Forum Discussion

Renza's avatar
Renza
Tuning in
2 years ago

Wait times for first time fibre installation

Fibre optic broadband became available on our street for the first time over the past year and so I started shopping about for deals.  Originally, I went with Sky but then received a call from a Virgin salesperson who convinced me to go with them and reassured me that the transition would be smooth so that my Virgin would be installed prior to the end of my Sky contract ending which is important for me working from home.  

I wasn't aware that we needed a fibre box installed on the house.  I found this out on Tuesday (27th Feb) when I got a call when I was out and about and they asked about the box.  I gave them permission to look in our garden and they confirmed there wasn't one.  I got home whilst they were still there and they told me they need permission from the council to dig up the pavement which is fair enough.  He mentioned something about a team being likely to come back over the next few days.  They made some green marks on the pavement in front of our drive, I guess to indicate where work needed done.  

I got to Saturday and was aware that nobody had come.  I called the customer service team to find out what was going to happen next.  I was very taken aback by the telephone manner of the advisor. I was friendly, polite and easygoing and he was quite unpleasant and spoke to me with contempt.  He then triggered my anxiety by stating that the external work may not get completed before 13th (installation date) and could be delayed.  I had to end the call as I had to take my kid to a swimming class but I returned back later and called again as I had a feeling he wasn't the best person to be advising me.  The second person said someone would be coming out on Saturday to install the services.  This seemed odd to me as it was already 4 o'clock but I accepted this and ended the call.  They didn't come so I called today and they said they were scheduled to come today (Sunday).  It's almost 6pm.  I highly doubt they're coming at 6pm on a Sunday to dig up the pavement in front of my house.  

I know I still have 10 days until installation but the initial customer service has wound me up and left me anxious.  Reading other people's bad experiences on this forum hasn't helped. I just want to know when it's likely an external engineer will be coming back and I'd like to know exactly what they will be digging up and where this box will be located.  I now have to consider if I have to make alternative plans if I can't work from home such as driving a 42 mile round trip to the office every day or a 30 mile round trip to my parents.   

I was pretty laid back about all this until I spoke to the call centre abroad this weekend.  You feel like you are talking to automatons with zero empathy or knowledge of your circumstances.  I'm feeling major regret over my decision to change from Sky.  

5 Replies

Sort By
  • Cardiffman282's avatar
    Cardiffman282
    Wise owl
    2 years ago

    "You feel like you are talking to automatons with zero empathy or knowledge of your circumstances."

    This is a very fair and accurate summary of how VM chooses to treat its customers I'm afraid. Although Sky does hike up its prices if you look at any survey of major ISP service quality Sky will be near the top and VM near the bottom. In addition it will only get worse as the VM CEO has stated his intention to wind down phone service even further and replace it with bots. I'd cancel now and make a friendly call to Sky before you become contractually locked in with VM. 

    • Renza's avatar
      Renza
      Tuning in
      2 years ago

      Honestly, the fact that after a few calls with them, I had to get a hug off my husband and was close to tears was a sign that I need to cancel.  Not to mention the long wait times and unbearable pop music you have to listen to.  I'll be calling Sky in the morning to uncancel.  I just hope they will let me go with the original fibre deal they offered.  I'd rather pay a few extra quid each month than deal with that customer service team every time I encounter a problem or want to negotiate my next contract

  • FlockWallpaper's avatar
    FlockWallpaper
    Up to speed
    2 years ago

    As ‘Cardiffman292’ says above, honestly just dump VM now and stick with Sky. You have done some ‘due diligence’ and have read some of the horror stories reported by others on here, so you can’t be under any misunderstanding of what you may expect of you stay with them.

    May I assume that despite your ‘assurances’ nobody turned up on Sunday evening to dig up the pavement. You were lied to. Such is how VM’s customer service provision works! Still want to engage with them as an internet provider?

     

  • Steven_L's avatar
    Steven_L
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    2 years ago

    Hey Renza,

    Welcome back to the community and thanks for taking the time to post. I’m sorry to hear of the issues that you had with your install and that we couldn't get you installed in a timely manner. I would also like to apologise for the experience you had while speaking to the team that is far from what any customer should be experiencing with us. We will be sure to pass on feedback to the concerned teams.

    Kind Regards,

    Steven_L