Engineer No show

[Mylesstrickland]

In September, whilst getting our kerb dropped the workmen cut through out virgin cable, there was no indication it was in this area and it wasn’t buried at a sufficient depth. None the less an Engineer was called, they visited and told us we were a priority for total loss of service however they would need permission off the council to dig up the road. Virgin were given permission to go ahead in early October by the council.

Every week since (sometimes 2 weeks) an engineer has been booked in to fix our cable but have not shown up, I’d estimate 6 failed shows, I have even had texts a couple of days before saying they will be attending but they never do.

Every no show I have rung virgin and asked for a reason why the work didn’t go ahead, for the first few times I was given a new reason, however as time went on the same reasons began cropping up. 

As my frustrations have grown, I’ve raised my concerns, this results in me being transferred to department after department on the phone, until someone assures me the work is going ahead on the next appointment date. This never happens. 

I have now on two occasions asked to raise an official complaint and speak to a supervisor, I am then told I will receive a call back, on both occasions I was not phoned back. 

3 out of 4 people who live in my house work from home, not having wifi means they’re using 4g which is costing a significant of money. To try and remedy this I asked for a 4g hub to be sent to the house, this never turned up. 

I pay for the best possible virgin service available and I am bemused as to why the service provided has been so poor, I am constantly being told I will be compensated but am being forced to carry on paying £62 a month for a service I am not receiving.

I can see no end to this nightmare, as virgin will not acknowledge my complaint allowing me to take further legal action.

Has anyone had a similar issue and what was the resolution? 

[Chris_W1]

Hi Mylesstrickland, thanks for the message and welcome to the forums.

I am sorry to hear that the cable pull has not been done and this is not the experience which we want you to have with us. 

I will send you a private messaged to ascertain what is happening. 

Kind regards, Chris. 

[Chris_W1]

Hi Mylesstrickland, thanks for messaging us on the PM and we are sorry that this is taking a little longer. 

Please let us know how the visit goes and if there is any issues. 

Kind regards, Chris. 

[Mylesstrickland]

Hello Chris,

Once again no one has shown up today and the date has been pushed back another 3 weeks. The original date of repair was the beginning of October, and now I’m without Wifi until the new year. 

You are unable to provide me with a reasonable solution, I was told we were getting a 4g wifi device last month, this is no where to be seen. 
I pay for the best service you offer, however this is the worst customer service I have ever received from a company.

Please can you provide me with a deadlock letter so I can continue with legal proceedings against virgin media.

Regards

Myles Strickland

[Mylesstrickland]

Hello Chris,

I messaged you a week ago and have still not received a response. Can you update me with a reason why the contractors didn‘t install the cable on the 17th of December and why it was moved to the 3rd of January. We have now been without Wifi for 4 months. 

I also require you to send me a log of when I first had my cable recorded as defective.

Regards

Myles

[-tony-]

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@Mylesstrickland wrote:

Hello Chris,

I messaged you a week ago and have still not received a response. Can you update me with a reason why the contractors didn‘t install the cable on the 17th of December and why it was moved to the 3rd of January. We have now been without Wifi for 4 months. 

I also require you to send me a log of when I first had my cable recorded as defective.

Regards

Myles

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have you registered an official complaint if not do that - if you have done that already then the clock is ticking and you can take it to CISAS after 8 weeks - might be 6 [not sure] without a deadlock lettre

also get busy working out compensation - £8odd a day less a couple of days from the day the internet went down - £25 for any missed engineers visits when they required you to be in

dont cancel your services even if out of contract and you change supplier let the £8 a day compensation mount up

staff may or may not sort out the compensation that said it should be automatic when they finally get their finger out and you are back on line - dont take no for an answer and any lesser figure - dont accept the usual rubbish that they have been waiting 6 weeks or whatever for council permission - stock excuse thats usually BS - councils generally sort out the paperwork in 48 hours - the delay [if any] is usually VM who dont apply when they say they do - you can check via your local council if and when permission was sought

if the compensation is denied or a reduced offer have non of it go straight to CISAS adding a further £100 or so for being messed about

[Mylesstrickland]

Hi Tony thanks for your response. So I’ve already worked out I'm due over £1000. Ive tried to raise 3 complaints but they do not respond to my complaint and don’t seem to log it, and CIAAS require evidence that Virgin will not provide. 

I’ve looked into getting a private company to install the cable but this isn’t possible either, I’m shocked at how poor Virgin have been. 

[-tony-]

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@Mylesstrickland wrote:

Hi Tony thanks for your response. So I’ve already worked out I'm due over £1000. Ive tried to raise 3 complaints but they do not respond to my complaint and don’t seem to log it, and CIAAS require evidence that Virgin will not provide. 

I’ve looked into getting a private company to install the cable but this isn’t possible either, I’m shocked at how poor Virgin have been. 

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i am no expert on taking things to CISAS - there are others here that know far more - i will ask one of them to comment - they dont do much with complaints - lose them - fob you off or come up with a non sensible solution - all that matters not reply to any of them and demand a deadlock letter - failure to provide one is against OFCOM rules afaik and will just add to the CISAS case - i am not aware CISAS demand anything from you provided y VM

hang on for better advice

[Mylesstrickland]

Thanks Tony I appreciate any help you can provide, I have in fact replied to CISAS today telling them virgin won’t acknowledge my complaints or provide evidence they’re asking for. 

[Andrew-G]

Main CISAS criteria are having a deadlock letter from VM, or without a deadlock letter, eight weeks from the initial complaint has elapsed and no agreeable resolution achieved.  Whilst I can't speak for CISAS, a different adjudicator with broadly similar rules has accepted and sorted out a complaint of mine where the company concerned refused to acknowledge or raise a complaint, although I was able to demonstrate that with evidence.  CISAS should explain how they will deal with that situation if it applies.  Failing that you may need to raise a formal complaint by recorded post.

Expect VM to play the "council delays mean we don't have to pay" card - a quick search here will show that they (a) do this regularly, and (b) there's good grounds for rejecting that and having CISAS review this since the norm is that only about 2-4 days of the delay are down to council permits.  If you've been sent a VM dongle, the company will also argue that they've met their obligations under the automatic compensation scheme, so if that applies, you'll need to claim for the inadequacy of a dongle versus what you're paying for, and specifically avoid making any claim under the terms of the automatic compensation scheme.

Also, consider what you're asking CISAS for at this time?  If you ARE claiming under the auto comp scheme, that's normally paid after service is restored, and it's then that you'd need to dispute the amount.  If you simply want them (at this stage) to reconnect you, then you can ask for that, but VM are so shambolic they still may not comply in a timely manner.