No internet since installing Hub 5; customer service refusing to help

[AvoidVM]

Upgraded to 1gb internet and received a new hub. Installed on Friday morning following the instructions included. No service since then (now 3 days later). Called VM who said there is a fault on their end and they will investigate and fix it. Later used the WhatsApp chat to speak with another agent who said the hub is faulty. Engineer scheduled for three days later. Refused to order a new hub. Refused to provide a dongle or internet via o2 to provide temporary access. Refused to attempt trouble shooting and asked me how they can fix the problem. Advised VM that household has a vulnerable person who is dependent on internet for emergency communication, they seemed not to care and said wait until Monday. Advised VM that I need to work from home and they’ve already caused three days of lost earnings, they said they will compensate me £1.36. Have now been waiting for them to connect me to o2 for 5 hours to try and get emergency internet access via a phone hotspot on my account. Have exhausted my other network data packages using a hotspot. Took many hours of pleading with customer support for them to even attempt basic troubleshooting by asking for my MAC address to check the hub status. Agents then disconnect the chat and refuse further assistance.

[jbrennand]

Try a reset first - like this.

Do a Hub “pinhole reset” - first make sure the 2 passwords on the Hub sticker are still there and legible first ! With the Hub still "switched on" throughout, press the reset pin in firmly with paper clip/SIM tray tool or similar "thin thing" and hold it firmly for at least 60 (a timed sixty) seconds, release the pin, leave for 5’ to stabilise - dont manually switch it off at any time. Passwords and SSID’s will reset to those on the sticker so log in and change them back to what they were/want them to be.

[AvoidVM]

Hey John,

Appreciate the advice but I’ve already tried this to no avail. Thanks anyway.

[carl_pearce]

Did you try the old HUB?

Maybe an issue with associating the HUB 5 with your account.

If the old HUB still works this proves the above.

[AvoidVM]

Old hub doesn’t work either. I’m assuming when they sent the text message saying the new hub is now activated that they deactivated the old hub. Would probably be a good idea for them to send a text message asking if the new hub is up and running with a confirmation option before deactivating the old hub. But I’m not sure we can expect such high level thinking from a humble company like Virgin.. It’s not like they’re trying to commercialise space travel or anything.

[AvoidVM]

Engineer was scheduled for this morning 8am to 12pm, so took more time off work and still waiting for them to come. Almost 11:30am now and no word from Virgin on the whereabouts of said engineer.

[John_GS]

Hi @AvoidVM 

Thanks for posting and welcome to the community. Very sorry to hear of the upgrade issues and experience when trying to get help. That's not the high level of care we aim to offer.

I've done a system check today and can see our engineer replaced the router and everything should now be fine. 

Please do let us know if you need further assistance.

[AvoidVM]

Yep you sent me a faulty hub and then refused to replace it leaving me with no internet for 3+ days. Luckily when an engineer finally came he swapped out the faulty hub and got my service back up. You left me unable to work and unable to leave the house because a vulnerable family member is dependent on internet for communications in the event of an emergency. Still haven’t been contacted regarding the compensation you owe me due to loss of earnings. When the engineer called you to ask for the household to be tagged “lifeline” you said it’s not possible. Will now need to report this to trading standards which takes even more time, but you simply can’t be allowed to operate like this. 

[Alex_RM]

Hi AvoidVM,

We're sorry again for the service issues you've had.

Once the fault has been resolved your account would then be reviewed for auto-compensation, and if eligible a credit then automatically applied. You can read more on this here  

So I can ensure your account is flagged correctly, I've popped you over a private message to get a few more details from you.

Alex_Rm

[AvoidVM]

When I called to report the fault I was told I would receive £1.36 in compensation which obviously doesn’t accurately compensate me for hundreds of pounds in lost earnings, or the health impact related to the vulnerable person. Being left without means to communicate in an emergency situation caused undue distress and all of this could have been solved by arranging a same day hub replacement or collection which I requested. You refused to mark the household appropriately when the engineer called and requested this. To top it off you’ve sent inaccurate emails stating I owe you money when my last bills were settled manually over the phone with your agent when I upgraded the service, so now I need to spend even more time dealing with your incompetent employees to avoid further issues.