dhague
08-12-2008, 11:36
I called Virgin Media a few days ago, because I wanted to get a V+ box to go with the HDTV I'm getting. The nice man noticed that I am getting my L-sized internet through a Samsung STB, and offered a free upgrade to a cable modem so that I would get the full 10Mb, instead of the 4Mb max from the Samsung. Of course, I took him up on the offer, and he scheduled installation of the V+ and cable modem for 24th December, 3 weeks away.
The next day, my internet connection went away. The short version of the story is that Virgin immediately cut the internet connection to my STB, leaving me for up to 3 weeks with no internet connection! Given that I work from home a lot, this is a real problem for me, and highlights a bit of a major issue with their account provisioning process.
The slightly longer version of the story is this:
1. I called their broadband support line, and after going through some diagnostics, they informed me that because they couldn't see any packets from my side, the problem must be with my PC and refused to do anything more to help (for what it's worth, I know my stuff when it comes to networking - I used to be a network manager back in the day - so I know it's not my PC or router at fault; DHCP request packets were simply getting no response).
2. I called the broadband line again, and at least this time the more helpful person tried a few diagnostics on the box, before agreeing to send out an a technician to have a look.
3. The technician arrived a couple of days later, went into a couple of menus on the STB, then asked me if I'd ordered a cable modem. He pointed to the QoS setting, which showed that VM had turned off my connection, which they do when people get cable modems.
So the other problem here is this: why did it take multiple calls to the support line, and a technician visit, to tell me something that should have been on my account record somewhere? Even the process of telling me that they have cut off my broadband has cost time and money for both VM and myself.
I'm writing here partly in the hope that someone from Virgin Media sees this, and fixes the broken processes involved.
Cheers,
Darren
P.S. After the technician's visit, I called the Installations line, and they have promised to send me a cable modem asap, so I can fit it myself before the 24th December. I am crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath...
The next day, my internet connection went away. The short version of the story is that Virgin immediately cut the internet connection to my STB, leaving me for up to 3 weeks with no internet connection! Given that I work from home a lot, this is a real problem for me, and highlights a bit of a major issue with their account provisioning process.
The slightly longer version of the story is this:
1. I called their broadband support line, and after going through some diagnostics, they informed me that because they couldn't see any packets from my side, the problem must be with my PC and refused to do anything more to help (for what it's worth, I know my stuff when it comes to networking - I used to be a network manager back in the day - so I know it's not my PC or router at fault; DHCP request packets were simply getting no response).
2. I called the broadband line again, and at least this time the more helpful person tried a few diagnostics on the box, before agreeing to send out an a technician to have a look.
3. The technician arrived a couple of days later, went into a couple of menus on the STB, then asked me if I'd ordered a cable modem. He pointed to the QoS setting, which showed that VM had turned off my connection, which they do when people get cable modems.
So the other problem here is this: why did it take multiple calls to the support line, and a technician visit, to tell me something that should have been on my account record somewhere? Even the process of telling me that they have cut off my broadband has cost time and money for both VM and myself.
I'm writing here partly in the hope that someone from Virgin Media sees this, and fixes the broken processes involved.
Cheers,
Darren
P.S. After the technician's visit, I called the Installations line, and they have promised to send me a cable modem asap, so I can fit it myself before the 24th December. I am crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath...