This is the email l sent to the CEO not acknowledged. Virgin contacted yesterday and still awaiting it to be sorted
HE IS BEING FORCED TO GO DIGITAL AND THERE ARE KNOWN ISSUES ACKNOWLEDGED BY VIRGIN AS THEY ARE DOING TRIALS IN STOCKPORT. Been a customer 30 years
Thursday: No service on the phone so no Medicare alert working and he cannot use a mobile phone. lives alone has serious health issues.
To whom it may concern/ CEO
My father has been a customer since he changed from telewest so clearly he is very loyal to your company.He is nearly 90 and has health issues. Since we lost mom he lives alone and is housebound. He has a medical alert pendant which provides peace of mind for us and him. He finds mobiles difficult to use and so the landline is of the utmost importance. This is his only means of communication.
He has been experiencing issues with his landline over the last year and we have made it clear that we do not wish to change over to VOIP. I am on holiday and help deal with any issues for him,with his consent. Over the last week his phone line allowed calls to be made but it would not have the ring tone to receive incoming. I could occasionally tell him l will call you but answer the call even though it won’t ring and he could hear me. Sometimes the line was crackly. Sometimes not working at all. His phone has not worked for incoming calls for many days now and it’s very worrying to his family.My sister contacted virgin they ran online tests and it worked for a short period of time. However, it went off again and she arranged an engineer visit, or should l say virgin did. The house phone set is working perfectly, she brought in another to check and it was clearly an issue your end. We are very worried over this!
The engineer visited and my sister explained we did not want anything changed as he has a medical pendant. The gentleman stated he was putting in a dummy box to get it working and l happened to phone during his visit. I spoke to the engineer explaining that l had alerted virgin that l did not want his landline changed to VOIP.He stated they are told to ensure that he has an operating phone and that l should just basically allow it as it’s coming anyway and then resolve this later. My sister asked for it all to be removed which l think is sensible because how can we trust you to be honest? So he has no fully operating phone. He can call but not receive calls.The engineer stated he thought a lightning strike has hit the box on the street. How he knew this is anyones guess and not evidence based. My response was then you need to ensure it’s fixed. So basically my dads been left with the engineer telling him that this is the situation. No one is repairing the copper system. He will request an engineer look at the box outside but we have no timeline and no confirmation.This engineer was helpful and lt is not a complaint about him but the advice his manager gave him. I am not happy with this at all and it’s poor practice for a very loyal vulnerable customer relying upon a medical alert pendant. I hope l am wrong but l have suspicions that there is a deliberate ploy to make landlines using copper so unreliable that engineers visit and persuade people to change over? Telling my Dad incorrectly via the manager that in January you will be disconnected anyway putting fear into people KNOWING you cannot 100% ensure that his medical alert pendant may be affected. Forcing them to change knowing the issues related to medical pendants .It’s quite shocking!
Can you explain how he can call but not receive calls? What is causing this? Why previously when there has been issues on broadband if l check online, has my dads phone been affected despite him not being on the Internet? Are you sending a more experienced engineer from your specialist team to investigate the exchange and box? We don’t want an engineer visiting the house unless this is prior arranged as this engineer stated that there are no issues inside the property.What are you doing to ensure his safety in respect of his age, medical conditions, family unable to contact him? Clearly the copper is working because he can call out but we are being told virgin are not repairing them and if so is this correct? If your refusing to repair or investigate copper lines then this is not acceptable.What are you going to do to sort this out for him? Why is his online account showing Wi-Fi not set up correctly can you remove this from his account as he has no ‘dummy box’ as all the equipment was taken by the engineer.
The government has intervened with the telecommunications companies to delay this changeover twice , based upon serious concerns. You have a charter to abide by but are clearly ignoring this in my Dads case.This engineer was told by his manager that dads line will be disconnected January 2024, this is incorrect and bullying behaviour. Virgin are being investigated by Ofcom over 2 deaths which potentially may have been caused by a medical alert pendant not working from this changeover. BT are now saying that it will be 2027 till they can safely ensure this system is safe for those in my Dads position.
He has a TiVo box which he likes and works well, does not want broadband and wants to keep the landline due to the medical alert pendant. We are not reassured at present that virgin media or any telecommunication company can guarantee his safety if changed from traditional land line. Media, government requesting delays and the Ofcom investigation are proof. He pays virgin via direct debit.l have tried to have a holiday away from my caring responsibilities with my own family but it’s been ruined by this situation over his phone.
I won’t accept bullying tactics with the elderly and expect an engineer to visit outside the property and restore the copper connection fully so he can receive and call from his landline. My dad is 89, frail, housebound and relies upon the medical pendant as he lives alone. If anything like this happens to him regarding the cases referred to Ofcom l will be holding virgin media responsible. He just wants to keep what he has and for you as a responsible company to ensure his safety. This is a formal complaint to which l expect a expediated response as he is a vulnerable customer.
