Forum Discussion

blarnnie's avatar
blarnnie
On our wavelength
12 months ago

Failed for Lack of Long Cable

An engineer visited Friday (24hrs notice after previous email said delayed indefinitely!) to do the switchover. My router is high up on a cabinet to maximise Wi-Fi coverage and my phone is down low where I can reach it. Consequently, the 2M RJ11 cable he came with was far too short. 

Me: 'Have you got a longer cable?'

Answer 'No, this is all I've been supplied with to do the job'

Me: ' Could you ask your supervisor/manager to get a longer lead?'

Answer 'No, this is the only cable we can get'.

Exit engineer, job not done, complete waste of Virgin's time and money (I was home anyway) because apparently only 2M cable available. 

A quick look on line finds a RJ11 cables in a variety of lengths to suit every home; none very expensive.

He left me a letter emphasising how important the switchover is and with a number to call to discuss.

This was just the standard Virgin Customer Service number and I could find no specific option for the Switchover. The telephone option was if you had a fault.

So Virgin, if the switchover is so important why are engineers not appropriately supplied to do the job and where is the customer service support?

Regards

Blarnnie

 

 

Cable
length
  • Zach_R's avatar
    Zach_R
    Forum Team
    12 months ago

    Hi blarnnie,

    Thank you for your post and welcome back to our community forums. We're here to help.

    I'm sorry to hear that the technician didn't have a long enough cable to offer to you to complete the necessary connection. What length of cable are you looking for exactly that would be suitable?

    Thanks,
     

    • blarnnie's avatar
      blarnnie
      On our wavelength
      12 months ago

      Hi Zach_R

      Many thanks for your response. A 5M cable would do it.

      Is there a dedicated Customer Service option for the switchover?

      Regards

      Blarnnie

       

  • Ashleigh_C's avatar
    Ashleigh_C
    Forum Team
    12 months ago

    Thank you for popping back to us blarnnie 

    There is not a dedicated line but our customer service team on 150/0345 454 111 or the team here can advise. 

    I would be happy to take a closer look into this with you via a private message and see if there is anything we can do in regards to the cable. I will pop you a PM across now, please keep an eye out for the envelope at the top of your screen alerting you to a new message.

     

     

  • nodrogd's avatar
    nodrogd
    Very Insightful Person
    12 months ago

    It’s the old chestnut about it being equipment that is on the customer side of the hub. When they first bought out the broadband hubs they only came with a one metre Ethernet cable. If you wanted longer you had to provide it yourself. However, this is a forced switchover, so VM should at least reimburse you for the initial connection of your hub to a phone, even if they can’t provide the cable themselves.

  • blarnnie's avatar
    blarnnie
    On our wavelength
    12 months ago

    Hi nodrogd

    Quite agree; I've purchased many meters of ethernet cable without complaint! As you say, we are all being forced to switchover and the idea that the thousands of households affected can be catered for with a 2m cable is beyond belief.

    I am in a private conversation with a Virgin rep so we will see what happens.

    Blarnnie

  • blarnnie's avatar
    blarnnie
    On our wavelength
    11 months ago

    An update for anybody interested in this topic. No resolution through the community so have complained officially. Why such a simple solution of providing a longer cable causes so much difficulty is beyond me. I did ask if I would be cut off come switchover date if the problem had not been resolved but no reply to that question.

    Blarnnie

    • Ayisha_B's avatar
      Ayisha_B
      Forum Team
      11 months ago

      Hi blarnnie 

      I can see you have been speaking to my colleague in PM regarding this. 

      After escalating this to the AFM,  they confirmed that we do not carry any longer RJ11 cables than 2m.

      He has advised that if you are able to purchase a longer cable yourself the engineer could use this to install the switchover.

       

      • Rhi143's avatar
        Rhi143
        Joining in
        11 months ago

        Hi Ayisha,

        Are you able to supply a 2M cable? We were sent a box to switchover and the cable is not 2M so our wifi box now sits on the floor. If not, please could you advise which cable I need to purchase?

        Thanks

  • blarnnie's avatar
    blarnnie
    On our wavelength
    11 months ago

    Hi Ayisha_B

    Why not?

    I'm quite happy with my telephone service and it's Virgin insisting on the changeover so you would think they would provide the necessary equipment to do it without causing customer angst.

    Blarnnie

    • Zoie_P's avatar
      Zoie_P
      Forum Team (Retired)
      11 months ago

      We advise you continue this conversation via DM so we can best help and keep things from getting confused.

      Zoie

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta
    11 months ago

    You would have thought that the least VM should do is tell the punters whether or not it's a straight-through cable (it probably is but it's good to know).