May I ask, why did you originally call VM?
I’m a little confused by ‘you were told that you needed a booster’ but then “they don't do them”! Can I assume this was VM’s famously dysfunctional customer service provision? They do just make stuff up on the fly! Actually no, they outright lie to customers, not always through malice and a desire to boost sales, but more often, a simple lack of training!
The ‘boosters’ are an old. no longer supported system, which used your home’s mains wiring to transmit signals and WiFi to other rooms. These do have, as per quite a few posts on here, a distressing habit of self-combusting. So far no customers house has actually burnt down due to them, probably just a matter of time, so you really have dodged a bullet in them not sending one.
The ‘Pods’ are WiFi extenders, they pick up the wifi signal from the hub and rebroadcast it hence extending the range, with a caveat that they can reduce the speed to the remote system.
Which might, or might not have any bearing on your particular issue.