Virgin Media Community

[RussMidd]

Just under 2 weeks ago the Telecare system in my house announced that there was no phone service available.  Checked the service status page and there was indeed a fault.  Kept checking the page and a couple of days later the status was updated to say that the fault had been identified and an engineer was working on it... and they still are.  The status update is an exercise in kicking the can down the road every 24 hours as fix times and dates come and go.

So Virgin, what exactly is so wrong that it's taking you nearly two weeks to fix?

[Collette_O]

Hi RussMidd,

Welcome to the community.

I am sorry to hear that the landline outage is ongoing.  I have taken a look and I can see that the latest update in regards to the estimated fix time is today 12pm.  

This is due to a fault with the exchange which we're having difficulty in fixing in a more timely manner.  Our engineers are working to get this fixed as soon as they can.

I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused during this time.

If you need anything further, give us a shout.

Collette.

[RussMidd]

Well they've given the can a big kick down the road as the fix date is now 31 October.  That's what, almost a month without a phone?  Just as well we have mobiles in case there's a need for a 999 call.

So at what point do Virgin decide they can't fix the issue and start offering an alternative service or should I start looking for another landline supplier?

[Craig_D]

Hi RussMidd

Thanks for getting back to me about this, I'm sorry for the continued problems in your area.

We're looking forward to getting this sorted

Craig

[RussMidd]

You both missed the key word Telecare that's the phone based emergency system used by the elderly should they have a fall and can't get to the phone, they press a button on a watch or lanyard and it automatically places a call... well it would if the phone line was working.  Fortunately not long before this my mother moved into a care home so the system was scheduled for removal so it doesn't impact her, but how many other vulnerable people has this affected? 

To be blunt I don't see Virgin tripping over itself to make contact and offer an alternative service they're quite happy to keep us waiting, and of course taking our money for a service they are not offering.

I do reiterate my point, when will they offer an alternative to the service they cannot seem to get fixed?

[horseman]

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@RussMidd wrote:

You both missed the key word Telecare that's the phone based emergency system .....

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VM should still have a priority (response/repair)  system process for elderly/disabled that (HAVE PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED as such) to ensure they get more appropriate fault resolution and priority escalation via Level1 / L2 and Field support etc!  

For that reason (ONLY) I've escalated via @ModTeam  but it's also entirely possible that customer  accounts notes have not been originally registered to . reflect "at risk" users?  (until you prove otherwise? )    Either way Mod/Forum Team will sort and hopefully update customer account* to minimise any future delays.   

EDIT[*]     "as appropriate" -  as you suggest circumstances now require "decommissioning TELECARE"

[Collette_O]

Hi RussMidd,

I am very sorry to hear this is still ongoing.  

I have just had a catch up on what's happening and I can see the latest update.  

We do have a priority repair service for landline users who use the lifeline features or who are vulnerable.  If the account is flagged as a high priority user than we will have visibility of who is affected and when the issue is resolved, we ensure that our lifeline/vulnerable customers are looked after.

I'd like to amend your account so that we can reflect that this line uses lifeline.  To do this I need to request some details in a private message, look for the purple envelope icon above.

Collette.

[RussMidd]

As Lance Corporal Jones would say "Don't Panic!"  As I said my mother had just moved into a care home when this happened and now the Telecare system is back with Telecare so there is no priority customer to deal with. 

[RussMidd]

And it's still not fixed. 

Now says the 9th which conditionally will be the day I call Virgin and tell them I am probably going to cancel my landline as they can't get it fixed so there's no point in having it..

[Athene]

I raised a thread about this and only got one "Terribly sorry" response.

I have Telecare (and am still paying for it), but it was there for my wife who "fortunately died five weeks ago.

I've heard that some bit of infrastructure has been damaged by a lorry, and that this is owned by and can only be repaired by National Grid.    If that is so it would be nice if VM told us this and stopped the constant lies.