Forum Discussion

leemtaylor's avatar
leemtaylor
Just joined
3 months ago

Intermittent Issues Not Being Fixed

I seem to be going round in circles with Virgin Media and I am running out of options.  For the last few weeks my broadband has been cutting out constantly.  I'm lucky if I get more than 10 minutes before it cuts out again so I am having to work at my friends house until it is fixed. 

When I raised this with Virgin Media, they initially tried to blame it on my hardware before realising it was a wider issue with the external wiring as everybody on my street had the same problem.  They arranged for an engineer who didn't turn up so I had to arrange a second appointment.  This time he turned up but said there was nothing he could do as this is a wider issue with the external wiring and is impacting dozens of houses on my street.  He said, all I can do is wait for Virgin Media to fix it but that was weeks ago and I'm still I'm still in the same position...same with my neighbours.

I have tried raising this again with Virgin Media's IT support team but all they can suggest is sending the same engineer round who could do nothing first time round.  I've tried raising a complaint, but all the complaints team did was say that they cannot see a fault an there are no history of issues with my broadband so they couldn't help.  Obviously they haven't had a proper look on their own systems as their own IT support teams and engineers have acknowledges there is a problem, I just want somebody to take ownership and fix it.  The complaints team also told me that I am not eligible for compensation because there is no fault in their system which I thought was laughable.

So basically, I am back to square one...working for other people's houses because I cannot get a stable connection with only a clueless It support team, an ignorant complaints team and an engineer who doesn't know how to fix the issue to refer to.  Does anybody have any idea's how I can get this sorted other than hiring an engineer myself?   

 

3 Replies

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person

    You need to start an official complaint procedure and once done, after 8 weeks if it's not sorted, you can go to the Communications Ombudsman.  Unfortunately you do have to wait the full 8 weeks before the CO will open a case for you.

    As for compensation, it only applies for a total loss of broadband after 48 hours.  There are no SLA's on a residential contract either.

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta

    Start documenting the experience. You will need evidence of the problems and what you have done to try to get VM to remedy the issue.

    Set up a BQM which should track your connection 24/7 and build up a portfolio of evidence of the connection drops.

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

    Log a formal complaint with VM

    https://www.virginmedia.com/help/complaints

    which will allow you to eventually escalate to the ombudsman via the timescales and processes below

    https://www.commsombudsman.org/our-process

    Keep detailed records of all your comm's with VM and of VM's failures to fix the problem.

    Decide what out come you want if you work through the ombudsman process. The ombudsman cannot compel VM to fix the fault but you may be able to request an early release from your contract without penalty and/or some kind of rebate for the period where your connection has been unreliable.

  • Hi leemtaylor, 

    Thanks for taking the time to contact us via the Community. It's lovely having you on board with us in the Forums. ⭐

    We're sorry to hear you're having an issue with your connection. We can see that since posting, you've spoken to the team.

    Please let us know how the engineer visit goes.

    Many thanks,