-MaDMAn-
22-05-2008, 21:52
Firstly hello, used to be a member a while back but buggered if I can remember either the email or the log in lol, anyway where to start..
Pull up a chair coz this is a long one lolol
Bit of background I suppose..
I work away a lot and we used to have phone with BT, internet with orange and just a freeview box and before I went away this last time 9/10 weeks ago I said to my other half it would be so much cheaper if we get an all in one package, I was looking into sky and virgin and on a recommendation and the online twaddle of a hassle free professional service I chose virgin media.. That was my first mistake lol
So to the saga..
around the 11th of march I get online and order the 4 for £40 package and arrange for it to fitted the following Saturday which was the only time my missus could be available and I happily go off to work thinking all was sorted.. then I get back 4 weeks later to the most appalling fiasco I have ever had the misfortune to deal with, bear in mind I wasn’t here while all the following happened
22nd of March - missus stayed in all day waiting for the engineer.. No one turned up so she phoned at 4.30pm only to be told they had been out but couldn’t fit it because they were missing a dongle?? But they didn’t let her know.. Phoned the tech helpline and first they said cable wasn’t available in our road which we know is untrue as our neighbour has it.. Then they call back on the Monday and say yes it can be and an engineer will be out on the following sat the 29th march
29th of March - two sub contractors turn up and proceed to fit the TV box etc.. they get to the point of connecting the internet which should be to the pc in the adjoining room downstairs and say to my missus "sorry we can’t connect you today as the lead isn’t long enough" "ring this number and they will arrange for a longer one to be sent out" she then asked them to show her how to use the box and they said the instructions were on the table.. And then they left. she then went in the lounge and saw they had fitted a twisted/damaged box at the side of the telly and behind it was the modem with a 2 foot long data lead connecting it to the wall which explains why they couldn’t sort the internet as the damn patch lead was only a metre long (duh make the data lead longer!!), then she goes outside and the leads were trailing right across the garden and to top it all she picked up the phone to call the them and the phone line was crackling..
31th march - she phones the help line and queues for 40minutes and the "tech" on the line said to bring her sons pc downstairs to the front room to get the internet working! she said no way, I need a longer lead to which they conceded and said they would sort out for her, they then tried saying it was her phone that was crackling which is just nonsense, it was fine before. They said they would call her back on the Monday to arrange for someone to come and rectify the problems.
31th march in the evening - she gets a text message on her mobile saying "hi it’s the engineer here who fitted your virgin package.. Any problems you just let me know and I will sort them out", now she thought it was a response from the earlier call so replied to him " oh great thanks, I still have no internet, the leads need burying and my phone is crackly and my TV box is wonky" to which he replied
"Wonky box eh? You want me to come and sort your wonky box?"
She didn’t really make much of it as she did have a twisted wonky box and said
Yes, if you wouldn’t mind.."
he then proceeded to bombard her with over a hundred really inappropriate text messages over the next couple of days to the point she was saying please stop texting me.. Why are you texting me? And his reply was
"I think you are hot"
absolutely appalling behaviour
weds 2nd apr through to 9th - numerous calls to virgin complaining that she still didn’t have internet and the other problems still hadn’t been resolved and that she was getting harassed by this weirdo engineer and they kept not ringing her back, eventually after kicking up hell on the phone she got put through the proper complaints department where the HEAD of complaints said he would deal with it personally. Meanwhile my mate went round with a 15 metre patch lead and sorted her internet - which was now 11 days without it working
anyway @11th apr the head of complaints arrived and went through all the problems and let slip that this bloody engineer had done this before, he asked her to keep the messages which she had kept 80 of them as he had filled up her phone and she had to delete some to receive texts, he also said he would send out an engineer to rectify the faults and connect the internet.. She told him a mate had been round already and he said ok he would just sort the rest and look into the harassment and he was very sorry and he would be in touch in a few days and gives her his personal mobile number should she wish to ring him anytime day or night..
17th/18th apr.. and engineer turns up, changes the box, buries the cables, sorts the phone and moves the modem nearer the pc and then asks her to sign a form saying her complaint had been dealt with to which she refused.. She signed it to say the faults had been rectified and wrote on the form that the complaint was not dealt with.
He does not call her back
weds 23th apr a bill arrives for £148! 4 for £40 my arse, most of it phone bill, then on sat 26th apr we get a phone call from credit control asking if the phone activity was usual and when would we be paying? My missus said look we have an ongoing complaint, to which the operator said it says here on my screen complaint resolved!! anyway my missus just broke down and said I can’t deal with this anymore, I’m gonna get my husband to deal with this on mon when he gets home to which the woman said ok.. Here is my name and extension, get him to ring me.
So.. I get home on sun 27 of may blissfully unaware that any of this had gone on as bless my missus she was determined to have it all sorted by the time I get back as she knows I will not tolerate incompetence, rudeness or bad service anywhere at anytime and just knew I would get my grumpy from Portsmouth complaints mode head on lol
Sun 27 apr - I ring the head of complaints.. (Well he did say to ring anytime ;-)) and he was at a bbq and said for me to ring on Tues as he wasnt back to work til then
Monday 28 apr - I get on the net and read the terms of conditions from start to finish and any other info I can find out regarding complaints with virgin
Tues 29 apr - I ring this guy and I tell him who I am and that I’m appalled by the complete lack of "customer service" and frankly abysmal attitude of everyone concerned so far, not one person has rung back when they said they would.. Then I give him a list of things I want looked into
I want assurances that this man will never again be in a position where he could do this to a female customer again
I want to know where he got her mobile number from as it was never given to them and he must have accessed the database to get it
I want an explanation of why things took so long to get rectified
I want a letter of apology to my wife with regard the sexual harassment from one of their engineers
And I want one good reason why I shouldn’t a: go to the police, a solicitor and the media and B: why I should even consider staying with virgin media after this
I also want the £148 joke of a first bill looked into and quashed and there was no way in hell I was paying it til I get a satisfactory resolution to this.
He said he had apologised to which I said yes and you also said you would sort this out and call her back and you didn’t do that so you words mean very little to me at this point
anyway he said he was very sorry and that the man would be disciplined and that he couldn’t look into the bill in detail as the systems were down for the week and he would look into and definitely call me back within 7 days and that he would sort some compensation for all the hassle.
I said it had better be bloody good and please do as you say and ring me back as can assure you I am not the sort of person to just walk away from this and if for any reason he is unable to resolve the issue then could he let me know and pass it on to someone who can sort it. Anyway promises sorrys blah
End of call
I wait for 7 days and nothing
weds 7th may I ring his mobile and it goes to voicemail and I say hi Mr. **** here, you said you would ring me back regarding a resolution to our complaint, could you do so please on this number, thank you
Nothing
Thurs I was working
fri 9th I ring again and again I get voicemail so I leave a message "hi Mr. **** again, if I do not hear back from you by 5pm today with a resolution to our complaint I will cancel our package I will make an appointment with my solicitor with regard to the sexual harassment of my wife by one of your engineers, I’m appalled by your complete disregard for the seriousness of the situation. Do the job you are paid to do and call me back. Thank you
I also text the same to his phone and put a receipt on it so I know he damn well got it
Nothing..Nada..Zilch response
Mon 12th I ring my solicitor and make an appointment and I ring virgin to cancel my contract and to get the address of the legal department
And select option 4 thinking of leaving. I give my account number and then before I let her say "how can I help you today" I let rip in a tirade..
"This is what is going to happen.. I want the name and address of your legal department for my solicitor, I’m going to have sky fitted, you WILL wait till its fitted and then and only then will you terminate my services as I am not going without internet due to the incompetence of virgin media, and if you think for one second I’m going to pay you anything then you are sadly mistaken.. Sue me if you want it will save me the bloody job of suing you.. I’m sick to death of empty sorry's and broken promises, you have to be the worse company I’ve had this misfortune to deal with and I’m going to go to every media source available who will listen as people need to know. I’m disgusted by your complete and utter incompetence"
Anyway a slight pause and she said oh dear sir lol.. Please tell me what happened and let me see what it says on our system.. So again I go through the whole sorry ordeal and she said oh my god I am so sorry.. Let me speak to my manager please hold...
She comes back and says this was so serious it should never have been handled by a mid level manager and it should have gone straight to the chief executive’s office.. I can If you are willing, pass this on to them and they will definitely ring you back in the morn and I am sure they will resolve this swiftly and to your satisfaction.. Again all I can do is apologise..
So foolishly I agree
10am the following morning on tues 13th I get a phone call from chief execs office and I tell her the whole story and make it very clear that this was last chance saloon.. Especially seeing her head of complaints has completely ignored me.. There is simply no excuse, if he was ill he should have passed it on..On hol the same. she apologised profusely and promised a full investigation which might take longer than a few days due to the seriousness of the problem so I say I will postpone the solicitors appointment but it depended on how it was resolved will determine whether or not I go public and re make my solicitors appointment. She said she would call me back by the end of the day and let me know how she got on.
Anyway 4.15 she phoned as promised and said all sorted.. A letter will be in the post as the account was in my wife’s name and just to let me know due to the seriousness of the situation it was only fair she split it into two cases.. one for the harassment and one for the poor installation and that I should be aware that any disciplinary action taken couldn’t be divulged due to the data protection act etc etc.. She said it would be in the post the following morning.. Last weds
well today arrives and still no letter so I phone and tell her no letter, I’m cancelling and I want the legal depts. address for my solicitor and she said I assure you it was sent out and I replied you will forgive me for not believing a word any at virgin media has to say and if only someone had taken responsibility 6 weeks ago we wouldn’t be in this situation now and that I’m so disappointed and disgusted by the whole experience. Shameful way to treat customers. and did she not think that due to the seriousness of the situation she should of at least followed up with a call? And she said that as far as ashe was concerned the letter was the end of it that was my choice if i wanted to take it further and hung up
Anyway I get home today and lo and behold there is this damned letter..
And the response?
dear miss ****.
Further to my telephone conversation yesterday with Mr. **** regarding an allegation of inappropriate behaviour by one of our technicians, I would like to offer my apologies for the inconvenience you feel this matter has caused.
I confirm an investigation has taken place in line with our usual internal procedures, this was both impartial and thorough. Given the nature of this complaint and the confidentiality we much attach to any investigation involving a member of staff, we are unable to inform you of the outcome.
I am however satisfied that the appropriate action has been taken in this instance. Whilst I appreciate you feel this has caused you distress I am unable to meet any requests for compensation.
In recognition of the inconvenience caused when installing your service I have refunded one month’s service charge.
In addition I have refunded a further month for the time you were without service and the cost of calls whilst contacting our call centre. In total I have applied a credit of £64.23 to your virgin media account today.
Thank you for your patience and giving me the opportunity to address your concerns.
I hope this has clarified our position. whilst I appreciate this might not be the reply you were anticipating, I would like to assure you we have taken this matter seriously and virgin media will assist the police with any enquiries should this be necessary.
<VM staff name removed>
Virgin media
What a crock!! they have given friends of mine 6 months half price deals and free v+ boxes just for losing bloody sky one and another guy we know has just been given a free v+box for a relatively easy installation problem compared to ours and he didn’t get bloody sexually harassed and they offer us a sorry for any inconvenience YOU FEEL this matter has caused.
And £60 quid? I’m gobsmacked.. i was never rude or shouted just spoke firmly. I honestly think they dont think i will bother taking it further but they couldnt be more wrong.
but I Am at a loss just what to do now for the best.
if I go through the legal route which I am prepared to do its gonna cost me time and money but I know I have a great case or should I just go straight to watchdog or similar? I really feel people should know about this shambles of a company.
Your advice and input would be greatly appreciated
Sorry for the exceptionally long post but I couldn’t shorten it if it tried lolol
Pull up a chair coz this is a long one lolol
Bit of background I suppose..
I work away a lot and we used to have phone with BT, internet with orange and just a freeview box and before I went away this last time 9/10 weeks ago I said to my other half it would be so much cheaper if we get an all in one package, I was looking into sky and virgin and on a recommendation and the online twaddle of a hassle free professional service I chose virgin media.. That was my first mistake lol
So to the saga..
around the 11th of march I get online and order the 4 for £40 package and arrange for it to fitted the following Saturday which was the only time my missus could be available and I happily go off to work thinking all was sorted.. then I get back 4 weeks later to the most appalling fiasco I have ever had the misfortune to deal with, bear in mind I wasn’t here while all the following happened
22nd of March - missus stayed in all day waiting for the engineer.. No one turned up so she phoned at 4.30pm only to be told they had been out but couldn’t fit it because they were missing a dongle?? But they didn’t let her know.. Phoned the tech helpline and first they said cable wasn’t available in our road which we know is untrue as our neighbour has it.. Then they call back on the Monday and say yes it can be and an engineer will be out on the following sat the 29th march
29th of March - two sub contractors turn up and proceed to fit the TV box etc.. they get to the point of connecting the internet which should be to the pc in the adjoining room downstairs and say to my missus "sorry we can’t connect you today as the lead isn’t long enough" "ring this number and they will arrange for a longer one to be sent out" she then asked them to show her how to use the box and they said the instructions were on the table.. And then they left. she then went in the lounge and saw they had fitted a twisted/damaged box at the side of the telly and behind it was the modem with a 2 foot long data lead connecting it to the wall which explains why they couldn’t sort the internet as the damn patch lead was only a metre long (duh make the data lead longer!!), then she goes outside and the leads were trailing right across the garden and to top it all she picked up the phone to call the them and the phone line was crackling..
31th march - she phones the help line and queues for 40minutes and the "tech" on the line said to bring her sons pc downstairs to the front room to get the internet working! she said no way, I need a longer lead to which they conceded and said they would sort out for her, they then tried saying it was her phone that was crackling which is just nonsense, it was fine before. They said they would call her back on the Monday to arrange for someone to come and rectify the problems.
31th march in the evening - she gets a text message on her mobile saying "hi it’s the engineer here who fitted your virgin package.. Any problems you just let me know and I will sort them out", now she thought it was a response from the earlier call so replied to him " oh great thanks, I still have no internet, the leads need burying and my phone is crackly and my TV box is wonky" to which he replied
"Wonky box eh? You want me to come and sort your wonky box?"
She didn’t really make much of it as she did have a twisted wonky box and said
Yes, if you wouldn’t mind.."
he then proceeded to bombard her with over a hundred really inappropriate text messages over the next couple of days to the point she was saying please stop texting me.. Why are you texting me? And his reply was
"I think you are hot"
absolutely appalling behaviour
weds 2nd apr through to 9th - numerous calls to virgin complaining that she still didn’t have internet and the other problems still hadn’t been resolved and that she was getting harassed by this weirdo engineer and they kept not ringing her back, eventually after kicking up hell on the phone she got put through the proper complaints department where the HEAD of complaints said he would deal with it personally. Meanwhile my mate went round with a 15 metre patch lead and sorted her internet - which was now 11 days without it working
anyway @11th apr the head of complaints arrived and went through all the problems and let slip that this bloody engineer had done this before, he asked her to keep the messages which she had kept 80 of them as he had filled up her phone and she had to delete some to receive texts, he also said he would send out an engineer to rectify the faults and connect the internet.. She told him a mate had been round already and he said ok he would just sort the rest and look into the harassment and he was very sorry and he would be in touch in a few days and gives her his personal mobile number should she wish to ring him anytime day or night..
17th/18th apr.. and engineer turns up, changes the box, buries the cables, sorts the phone and moves the modem nearer the pc and then asks her to sign a form saying her complaint had been dealt with to which she refused.. She signed it to say the faults had been rectified and wrote on the form that the complaint was not dealt with.
He does not call her back
weds 23th apr a bill arrives for £148! 4 for £40 my arse, most of it phone bill, then on sat 26th apr we get a phone call from credit control asking if the phone activity was usual and when would we be paying? My missus said look we have an ongoing complaint, to which the operator said it says here on my screen complaint resolved!! anyway my missus just broke down and said I can’t deal with this anymore, I’m gonna get my husband to deal with this on mon when he gets home to which the woman said ok.. Here is my name and extension, get him to ring me.
So.. I get home on sun 27 of may blissfully unaware that any of this had gone on as bless my missus she was determined to have it all sorted by the time I get back as she knows I will not tolerate incompetence, rudeness or bad service anywhere at anytime and just knew I would get my grumpy from Portsmouth complaints mode head on lol
Sun 27 apr - I ring the head of complaints.. (Well he did say to ring anytime ;-)) and he was at a bbq and said for me to ring on Tues as he wasnt back to work til then
Monday 28 apr - I get on the net and read the terms of conditions from start to finish and any other info I can find out regarding complaints with virgin
Tues 29 apr - I ring this guy and I tell him who I am and that I’m appalled by the complete lack of "customer service" and frankly abysmal attitude of everyone concerned so far, not one person has rung back when they said they would.. Then I give him a list of things I want looked into
I want assurances that this man will never again be in a position where he could do this to a female customer again
I want to know where he got her mobile number from as it was never given to them and he must have accessed the database to get it
I want an explanation of why things took so long to get rectified
I want a letter of apology to my wife with regard the sexual harassment from one of their engineers
And I want one good reason why I shouldn’t a: go to the police, a solicitor and the media and B: why I should even consider staying with virgin media after this
I also want the £148 joke of a first bill looked into and quashed and there was no way in hell I was paying it til I get a satisfactory resolution to this.
He said he had apologised to which I said yes and you also said you would sort this out and call her back and you didn’t do that so you words mean very little to me at this point
anyway he said he was very sorry and that the man would be disciplined and that he couldn’t look into the bill in detail as the systems were down for the week and he would look into and definitely call me back within 7 days and that he would sort some compensation for all the hassle.
I said it had better be bloody good and please do as you say and ring me back as can assure you I am not the sort of person to just walk away from this and if for any reason he is unable to resolve the issue then could he let me know and pass it on to someone who can sort it. Anyway promises sorrys blah
End of call
I wait for 7 days and nothing
weds 7th may I ring his mobile and it goes to voicemail and I say hi Mr. **** here, you said you would ring me back regarding a resolution to our complaint, could you do so please on this number, thank you
Nothing
Thurs I was working
fri 9th I ring again and again I get voicemail so I leave a message "hi Mr. **** again, if I do not hear back from you by 5pm today with a resolution to our complaint I will cancel our package I will make an appointment with my solicitor with regard to the sexual harassment of my wife by one of your engineers, I’m appalled by your complete disregard for the seriousness of the situation. Do the job you are paid to do and call me back. Thank you
I also text the same to his phone and put a receipt on it so I know he damn well got it
Nothing..Nada..Zilch response
Mon 12th I ring my solicitor and make an appointment and I ring virgin to cancel my contract and to get the address of the legal department
And select option 4 thinking of leaving. I give my account number and then before I let her say "how can I help you today" I let rip in a tirade..
"This is what is going to happen.. I want the name and address of your legal department for my solicitor, I’m going to have sky fitted, you WILL wait till its fitted and then and only then will you terminate my services as I am not going without internet due to the incompetence of virgin media, and if you think for one second I’m going to pay you anything then you are sadly mistaken.. Sue me if you want it will save me the bloody job of suing you.. I’m sick to death of empty sorry's and broken promises, you have to be the worse company I’ve had this misfortune to deal with and I’m going to go to every media source available who will listen as people need to know. I’m disgusted by your complete and utter incompetence"
Anyway a slight pause and she said oh dear sir lol.. Please tell me what happened and let me see what it says on our system.. So again I go through the whole sorry ordeal and she said oh my god I am so sorry.. Let me speak to my manager please hold...
She comes back and says this was so serious it should never have been handled by a mid level manager and it should have gone straight to the chief executive’s office.. I can If you are willing, pass this on to them and they will definitely ring you back in the morn and I am sure they will resolve this swiftly and to your satisfaction.. Again all I can do is apologise..
So foolishly I agree
10am the following morning on tues 13th I get a phone call from chief execs office and I tell her the whole story and make it very clear that this was last chance saloon.. Especially seeing her head of complaints has completely ignored me.. There is simply no excuse, if he was ill he should have passed it on..On hol the same. she apologised profusely and promised a full investigation which might take longer than a few days due to the seriousness of the problem so I say I will postpone the solicitors appointment but it depended on how it was resolved will determine whether or not I go public and re make my solicitors appointment. She said she would call me back by the end of the day and let me know how she got on.
Anyway 4.15 she phoned as promised and said all sorted.. A letter will be in the post as the account was in my wife’s name and just to let me know due to the seriousness of the situation it was only fair she split it into two cases.. one for the harassment and one for the poor installation and that I should be aware that any disciplinary action taken couldn’t be divulged due to the data protection act etc etc.. She said it would be in the post the following morning.. Last weds
well today arrives and still no letter so I phone and tell her no letter, I’m cancelling and I want the legal depts. address for my solicitor and she said I assure you it was sent out and I replied you will forgive me for not believing a word any at virgin media has to say and if only someone had taken responsibility 6 weeks ago we wouldn’t be in this situation now and that I’m so disappointed and disgusted by the whole experience. Shameful way to treat customers. and did she not think that due to the seriousness of the situation she should of at least followed up with a call? And she said that as far as ashe was concerned the letter was the end of it that was my choice if i wanted to take it further and hung up
Anyway I get home today and lo and behold there is this damned letter..
And the response?
dear miss ****.
Further to my telephone conversation yesterday with Mr. **** regarding an allegation of inappropriate behaviour by one of our technicians, I would like to offer my apologies for the inconvenience you feel this matter has caused.
I confirm an investigation has taken place in line with our usual internal procedures, this was both impartial and thorough. Given the nature of this complaint and the confidentiality we much attach to any investigation involving a member of staff, we are unable to inform you of the outcome.
I am however satisfied that the appropriate action has been taken in this instance. Whilst I appreciate you feel this has caused you distress I am unable to meet any requests for compensation.
In recognition of the inconvenience caused when installing your service I have refunded one month’s service charge.
In addition I have refunded a further month for the time you were without service and the cost of calls whilst contacting our call centre. In total I have applied a credit of £64.23 to your virgin media account today.
Thank you for your patience and giving me the opportunity to address your concerns.
I hope this has clarified our position. whilst I appreciate this might not be the reply you were anticipating, I would like to assure you we have taken this matter seriously and virgin media will assist the police with any enquiries should this be necessary.
<VM staff name removed>
Virgin media
What a crock!! they have given friends of mine 6 months half price deals and free v+ boxes just for losing bloody sky one and another guy we know has just been given a free v+box for a relatively easy installation problem compared to ours and he didn’t get bloody sexually harassed and they offer us a sorry for any inconvenience YOU FEEL this matter has caused.
And £60 quid? I’m gobsmacked.. i was never rude or shouted just spoke firmly. I honestly think they dont think i will bother taking it further but they couldnt be more wrong.
but I Am at a loss just what to do now for the best.
if I go through the legal route which I am prepared to do its gonna cost me time and money but I know I have a great case or should I just go straight to watchdog or similar? I really feel people should know about this shambles of a company.
Your advice and input would be greatly appreciated
Sorry for the exceptionally long post but I couldn’t shorten it if it tried lolol