What is going on?

[Jon28]

Hi,

Please can someone help?

I arranged for Virgin Media to be installed ahead of moving into my new place on the 20/06/2022. It was due to be setup on 02/07/2022, but it was delayed by VM until 14/07/2022. I received a text approximately an hour ago which informed me that this has once again been delayed to 03/08/2022 The text had a reply “CHAT” option; I tried this but the message won’t go through and appears to be a non-text back number.

I want to understand what is going on because I’m having to tether data from my phone which is expensive and has poor bandwidth. I also subscribed to 02 as part of the Volt package through VM when signing up, which I am now paying for and locked into, but I cannot cancel my old SIM contract because my new SIM has limited data and it will only be feasible to use this solo once I have WIFI at my address.

Please can someone look into what is causing the delay and oversee to make sure I get internet service on the 3rd AUG?

Kind regards, Jon

[goslow]

If you take a look through the 'Quick Start' forum you will see many similar topics about delayed installations.

If VM have already reset your installation date several times then your prospects of an installation on 3/8/22 may not be that hopeful.

Getting any sense from VM, and reliable answers, in these circumstances is a bit of a lost cause (though usually the problem is caused by an issue in bringing the cable from the street cabinet to the home, such as a blocked cable duct)

Has VM given you any indication as to what is the cause of the delay?

[Jon28]

Thanks for your message. 

They haven’t - just a cancellation text at short notice. 

I’m hoping VM will reply or give me a quick ring to explain what’s going on tomorrow. My neighbours have virgin media so I’d have thought it’d be an easier setup. 

I signed up with VM in advance of the property completion date so they could get this sorted beforehand. They reassured me the O2 contract would start after instillation which I’m now paying for because they delayed the activation of the virgin WiFi, so I’m essentially paying for services I don’t have a use for. 

[goslow]

Glance through the 'Quick Start' forum for similar topics to get an idea of the general pattern of how things might go and set your expectations to a suitably low level.

Also, start keeping a good record of all dates/times/contacts and comm's with VM, particularly things like missed appointments and no-shows. You should be entitled to compensation for a delayed installation as below

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

One of the VM forum team will reply here, probably within the next day or two. They will do their best to help but they are limited in what they can do as VM has no reliable processes in place for dealing effectively with delayed installations. Outcomes seem to be based on chance and either good or bad luck. Hope your install turns out to only be a small delay.

[Natalie_L]

Hi Jon28, 

Thank you for reaching out to us here on the Community. 

I am very sorry to hear of your experience with the installation of your services, I appreciate this must be frustrating and we are here to help. 

I would like to take a look at the account from our side and get you some information so I am going to pop you over a private message to grab a few more details. This will be available via the purple envelope on the top right of this page. 

Speak soon, 

[Jon28]

Hello,

I hope you are well.

I was connected to Virgin Media on 30/09/2022 and have a few questions about my account.

There are various fees listed on my account that were agreed to be wavered; can someone from VM please confirm:

• The £35 startup fee is showing on my account, but this was agreed in writing to be wavered as part of the deal.
• The agreed £50 credit start-up bonus is not showing on my account
• I received various texts and emails in relation to compensation for delayed activation. It took 59 days and 5 delayed appointments (02/07/22, 14/07/22, 28/08/22, 03/08/22, 08/09,22). This looks to be a big chunk of credit according to your policy - how do I claim this? https://store.virginmedia.com/the-legal-stuff/terms-and-conditions-for-fibre-optic-services/automati...

Kind regards,

Jon

[jem101]

---

@Jon28 wrote:

Hello,

I hope you are well.

I was connected to Virgin Media on 30/09/2022 and have a few questions about my account.

There are various fees listed on my account that were agreed to be wavered; can someone from VM please confirm:

• The £35 startup fee is showing on my account, but this was agreed in writing to be wavered as part of the deal.
• The agreed £50 credit start-up bonus is not showing on my account
• I received various texts and emails in relation to compensation for delayed activation. It took 59 days and 5 delayed appointments (02/07/22, 14/07/22, 28/08/22, 03/08/22, 08/09,22). This looks to be a big chunk of credit according to your policy - how do I claim this? https://store.virginmedia.com/the-legal-stuff/terms-and-conditions-for-fibre-optic-services/automati...

Kind regards,

Jon

---

You really shouldn't have to claim it as such, it is supposed to be automatic - however, oddly enough, this doesn't always seem to happen!

Firstly do you have any evidence that they agreed to waive the £35 activation fee, screenshots, call recordings, emails etc? I have never heard of the £50 credit start up bonus, was that something offered by the sales rep as an 'incentive' to get a sign-up?

Lastly the compensation for delayed setup is £5.25 (or so) for each day after and including the first installation date you were given (2nd July, yes?). Now as you need to be home for the installation, there is also compensation of about £26 for each 'missed' appointment, not necessarily a cancelled appointment, unless you were only notified less than 24 hours before. So, for example if they told you that it would be done on 14th say, and either nobody turned up or you were given less than a day's notice of this, then you are entitled to the money for that day - if, however they informed you earlier than that, then it doesn't count; similarly for all of the other days that it should have happened but didn't.

There is a reasonable chance that the forum team here will be able to step in, offer to contact you and see what they can do - otherwise, if the credits are not forthcoming, then you need to make a formal complaint (use the website for this as you will have a record of it), and if that goes nowhere then a submission to the industry adjudicator CISAS will be the next step.

[Jon28]

Thanks for replying, @Jem101, it’s good to hear from someone who understands how this works.

The sales rep emailed confirming the start-up cost waiver + the £50 credit, so I have that in writing and will put in a complaint in with OFCOM if I don't receive it as the cheaper price was the main reason I signed up with VM over City Fibre.

Yes, overall the instillation date was pushed back from 02/07/22 to 30/09/22 – so circa 90 days. There was one appointment cancelled within 24h – the others wouldn’t be applicable as they were cancelled/moved back just before the deadline.  

Yeah, I was hoping someone from VM who can handle it will contact me directly. When I’ve tried ringing VM to ask what was going on with the instillation I always seemed to be passed around through service reps and then the line disconnects after being left on hold.  

Will post the outcome on here when I hear back from them. I've seen a lot of similar posts which don't share if they managed to sort it (assuming they were either paid, or moved to a different internet provided) - so it's good for others to be able to see on here what happens :).