience illustrates perfectly some of the serious failings of Virgin Media and the approach we as customers need to take to attempt to improve the situation.

Firstly this shows precisely why the premium rate broadband tech support line is ureasonable: however good the VM rep they could not possibly have had all of the relevant information to hand to decide whether or not to charge you for the call, so by default they do charge you.

Secondly and as you point out a lot of the problems we face are due to lack of investment in network infrastructure. And that's what we should all be complaining to VM about rather than belly-aching about STM (which frankly amounts to peeing into the wind).

As a first step I would suggest you post your story on the virginmedia.feedback news group as that is read and responded to by some VM staff. Secondly I would suggest you complain in writing to VM's Customer Concern people at their Swansea site. I can't lay my hands on the address at this moment but perhaps someone else can post it here.

goldoni
05-09-2007, 16:37
I have just got off the phone after speaking to a manager at VM customer relations as things were going wrong with my account again along with my dead slow connection. Also one of the 6 people I look after their computer problems.

One old boy who lives in Northampton phoned me to say his computer would not send emails and he can’t get on any web site. He can’t phone 09 phone numbers as his phone is locked to those numbers but he was told he would have to phone tech support which is a problem as he is registered blind and can’t see what writing is on the modem, when I help him I sometimes end up loosing it at times so how would he get on with speaking to an Indian call centre????

In short I spoke of this problem with the Manager at Teeside and it was confirmed to me that VM do not route VM customers to India but to their English tech support as they had lost quite a lot of customers with the Indian call centre.

I then see your post Godi and wonder if this could be the problem in Northampton and could also be my problem? As I understand it if the cable is moved the line needs to be balanced and checked???

I have sent a copy of this along with my problem to a person at VM with a link to this post.

Godi
05-09-2007, 17:21
An update: Virgin are going to lay a thicker cable from the box to my house next Thursday which should improve the quality of my line. I had stood over the engineer at the green box and asked him why some cables were thicker than others - he asked me if i wanted the wire upgrading to which I readily agreed).

I have also made a formal complaint to Virgin via my Virgin landline using the 150 number- although I have broadband again, I fear it may well be disconnected again at anytime by an engineer downgrading me to fixi someone elses fault. They have said they will look into it.

Meanwhile they have refunded all my tech help calls and cut me a seriously good broadband deal for the next 12 months.

Muffie
05-09-2007, 17:33
I would suggest you complain in writing to VM's Customer Concern people at their Swansea site. I can't lay my hands on the address at this moment but perhaps someone else can post it here.

Virgin Media
PO Box 333
Matrix Court
Swansea
SA7 9ZJ

7@m3 G33k
06-09-2007, 09:50
<snip>
I had stood over the engineer at the green box and asked him why some cables were thicker than others - he asked me if i wanted the wire upgrading to which I readily agreed).

<snip>

Meanwhile they have refunded all my tech help calls and cut me a seriously good broadband deal for the next 12 months.

That's great news! It does make me despair though that this kind of piecemeal and arbitrary upgrade is going on. In the medium to long-term this can only be costing VM much more than planned upgrades and therefore it will cost us more: higher charges or lower quality service.

Virgin Media
PO Box 333
Matrix Court
Swansea
SA7 9ZJ

Ta Muffie :)

fireman328
06-09-2007, 10:30
I cannot for the life of me understand how VM get away with charging a premium rate number for tech support. If I rent a car and it breaks down I get a freefone number to call for assistance.

goldoni
06-09-2007, 10:47
I would say VM have done the right thing regarding charging for tech support. I think all other companies do the same. In fairness to VM when they took over from NTL they stopped the 0845 calls to customer service and for a time gave free Broadband support but it was abused by customers phoning with the slightest problem. The Indian call centres were not working for many reasons so the only logical step is make a charge for contacting the support team.

VM do refund if the fault is VMs problem so in fact we still have a free service which is answered quite quickly.


VM need to stop testing 50Mb / 100Mb service and sort the 20Mb service,,now thats a scandal leaving customers with slow browsing.......