Forum Discussion

i_cola's avatar
i_cola
Tuning in
26 days ago

Just trying to get an installation...

Our house was built 3 years ago house after the old house was converted into 2. The “A” house (original address) has a VM account and connection but the “B” (us) doesn’t. The houses share a party wall and the VM connection next door is approx. 3m from ours. The whole area has VM in the streets and as far as I can see, we’re the only house without a ‘V’ box in the pavement.

Spoke to VM a few months (Summer 2023) before we were due to move (Nov 2023) to set up an install and they said it could take 3–18 months with a site visit to check.  I had a call from an engineer who was going to do the site visit asking about access etc. and then the trail went dead.

Many calls/chats to/with VM over the following months. One call centre person, who was a former installer, said it would be an easy job even if there was no pavement box (e.g. running via a “T” by next door’s front door to ours) but there seemed to be a constant disconnect between the call centres and the engineering/install sides. 

Other call centre people were saying that all they could do was email a main address for engineers and hope for the best.

Eventually, after over a year of back & forth, I was told I would have to re-apply for an install using the website. 

I eventually got an email/response: We’re unable to bring services to your home right now. Apologies for any inconvenience. We are rapidly expanding our network across the UK, so whilst we may not be able to offer services today, we could be in your area in the future.

More head-banging on the desk as they, of course, have already installed in my area…all I need is a connection to my property.

I’ve been a VM customer all the way from the old London Cable/ntl/etc. days and it is incredibly frustrating to be dumped like this when there is such an easy solution.

I seems like I just need to find someone who knows what they’re doing in the install dept. who can run a cable the 3 metres from next door. Unfortunately they are hidden behind layers of call centre / install team bureaucracy so here I am looking for the solution.

Well, I think I know the solution, it’s just finding someone who is able to get it done…

  • Carley_S's avatar
    Carley_S
    Forum Team
    24 days ago

    Hi i_cola 

    Welcome to the Community Forums. 

    So sorry to hear that your installation was cancelled. That could be for many reasons, and might be a simple as once believed. The team don't cancel installation unless they're sure we cannot provide the service at this time. We can certainly investigate the matter further. Just to double-check, your address is the same as shown on the Post Office postcode finder, as it was with us. 

    Not sure if it will still show on our postcode checker, but if so, can you compare the two and if there's any difference, please let us know. 

    • i_cola's avatar
      i_cola
      Tuning in
      20 days ago

      Hi Carley
      Our address is on the PO checker but not the Virgin one.

      Just to confirm: We need to have a connection to the VM network, not just one to an existing V box in the pavement outside. 

      From the conversations I've had, this could be done in a couple of different ways (e.g. T junction from next door) but we just need to get to that point :-) 

      • Robert_P's avatar
        Robert_P
        Forum Team
        18 days ago

        As jpeg1 has advised, this may be due to there being no availability or capacity at the local cabinet to arrange a connection. We'd recommend contacting the sales team on 0800 183 1234 to get this looked into further.

  • jpeg1's avatar
    jpeg1
    Alessandro Volta
    20 days ago

    It's possible that your local street cabinet is full and cannot accept any more connections. This could be one reason for not signing you up. 

    But I would caution you against getting Virginmedia to wire you up to next door. VM would need permission from your neighbour to run the cable across their property to you (although they have been known to do so without permission) and this has been known to cause disputes particularly if building or fencing changes are required in the future. 

    If VM do have the technical capacity to connect you, you should insist on your own independent cable from the street.