Virgin Media Community

[deckhanddave]

Hi everyone! After leaving Virgin two years ago (see my previous posts to see why) I am considering coming back. First of all, I want to be clear. I left and went to Sky for my TV and TalkTalk York UFO. The only reason I am considering this move is the TV. I just prefer Virgins TV set up. What I don't like is Virgins attitude to its customers or it's reliability of service. As an example, in tow years I had to contact Sky once, yes once in two years. With regards to Broadband, I had to contact UFO York twice in the two years. Both of them took one call and the problem was resolved. My last Virgin problem was caused by Virgin and saw me unable to do my online banking. Virgins response to my issue was, it was my fault and I had a virus. This was a blatant lie as as soon as the router was changed I could access my bank accounts. A few weeks later I heard that there had been issues with some of Virgins routers having viruses in them prior to being issued to customers. I never even got an apology from Virgin. So, as for Virgins broadband, I really don't want it as they can't be trusted. Unfortunately that leaves me with limited options. Do I get Virgin TV and lower grade broadband,  Big Volt bundle and keep my UFO too? Do I keep my UFO and get the high end package, Ultimate Volt bundle? Or do I just keep my UFO and get rid of Sky for some other TV supplier? My questions to you folks are " What is your opinion on my options"? Do you think Virgin has become any more reliable with it's service? Searching on Google gives the impression it hasn't. In a nutshell, I went from having to telephone about a problem every month with Virgin to one or two calls over two years. I do not want to go back to that. The stress was unbelievable and the relief when I left was ecstatic. I really would like to hear your opinions before I make a decision as I had the greatest respect for everyone on here when I was a Virgin Customer and value your advice. Thanks for reading this and responding if you do.

[newapollo]

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@deckhanddave wrote:

 With regards to Broadband, I had to contact UFO York twice in the two years. Both of them took one call and the problem was resolved. My last Virgin problem was caused by Virgin and saw me unable to do my online banking. Virgins response to my issue was, it was my fault and I had a virus. This was a blatant lie as as soon as the router was changed I could access my bank accounts. A few weeks later I heard that there had been issues with some of Virgins routers having viruses in them prior to being issued to customers.

I have never heard of VM hubs having viruses. The fact that your hub was changed and then you could successfully perform your online banking seems to suggest it was an IP address issue.  When VM issue a new/replacement hub you are also given a new IP address.  It may have been that your old IP address (and not the hub) was linked to spamming.

 Do I get Virgin TV and lower grade broadband,  Big Volt bundle and keep my UFO too? Do I keep my UFO and get the high end package, Ultimate Volt bundle? Or do I just keep my UFO and get rid of Sky for some other TV supplier?

You must be a VM broadband customer to receive  TV  via Virgin. The TIVO boxes with it's own inbuilt modem have been withdrawn so yhat's no longer a solution for TV via VM. 

My questions to you folks are " What is your opinion on my options"? Do you think Virgin has become any more reliable with it's service? 

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Hi @deckhanddave 

The few times I've had to contact VM with any issues have been pain free and soon sorted, however these forums and internet searches would suggest this is not the same for a lot of people.

Very few people post about how good a service/customer service is with a company. If you google Sky, BT etc, you will see the same poor reports fro them too. A lot of people use trustpilot to review companies. YOu will find that majority of reviews and scores are very low for other providers similair to VM, in fact depending on which reviews you look at, then a lot of other providers are worse that VM. 

[Graham_A]

In addition to the comments from @newapollo , which I endorse, you also need to read up about the new VM 360 TV service.

It is very different to the previous system powered by Tivo and lacks a lot of the features that were available on the previous system.

Also, the telephone line will be connected via the Hub rather than a separate phone line. However all telephone suppliers have to make that change by 2025.

[ImReallyFedUpNo]

I am just going to answer your headline question from my perspective. 

Have things improved?  Definitely not in my opinion.  I have been with virgin media since they started and still use an NTL email so  have had plenty of customer service experience with them. The customer service team is now terrible. Lies and misinformation,  long wait times followed by just being cut off is the norm.  The only thing you see in writing is when you get a new contact and if things aren't correct on it they won't alter it. You will NEVER find a contact number with someone who is honest and helpful,  unless they are trying to sell you something. As you can probably tell I have had some nightmare months with Virgin,  and still nothing is happening. 

[Roger_Gooner · Accepted solution]

At the end of 2021 VM upgraded its entire UK network to DOCSIS 3.1. This makes no sense to almost everyone but it makes a big difference to speeds (everyone can now get Gig1) and ease of maintenance.

VM is also ploughing on with extending its network with fibre, and this is better in a number of ways compared with the legacy HFC network.

I'm not sure which apps have been added since 2020 but I believe that BritBox is one.

And recently VM has launched Stream, a box for broadband customers which streams on-demand content and apps (including Disney+) on a rolling 30-day contract.

[deckhanddave]

You sound like me two years ago. I too was an Ntlworld.com email and with Cable & Wireless before that. I found newapollo & Graham A's answers to be a bit like plaiting clouds. Nothing of real substance in them but that may be my fault in how I worded my post. Grahams did however offer the advice of reading up on the 360 TV service. Sorry Newapollo and Graham, no offense meant but the only useful bit I got from that was the 360TV suggestion. Along with that, Roger Gooner has given me some food for thought and something new to look into. I will be replying to each of them as soon as I can. I really do not want to go back to how things were, I haven't had a single heart attack since leaving Virgin but had 5 while with them. NO! I AM NOT saying it was Virgins fault, it just sounded good and is true! The capitals were for emphasis not shouting or being rude, just in case someone reading this wishes to use it to take offence. Non of that was aimed at anyone and certainly not you IRFUN. How has it been for downtime over the last two years? I've seen it mentioned a few times on the news and Downdetector but never really paid too much attention until now. Thanks for your help, it is appreciated.

[deckhanddave]

Hi and thanks for responding. I don't think I explained my situation very well from reading both yours and Newapollo replies. My set up at the moment is about the same as the Virgin Ultimate Bundle, full TV package inc films and Netflix with Sky and extra box. 1GB Ultra Fibre Optic by UFO York (TalkTalk). Unlimited calls, texts and 10GB internet with Plusnet. Price wise a bit cheaper than the Ultimate bundle but not a deal buster. In the two years+ since I left Virgin I have had to ring a total of three times with a problem which was resolved easily and with no fuss. I have had no downtime except once with Talktalk UFO which was so short it isn't worth comparing with Virgin. The sky was because my dish was fitted in winter and a tree in line with the dish grew leaves in the spring. Thereby disrupting my signal. I call and an engineer came out and relocated it for free. I like this trouble free(relatively) service. I don't want to lose the reliability which was something I never had with Cable & Wireless, then NTLworld and lastly Virgin Media. It's just I miss Virgins TV set up. If I could have that back without anything else I would go for it but having checked prices, it would cost me a load more to go that route. If I get rid of Sky that gives me about £55.00 to play with. I wanted to see if I could get a virgin service for that which is comparable with my Sky which includes films, Netflix and all the other normal channels, documentaries. That would be the Bigger bundle at £57 but no films or Netflix and M100 broadband. That doesn't really make sense unless there is something I'm missing. That leaves me with the Ultimate at £85 a month for 18 months. Plus Virgins annual price rise, something York UFO haven't ever done to me in the two+ years I've been with them. But to do this would mean relinquishing UFO or increasing my monthly bill to £85.00 Virgin + £36.00 UFO. This is my dilemma. I'm looking for info to help me resolve this the best way for me. I would love to find the downtime for Virgin internet in the York area for the last two years, any ideas how? Thanks again for your response.

[cje85]

If you're happy with your current service and haven't had any major issues it may be worth sticking with it. Virgin Media can be great when everything is working but the customer service is rock bottom. If anything it has got worse compared to a few years ago. VM almost always tops the quarterly Ofcom complaints summary as the most complained about TV provider. Spend some time looking at this forum (especially the Manage Your Account section) for a flavour of the problems people face. 

[deckhanddave]

Thanks for the advice cje85. I'm truly sorry to hear that 😞 I'm going to do what you suggest also, I need to read the terms and conditions of the service they provide with regards to whether I can walk away within contract time if they fail to provide a reasonable service level and what that 'reasonable service level' might be defined as. I'm looking at the 1GB broadband Ultimate bundle level. It's going to cost me an extra £36 a month because I'm going to keep my UFO broadband until I know I can rely and trust Virgin to provide me with a reliable service. What's that saying about Hell freezing over?🤔

[Anonymous]

I always find that a pretty accurate test of a company's investment in customer service is to call its customer service number (not sales) at, say, 10am and 4pm on a weekday and see how labyrinthine the menu option is, how long the queue is, the quality of the line and the training and command of English the agent has answering you.