Virgin Media Community

[anxiouscrank]

Hi there, newbie here 🙂

I am having to come here as I can't seem to get a straight answer and I have spoken to three different advisors.

My landlord needs to do a damp proof course in my living room which means all power points including the white virgin media box need to be completely removed. What I was trying and failing to find out is whether he can remove it himself or will a technician have to come out to do this. I know they will have to come out to connect it back to the wall but the initial removal?

Also will it cost to have it reconnected. I have been given three different answers to this. So far I have been told a technician has to come out for removal and re-connection costing £25 each time, It can't be done unless I temporarily suspend my services and have a whole new box installed, and lastly it can be done at no charge and that he can remove it himself but technician will obviously have to re-connect it.

Can anyone please tell me exactly what needs to be done.

Thank you in advance to anyone who knows their stuff 😄

[carl_pearce]

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@anxiouscrank wrote:

Hi there, newbie here 🙂

I am having to come here as I can't seem to get a straight answer and I have spoken to three different advisors.

My landlord needs to do a damp proof course in my living room which means all power points including the white virgin media box need to be completely removed. What I was trying and failing to find out is whether he can remove it himself or will a technician have to come out to do this. I know they will have to come out to connect it back to the wall but the initial removal?

Also will it cost to have it reconnected. I have been given three different answers to this. So far I have been told a technician has to come out for removal and re-connection costing £25 each time, It can't be done unless I temporarily suspend my services and have a whole new box installed, and lastly it can be done at no charge and that he can remove it himself but technician will obviously have to re-connect it.

Can anyone please tell me exactly what needs to be done.

Thank you in advance to anyone who knows their stuff 😄

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When my home was re-decorated last year I removed the wall and surge protection box using this kit (You may not require this depending on the age of the wall box):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00RJJ1ABS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You'll need a relevant size spanner and screwdriver also.

I taped over the cable, and reconnected it all without issue.

Up to you at the end of the day as I assume you SHOULD ask VM to do it.

[jpeg1]

If the incoming cable is disconnected it should really be properly terminated, otherwise it can act as an aerial and feed interference back into the network. A technician would do this if called in.

What about the outside box. Does that have to be removed too? 

[anxiouscrank]

Hi jpeg1

Thank you for replying 🙂

No the outer box doesn't need to be bothered with at all just the inside box. I neglected to mention in my post that I only have broadband with virgin, I don't know if that makes a difference.

I figured that I would probably need an engineer for disconnecting and reconnecting it, but after having three different answers from the very people who should know what needs doing I didn't know what the hell to do.

[anxiouscrank]

Hi Carl

Thank you for getting back to me.

Well my first thought when I knew it needed removing was that virgin would have to do it. But after speaking to three different advisors, the people who should know what needs doing straight off the bat and gave different answers each time, I didn't know what the heck needed to be done.

I will just get virgin out to do it but will I get charged or won't I? One said yes, one said no. Not helpful

[jpeg1 · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately the phone staff are not trained for anything beyond reading a script on a screen. An unusual matter like this will have them guessing any answer just to get rid of the call. 

The equipment all belongs to Virginmedia and you should not tamper with it yourself. You could take a risk and do it yourself, but if anything goes wrong you will be responsible. In the worst case that might be compensation to a neighbour for their loss of service.  The proper and safe way is to call for technician visits to disconnect and reconnect.  That will cost £25 each time, for peace of mind. 

[jem101]

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@jpeg1 wrote:

Unfortunately the phone staff are not trained for anything beyond reading a script on a screen. An unusual matter like this will have them guessing any answer just to get rid of the call. 

The equipment all belongs to Virginmedia and you should not tamper with it yourself. You could take a risk and do it yourself, but if anything goes wrong you will be responsible. In the worst case that might be compensation to a neighbour for their loss of service.  The proper and safe way is to call for technician visits to disconnect and reconnect.  That will cost £25 each time, for peace of mind. 

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And, of course all of the above is entirely true. Especially the call centre staff, who, to be honest, know as much about how VM’s systems work as my cat does, and my cat is actually not the brightest!

Just disconnect the cables, be careful with them and reconnect them when the work is done. Now in the unlikely event of a floating cable causing issues to neighbours, then we do need to wonder about just how resilient are VM’s systems - either way, not your problem!

[Megan_L]

Hi Anxiouscrank,

Thanks for Posting this question on our Forums, I am sorry you've had some varied answers from our customer service teams about this uncommon situation. 

The best way to go forward with this would be to have an engineer booked in to do the removal and replacement, both of these would have a small fee of £25 but it's a small price to pay to ensure nothing goes awry if you do it yourself - As Jpeg mentioned, if anything goes wrong you will be liable for any damages. 

If you'd like us to book an engineer in to get the socket removed we can do it for you, just let me know 🙂

Thanks,

Megan_L