@graham1210 wrote:
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I think the lesson here is that the original fault should have been investigated BEFORE the conversion to 21CV. This would have kept more options open. Additionally this backfeed method of maintaining working extensions needs to be better publicised within Virgin – Customer Services seem unaware of it, and only a subset of the engineers understand it. Because Customer Services don’t know about it in any systematic way, their approach is a bit random – they do not directly request engineers to do it, they either advise to wait for the engineers to do their own scheduling, or advise that it’s not Virgin’s problem.
A very good summary of the flaws in VM's approach to moving connections to 21CV phone via the hub. You are spot on with your assessment here. I find it baffling that VM can send out telecoms technicians who cannot wire up telephone sockets and do not understand the basics of how they should be connected.
The unfortunate truth is that VM would simply like to eliminate telephone extension sockets from any future vision of what the home landline will look like for customers. In all likelihood the driving factor will be cost. Hence you can get some responses from VM on here that the only option is to move the VM hub to relocate the 21CV phone socket which, of course, is untrue.
Firstly moving the hub/phone is unlikely to be acceptable to many people who want to keep phones and hub in their existing locations. Therefore, many people will decline this and VM is off the hook for any outlay for such work but at least VM can claim they offered a 'solution'.
Secondly, moving the VM hub to a new location is likely to change the wireless coverage in the home with the hub in a new position so the act of moving the hub potentially 'fixes' a problem with the phone socket location only to potentially create a new one with wireless coverage.
Finally, most people will have the hub located so that certain bits of equipment can be plugged in via ethernet cable (such as PCs, printers etc.). Again, moving the hub to fix an issue of how to plug in a phone then creates a new problem of how to connect networked equipment that was previously wired into the hub.
As you have also pointed out, relocating the hub involves changing the thick coaxial cable within the home. This can only be clipped with large plastic cable clips. The cable is harder to bend/install and the clips/cable are very obtrusive. Changing the phone wiring, on the other hand, involves dealing with much thinner, flexible phone wire which can be clipped with much smaller cable clips and so is more easily hidden.
Sounds like you had one of the better technicians who was at least prepared to discuss options and, in fairness, if the technicians are only allocated a short amount of time for each job then they are not going to be able to do extensive amounts of work.
You at least seem to have worked out something that should work for you for future use.
