External cable broken - no services

[Matt8888]

Hi Everyone,

I really need some help and hopefully someone can.

We had our Virgin services all connected up on Monday including the hub, 2 360 boxes and all associated cabling internally.

HOWEVER, the technician informed me that the external cable was broken and needs to be changed and none of the services will work until that external cable is fixed….

I had an appointment for this cable be fixed today (2 days later) but no one showed up!

I have now been given a date of 20th July (approx 20 days from now). !!?? 

Can someone please urgently help me with this as I need my internet and TV services this week!?

Thanks,
Matt

[goslow]

Did the original installer identify where exactly the cable was broken? Above ground or below ground? Accessible copper cables which are above ground might be fixable with a temporary repair until a new cable can be installed. Broken fibre optic or broken copper cables underground will probably need renewing which can sometimes be a lengthy process to complete. The fact they have given you a long date in the future, and also that the original installer didn't do the repair, suggests it might be the latter of the two.

[Matt8888]

Thanks for responding swiftly.

I only moved into the property 2 weeks ago and the external cable was fitted previously, of which I suspected been connected for years. 

The technician who installed the internal services (hub and 2 TV boxes)  just said that the external cables need to be changed and they he will be able to get someone out 2 days later (today) but no one has fixed it as promised.

If someone can help me get this sorted as soon as possible it would be greatly appreciated as I cannot wait another 3 weeks for services.

Also I cannot with stand for the 100th time of trying to get through to VM Customer service whom of which are based abroad when you have to sit on the phone for 45 minutes to get told a script and a pack of lies.

As a new customer with VM, the customer service is absolutely disgusting.

Kind Regards,

Matt

[goslow]

Often the communication between VM, its sub-contractors (who do the cable installations) and the customer seems to be very poor and uncoordinated in this kind of scenario, based on posts on here.

The only other possibility, which is sometimes mentioned on here, is making a shared connection to an existing VM service on an adjacent property which is sometimes done as a temporary measure until a new cable is installed. Ideally you want to find out if any of the temporary get-you-working options were considered by the original installer and were not possible or whether s/he just had no time available to make such a temporary repair at the time.

You will need to wait for the VM forum team to pick this up (usually within a day or two). They might be able to tell you more but often they only seem to have as little information available as the customer.

I'd agree though, waiting 3+ weeks for your installation is far from satisfactory.

[tremolo]

Hi, three weeks is a long time to wait so, depending on how urgently you need the internet, you might want to get a 30 day unlimited data SIM in the meantime, ideally to put in a spare phone to use as a WiFi hotspot. I was recently having some work done on my property involving a large digging machine practically on top of a completely exposed cable and I literally can't afford to be without internet because I'm working from home. Luckily there was no damage done but I had to be prepared for the worst. Anyway, £20 including unlimited hotspot/tethering and no speed restrictions was the best deal I found if it's of any use to you https://smarty.co.uk/details/unlimited 

[tremolo]

Sorry, not thinking straight this morning. It's actually £16/month for up to 12 months but it's a 1 month plan that you can cancel at any time (confusing wording on the website) https://smarty.co.uk/plans/unlimited 

[Matt8888]

Thanks everyone - Really appreciate your help on this. Was promised by the technician who installed my internal services on Monday that someone will complete this as follows:

- Tuesday - No fix happened as promised

- Thursday - No happened as promised

My router is still flashing white light and none of the services work. They have now booked an appointment for the 20th July which is another 3 weeks on top of the 3 weeks I've already - Its beyond a joke.

The virgin media customer services is the worst I've ever encountered with any company, as it takes 30 minutes to get connected to anyone then you get connected to someone abroad who has not got a clue what is going on or has any authority to help me in anyway - I was promised a manager call back 3 x, yet I have not had one call back.

No one seems to be able to help, which should be such a straight forward new installation, turning into a nightmare.

Please can someone help, I work from home so urgently need my services connected?

Thanks,

Matt

[Ayisha_B · Accepted solution]

Hi @Matt8888,

Welcome to our Community Forums and thanks for posting.

I am very sorry to hear this. I have taken a look at the account and can see you spoke to my colleague yesterday. I understand an email has been sent to the Area Field Manager regarding this and my colleague is going to be calling you back tomorrow with an update. 

Keep us posted. 

[Matt8888]

Managed to get through to the right person after calling everyday for 3 weeks who managed to sort it. 
Next day I had 3 men knock on my door from Kelly’s group (external contractor for Virgin) and it was fixed within 20 minutes.

Advice to anyone who has this issue is keep ringing customer services until you get through to someone in this country who has some authority. I rang every day for 3 weeks and caught a good one.

Thanks

Matt

[goslow]

Glad to hear you got the issue sorted but it's a bit of a damning indictment of VM that it took that level of effort on your part to get something to happen and something only did happen when you randomly happened to speak to the right person on one of those calls.

Sadly, the experience you describe is recounted on the forums all too often in regard to problematic installations and cable re-pulls.