Pre installation visit?

[Adamkasey]

my service should’ve gone live 29th of November but when I rang, they told me everything had been canceled. Couldn’t give me a reason why. I then had to start again given an install date of 9 December and told I would need a preinstall visit, but no one has turned up. I am left without Internet due to canceling my previous provider and each time I call they tell me that they will be out on that day, but no one ever does. I am concerned that it is going to get to 9 December, and you are going to knock this back again. Is anyone else having this silly problem? How do I actually get a pre-Installation visit where someone turns up? 

[Adamkasey]

I have just been told again someone is going to come out today, but it’s like they just say that and don’t actually know when a preinstall engineer will visit or what they will actually do if anything?

[jpeg1]

They will keep telling you new dates until they get round to doing the job. The standard advice on here is not the cancel the previous contract until VM is working, but of course you won't have seen that.

Delays can be days. weeks or months. Read this forum for examples. 

[Adamkasey]

I had a feeling that this may be the case based my experience so far! Do you have any idea who the external company is they use ? Or attempt to use but never turn up?  They have told me to go buy a dongle and they will refund me? WTH? 

[jpeg1]

The contractors they use depend on the area. You can try calling the Installations number 0800 052 1734 but they can probably not be able to help you because communications both within and outside VM are almost non existent. 

The import of thing now, if you still want to stay with VM, is to keep an accurate record of all correspondence with VM for when you come to claim compensation for delay under the Ofcom scheme. 

https://ofcom.cmail19.com/t/i-l-ckhdkud-wklhinik-m/

[jpeg1]

Apologies for the errors in my reply above. They have removed the function of editing posts. 

[RetiredATCO]

From my recent experience the pre-install pull work is always "tomorrow" from the actual day you order service from VM, that is all they ever tell you on phone or live chat and is what shows online, it just moves forward one day at a time.

I had that confirmed here on the forum.

Luckily for me, after my order on the 18/11 the contractor contacted me by text on the 22/11 to ask it if was convenient that day as I had told VM I wished to be present and they did the work that afternoon.

The following day VM called and brought the main install date forward and I was connected on 26/11.

Cannot complain about that.

VM used the OTS to contact TalkTalk even though I wasn't bringing the phone service across, that all went well and TT disconnected my FTTC service 3 days after the VM service commenced.

I have just received TT's final bill and they have only charged me until the day VM went live.

[jpeg1]

The OTS should make transfers easier, in both directions. But the fact that VM uses different cables to Openreach customers is always going to cause delays if new customers don't have access to an existing cable. 

[goslow]

---

@Adamkasey wrote:

I had a feeling that this may be the case based my experience so far! Do you have any idea who the external company is they use ? Or attempt to use but never turn up?  They have told me to go buy a dongle and they will refund me? WTH? 

---

You need to capture an offline record of that original 29 Nov 'go-live' activation date as that is when any compensation should start from. You may well need that as evidence to get the correct compensation.

VM's online installation notifications may eventually overwrite the original installation date and that original piece of evidence will be lost unless you keep an offline record of it.

Don't put any faith in VM actually reimbursing you directly for any dongle and data. The only 'official' compensation on offer is the OFCOM compensation scheme

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/billing-and-payments/automatic-compensation

and, even then, we have seen numerous past topics on here where VM tries to dodge, or reduce, the pay-out with a range of excuses. Often the customer has to go to the ombudsman to get paid the correct amount which is why a detailed evidence trail is important.

[Adamkasey]

Thank you all for your reply so far and from this I gather that essentially we are at the mercy of the external contractor, turning up one day in the future to do the pre-Installation work, which will then allow VM to complete the rest of the information. When you sign up the website makes it all sounds so simple and straightforward, but evidently it isn’t. RetiredATCO It appears you had a much better experience than what others have.