No Network Connection After Ordering A New Phone

[AfxTwn]

Hi, sorry this is going to be a rather long post as I have had an absolute nightmare trying to upgrade to a new phone and now have no network connection at all or intermittent at best and having to use data roaming even though I am in the UK.

Yesterday I ordered two new Samsung S21 phones; one for my sim which is part of my Virgin Media Ultimate Oomph bundle which gives me unlimited mobile services such as calls, texts and data and one for another sim which is with Virgin Mobile 2GB monthly contract as I couldn't get two sims bundled together with my overall VM package.

After speaking with V Mobile and V Media many times on the phone (V Mobile couldn't offer me a good deal as one of my sims was part of my V Media package and they couldn't authorise anything and likewise V Media side said I would need to phone V Mobile), I eventually managed to get offered a deal where I could get two new phones and was then sent an email with links to the contracts/agreements for me to sign which I was going to do today but before I get into the nightmare that turned out to be, I'll get onto the point of having no network coverage at all.

Last night when putting my phone on charge (I currently have a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge), I noticed I had no signal and the bars showed the letter "R" above them with a message on my drop-down notifications saying that there was no access to the network and I needed to turn data roaming on. I thought that was very strange seeing as the phone was working perfectly fine earlier that day, in deed I used it to phone Virgin on 789 to set up my phone upgrades. Anyway, I went to bed and thought maybe it was just a network error and would resolve itself in the morning, well it didn't.

Today, the phone is still having no network connection meaning I can't make or receive calls or texts and access the internet at all. I phoned Virgin Mobile from my landline and spoke to someone there who went through some troubleshooting steps with me resulting in me having to turn data roaming on permanently in order to get access to the network and actually use my phone. The advisor there said it was because I have an old sim and with the migration of Virgin from EE to Vodafone, that was causing the issue but I didn't really understand why it suddenly stopped working the same day I ordered a new phone, seemed too coincidental for me.

The data roaming trick hasn't really worked anyway as my phone will just randomly disconnect from the network even with DR turned on and shows a cicle with a line through it in place of my signal bars. So, it was back on the landline for another round of chasing V Mobile for help. Before I did that, I decided to go online on my computer and sign the agreements for my two new phones and get the order completed so at least I would have them and could try again with my sim card.

I clicked on the emails sent (two, one for each new phone) and the links provided and was taken to a page where I had to enter the last few digits of my bank account number and then was shown a new page with the contract/agreement to read through. The email said at the end of this to tick the box next to  "I have read the Terms and Conditions and accept them" then press "Click to Sign". Unfortunately there was no T's&C's button or "Click to Sign" button anywhere on the page, just a button to print the document and a Cancel button.

So I phoned V Mobile again to ask about this and also what to do about my lack of network connection. I was informed that with regard to the agreements I needed to sign, it showed on their system that I had already done this even though I haven't. I explained to the lady on the phone that I hadn't signed the agreement and wasn't able to and that was why I was phoning. She again reiterated that the system showed I had and sort of shrugged it off and said the phones will be coming anyway, not seeming to get that this was a major problem of a contract being signed even though I hadn't signed it. I was getting no where with that issue and she just kept saying it showed on the system it was signed. So I moved on to the issue of no network coverage instead thinking I could complain about the contract-signing issue to someone else at Virgin Media.

With regard to the network issue, I was told that the procedure with V Mobile is that upon proceeding with the order for the new phones in my original conversation with the sales team the day before, they had effectively automatically started the upgrade process and that was why my sim card wasn't working as I needed to wait for the new phone and new sim (I hadn't ordered a new sim btw as I want to use and should be able to use the old one in the new phone). I then told the support representative that I wasn't informed that the order was going ahead anyway and I assumed it was reliant upon me signing the agreement attached to the email. I was also not informed that my current sim would effectively be shut down, giving me no network access until a new phone arrived. It just didn't make sense to me.

That phone call didn't really lead anywhere so I got put through to Virgin Media as again I had been told by V Mobile that because my main sim was connected to my Virgin Media package, it was they who needed to sort it out. Inevitably, upon hearing this V Media said "No, no it's V Mobile not us". I put a complaint in with V Media anyway and told them about the whole non-signing/signing-of-agreement fiasco and at least they seemed to understand how that is a potential security implication and serious issue that needs to be investigated. And so back to V Mobile I went.

There is still no resolution of my no-network-connection issue and the latest reason I was told was that it's because I have an old sim and it's because of the migration to the new network that it isn't working but that it's a known issue and so they're advising people to use data roaming. Even though I said it isn't working and they couldn't explain why my sim would suddenly stop working anyway or which sims are affected by this issue, if I need a new sim (apparently I don't and it should work in the new phone but if it doesn't in this then why would it in a new one?) whether if this is an issue, is it effecting lots of people, are they being informed, how long do they have to use data roaming for etc etc.

No answers to my questions, just frustration from the staff member who seemed to think I was stupid and not understanding what she was telling me (despite her not actually telling me anything concrete and seemingly changing her story the more I probed). I lodged a complaint with V Mobile but I am not sure any of this will be resolved.

I am now having to wait for my phones to arrive and hope that my sim does work in the new phone and I get network connection again. As for the contract-signing issue, I am not sure what to do about that. It seems like there is a major issue at play where possibly upon the verbal acceptance of a deal on the phone is being used as giving V Mobile the go ahead to start the upgrade which may result in a loss of service while you wait for your new phone but they don't tell you that. I have no idea if my loss of service is due to my asking for a phone upgrade or it is just coincidental with the network being changed over to Vodafone, I don't know what to believe as I get a different explanation each time without them ever really taking on board what I am saying.

Needless to say this whole situation has been ridiculous and very frustrating. Not something I would expect from a company as big as Virgin Media. I shouldn't have to just hope that things work out or be left to fathom it out myself by going backwards and forwards for hours phoning V Media and Mobile separately (perhaps V Media shouldn't be offering mobile sims as part of their TV, broadband and home phone bundles at all really as it seems to only confuse things when wanting to make changes). A representative or Virgin Media/Mobile should take on board my complaints and issues and try to investigate and resolve them on my behalf instead of using the customer as a go-between non-paid staff member trying to figure what the hell is going on themselves.

Sorry for the very, very long post but I think with the complicated and rather serious nature of the issues raised, it needed to be detailed and so that dictated the length. If anyone can help me with this that would be great but I don't really look forward to having to call V Media or Mobile myself for the umpteenth time.

[Steven_L]

Hey @AfxTwn,

Welcome back to the community and thanks for taking the time to post here on our forums.

I'm really sorry to hear of this happening to you and I can assure you this is far from the experience you should be having from us.

I will send over a private message right now, so that we can get this looked into and confirm all the details, so that we aren't getting confused with the various accounts and numbers on your account.

Please look out for the message and we can get started.

Regards,

Steven_L

[AfxTwn]

Thanks very much for the quick reply. I have replied to your PM to me.