@Fiona_W wrote:
Snip...
Any views from the community?
Thanks
Yes, cancel VM and move NOW!
OK, that's a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, firstly this new broadband, you mention, is that a full fibre (FTTP) connection, if it is, then technically it is very likely to give you a far faster and 'better' connection that you get from VM (and that's purely down to the underlying technologies, for reasons which are far too boring to go into now).
1) Bad connectivity in poor weather, or the evenings, well it won't be the wind, but windy weather is often associated with wet weather so I suspect that you have a bad connection somewhere outside which the rain is making worse and which is also is struggling to work properly when the majority of people tend to be on-line, ie the evenings.
2) Stone-built walls and on three floors? To be honest, that'll be a nightmare for any WiFi system, and VM's isn't exactly regarded as 'state of the art'. Your best bet, and I fully understand that this isn't often practical, is to run ethernet cables from the hub to various points in the house and install third-party WiFi access points. Alternatively, you could try a mesh WiFi system, but get one from a reputable supplier who is prepared to accept returns with a money-back guarantee, as nobody can possibly promise that they will work without trying it first - no two properties are exactly the same as far as WiFi is concerned.
3) And yes, as you have found, VM's customer service provision is fundamentally broken and dysfunctional. Little point complaining about it, everyone from the CEO down is fully aware of this but has decided that this is how they want to run their company. You may get the standard response from a member of the forum team which will include similar lines to 'this is not the experience we expect our customers to have', to which, I can't help thinking 'but this has been going on so long now that anyone would be forgiven into thinking that, no this is exactly the experience you (VM) expect customers to have - because if it wasn't, it would have been fixed a while ago'.
But I digress, yes even the complaints system is broken (which in itself is a breach of the OFCOM conditions which VM signed up to - which again, might or might not make you ponder their commitment to customer service). So are you still within your minimum 18 month contract term? If not and a suitable alternative is available, then jump ship now. If you are, then there are some ways and means of forcing the issue and getting VM to agree to release you early. But it is somewhat time consuming and convoluted, it'll involve making a formal complaint (in writing), waiting for it to be fobbed off, rejecting the 'resolution', demanding a 'deadlock' letter, waiting for that request to be fobbed off or outright ignored, waiting eight weeks and then escalating to the industry adjudicator, where you will request release from contract on the grounds of the provision not being to standard, plus a reasonable amount of compensation for your inconvenience.
Although none of the above will be necessary, as, I'm sure the forum team will be in touch and offer to arrange a technician visit, bypassing the morass of their customer services 'team' - no?
