Does VM want my Hub2 back?

[9fingers]

I've just left VM as my ISP and phone provider. Nothing has been said about them wanting my hub2 back.

I guess it is pretty old and does not have a integral VOIP phone port so they are not likely to re-issue it to a new customer.

What is supposed to happen with old hardware please?

TIA

Bob

PS anyone want a Zen Internet referral code (£20 gift voucher if you switch)

[goslow · Accepted solution]

VM is unlikely to want a Hub 2 back. See below for details of equipment returns if you have other VM kit

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/return-or-recycle-equipment

but, personally, I'd hold onto the Hub 2 until you have concluded all final dealings/payments with VM. VM's returns and cancellation processes are so dysfunctional that there is nothing to say their system might not spontaneously generate a return request for the Hub 2.

[9fingers]

thanks very much!

[goslow]

Also worth mentioning, if you have any VM email accounts (or same from past cable TV companies taken over by VM) these should be counting down 90 days until they are deleted by VM, according to VM's cancellation processes. Some email accounts have actually gone on to live long beyond the 90 day deletion period (because VM's leaving processes are so hopeless) but you shouldn't rely on that happening if you do make use of an email address which is administered by VM.

[9fingers]

Good point Goslow. I moved all my accounts over to Gmail with re-direct rules set up from the VM/NTL addresses a while back and sitting back to see how long they continue to live on.
Ive been with VM/NTL since taking 56k diaupl from Comtel who I think preceded NTL in my area but deterioration in the service BB, email and phone and escalation in price has pushed me to look elsewhere.
Zen is about 2/3 price and voip phone is £3 PCM - prices fixed for as long as I stay is pretty unbeatable I think.

[goslow]

Same boat for me 9fingers. Was with NTL/VM for about 20 years and left at the start of April 2022.

WRT the email accounts, wise move to set up new ones elsewhere and redirect for now but, as the 90 days draws close, I would personally recommend removing the redirect.

I actually deleted some email accounts at the start of Jan 2022 in advance of leaving. VM did not permanently delete them after 90 days and I am still trying to get one of them permanently deleted now and it is taking quite a while to achieve that.

If your email address ends up in a password locked condition (the stage before it is theoretically deleted by VM) you may not be able to regain access to it having left and if it gets unwanted spam sent to it with the redirect in place, those spam emails will keep coming through to your new accounts while you wrangle with VM to actually completed the permanent deletion.

[ALF28]

Good advice from goslow,

ISP email ties you to a provider, so it may be best to use a gmail or outlook email etc, and this can also be used to log into the VM account.

I recently deleted all my VM secondary email accounts, having had them all blocked due to suspicious activity.

However, my primary email can't be removed, as I am still a customer.

Once you have changed over to a third-party email, it is probably wise to remove the auto forward on the VM email or you may get unwanted spam etc, but if you do need to catch all genuine mail them may be wise to retain the auto forward facility and when no longer needed the emails can be blocked/filtered out in the new email or filtered to a folder. Note- I added a forward to gmail on all my VM emails and had all my VM emails blocked 2 days running which was caused by adding the auto forwards which was flagged as suspicious activity. (I removed all the auto forwards when this happened)

It can take a long time to fully change over emails, and the problem with Isp email, if you close your account, you lose the email after 90 days and to change over can take years not just 90 days, as accumulated contacts over say 20 years can run into hundreds of contacts that need changing over to a new email.

It is wise to make a list of all contacts/companies by looking at old emails and folders prior to cleaning out an old VM email and change over all the contacts to a new chosen email address.

In addition, if an email is no longer used, I also clean out all the emails and folders leaving it "empty" prior to deletion/removal/90-day period.

I remove all the collected addresses in the address book for security in case it is hacked, but make a list or print off all the known contacts prior to deletion

My primary VM email only gets spam now, but there is no way to remove/delete this email at present unless you do not use it for 90 days, and even then, I do not think primary emails are ever deleted fully  if you still remain a customer.

When an email is removed/deleted, it usually does still exist, I had one secondary email that I deleted,  and it could still receive email a year or so later and took ages to get it fully closed.

I have now fully changed over to gmail and outlook emails and a few other email such as yahoo, but I still maintain my virgin primary email which is attached to the VM account but not used much.

Note-VM have a 90 day inactivity period  (very restrictive) which can be easy to not view email for 90 days, after which they close the email, most providers now allow a period of 6months or 1 year and some are two years. Some of my secondary emails may have exceeded the 90 days.

alf28