Been with VM for 13 years and Virgin mobile since 2017. Between 2017-2021 virgin was piggy backing on the EE network and the coverage was great. In 2021 Virgin decided to piggy back on the Vodafone network. Again the coverage was fine. Recently Virgin has decided to piggy back on to O2. The coverage is now…pretty much none-existant. Up until 2 weeks ago everything was fine.
I called virgin mobile and was told that I had an old sim so i was sent 3 new sims for the three numbers on my account. This made the problem worse and I now barely get 2mbps download speeds when i can somehow connect to the 4G network. I previously got connection speeds between 20-40mbps.
The max signal strength i can get at home is now 2 bars when I previously got 4 bars consistently. Now i consistently get zero to two 4G bars and four 3G bars so it skips between the two connections regularly.
It is almost impossible to stream on youtube or even open a google page at times. I have worse problems when I leave home (around a 2-5mile radius of where I live. in some spots I easily get four 4G bars but only a 12mbps download speed.
I sent in a complaint and I called Virgin to explain the problem on 13/7/2022. I was told an O2 mast had an issue in the area and would be fixed by Friday 22/7. I also received a letter from Virgin on 18/7/22, stating that there were no network issues in my area and they gave some other rubbish advice about calling some nonexistent technical team (some foreign call centre that ends up frustrating you until you hang up though sheer exhaustion). I waited until 22/7 and the same problem persisted. O2 updated the coverage page and the message stated the Mast would be fixed by Friday 29/7. I waited again and then got a call from Virgin complaint resolutions team/manager yesterday. They told me there was no longer an issue and the O2 website stated the issue was fixed. However I still have the exact same issue. Virgin also told me that the reason they changed from Vodafone and EE to O2 was due to negative customer feedback relating to the previous networks. I find this hard to believe based on the experiences from other virgin customers on different forums as well as this one.
On yesterdays call with one of the complaints managers they offered me a 2 month credit for all three numbers on my account and a £1 discount on one of the numbers. If I accepted, they wanted to close the case file. I rejected their offer because it was hush money they were offering rather than a solution. The final option they provided to direct me to the ombudsman and CISAS! I now have to wait up to 28 days for their letter with the case reference.
I am still paying for the 3 monthly subs for 4G data network connections and i’m receiving 3G service! This is unacceptable! The Virgin customer support has as always been 💩 and I can only sum them up as inept and a waste of time.
Any advice would be appreciated. Is anyone else having similar problems since the O2 partnership?
