2nd Floor flat too high?

[ajghunter]

I have been trying to register for Virgin Media, and when registering my central-edinburgh address I was told that my flat was not serviceable. I am in a cable area, in fact the ground/basement flat below me subscribes to VM, and was told by the VM representative that the 1st floor flat can get the service, though going a floor higher than this seems to be a step to far.
I was told it was not a consent issue from flats below - other flats in the row have apparantly had my same problem.

Does anyone know how I can push VM on this - they are being so vague, and I would like to give them business after all! Can I offer to install it myself?

Cheers, Andy

[Delta Whiskey]

I guess they don't have the necessary scaffolding equipment needed to work that high off the ground, and they don't think it would be cost effective to hire it in either. I don't think there is any technical problem, the block of flats I live in are four stories and all flats have cable access (the infrastructure was installed when the flats were built).

[PaulH225]

I live in a second floor flat and all the flats (even the high rises) in our area have cable. However, NTL had a contract with Southampton City Council to supply the 5 terrestrial channels to all blocks of council flats in Southampton. Presumably this was because the council didn't want to maintain TV aerials and all that malarky but it has the handy side effect of all the flats being cabled.

I know this doesn't help you in your situation, it may simply be a health and safety or height issue and the installers don't have long enough ladders.

Edit: DW beat me to it..

[Chris]

I live in a second floor flat and all the flats (even the high rises) in our area have cable. However, NTL had a contract with Southampton City Council to supply the 5 terrestrial channels to all blocks of council flats in Southampton. Presumably this was because the council didn't want to maintain TV aerials and all that malarky but it has the handy side effect of all the flats being cabled.

I know this doesn't help you in your situation, it may simply be a health and safety or height issue and the installers don't have long enough ladders.

The days when Cabletel/NTL/Virgin Media/<insert next brand here> actually went out of its way to innovate and find ways of connecting as many customers as possible are long past.

Blocks of flats should be an obvious target for them, as there are often rules about the use of sat dishes (i.e. many landlords disallow them). Cable is the natural fit in these cases but sadly nobody at VM is doing any joined up thinking. I'm amazed how easy this company finds excuses not to sell its services to people who are queueing up to give them their money.

Meanwhile Sky, love them or loathe them, have actually engaged in a little creative thinking and have developed a scheme whereby flats can be set up with a shared dish. Following an initial expression of interest from a group of potential new subscribers, Sky will even take on the admin and contact everyone else in the block to see how many people they can connect up.

I'd love to think that in the long run, VM could emerge as a counterbalancing, competitive force to challenge Sky, but right now I can't bring myself to believe it. Some kind of seige mentality exists at the top of VM, the drawbridge is up and they won't raise their heads above the parapet unless its a guaranteed, no hassle, quick sale.

More fool them.

[MovedGoalPosts]

If the block wasn't built with accessible internal ducts for cable routes (and even then there will be issues of getting the cable past fire stopping in the ducts), the only choice would be to run cabling externally. In these days of health and safety, that would require more than just a ladder and is impractical for a two man install crew.

You can always ask the sales rep to get a site survey done, to establish whether or not it can be provided.

[ajghunter]

Fair points, thanks for these. But if I get consents, I don't see the problem with either dropping a cable off the roof and securing it by the windows on the way down, or fitting the cable up the stairwell.
I happen to have imminent roof repairs, so I may be able to use the scaffolding for a secondary use, if it's the only way VM will agree to do it! Scaffolding is surely hiking gear to climb a molehill, no?!

[MovedGoalPosts]

Regrettably, I'm sure the Health & Safety bods would have a few thoughts on the use of someone elses scaffold for access. I can see it now: who is responsible for inspecting the scaffold? who insures who when someone falls over? I strongly suspect it will be easier to find excuses than solutions :(

[Chris]

Fair points, thanks for these. But if I get consents, I don't see the problem with either dropping a cable off the roof and securing it by the windows on the way down, or fitting the cable up the stairwell.
I happen to have imminent roof repairs, so I may be able to use the scaffolding for a secondary use, if it's the only way VM will agree to do it! Scaffolding is surely hiking gear to climb a molehill, no?!

You can't see the problem, but I am fairly confident that VM will see a problem.

Many people have posted here in the past to say that they have offered assistance or solutions to VM in the case of 'difficult' installations, only to find that they are met with complete indifference on the part of VM. If the computer says no, then that's that ...

Your only hope in these circumstances, I think, is to cut out the call centre and discuss your proposals directly with the local installations manager. I don't know how you would find out who that is though. A bit of detective work may be called for.

---------- Post added at 12:34 ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 ----------

Regrettably, I'm sure the Health & Safety bods would have a few thoughts on the use of someone elses scaffold for access. I can see it now: who is responsible for inspecting the scaffold? who insures who when someone falls over? I strongly suspect it will be easier to find excuses than solutions :(

Except, of course, that Sky, with its shared dish scheme, faces precisely the same issues as VM, albeit they are running cables down from the roof, whereas VM are running them up from the ground.

Yet somehow Sky finds it worthwhile to do it and goes out of its way to ensure maximum return on the investment by making its sales pitch to everyone in the block at the same time.

VM, meanwhile, simply insn't interested.

[ajghunter]

Ok, getting the general picture! called them up to ask for a site survey but 'our system is down'. i may abseil down the wall to fix the cable - good from VM's point of view - if i fall to my death it will mean one less person prepared to give them money. Customers are enemies after all....

[lauzjp]

seems a bit odd. I am in a low-rise block and all the tenants have vm. :shrug:

[papa smurf]

flats have service ducts built in, the flats here in grimsby are 16 stories and we supply cable services to every floor, nothing actualy goes on the outside of the building, every floor has a service cupboard and services are fed thru the roof of one cupboard into the floor of the next ,and so on untill you reach the top, its the same way they get electrical power to all floors.

[Nedkelly]

Question can you get to the lounge area with a triple ladder as this is what they carry .If yes then it should be ok depending on the council / landlord of the property:) :)

[toccylad]

i live on the top floor of a third storey building i have no problem getting virginmedia.

[dancingjones]

That's rubbish. I was in a second floor flat and Virgin drilled a hole from the bedroom and fed the cable out and let it fall down the wall to the box they fitted on ground floor level.

They don't need to go up on a ladder at all.

[MovedGoalPosts]

So how was the hole in the wall externally waterproofed around the cable if there was no ladder used :confused:

[dancingjones]

It wasn't, but I never had any water come in. I mean I had airbricks in the kitchen - I never had any water come through them either.

[altis]

Access really should not be a problem:

http://www.irata.org/

[MovedGoalPosts]

Access really should not be a problem:

http://www.irata.org/

Somewhat beyond the scope of the average Virgin Media installer me thinks. The setup for rope access has all sorts of precaution stages to go through which would be prohibitive cost for a single install.

Lets remember here that it's the basic working at height rules that are the issue for any external wiring. Anything over 2m height is a risk, where the ladder user is supposed to have a hand to hold on with and a hand to do whatever they are doing. I dunno about you but a heavy drill required to get through a wall takes two hands, amongst other stuff. A ladder more than two storeys height adds lots of complications. I've even been told by my local council they can't change the red light on ordinary traffic lights without special ladder training and safety measures, so what chance has a Virgin Media installer got on the second floor?

[RDDearing]

What if you were to arrange your own route - perhaps an external duct with pull line - prior to the install so that the VM tech just has to tie the cable on the end and pull through from inside without needing to climb up ladders/use scaffold etc. When I wanted cable in a previous house along a complicated internal route that they wouldn't do this is how we resolved it - we just ran a length of string along the route prior to the visit!

I'm probably wrong but hopefully any suggestion helps towards the solution if only to dismiss another option...