Hub 4 upgrade link

[Andrew3651]

Had an email telling me I could claim an upgrade to Hub 4. Unfortunately (and not for the first time) the link sent by Virgin doesn't work.

Happening to anyone else?

[UKCougar]

Hi all.

I'm a new VM customer, got connected up last week following a house move.  Wi-Fi reception is very poor at the other end of the house from the router - sorry, "hub" - which I expected.  I was planning on putting a mesh system in place but then I saw all this v3 / v4 malarkey with the promises of improved Wi-Fi and figured it wouldn't hurt to chance my arm with Customer Services.

Man alive, front line support hasn't progressed very far in the last 30 years, has it.  52 minutes on the phone, half of it on hold whilst she tried to find answers to questions which deviated from her script.  Offers to put me through to Faults (it's a 40 minute wait and there isn't a fault); asked if I wanted to make a complaint (I'd rather have a new hub); asked if I wanted an email (still rather have a hub); saying that she understood my frustrations as I'd been a loyal customer for so long (literally two sentences after I told her the install was last Thursday); finally admitting that she couldn't help to which I replied that's absolutely fine and is there a manager or supervisor I could speak with instead?  Seems "supervisor" was the magic word and she grabbed it with both hands.  I was promised a call back within a couple of hours, I asked for the name of the supervisor and after more frantic typing (how can you not know this information?) was told "Brian".

Brian duly rang about 40 minutes later.  "I believe there's a problem with your broadband"  (you believe incorrectly).  Asked why I wanted the v4 hub, I replied as above, got "I'll transfer you to Faults" (it's still not faulty) so they could "run some tests on my broadband" (there's nothing wrong with my broadband) "sorry, I mean Wi-Fi" (you're going to test my home Wi-Fi from your call centre? Good luck with that).  Back and forth with the same spiel as previously (and it rather sounder like it was still scripted), told variously that I'd need to upgrade to the 1Gbps service and it wasn't available in my area (I don't it), that the v4 hub doesn't work with the slower connections, and various other untruths before finally just caving in and telling me I couldn't have one and they'd email me when I could.

Unreal.  For what it must cost them in hardware vs an hour and a half's wages bill to argue the toss it would surely have been cheaper just to send out a hub (or at the very least, update the script to account for Hub Swap Programme requests).

The broadband and TV package are both superb but in my anecdotal experience from a sample size of "one" today, Virgin's Customer Services is absolute toilet.  It makes me feel right at home after the Sky service I've just left!  I've worked extensively in Support so I fully understand the requirement for Front Line and that the guys who are following flow charts will successfully field a large proportion of moronic calls from people who haven't realised there's an "on" switch rather than wasting the time of actual Techies, but by god is it hard work if you dare deviate from their programming.  VM badly needs a more robust escalation procedure for when the end box is "I don't know".  Maybe I should have spoken with Faults as suggested and that's entirely my failing if so, but after nearly an hour I wasn't prepared to spend another 40 minutes on hold to talk to someone who's probably going to tell me to turn it off and back on again.

And... breathe. (-:

[gary_dexter]

---

@UKCougar wrote:

Hi all.

I'm a new VM customer, got connected up last week following a house move.  Wi-Fi reception is very poor at the other end of the house from the router - sorry, "hub" - which I expected.  I was planning on putting a mesh system in place but then I saw all this v3 / v4 malarkey with the promises of improved Wi-Fi and figured it wouldn't hurt to chance my arm with Customer Services.

Man alive, front line support hasn't progressed very far in the last 30 years, has it.  52 minutes on the phone, half of it on hold whilst she tried to find answers to questions which deviated from her script.  Offers to put me through to Faults (it's a 40 minute wait and there isn't a fault); asked if I wanted to make a complaint (I'd rather have a new hub); asked if I wanted an email (still rather have a hub); saying that she understood my frustrations as I'd been a loyal customer for so long (literally two sentences after I told her the install was last Thursday); finally admitting that she couldn't help to which I replied that's absolutely fine and is there a manager or supervisor I could speak with instead?  Seems "supervisor" was the magic word and she grabbed it with both hands.  I was promised a call back within a couple of hours, I asked for the name of the supervisor and after more frantic typing (how can you not know this information?) was told "Brian".

Brian duly rang about 40 minutes later.  "I believe there's a problem with your broadband"  (you believe incorrectly).  Asked why I wanted the v4 hub, I replied as above, got "I'll transfer you to Faults" (it's still not faulty) so they could "run some tests on my broadband" (there's nothing wrong with my broadband) "sorry, I mean Wi-Fi" (you're going to test my home Wi-Fi from your call centre? Good luck with that).  Back and forth with the same spiel as previously (and it rather sounder like it was still scripted), told variously that I'd need to upgrade to the 1Gbps service and it wasn't available in my area (I don't it), that the v4 hub doesn't work with the slower connections, and various other untruths before finally just caving in and telling me I couldn't have one and they'd email me when I could.

Unreal.  For what it must cost them in hardware vs an hour and a half's wages bill to argue the toss it would surely have been cheaper just to send out a hub (or at the very least, update the script to account for Hub Swap Programme requests).

The broadband and TV package are both superb but in my anecdotal experience from a sample size of "one" today, Virgin's Customer Services is absolute toilet.  It makes me feel right at home after the Sky service I've just left!  I've worked extensively in Support so I fully understand the requirement for Front Line and that the guys who are following flow charts will successfully field a large proportion of moronic calls from people who haven't realised there's an "on" switch rather than wasting the time of actual Techies, but by god is it hard work if you dare deviate from their programming.  VM badly needs a more robust escalation procedure for when the end box is "I don't know".  Maybe I should have spoken with Faults as suggested and that's entirely my failing if so, but after nearly an hour I wasn't prepared to spend another 40 minutes on hold to talk to someone who's probably going to tell me to turn it off and back on again.

And... breathe. (-:

---

The Hub4 is only available for people in DOCSIS 3.1 areas, ergo those that can get the Gig1 connection.

Regardless, whatever hub you end up with, do yourself a favour and put it into Modem Mode with your own better Router or Mesh System attached.

[UKCougar]

Sorry, how do you quote?

Anyway, I don't believe that to be the case. VM have been very gradually rolling out v4 hubs to DOCSIS 3.0 customers for months as far as I can glean.

[UKCougar]

... here.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/10/virgin-media-uk-offering-free-upgrades-to-hub-4-router...

[gary_dexter]

OK.
Anyway, nothing more to add.

[UKCougar]

Sorry if that reply came across as rude, that wasn't my intent.  I appreciate your / any feedback, it's entirely possible that that website is incorrect but that's what I was going off.

[Rog22]

UKCougar - please read my post number 97 on this thread and take Gary's advice.

[UKCougar]

Cheers Rog.  I've read the entire thread before posting and agree with the advice.  

As I said, my intention before I even placed the order with Virgin was to sack off the router's inbuilt Wi-Fi and install a mesh system.  I only contacted Support to chance my arm, if they sent me the newer hub as a gesture of goodwill to a new customer and it was no better (or worse) then I wouldn't have lost anything to try it.  I didn't have any expectations and wasn't making demands, I simply thought it'd be silly not to at least ask.  If they'd said at the outset that I'd have to join the queue for the upgrade it would have been a 50 second phone call rather than 50 minutes.

[Rog22]

Fair enough - at least you could take advantage of any future speed increases if you had the Hub 4

[Andrew3651]

As stated several times, I am not on Gig 1 and have now been given an H4 as per a)  promo email sent which set me off on my quest b) roll out advertised in press c) VM advice that those on lower speed connected eg 100Mbps would benefit most.

Gary, your replies here can read as a little abrupt. I'm being diplomatic.