Waiting for an Installation since September 2022

[IBO_1]

Hi,

So incredibly frustrated at VM right now;

Moved house in September; and took out a contract with Virgin Media.

On the first attempt (november); a VM engineer turned up and said he couldn't install as the outside works hadn't been completed.

Since then; Virgin Media have continuously given dates for installation and failed to installed each time without any notification; so I am wasting time waiting for an engineer to show. In February they cancelled my order; without reason and was then told I failed to supply 

Each time they don't show; I call them and am told one of the following stories - the outside works haven't been completed; wires haven't been pulled; they need to dig up the road.

On May 1st (Bank Holiday) a team of engineers turned up to clear a block in order for the cables to be run. They cleared the blockage; and VM gave me another date; then failed to show.

My next visit is in 14 days - i called today to check up on the visit; i was told the outside works will be completed before that day.

I will give up all hope if this doesnt happen at the end of June - what are my options here. What compensation would I be entitled to; can i escalate in some way?

I should add that my neighbour has VM!!! So its not as if it cant be installed in the area - i have even asked them to pull off that line!

[goslow]

Have a read of these

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

https://www.virginmedia.com/legal/fibre-optic-services-terms-conditions/automatic-compensation

Start putting together a timeline of all VM's failures to deliver your service.

There are plenty of past examples on the forum of VM trying to wriggle out of paying any/all of the compensation due to waiting customers by attempting to use a range of dubious and erroneous excuses. Having all of the facts straight as a chronological sequence of failures will help when you eventually have to escalate to arbitration to get paid

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/

Particularly important is to track down a record of the first installation/activation date that VM gave you in writing (which will typically refer to a technician visiting to install equipment as opposed to an initial cable installation date which usually precedes the technician visit).

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any reliable way to escalate a delayed installation AFAIK.

[VMUser1812]

There is absolutely no means, reliably or unreliably of escalating an installation, the underlaying reason for this is that all this work is outsourced to 3rd party contractors, which is fine, except VM either can’t be bothered to or don’t have any means of, checking what these contractors are doing, or not doing.

I fully expect that you will get a response from a forum team member in due course which will include such things as an apology and this is not the level of service….., along with ‘have you called the team and what did they say?’, because obviously the onus is on you to provide the information not the other way round!

The issue is, as everyone really knows, ‘the team’ are as much in the dark as to what is really going on as my cat is. Except my cat doesn't feel the need to ‘make something up’, ‘say whatever you want to hear just to get you off the phone’, etc. There is a sometimes mentioned ‘special’ pre-installation team with a different number, although whether or not they are privileged to any further information, is a matter of conjecture!

Now having said all of that, the advice from goslow above is very good, keep records, when was your first, given in writing, installation date, what contacts have you had with VM, when were these, what was promised, what actually happened, were there times that you were told to stay in for an appointment which was cancelled with less than 24 hours notice or nobody actually turned up? All of these facts will prove invaluable when, alas it seems likely, you need to cancel the VM install and fight for your owed compensation.

[goslow]

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@VMUser1812 wrote:

There is absolutely no means, reliably or unreliably of escalating an installation, the underlaying reason for this is that all this work is outsourced to 3rd party contractors, which is fine, except VM either can’t be bothered to or don’t have any means of, checking what these contractors are doing, or not doing.

<snip>

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Past topics have described progress being made when the customer randomly, or otherwise, happened to make contact with a useful person at VM or the sub-contractors (an unreliable means of escalating).

A reliable means, which one might hope for, would be via VM on here or by phone.

So, as stated, there are no reliable means of escalating. It's all down to chance!

[Sabrina_B]

Hi @IBO_1 👋.

Thanks for reaching out to us. Apologies the issues you are having around getting our services installed in your home. So that we can look into this further, we would like to bring you in for a private message. Please look out for the envelope on the top right of your browser, or if you are using a mobile device it will be located under your profile icon.

Thanks.

Sabrina

[IBO_1]

and so… after a proactive phone call from Virgin Media promising me an installation on Wednesday 5th July - I’ve had a message today saying they’ve had to postpone until the 19th! Seemingly now there is depending on who you ask…

”As there’s some external cabling work requires outside your property.”

“Our technicians are not able to get the wiring pulled to your property because of blocks which should be done as soon as possible”

“We were not aware of this fault earlier, we sent our crew to do the external cabling work and this fault came to our notice.”

funnily enough, they rectified blockages in May.

lost for words now.

[IBO_1]

email today citing a change of date to August 1st ... 

can i just get the compensation instead? 

[Omadawn]

Well the only way to get the compo is for you to actually cancel, then request it (yes, it’s supposed to be automatic, but really?), wait for VM to refuse and fob you off with some lame excuse, you make a complaint, that also gets fobbed off, you escalate it to the adjudication service, they rule in your favour (which is a bit of a given really), VM ignore the adjudicators, (probably more due to incompetence than malice), you threaten Court action  (by the way, the Ombudsman Service adjudications are legally enforceable in the Courts - I do live in hope of one day reading about a team of bailiffs descending on VM’s headquarters, disconnecting and seizing 'goods to the value of', oh and of course a significant police presence to arrest and handcuff any security or staff who try to obstruct them), and eventually you get a cheque - yes a cheque, how quaint?

On the other hand, if you were to do this, then it still leaves you with the issue of an internet connection - so how about you simply sign up now with another supplier, let VM play their games? They may eventually get you connected, at which point you test it and then immediately cancel under the 14 day cooling off period regulation with no penalty - except you are still entitled to (even more) compensation, which you will probably have to go through the above steps to get.

Just a thought!