Virgin Media who does not cable my property (and gives fake promises)

[Cesco]

Good morning everyone. I am writing this long post in order to provide all the details of my unfortunate situation. From 2017 to early 2022, I lived in Edinburgh and I have been a very happy Virgin Media customer. Yes, it's more expensive than many other competitors, but I really never had any problem, and I never had to contact customer service. I had also no information about the "feature" of a good connection, because I never needed it, it was all good. Both me and my girlfriend work from home so a good connection was and is essential. In February 2022, we decided (I regret that day, but it's too late now) to purchase a property in Kirkcaldy, and it was not covered by Virgin Media. "No problem" - I thought - "I will find another good connection as well". I was wrong: BT, EE etc cover the area very very badly, and our new property was the ONLY ONE IN THE WHOLE AREA (!!) not cabled yet by Virgin Media. All the other buildings in the are are covered and already VM customers, but not me. I contacted VM customer service and I was provided fake and confusing information, until I posted here and I got finally contacted by a real VM supervisor, which explained to me that it was too expensive (in that moment) to cable my house only, just for me. Sad and disappointed, I started to use a Vodafone 4G sim as hotspot, in order to allow me and my girlfriend to work from home (Vodafone was the only one with good 4G coverage here, as the mast is nearby). This connection was very bad though: unstable, low capacity, nice only during nighttime hours. During autumn, this got even worse: its speed dropped down to zero (zero!) mbps sometimes, expecially during afternoons, and this made us lose several worked and paid days, with all mortgages and bills and expenses to pay. We asked our neighbours to use their own VM connection (through building walls!) for a couple of days: it was not excellent but it was stable and let us work with no issues, at least. In those days, though, Virgin Media decided to do some manteinances, so eventually connection fell down for some moments, and our neighbours blamed us for being responsible, even denying evidence of the declared manteinance. 
It was November, and my girlfriend's birthday. I managed to find a Virgin Media black friday offer online, and I tried to apply: IT WORKED!!! I felt so happy! I could not believe it, I also spoke with their chat team to see if it was really all true, and they confirmed that yes, VM is enlarging their coverage so my property would be cabled. They sent an engineer to check, and he found out that some street works had to be done (but I already knew that). First installation date was fixed for the 19th of November. They called me few days before to confirm everything, I was really joyful, not aware of the huge SCAM I was about to receive.

They called me on 18th, telling me that they would not make in time to complete everything, and postponed to the 30th of November, promising that it would be 100% completed on that day. Nobody ever came here to do the street works. I was called by them again for confirmation, and then on 29th, the postponing message: 6th December.
I called their customers service team, and regardless of the day I called, they always told me that "The engineer street work is scheduled for today! He will definitely come, but I don't know the precise hour". Nobody ever came. Insisting in contacting their customer service, I finally got the information that some permissions were needed to be provided by my neighbour, before works could actually be done (but why give promises, then). Then, me myself actively contacted the Virgin Media Wayleave team (because my neighbour never received any permission request by them) and they asked me my neighbour's contact details (even if he is already a long time VM customer). They e-mailed him, he sent the confirmation back, and I got a e-mail notification from the wayleave team that everything was perfectly settled on the permissions side. So no excuses anymore!! Despite this, no engineer ever came, and more promises were provided. With the actual 4G connection, with so many issues, me and my girlfriend got a notice from our managers: we should rectify and get a good connection, otherwise we could be fired. 
Despite my desperation, they postponed again to the 30th of December, and nobody ever came. On 29th, I called them asking "Will you send me again an e-mail telling me that you will postpone again, for the 5th time?" and they said "No, absolutely, it will be completed! The street works will be done today, and final installation tomorrow." 
Just 30 minutes after my call, I received the e-mail telling that works would be postponed again, to the 19th of January, 2023.
I have contacted again VM customer service, in tears, because we got an ultimatum at work, and I asked to speak to a manager. The agent, instead of letting me speak with a manager, transferred me to another level 1 agent, but from the sales team. He was kind and reassuring (but I do not trust them anymore), told me his name is Jared and he gave his agent ID number to me, as confirmation that everything would be 100% completed by the 19th of January (only 4 working days remaining), that the 19th would be an important day for me, that if it won't be done it would be only his fault (?!) and to be reassured, and he also confirmed that the engineer would come to to the street works on that precise day. Did he come? No, of course.

After 2 days, I phoned back again, in tears, and I spoke to an agent who put me on hold for 30 minutes, then my call was automatically transferred to another agent. She took her time to investigate in the issue (I had to explain my whole situation for the 1000th time) and she said that she contacted the engineers team directly and they promised her they would come to do the street works the day after (yesterday). Since I am writing this post now, you can guess if he came or not. They offered me to use a dongle in the meantime (but 02 coverage is very bad here), and they said that they added 50 pounds of credit as compensation. But no compensation will ever compensate me of a job lost.
I got the usual "confirmation call" yesterday, to confirm installation date, but I know for sure that on the 18th I will be contacted again and they will postpone again.

My long and (surely) boring story is ended. Conclusion: 19th of January will surely be an important day for me as the agent said, but because me and my girlfriend will probably lose our jobs for good.

I just wanted to be a Virgin Media user again, I have no other valid alternatives here, and it's very sad and disappointing that I get treated and scammed this way. 2 months have passed since the 10th of November, when contract was signed. 

[goslow]

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@Cesco wrote:

Good morning everyone. I am writing this long post in order to provide all the details of my unfortunate situation. <snip>

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So, in summary, VM made you lots of promises to install your connection, over a long period of time, but failed to deliver. Sadly, that is a very common description of events in the topics posted on here.

How does the speed you get from the 4G connection compare with the speeds expected from a fixed line connection from Openreach?

This checker

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL/AddressHome

can be used to get an idea of what is available on your telephone exchange and what speeds you can get.

How do these predicted speeds compare with the 4G? The above is a generic tool to get an idea of speed/services available. You should use the website of individual providers to see what each one can offer and for what price.

If you are at risk of losing your jobs, then installing a reliable broadband connection would seem to be the priority over and above waiting for VM (who are unlikely to deliver any time soon, if ever).

If you have been told in the past it would be too expensive to install a connection to your home, then that may well not change. If the VM system has actually allowed you to make an order, that is no guarantee you will ever get a connection from VM. If there is some sort of wayleave required from your neighbour(s) that will only slow down or stop your chances further.

Depending on how the Openreach connection looks compared to the 4G, you could consider getting an Openreach connection installed if it will save you from getting the sack. Let the VM installation run its course. You could look into options for a rolling 30 day connection from an Openreach provider if you want to keep your options open (but it will be more expensive pro rata)

You should be entitled to some compensation if VM has delayed your installation.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/216962/Industry-Code-of-Practice-for-Automatic-...

with updated rates here

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/automat...

[Cesco]

Well they keep promising so I will stick with them, it is too late to go back now. I have already tried openreach deals, and the best I could get here is 10 mbps download, 4 mbps upload, not enough for working.

4G allows me to get up to 40-45 mbps download and 18 upload, with a low capacity though, however it is unstable and goes straight down very often, when it does, we are unable to work as systems do not respond. Still better than the openreach actual speeds which do not allow me to do anything. Openreach says they plan to cover Kirkcaldy with the full fiber one day, but who knows when it will happen. 

For the works, they say that my property has been declared as serviceable now due to the new virgin media expanding, all permissions have been given and confirmed, and no other real problems are there: just excuses and disinterest in customer's satisfaction by virgin media. 

[goslow]

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@Cesco wrote:

Well they keep promising so I will stick with them, it is too late to go back now. I have already tried openreach deals, and the best I could get here is 10 mbps download, 4 mbps upload, not enough for working.

<snip>

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You may be in for a long wait. The record delay on here is often cited as 13 months for one unlucky customer. Sometimes VM just gives up on the job (but doesn't tell the customer they have done so!)

If you are on the Kirkcaldy exchange, that shows as 'building now' for FTTP

https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/where-when-building-ultrafast-full-fibre-broadband

and it is also shown on 'Sam Knows' as FTTP 'in some areas'

https://availability.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/ESKIR

You should keep a regular check on the Openreach offerings in your area.

If you are only offered 10 Mbps at present, you must presumably be in a more rural area around Kirkcaldy or distant from the exchange.

I would wonder if a slow connection at 10 Mbps (but which reliably stays at 10 Mbps) is better than a 40 to 45 Mbps connection whose speed is not reliable and which can drop out altogether. (Or maybe consider both the 4G SIM and an Openreach connection together. Use the 4G SIM when it is working and fall back to the Openreach line if the SIM packs in)

[Cesco]

No, already tried, with openreach I do not even manage to login to systems at the moment, so the hybrid connection is not a viable solution. Checking my postcode for fttp, it says it will built between now and 2026. So I would probably get it in 2030 if I am lucky. - just a fact, 1gb full speed, in rural places in Italy, arrived in 2013 (now they have the 5gb speed). It's so shameful that a wonderful and advanced country such as UK, is so bad on the matter. 

What I really do not stand are VM false assurances. I am not a kid waiting for an ice cream, I am a worker waiting a service I want to pay for, for a lifetime. I do not stand agents' hypocrisy, and their playing with people's serious situations.

I am waiting for a supervisor of them to take action on my case.

Thanks for your honesty and information, at least I finally got the confirmation that they are not human. 

[newapollo]

Just an idea, it may, or may not work, but have you looked at https://www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk 

It uses the same infrastructure but may be more helpfulif registering for a connection with them.

They may also have more control over the installation process.

[Cesco]

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I have contacted them, but they told me they use the same exact system as the broadband support, with same control over engineers, so there was no difference. They suggested me to open a complain to the specific section of the Virgin Media website. I did that, and.... I have no words to describe the mockery. The first agent transferred me to a "account specialist", who just apologized and reassured me that the engineer would do the external job today, and the final installation completed on the 19th. I knew it well that nobody would have come (in fact, they did not), and I was repeating that to him: what should I do on 18, when you will write me telling that you will postpone again, open another complaint so you can reassure me that external works will be completed on that precise day? I specifically added that I am no child who is waiting for an ice cream, so I don't want to be mocked that way. Plus, I had told the agent that he has not the right to give me the reassurance as he is NOT the engineer who should come here to do the works. He told he raised the case to a "higher manager" which would contact me between 24 and 72 hours, and I know that, if even I would get called, it would just be another entry level agent which will provide fake promises.

I really have no words, I could never imagine that Virgin Media quality would drop so low. 

[goslow]

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@Cesco wrote:

No, already tried, with openreach I do not even manage to login to systems at the moment, so the hybrid connection is not a viable solution. <snip>

Thanks for your honesty and information, at least I finally got the confirmation that they are not human. 

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So what range of speeds, and services, were you offered via the BT wholesale checker

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL/AddressHome

when you entered your postcode and building number?

[Cesco]

15-25 mbps download and 4-6 upload declared, with 11 minimum guaranteed. However, when I tried their hub, I only got 7-10 mbps, and just near the hub. It is not enough for working in 2.

[Cesco]

Can a supervisor and/or a Virgin Media forum ambassador read and respond here? it's not a problem for me to continue this topic privately, and though I cannot trust any of VM words anymore (due to their own behaviour and deeds towards me and other customers), I would appreciate them to investigate more.