Forum Discussion

ajf33's avatar
ajf33
On our wavelength
22 days ago

Farcical Situation re botched install

I need some assistance please regarding an ongoing situation, that would be bordering on the farcical if it wasn't happening to me.

In a Nutshell, I was due to be installed at my new address after moving, but on the day of the install, the engineer couldn't get a signal through the cable to my address, declared that it was dead, and arranged for someone to come and repull new cable.

the next day a more senior member of staff came and checked what he'd declared and agreed with him, and confirmed the repull.

The repull team came a few days later, to discover that the first 2 installers had not checked the junction box, and simply hadn't switched on our cable, and as soon as they did a signal came through, so they left having rebooked the install for a couple weeks later.

He came to do the install on the 8th September, and was shocked to discover that the original cable did in fact need changing as the final stretch of cable, was full of nicks and has worn casing, exposing the copper wiring, which he warned us would mean signal strength would vary, especially in cold or wet weather, and had top phone a manager to get permission to complete the install, which was done with managers permission, but with photos taken & a promise that the damaged cable would be replaced to prevent against signal loss.

Fast forward to December, and I chase the work up as wetter colder weather, meant that as warned by installer, signal kept dropping, tv kept buffering, Wi-Fi kept dropping out, phone calls became almost impossible to hear.  I was informed there was no record of the request from the installer, and a tech engineerer was sent round, who agreed that that cable needed replacing.

At this point a complaint was opened, as, i had gone three months at this point with a service that was fluctuating badly.

The complaint went back and forth before a manager contacted me and advised that the best outcome was to await completion of the work, and then look at compensation etc.

I the mean time the repull team came and discovered that they couldn't repull the cable, as, where the installed cable hadn't been touched in the 20+ years since it was laid on the street, the trenches had caved in, and so a dig team was to be booked to redig the trenches so the cable could be repulled and replaced.

I was due a visit on the 30/12 but nobody showed up, and 2 calls to find out what was going on, resulted in me being told that they were coming twice, before 6pm passing with no show, and a call revealing they'd been rebooked for the 22nd Jan.

Last Monday a guy turned up to take readings from our cable point outside the house, which provided normal readings, he took pictures to send in, but open speaking to me accepted that yes the readings at that point were normal, but that didn't mean they stayed normal, and he couldn't stay all day to capture readings when signal dropped, but promised work would still happen on 22/1 as planned.

This morning when paying my bill, I noticed that the appointment had disappeared from my schedule, and rang in again, to be told that the signal test and pictures had closed the work order for the 22nd.

I have got an appointment for outside work to be done on the 21st, as a result of my call, and pointing out that the signal test should not have cancelled the work as, the cable was still damaged and still needs replacing.

I accept that there isn't a total loss of service, and the readings when tested have registered as normal, whoever I would like it acknowledged that I've never said the service totally didn't work, just pointed out that it does keep dropping out, and that the signal isn't at a normal level 24/7 leaving tv unwatchable, Wi-Fi slow at best and phone calls barely audible.

At this moment I have no idea what is actually due to be done on the 21st, whether the permit to do the dig work has been granted and am at my wits end, as I've ben paying £100+ a month for a temperamental service, and being mucked around.

I just want to be able to use my services to their full potential, and agree a suitable compensation package for what is now nearly 6 months of a farce.

I apologise for the long post, I am just so frustrated with this whole situation.

 

angry
complaint
damaged
repair

10 Replies

Replies have been turned off for this discussion
  • ajf33's avatar
    ajf33
    On our wavelength
    22 days ago

    Why has this post been moved into broadband, when it's not a broadband problem as such???

    • goslow's avatar
      goslow
      Alessandro Volta
      22 days ago

      Your topic has been moved to 'QuickStart' since it is (indirectly) due to a setup problem.

      Unfortunately you are caught in the doom loop that is the dysfunctional relationship between VM and its cabling sub-contractors.

      When there is a total loss of service you are eligible for compensation under an OFCOM scheme. Intermittent faults are not covered, unfortunately. You should, however, be able to expect that the VM service works reliably and as described.

      If the ducts in the street are blocked, it will cost VM to pay the external contractors to fix them. Obviously VM would like to avoid this if at all possible. If VM can keep sending out technicians who can, on occasion, get readings that show a normal service then VM can be seen to be doing something about the problem (but without actually doing the thing needed to fix the problem). In the meantime you keep paying the monthly subscription so all is good from VM's POV.

      If you have not done so already, I would suggest that you set up a BQM to track your connection 24/7

      https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality

      this will track the magnitude and frequency of the problem and provide evidence for your case.

      You should also keep some notes of the signal levels to/from the hub and its network logs at different times of day, particularly when you are experiencing a poor connection.

      You'll then need to decide what you want in the long term. You could press VM for a fix (which may take time) and you could also press for a reduction in your monthly fees while the problem persists. Alternatively, if you want out, you could press to be released from your VM minimum term with no early disconnection fees. You could then find a different provider that is capable of providing a functional service.

      Most likely, VM will not make any of the above easy. You will need to go through the VM formal complaints procedure first of all which will allow you to escalate the matter to the ombudsman.

      If the cable sheath is damaged and parts of it are visible above ground, you may possibly help the situation in the short term by wrapping some insulating tape around the damaged sections which may help keep out water.

      A VM person should reply to your topic in due course, which may be up to 4 or 5 days.

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person
    22 days ago

    It's in "Quickstart, Setup and Connections"

    However, it will take a couple of days for a VM Mod to respond.  In the meantime, you should setup a BQM to monitor and record your circuit  http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ping   This will give you a record of any circuit dropouts.

    Another point is the power levels, as you could keep a record of those.  You can get these from the Hubs admin console, the settings password is on the bottom of the Hub.  The console is at 192.168.0.1 and click the link Router Status for all the stats/levels.

  • Martin_N's avatar
    Martin_N
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    21 days ago

    Hi ajf33,

    Thank you for your post. We're very sorry to hear about the issue you've had since your install. 

    We can certainly take a look into this for you. I will private message you now to confirm your details. 

    ^Martin

    • ajf33's avatar
      ajf33
      On our wavelength
      21 days ago

      Are you still online, or is another team member available?????

  • ajf33's avatar
    ajf33
    On our wavelength
    20 days ago

    An update for Martin N or any other staff that can assist as he’s stopped responding as at five pm last night,  I have learnt that a permit for the dig team has been issued for 22nd January, but that appointment no longer shows up and instead there’s one on the 21st, what are the team on the 21st doing as I’d assume the dig work can only be done on the 22nd as that’s when permit is for??? 

  • ajf33's avatar
    ajf33
    On our wavelength
    20 days ago

    I aa getting seriously annoyed now, one person on the phone earlier today has told me tomorrows appointment has been cancelled, and the work moved back to Thursday, Martin & another person on the phone have told me, that, no it hasn't and the only work scheduled is tommorow.

    Left hand and right hand do not seem to know what is going on, and I am seriously unhappy here at being messed around, as, as well as the work appointment jumping around, when appointments are being changed, no one is informing me until I chase to see what's going on.

    How do I get hold of someone senior to escalate this to, as this loyal customer of over 20 years is seriously peed off at the way he's been treated over the past 5 months.

  • ajf33's avatar
    ajf33
    On our wavelength
    19 days ago

    the farce continues, todays appointment got cancelled as I was just being sent a tech to replace the damage wires, rather than the full promised repull.

    That has been arranged for Friday, however there has been no talk of if the dig team will have done their work, before, or alongside the repull team, so my question remains when is the dig team doing the dig to clear the tranchs so cable can be repulled and renewed??

    As I've said I've discovered a permit has been issued for work tomorrow (I checked on causeway one network which shows the following info - NK103ACC716158602-02 Works reference & Permit reference NK103ACC716158602-02 granted for 22/1/26. which i assume is the dig teams permit and scheduled work, but as usual at mo no one has told me anything!!

  • ajf33's avatar
    ajf33
    On our wavelength
    18 days ago

    Ok I am seriously worried now that I'm about to be fobbed off again.  The dig team came and went this morning, and, other than spray painting the pavement have done nothing at all.

    The repull team who are due tomorrow are not going to be able to do said repull as the trench is still full of mud and rubble from where the ground over the trench has collapsed over time.

    I have been promised a full repull from the cable hub to my property entry point, hence the request for a permit, which was due to be actioned today, and has now been marked as closed job done on causeway one page.

    Can someone please get back to me, as Martin-N has not replied to my reply to his last message 2-3 days ago! My patience is rapidly running out, my complaint is growing by the day, and I hope the manager who has agreed to deal with it once work is finally done has at least a day or so to go through it properly.

    Please I just want to be able to use the services I pay over £100 a month for to their full potential, not start watching something and hope the signal doesn't drop out again.