External Pipe Blockage - Assistance Required

[KeyserSoze85]

Hi,

I'm having trouble getting definitive answers so I thought I'd try this forum for assistance.

A technician identified a weak signal on our broadband cable towards the end of July that required the cable to be replaced. A team came out on 26/07 and did what looks like pulling a rope through and left me without Internet entirely. They then told me another team would be out 'soon' to complete the work.

A day later I found out that 'soon' meant 07/08. That day came and went and nobody showed up to do the work. I then found out it had been rescheduled to 20/08 without my knowledge. That day has also now came and went and nobody turned up. I phoned the call centre late last night and found that the date has now changed to 07/09 because a 'blockage' has been discovered.

Is there any member of the Virgin team here that could find out more for me what the status of the fix is? I can't seem to get any information about when this blockage is supposed to be fixed or what it entails. I've had a fibre Internet connection from Virgin at this property for 4 years already so I don't know how its suddenly blocked. Communication in general is very poor. Its looking likely that I'm going to be without Internet for at least 6 weeks and since I'm supposed to be working from home at the moment this is incredibly frustrating and stressful.

[-tony-]

if the duct is blocked they will try and clear it with push rods - that may happen a few times as seems to be the case here however if they cannot clear the duct they will try and identify where the blockage is - if they have done that there may well be green paint on the pavement or road between you and the cabinet - to clear the duct they will then have to dig and find the problem - that requires a council permit - obtaining that can take weeks - typically 6 or more - once thats obtained they will plan the work

i can relate to your problem as i am in the same situation - i had 4 visits shortly after july 19th to try and clear the duct - it then went to the council - the fix date i have on my account is 22nd sept - so expect those sorts of time scales - info is hard to come by from VM - you can chase them but are likely to get nowhere - you can look on streetworks for updates that will show when permission has been granted but thats only the next step - if the duct is in fact blocked you need to look at alternatives in the short or long term - i am becoming used to 3meg speeds via a sim card

i assume you have logged the problem for compensation - if not do so

[KeyserSoze85]

Just giving this thread a bump, are there any Virgin Media staff here who could look into when the blockage is scheduled to be fixed?

[Z92]

Note that bumping your thread can actually push you further down the pile. 

I assume you have already contacted customer services ? As since you previously have had service you should be receiving compensation.

[Molly_G]

Hey @KeyserSoze85,

Thanks for your post - I'm really sorry to hear of the pushbacks to the engineering work needing to be done 

I've located the account and can see that the engineering work is due to take place still on the 07/09 and that a dig is required for this to be completed. As previously advised it's most likely our construction team waiting to acquire the correct permits that will be causing the delay here. 

I do appreciate the impact that this has had on your service and I do apologise. We do offer compensation for the loss of service endured and more info can be found on this here.

Let us know if you have any further questions.

Kind regards,