Installation Delay

[Wonderchuka]

Installation delayed

Had my external box fitted a week ago, and other external work was done this morning. I spoke to the engineers outside and they confirmed everything is done and ready for my installation date (23rd September.) then they packed up and left. Fot a missed call from virgin media and called back, they confirmed all is okay for Monday (23rd September) then an hour later I got an email saying it's delayed till the 10th of October..... I called up and no one could see why it was delayed it even says everything is ready. Got a call back planned for tomorrow morning. Got another call saying it's been delayed till 10th October because there is external work that needs doing .... I have spoken to the engineers as they were doing it. I am an engineer myself and know it is all ready.... What do I do??

Please note I suffer with extreme ADHD amongst other things and this has completely derailed everything for me.

[jbrennand]

Have you tried the Pre-installation and delivery team on 0800 052 1734 open  8:00am to 9:00pm  Mon to Fri, and 8:00am to 6:00pm Sat and Sun. and see what they have to say.

[Akua_A]

Hi @Wonderchuka 

Welcome to our community forums and sorry to hear you are having delays in your installation. We can understand the confusion caused and we want to do our best to help. We can see you very recently spoke to our team about this issue. Were the team able to give clarity on what was going on? Do you need any further help?

Thanks,

[Wonderchuka]

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply.

 This has been possibly one of the most stressful times of my adult life.

3 more engineers have visited and said it is all ready to go, not sure why it hasn't been sorted. Then cut to today, I have been promised service by Friday this week at the latest due to my wife relying on ethernet connection for her hearing loop system that links to everything including fire alarms in the house.

Cut to today engineer comes out and tells us there is no fibre in the box or the underground runs... Says the manager has had a look and the nice excuse of "planning permission" comes in to dog up the road and break the blockage.. yes that's right l, the same blockage we have been told was clear by 3 engineers and 2 pre-installsion customer service providers and 2 escalation team managers.

Our previous provider stopped in the 23rd of September as we were guaranteed installation as we set our installation date to 3/4 weeks after we signed up to ensure enough time. 

I have been told there are now 1/2 dayEnd to End ( complete external and internal installation) engineers in our area but why has this not  been used when they are fully aware of the vulnerabilities present in our home. I'll have to take time off work to ensure my wife is safe around the house with our children and not to mention all the lies and chopping and changing is playing absolute havoc with someone with my level of ADHD. I just need some clarity and some physical show of promise that something is being done. The "planning permission" excuse is clever, but doesn't work when I have the knowledge that they already have it in place due to me helping process the blooming stuff in the first place when they " installed" virgin in my area. Not to mention m ly attached neighbour has it installed and the cable run is shared with them!!

[jbrennand]

Note that your VM contract does not start until the moment you connect to the VM network - which on the face of it - does not seem very likely in the short term ! But even when it does - you then have 14 days cooling off when you can cancel the whole contract and pay nothing.

So... for a stress free process...  I would do this...

Firstly, sign up immediately with another provider - perhaps your previous one, or an alternative fibre provider or a 4/5G Mobile provider.  Go for a short term contract - such as the Three or EE (etc) 30 day rolling  4/5G contracts - so you can exit it quickly in the future.

Let the VM installation play out until it does actually happen... and then once your 14 day period starts you can decide which one of the two to keep.

Note also, that whilst VM delay the installation you are able to collect substantial compensation (£6.10p/day) - added to you account for when it does start - see these

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/automat...
https://www.virginmedia.com/help/automatic-compensation
https://store.virginmedia.com/the-legal-stuff/terms-and-conditions-for-fibre-optic-services/automati...

[Kath_F]

Hi Wonderchuka, 

Thanks for coming back to us with an update.

I'm really sorry to hear that we've had to put the installation on hold again due to further works being needed to be completed. 

Whilst this isn't ideal, it does happen on occasions due to the way we provide our network. If dig work is required then we would need further planning permission. Any previous permits would be invalid.

Whilst we're not able to expedite things, I'm happy to take a look at things for you to have the latest update. I can also get a complaint raised to ensure the relevant teams are aware. 

I have sent you a direct message to allow us to do this with you in a private space. If you are using a PC/Laptop then you can just click on the little ✉ at the top right-hand side of the page to access your inbox. If you are on a mobile/tablet device then instead click on the little circle icon in the top right then select 'Messages'. 😊

Thanks,