Landline switch over 9th May

[Peterpikefisher]

ok so my hub is in my living room landline in my hall ,there's no way am i moving either of them nor am i going to run a cable from one to the other as this would mean drilling a hole in the wall , so i tried a few times to let vm know that i dont want to keep and pay for a service that i cant use but the call centre ejits in india dont seem to understand my accent  i can barely understand them , i have put in a complaint with regards to this situation asking for someone who's native language is english  to please give me a call vm have my mobile number  as my landline is no longer working ,im looking for confirmation that i will not be billed for the landline , the email i received today asks that a call 150 or 03454541111 now i won't be call either of them as i will more then likely be put through to someone in india , im hoping someone on the forum can give me a uk only phone number for the relevant department so i can get this sorted .

[goslow · Accepted solution]

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@Peterpikefisher wrote:

ok so my hub is in my living room landline in my hall ,there's no way am i moving either of them nor am i going to run a cable from one to the other as this would mean drilling a hole in the wall , so i tried a few times to let vm know that i dont want to keep and pay for a service that i cant use but the call centre ejits in india dont seem to understand my accent  i can barely understand them , i have put in a complaint with regards to this situation asking for someone who's native language is english  to please give me a call vm have my mobile number  as my landline is no longer working ,im looking for confirmation that i will not be billed for the landline , the email i received today asks that a call 150 or 03454541111 now i won't be call either of them as i will more then likely be put through to someone in india , im hoping someone on the forum can give me a uk only phone number for the relevant department so i can get this sorted .

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Try ringing first thing in the morning at 08:00 when the lines first open for the best chances of getting through to a UK agent with least delay.

If you cancel your landline though, you may find your package cost goes up (due to VM's discounts on bundles of services) and you enter into a new contract on a new package (minus the landline).

Alternative option for any revised phone wiring is to use an existing cable route following the same path as the coax cable for the hub to the omnibox outside and make a join to your existing phone wiring outside to avoid any drilling inside. Options for this depend on your existing cable runs and would have to be worked out with a VM tech on site.

Alternatively consider a cordless phone system for a no-wires setup (but at a cost to you to go cordless) or use the get-out clause in the phone switchover process (if you are still within the cancellation window) to cancel VM altogether and find a new provider for just the services you want (minus the phone) where you will get new customer pricing. Any new provider will also (most likely) only offer a phone-via-router connection for the landline.

[nodrogd]

The alternative is to use multiple DECT wireless handsets. One can plug into the hub, the others (they are sold in twos, threes & fours) can go anywhere. The main base & charging bases need a mains supply, but nothing else.

[Peterpikefisher]

Tech guy when he came out asked what he was here to do he didn't know  when I told him what it was and said I wasn't moving the hub or the phone he said  there's nothing he could be do so jumped in his van off to next customer . My existing cables are under my mono blocked drive  been that way for 20 + years ,my phone is cordless,  tbh there new system is flawed if you ain't got internet then you can't make emergency calls that's very bad idea  for some older or folk with special needs etc I have about 5 months left on contact  been a customer since1997 it was a lineone 14.4 kB dial up connection never changed because never had any issues Upto now .might just wait till contact is up then go elsewhere .

[Peterpikefisher]

Why should I have to buy multiple dect phone set up .not gonna happen 

[Paul_DN]

Hi Peterpikefisher,

Thank you for reaching out to us in our community and welcome, sorry to hear you have decided you do not wish to keep paying for your Landline since our Switchover and that you haven't been able to speak to us in regards to removing this from your package, if you have a full package with discounts and any element is removed you would lose the discount, also if you are in contract then there may be some charges included to remove the service, as you have advised your Phone and Router are in different places we would arrange a technician to come and make sure the phone is able to connect to the Router.

If you would like help arranging a technician I will send you an invite into a private chat, once received please click on the purple envelope to accept.

I can only help with the technician as we cannot change packages Via our Community, as you are wanting to remove a service this can only be done by our Customer Relations team, you would need to call either 150 from a Virgin Landline or Mobile or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone, options 1,3 then 4 thinking of leaving.

Regards

Paul.

[goslow]

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@Peterpikefisher wrote:

Tech guy when he came out asked what he was here to do he didn't know  when I told him what it was and said I wasn't moving the hub or the phone he said  there's nothing he could be do so jumped in his van off to next customer . My existing cables are under my mono blocked drive  been that way for 20 + years ,my phone is cordless,  tbh there new system is flawed if you ain't got internet then you can't make emergency calls that's very bad idea  for some older or folk with special needs etc I have about 5 months left on contact  been a customer since1997 it was a lineone 14.4 kB dial up connection never changed because never had any issues Upto now .might just wait till contact is up then go elsewhere .

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If you already have a cordless phone system you could see if you can get an extra satellite handset to add to the existing system. Then plug your cordless base station into the VM hub and have an additional satellite phone in the hall.

Sounds like you have a duff technician on your last visit who didn't want to get involved. Phone conversions and phone extension wiring are arranged on here regularly. The wire from your phone socket and the coax cable from your hub will (probably) meet in a plastic box on the wall outside your home. It may be possible to make the link for any phone wiring in there rather than drilling holes for a route internally. That would involve some extra cabling but it could follow the route of existing cables to the plastic box outside. It should not involve moving driveway paving. You would have to work the details out with any onsite technician.

If you are planning to move to another supplier with a view to getting a new landline then other suppliers will also offer you a phone-via-router in all likelihood

https://www.futureofvoice.co.uk/

and they will also want to install their own cables so you are likely to end up with with additional holes/wires being installed for their new cabling.

May be worth trying another technician from VM and see if you get a better one.

[Peterpikefisher]

why should i have to buy another handset ? its not me whos changing the system tbh i can see virgin losing quite a few customers because of this change due to not being able to make 999 call if the internet goes down

[goslow]

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@Peterpikefisher wrote:
why should i have to buy another handset ? its not me whos changing the system tbh i can see virgin losing quite a few customers because of this change due to not being able to make 999 call if the internet goes down

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You don't have to do anything. If you post on here, you will get a range of suggestions/options/possibilities, from different people, of things you could consider to deal with the change that is coming. By not doing anything though, your phone has been disconnected and, after a time, you may possibly lose your landline number while still paying for the landline as part of your package.

All providers are implementing this change so it is unlikely to be the sole reason for customers leaving VM. There are plenty of other reasons why a customer might want to leave VM.

All providers have to offer a backup option for 999 calls in the event of a power cut for vulnerable customers with no mobile phone. VM do this with a backup phone which works via the mobile network for 999 calls only during a power cut. See page 38 below

https://assets.virginmedia.com/resources/pdf/Your-VM%20Phone-Guide.pdf

This phone change is coming to all telecoms providers, like it or not, so it's a case of finding the least-worst change that you can accommodate.

[nodrogd]

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@Peterpikefisher wrote:

Tech guy when he came out asked what he was here to do he didn't know  when I told him what it was and said I wasn't moving the hub or the phone he said  there's nothing he could be do so jumped in his van off to next customer . My existing cables are under my mono blocked drive  been that way for 20 + years ,my phone is cordless,  tbh there new system is flawed if you ain't got internet then you can't make emergency calls that's very bad idea  for some older or folk with special needs etc I have about 5 months left on contact  been a customer since1997 it was a lineone 14.4 kB dial up connection never changed because never had any issues Upto now .might just wait till contact is up then go elsewhere .

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The question is, how much are you prepared to pay to maintain a system that was built on 1970s technology (& power consumption) & is not upgradeable. It is also vulnerable to scammers who are exploiting its lack of security & making hundreds of thousands of scam calls a week with impunity.

HM Government want all possible connections to be Fibre (which the PSTN system cannot run on). So as a result the plug will be pulled on all PSTN services in 2025. There are backup units available that allow a landline phone to use the mobile network (EBUL) in the case of power or network failures.