Confused - Which part of Virgin media is lying ?

[Ogier]

So  I am a little confused.

As a treat to myself  I ordered  a fibre 350 package earlier this month

Install date was to be today.

Fibre line and box was fitted from the pole to the house  within days.  Guys who fitted it said they had done a few in my street over tha last few days.

Yesterday - Line engineer arrived  and  checked the box and line  a procedure needed "  24 hours before installation" he explained.

"Everything fine, Nothing  wrong  they ( installers ) will be here to fit tomorrow" - was the resulting quote from him.

An afternoon install due today .  - No one turned up  (No one appeared at the  pole or box visible across the road btw).

Phoned  up asking 'support'  with a simple what is going on what is the procedure for a no show.

" Job postponed at 16:40 ( today) as External digging work needed  and no permit from council" came the reply from the support rep.

Asked why the engineer okay'd the line yesterday - He didnt know

Asked why I wasnt informed from a communications company - He didnt know.

What happens next? - The problem is noted came the reply

When will the line be connected -  No idea  but after the problem is noted?

So who is lying ?  All, or none?  ( Answers on a postcard)

So I have lost a days pay - for nothing. 

Seriously pathetic -  service 

And currently not impressed with such a lackadaisical communication service .

And despite being ( by rep) told I will be  getting a confirmation email ... that too is  no where to be seen.

 A good job I am not holding my breath.....

First post on a forum for which I am still awaiting  a connection.. 

Think the  phrase is off to a flying start.

[John_GS]

Good morning @Ogier 

Thanks for posting and welcome to both the community and indeed Virgin Media.

Very sorry for any install delay, I appreciate the inconvenience this must be causing.

Due to the type of account you have with us, you do have a ring-fenced team that is the one you're needing to speak too.

Please either call on 150 / 0345 454 1111 or our pre-install team on 0800 052 1734 and they'll assist further.

Best wishes.

[Ogier]

Update :

Communication from Virgin Media  in any form shape - Nil ,Zip, Zero mundo  aka "Diddly squat" mixed in with "not a sausage". The last  email from them was the "This is how much you first bill will be  - when connected." ( 11 days before planned connection )

Still no connection nor any sign of one on the horizon. 

Numerous phone calls asking for information as to what is going on  result in the usual off the shelf / page delay excuses though one rep did offer up ordering a line survey with a date to find out why there were 2 conflicting reports of light / no light at the cab .
One other point the rep clarified was the phrase "Outside of the property" is infact anything, anywhere that  effects  the network that does not involve your property.  - Personal opinion The ultimate coveral "we are not directly lying to you" 

The VM account website always had / has "work" appointments booked.  Note there is zero reference to what type of "work" is being done or if it affects the customer. It is just a cover all  "Broadband installation" Tag . -  My opinion a well designed and intended piece of misdirection/ deflection  "keep the customer guessing".

Final call I made/ will make -  Resulted being transferred numerous times eventually to the install team .
The insights and snippets I gained ;
The Virgin media installation engineers ( who are predominately under contract) - have  14 days after an installation date to fully report as to why an installation had not  taken place.  - Ergo it will always take 14 days.
Once the full report arrives then a "next steps" meeting is discussed/actioned and  any "work planned" then another 14 day cycle . (Note :This can go on ad infinitum)  Only when an instalation is guaranteed will there be any communication to the customer  - As this has nothing what so ever to do with them(customer) before that date.

The appointments page when I asked about the numerous "works" being done on it did not match the schedule and information of work notes she has available. And no mention of the line survey was available to her to comment on ( If/when it had been carried out).

She ( the rep) let slip that in her opinion ( and others in her team as the "we" was used - I do not know if it was a royal or common "we" however) they wish the sales/marketing  teams would not give any installation dates as many of them cannot be implemented on until a line survey - and this leads to "frustration " on all sides  .  
When asked is that because the Marketing & Sales teams have  little to no knowledge of the product and work involved  they are selling ? - She would not agree nor ( more importantly imho) disagree.

She did point out that I can still walk away without cost until 14 days after instalation - though she asked to give VM a little more time to get things right. She could not give any more information on the "issue" or its resolution as she did not have it. ( aka the embedded & out of her control - 14 day rule)

Thus in limbo I remain.  A web site appointments page which is pointless as it serves no practicable purpose. Sure it updates
And from experience - Zero prospect of any communication from ( in my eyes) a 100% discredited customer relations & communication  teams .  ( Not even an emailed apology for the delay if you recall.) - The ultimate in 'Office oxygen stealers'.   

I will wait as I still have a landline and FTC services and will currently, readily dissuade anyone who asks form considering Virgin Media as a reliable . Maybe one day that may change who knows ....

[Waschops]

Hi Ogier,

I've been with VM since it was Bradford Cable.  So probably close to 30 years.  Over time, VM's customer service has become almost not existent.  

If I were you, I'd stay well clear.

To give you an example.  After losing all three VM services for six days, with none of the phone agents being able to tell me what the issue was, I lodged a complaint.  I raised issues around being blind transferred multiple times and having to repeat my issue to every agent, cut off multiple times, refusal to transfer to a manager or someone in authority who can take the issue further and in different words, being told there wasn't any point complaining as it was an issue in the area.

This is lifted directly from the letter I received by email.

"

We have a little update on your complaint with us. We didn’t want to delay things, so we’ve gone ahead and looked into a resolution for you.

Here’s a quick recap

Your complaint was:
Cable -> Customer Experience -> Other

We’ve looked into it and here’s what we found:

Here's what we offer as a resolution:
Billing ->Billing corrected

We hope this works for you."

Having worked in a complaints team, I don't know how VM could send an official complaint response that is so appallingly useless and not be utterly ashamed.

Over the last two weeks, I've had issues with the broadband dropping out.  I work in the office most of the time and probably haven't noticed some of the outages, but I've logged the dates and times of at least 12 occasions where the service has gone off for anything between 15 minutes to 1:30 each time.  The Service Status advises there's an issue in the area, but nothing else.

I'd call VM, but what's the point.  They will tell me nothing, "We don't have access the fault information".  I'll spend an hour or more being blind transferred or cut off to get nowhere and be totally frustrated.  So, what's the point.

Solution.  Move from VM.  That's a great idea, but they're the only provider at the moment that offer fibre to the home in my area.

All in all, save yourself the frustration and if you can, find another provider that understands what customer service is.  

I hope it works out for you.

Regards

Was

[shinycharizard]

"Asked why I wasnt informed from a communications company - He didnt know."

This line makes me laugh but cry inside as I'm in an even worse situation where VM are the only Fibre provider in the area and I have no existing line and the signal here is crap so I can't even tether.  I've been waiting and fobbed off since Nov 2023

[Ayisha_B]

Thanks for the update @Ogier 

If you do wish to discuss the matter further, it would be the specialist team you need to continue liasing with on the number provided due to the type of account you have. 

[WhiteRose12]

Except the only ‘number provided’ seem to the the one from the post by John_GS above, and I quote

"Please either call on 150 / 0345 454 1111 or our pre-install team on 0800 052 1734 and they'll assist further."

But that’s the normal support number, which would hint that the ‘specialist team’ doesn’t actually exist, well other than in an entry on a organisation chart, in physical reality, maybe not so!