Help with complaint - Call Centre Staff

[NoHelp11]

I have lost the will to live with the call centre.......I don't know what else to do. Nobody.....nobody will listen to me. The call centre is not fit for purpose. Speaking to anybody with an agency or any form of competence is impossible. Fingers crossed this works...

Dear Virgin Media

I am writing to express my profound dissatisfaction and dismay with the abysmal level of customer service provided by Virgin Media call centre. This matter has significantly impacted my ability to utilise the services for which I am paying effectively. As a loyal customer for over two decades, I am disappointed at the standard of professionalism and incompetence.

I must emphasise the critical nature of my situation. I work from home, and my livelihood, as well as the education and entertainment needs of my two disabled children, rely heavily on a stable and reliable internet connection. Given the circumstances of my disabled children, who are unable to attend school due to their additional needs and thus depend on online resources for their education, the need for a consistent and strong internet connection is paramount.

Since mid-December, we have had no decent internet strength. We can just about google. But can video call, zoom or game at all. I note many of us in our street and near by streets are having the same issue.

I wish to highlight the numerous grievances and frustrations I have encountered in my interactions with Virgin Media's customer service representatives:

The retention team has repeatedly exhibited a baffling practice of feigning ignorance regarding the purpose of my calls, necessitating an hour-long +  cycles of reiterating the issue and being bounced back and forth between departments.

Despite assurances of a callback from ‘a manager,’ such promises have consistently gone unfulfilled, leaving me without resolution or recourse.

The overseas call centre staff, who are evidently ill-equipped and incompetent to handle issues when off scrip, resort to scripted responses and fail to comprehend the gravity of the situation, leading to prolonged and fruitless interactions.

The persistent refusal to acknowledge and rectify the ongoing service disruptions, coupled with the disregard for the urgency of my situation, demonstrates a shocking lack of empathy and understanding.

Instances of gaslighting, such as asking a question then muting for over 5 minutes at a time during explanations and then pretending ignorance upon resuming the conversation, further exacerbate the frustration and sense of powerlessness in dealing with Virgin Media's customer service. Muting will happen 8/9/10 times on each call.

Despite my repeated pleas for human intervention and compassion, the relentless cycle of incompetence and indifference persists, causing undue stress and anguish.

The ordeal has not only consumed countless hours of my time but has also spanned a period of eight weeks, during which my service issues have remained unresolved.

As per the terms of my contract and the guidelines set forth by Ofcom, I assert that Virgin Media has failed to provide the full extent of the services promised, thereby constituting a breach of contract and a violation of consumer rights under UK law.

The chronology line of issues is set out below:

1. On the 22nd of December 2023, I reported that my service was not working fully. We could not have full strength of internet service. Zoom meetings were impossible, and my kids could not game, interact on line or complete any educational work. I explained that I have 2 autistic children who cant attend school, and I work from home, so it was important for us to have full coverage. The agent said nothing was wrong but would send another plug to us to help boost the service. (We do already have one)
2. The 2nd plug arrived and made no change. Christmas was fraught; the children wanted to game and stream, which is complex and hard enough during the holidays with all the changes. But having no access to gaming and not understanding why became impossible over Christmas.
3. I called back again, pleading for help, I urge you to also take into account every time I call, I have to endure the drama and hideous  gas lighting carry-on from your agents each time. I was told again there were no issues with my service.
4. Eventually, after a good hour, I was told somebody would visit the house to fix the issue. By now, the whole street had the same issues with low-speed service.
5. On the 12th of January 2024, I waited  for the Virgin tech person. They never showed up. I called back and was told the work was cancelled as I have service. Oh lord... well, in excess of another hour bouncing between tech support and retentions, going through the bizarre Virgin Media drama of staff pretending to not understand what my problems are, I was assured a manager would call me back. I was told nobody called me about the home visit being cancelled…..they don’t need to do this. As my internet is working!! I noted you offer £100 when service is not happening after 3 days, and I can cancel my service. This took some battling with the staff member, who refused to accept this offer on your website, but eventually, they agreed to honour this.A manager would call to arrange, and my final bill will be cancelled.
6. No manager called.
7. On the 31st of January 2024, still no manager called. I went through the pain of repeating myself again and again, and your staff pretended to not understand what my problem was.
8. Shanely kept me on the call while a manager listened to the call where I was offered the £100. He assured me that the call had been listened to, and a manager would call me back. I was put through to retentions and had to start all over again. I then spoke to Shaheen in the fault department, repeating myself all over again. They said they don't know what my issue is, but a manager will call me back. Again, this call took over an hour like the others.
9. Finally, after a couple of hours, I got through to Georgina in the UK team. She assured me this is being looked into. Mathew Milling is looking after this and will call me back. Advised next time I call, I press options 1/4/4 then ask for tier 2 retentions in the UK.
10. Obviously, no one called back. On the 1st of February 2024, Dominic (I think his name was) from Retentions called to offer me a new deal, disregarding all of my issues.
11. On the 6th of February 2024, someone called to offer me another new deal. When I asked about the manager, they put the phone down.
12. On the 6th of December 2024, I spoke to tech support and asked for tier 2 in the UK. They said there is no such thing. I begged and begged them not to put me through to the bizarre overseas retentions team. They refused. They put me through and didn't introduce the call. So we did the whole hideous thing all over again—the most bizarre call of all the hideous calls I have had with Virgin.
13. Myer claimed no notes about my issue are on the file. No manager has been booked to call me back. No idea about the £100, so I had to start all over again and repeat myself. They refused to put me through to the UK and said there is no tier 2 team in the UK. No notes from all the names I gave. Asked me what my problem was, put me on mute over 8 times. Each time, she came back and pretended not to know what I just said, then asked me the same questions all over again, then muting me and  refusing to accept, she just put me on mute. I asked what notes several times we on my file, she had and if she could read them out.
14. Remember, Myer said there are no notes. Evenutally she agreed to read out the following notes…….Shanely said I want to cancel but also ordered a new hub. Mathew Milling, on the 15th of January, wrote I need a follow-up call. He said he called me. I have never spoke to Mathew. Shaheen manager will call me back. He didn't. Georgina said Julie needs £100 credit; she asked her manager to call me about the refund. Myer then asked me to start all over again and asked me what my issue was. By now, I lost the will to live.
15. Advised I need to speak to tech support... note from above, the practice of bouncing between tech support and retentions. By now, I had been on the phone for an hour. I started to beg…..hard!!!!!! I explained I have disabled children and need her to stop, just stop! I have to stop this and see to my children! Fell on deaf ears. Muted me for over 5 mins and asked me what my issues were again when she came back on telling me I was not on mute!
16. Eventually, after 1 hour and 20 minutes and in tears, she finally agreed to a manager calling me back... guess what happened... yes, that's right.
17. No manager has called me back.

In light of the egregious mishandling of my case and the prolonged period of inconvenience endured, I request the following remedial actions:

• I need you to cancel my service. All of them.
• Increase the offer of £100 credit due to the 8 weeks of carrying on this and the hours and hours I have spent trying to talk to someone. I think the £100 doesn’t go near the pain of managing Virgin call centres for 8 weeks.
• Then my final bill of £46 you are trying to charge me wiped out. I have already advised I have cancelled my DD and do not want a default credit charge from your incompetence.

Failure to address my problems will compel me to escalate this matter further through appropriate regulatory channels.

I note that you are being investigated by Ofcom about this practice with the overseas call centre, so I will be forwarding this complaint to them via their request to customers to contact them about the Virgin problems they advertise.

I anticipate a prompt and satisfactory resolution to this matter.

[Gareth_L]

Hello NoHelp11.

Thank you very much for bringing the above issues to our attention on our community.

I would like to firstly apologises for the ongoing issues you have had over the last month or so.

Secondly I would like to get everything looked into for you and see if we can get the service working as it should be.

 If you don't mind, I will need to send you a private message to pass security. 
If you can check your logo at the  top right of your screen that would be great. 
Regards     
Gareth_L
 

[NoHelp11]

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I really hope this is a human and not a bot and you are someone who will  help......its been a painful 8 weeks and taken up hours and hours of my time. Im at my witts end. 

[MOD EDIT: Personal information has been removed from this post. Plese send details via Private Message]

[Gareth_L]

Thank you very much for your time today NoHelp11.

Once again I am sorry for the issues you have had over the last 2 months,

I hope everything works out for you with your new provider.

Please feel free to send me a private message if you need anything else at all.

Take care.

Gareth_L

[Alby41]

This poor fellow appears to have been given some incredulous treatment by VM and his complaint is long and profound .. come on VM someone help him here .. with his life / work / family .. he needs much more ,, one of the longest complaints I have seen here ...at one stage it was rivaling Leo Tolstoys * War and Peace * but not a good read or situation for him ... hope you get sorted ....just saying ....😉

[unisoft]

Whilst I empathise with the run around they have got, if their internet is CRITICAL as they state, then they really should be on a business package with SLA. If you absolutely depend on your broadband due to criticality a residential package is not assured.