Sickofvirgin
29-09-2009, 23:51
About 2 weeks ago today, I phoned virgin customer (ha ha ha theres a joke) care because I had broken my modem while moving the PC upstairs.
I got put through to some call center in some far away land, only to have to speak to Mr Flow chart.
I explained that I had broken the coaxial plug off the back of the modem by treading on it.
The complete threaded socket had snapped off.
Spent 20 minutes going through the drill of trying to get it to connect when I couldn't even plug the main coaxial lead into the modem.. Tried several times to explain this but he wouldn't listen so I just humured him with answers I knew he wanted. Eventually he decided it would be an idea to book an engineer which he did, plus he kindly refunded me £10 for the loss of service. What an idiot I thought laughing to myself.
Engineer turns up saturday 19th Sept to install modem. Explains to him what had happened with the call center which he wasn't surprised about.
He checked my signal with his multi-tester hand held, then installed my modem.
He went into the modem to check everything was okay, signal etc... phoned up to take it out of test and put it live only to tell me "there ya go matey, 10 Meg".
Erm, no said I, actually it should be 20. Oh he said, let me call up and see what's going on.
He phones up to tell me I've got two packages showing on my account, M and L.
He advises me to call customer services and talk to them.
Now while I've got his attention, I thought I would mention that the V+ box has been going blocky.. So out he comes with his hand-held again, checks the line and says, Hmm it's a bit low.. Let me check that.
So whiles he's outside tweaking, I get onto customer services, that way if needs be he can speak to them.
Well, I never did... What I got was some miserable scroat trying to tell me I am senile or something.
No sir, you have never been on XL (meaning 20 Meg).
Now I know diferent me love, I said, I've been with you since the days of 128k and every speed increase since that day to this, all barr the 50meg, I've had so I should know. She disagreed saying the system says diferent.
Ok I said, so when I've gone into my account online, typed in my post code and upgraded, I imagined it did I? When I phone up every 6 months and speak to someone here to get a better broadband deal price on 20Meg like I was told to do, I imagined it did I?
She argued black and blue till I asked for a manager..
Eventually she came back on telling me that he is refusing to speak to me.
I've had two or three arguments like that now.. I've emailed a complaint and am yet to get a response.
And now, since this new modem my speed tests have been showing down load of around 0.16meg.
Pages are slow to load, movies are slow, pictures come in like on 56k. It's pathetic.
They sent the engineer again who came last thursday and he comes in, does the same speed test, on the same site and Boom.. just over 19Meg... soon as he's gone.. back to crap again. Been like that from then to now.
I've had a new modem which I hooked up and did the activation for tonight but it's still the same and trying to get any help out of virgin even if you threaten to leave is no hope.
I've just had enough... from verbal from staff to crappy service.. It's hard work being a customer, it really is.
The best of it is the bull they spin you to take one of thier services.
Sky were offering me a free HD box, so I phone virgin to see what they could do for thier V+...
Basicly, long time customer.. sweet FA.
Phoned disconnections to say bye, I'm going over to sky and low and behold, they're pulling deals out thier asses.
Oh no, you dont want to go to sky, they dont maintain thier boxes after 12 months, we do and you don't own the box with sky but with us you do...
Yeah rite so how much?... got told £49 for the box, a month up plus something else.. total about £170... told him I couldnt afford that, and sky would do it for nowt... He then agreed to me paying it in 3 installments.
Later found out I do not own the box, got a whacking bill to be paid in one go and when I phoned up was told he shouldn't have done that, the price was also wrong... Complete and utter idiots.. every last one of them.
Can't trust a bloody word they say. I knew from the day I took that telly package there would be trouble. Can't manage more than one thing them lot and they even struggle with a simple broadband account it would seem.
Had the same problems, exactly the same attitudes when the were NTL.
Had problems with accounts, services, attitudes... Nothings changed.
Told them tonight, was on the phone to them yet again and said what are you going to do about it?
Broadband specialist. Appointment for a weeks time.
I told them it's not good enough. Unfortunately, I had my hands full with a shopping delivery that turned up while on the phone or they would have gotten what for.
Tomorow however, I will phone them and give them an unholy wrath of "if an engineer isnt on my doorstep bright and early in the morning working his ass off then me and my £51 per month are walking to SKY where I can be insulted for a substantially cheaper price, where I know why my broadband is only a lousey 6 meg and it's not an error".
I've had enough, I really have. I told the poor lad on the phone taking the brunt of it tonight, it's real hard work being a customer with you guys.
I'm doing all the chasing, and not one phone call enquiring whether things had been resolved or to look into my complaint. I said I feel like I'm being taken for a tw*t mate. I shouldn't be working to keep your business and doing all the leg work.. Naturally he didn't know what to say.
But seriously, it drives you nuts. Sorry for the long post but this seemed the only place it would be semi-appreciated and sympathised with.
I'm even going as far as logging in the modem and checking the signals myself now... FFS, this is an engineers job, not the customers.
All the signal tests the engineer did were nominal he said.
He tweaked about with the TV signal which was a bit low, but othwise everything was within normal parameters.
Perhaps someone could help me with my readings for my modem to confirm?
From what I've read these seem okay for upstream and downstream.
I'm not sure on the downstream, I think low is okay...
Downstream Info:
Downstream Lock : Locked
Downstream Channel Id : 6
Downstream Frequency : 402750000 Hz
Downstream Modulation : QAM256
Downstream Symbol Rate : 5360.537 Ksym/sec
Downstream Interleave Depth : taps32Increment4
Downstream Receive Power Level : 2.5 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 37.6 dB
Upstream Info:
Upstream Lock : Locked
Upstream Channel ID : 3
Upstream Frequency : 34000000 Hz
Upstream Modulation : QPSK
Upstream Symbol Rate : 2560 Ksym/sec
Upstream transmit Power Level : 41.0 dBmV
Upstream Mini-Slot Size : 2
It's the downstream receive power... now I read if it said 0 it didn't matter as strength could be guaged on signal to noise ratio which should be 30.0dB or higher which it is.
So I cant see any reason why my speed is so crappy. The modem is set to take 20meg as it says in the config here:
Network Access : Allowed
Maximum Downstream Data Rate : 20480000
Maximum Upstream Data Rate : 768000
Maximum Upstream Channel Burst : 1600
Maximum Number of CPEs : 1
They're baffled and so am I and I'm not a VM technician. I repair PC's but the wiered and wonderfull world of ISP's is beyond my scope at the present.
I must say that the engineer who has been out has been brill. I give him his dues, he seems to have done all he could and was friendly. Infact, he couldn't beleive the way I was being spoken to by customer care.
Just a shame about the rest I've encountered over the past 2 weeks.
My advice, steer clear of virgin bloody media untill they hire people with decent attitudes and brains, better management..... At present, they stink. :dunce:
Heres the latest speed test for my aparently now 20 meg....
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/09/6.png (http://www.speedtest.net)
Also tried other servers like in europe, paris etc like the engineer recomended when he pulled over 19meg out the bag that one time... Still all the same or there abouts.
Oh word of advice when dealing with vm technical support and low speed...
Always use speed test.net because it keeps a nice log of your results so that you can show them and use as evidence in fighting thier contract if they try and pull that stunt.
It also makes them look bad when they try and make you look like a **** and that you are lying or crazy or something.
I've done tests on other speed test sites as well and they are all the same kind of speeds.
I did that purely to shut them up because they moan about the speed test site you are using and try and blame that as un-reliable.
Also take screen shots like I did of other speed tests if no records are kept.
Also speedtest.net allow you to download your tests log in CSV format!!!!!
You will probably need it.
I got put through to some call center in some far away land, only to have to speak to Mr Flow chart.
I explained that I had broken the coaxial plug off the back of the modem by treading on it.
The complete threaded socket had snapped off.
Spent 20 minutes going through the drill of trying to get it to connect when I couldn't even plug the main coaxial lead into the modem.. Tried several times to explain this but he wouldn't listen so I just humured him with answers I knew he wanted. Eventually he decided it would be an idea to book an engineer which he did, plus he kindly refunded me £10 for the loss of service. What an idiot I thought laughing to myself.
Engineer turns up saturday 19th Sept to install modem. Explains to him what had happened with the call center which he wasn't surprised about.
He checked my signal with his multi-tester hand held, then installed my modem.
He went into the modem to check everything was okay, signal etc... phoned up to take it out of test and put it live only to tell me "there ya go matey, 10 Meg".
Erm, no said I, actually it should be 20. Oh he said, let me call up and see what's going on.
He phones up to tell me I've got two packages showing on my account, M and L.
He advises me to call customer services and talk to them.
Now while I've got his attention, I thought I would mention that the V+ box has been going blocky.. So out he comes with his hand-held again, checks the line and says, Hmm it's a bit low.. Let me check that.
So whiles he's outside tweaking, I get onto customer services, that way if needs be he can speak to them.
Well, I never did... What I got was some miserable scroat trying to tell me I am senile or something.
No sir, you have never been on XL (meaning 20 Meg).
Now I know diferent me love, I said, I've been with you since the days of 128k and every speed increase since that day to this, all barr the 50meg, I've had so I should know. She disagreed saying the system says diferent.
Ok I said, so when I've gone into my account online, typed in my post code and upgraded, I imagined it did I? When I phone up every 6 months and speak to someone here to get a better broadband deal price on 20Meg like I was told to do, I imagined it did I?
She argued black and blue till I asked for a manager..
Eventually she came back on telling me that he is refusing to speak to me.
I've had two or three arguments like that now.. I've emailed a complaint and am yet to get a response.
And now, since this new modem my speed tests have been showing down load of around 0.16meg.
Pages are slow to load, movies are slow, pictures come in like on 56k. It's pathetic.
They sent the engineer again who came last thursday and he comes in, does the same speed test, on the same site and Boom.. just over 19Meg... soon as he's gone.. back to crap again. Been like that from then to now.
I've had a new modem which I hooked up and did the activation for tonight but it's still the same and trying to get any help out of virgin even if you threaten to leave is no hope.
I've just had enough... from verbal from staff to crappy service.. It's hard work being a customer, it really is.
The best of it is the bull they spin you to take one of thier services.
Sky were offering me a free HD box, so I phone virgin to see what they could do for thier V+...
Basicly, long time customer.. sweet FA.
Phoned disconnections to say bye, I'm going over to sky and low and behold, they're pulling deals out thier asses.
Oh no, you dont want to go to sky, they dont maintain thier boxes after 12 months, we do and you don't own the box with sky but with us you do...
Yeah rite so how much?... got told £49 for the box, a month up plus something else.. total about £170... told him I couldnt afford that, and sky would do it for nowt... He then agreed to me paying it in 3 installments.
Later found out I do not own the box, got a whacking bill to be paid in one go and when I phoned up was told he shouldn't have done that, the price was also wrong... Complete and utter idiots.. every last one of them.
Can't trust a bloody word they say. I knew from the day I took that telly package there would be trouble. Can't manage more than one thing them lot and they even struggle with a simple broadband account it would seem.
Had the same problems, exactly the same attitudes when the were NTL.
Had problems with accounts, services, attitudes... Nothings changed.
Told them tonight, was on the phone to them yet again and said what are you going to do about it?
Broadband specialist. Appointment for a weeks time.
I told them it's not good enough. Unfortunately, I had my hands full with a shopping delivery that turned up while on the phone or they would have gotten what for.
Tomorow however, I will phone them and give them an unholy wrath of "if an engineer isnt on my doorstep bright and early in the morning working his ass off then me and my £51 per month are walking to SKY where I can be insulted for a substantially cheaper price, where I know why my broadband is only a lousey 6 meg and it's not an error".
I've had enough, I really have. I told the poor lad on the phone taking the brunt of it tonight, it's real hard work being a customer with you guys.
I'm doing all the chasing, and not one phone call enquiring whether things had been resolved or to look into my complaint. I said I feel like I'm being taken for a tw*t mate. I shouldn't be working to keep your business and doing all the leg work.. Naturally he didn't know what to say.
But seriously, it drives you nuts. Sorry for the long post but this seemed the only place it would be semi-appreciated and sympathised with.
I'm even going as far as logging in the modem and checking the signals myself now... FFS, this is an engineers job, not the customers.
All the signal tests the engineer did were nominal he said.
He tweaked about with the TV signal which was a bit low, but othwise everything was within normal parameters.
Perhaps someone could help me with my readings for my modem to confirm?
From what I've read these seem okay for upstream and downstream.
I'm not sure on the downstream, I think low is okay...
Downstream Info:
Downstream Lock : Locked
Downstream Channel Id : 6
Downstream Frequency : 402750000 Hz
Downstream Modulation : QAM256
Downstream Symbol Rate : 5360.537 Ksym/sec
Downstream Interleave Depth : taps32Increment4
Downstream Receive Power Level : 2.5 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 37.6 dB
Upstream Info:
Upstream Lock : Locked
Upstream Channel ID : 3
Upstream Frequency : 34000000 Hz
Upstream Modulation : QPSK
Upstream Symbol Rate : 2560 Ksym/sec
Upstream transmit Power Level : 41.0 dBmV
Upstream Mini-Slot Size : 2
It's the downstream receive power... now I read if it said 0 it didn't matter as strength could be guaged on signal to noise ratio which should be 30.0dB or higher which it is.
So I cant see any reason why my speed is so crappy. The modem is set to take 20meg as it says in the config here:
Network Access : Allowed
Maximum Downstream Data Rate : 20480000
Maximum Upstream Data Rate : 768000
Maximum Upstream Channel Burst : 1600
Maximum Number of CPEs : 1
They're baffled and so am I and I'm not a VM technician. I repair PC's but the wiered and wonderfull world of ISP's is beyond my scope at the present.
I must say that the engineer who has been out has been brill. I give him his dues, he seems to have done all he could and was friendly. Infact, he couldn't beleive the way I was being spoken to by customer care.
Just a shame about the rest I've encountered over the past 2 weeks.
My advice, steer clear of virgin bloody media untill they hire people with decent attitudes and brains, better management..... At present, they stink. :dunce:
Heres the latest speed test for my aparently now 20 meg....
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/09/6.png (http://www.speedtest.net)
Also tried other servers like in europe, paris etc like the engineer recomended when he pulled over 19meg out the bag that one time... Still all the same or there abouts.
Oh word of advice when dealing with vm technical support and low speed...
Always use speed test.net because it keeps a nice log of your results so that you can show them and use as evidence in fighting thier contract if they try and pull that stunt.
It also makes them look bad when they try and make you look like a **** and that you are lying or crazy or something.
I've done tests on other speed test sites as well and they are all the same kind of speeds.
I did that purely to shut them up because they moan about the speed test site you are using and try and blame that as un-reliable.
Also take screen shots like I did of other speed tests if no records are kept.
Also speedtest.net allow you to download your tests log in CSV format!!!!!
You will probably need it.