Shady tactics and lies - avoid
I write this in hope someone will read in the future and spare themselves the experience of opening an account with Virgin. I had the terrible idea of signing up woth them. I spoke with a salesman who assured the contract was full fibre. When the contract came, the wording on it were for hybrid broadband. I called back immediately to cancel and a very rude employee called John Paul told me that I couldn't cancel my account because it wasn't in the system yet. I managed to speak with the salesman again, who revealed he wasn't really sure about hybrid vs full fibre and offered to send an engineer the day after. I agreed. The engineer never showed up. When I called them back, I learned the engineer appointment was mysteriously cancelled without notification (they couldn't tell me by whom or why of course), so I had spent the whole Saturday morning waiting for the engineer for nothing. I finally was able to cancel (which is very hard to do, they keep making excuses) but of course my O2 account, part of the package, that was opened by the Virgin Media saleaman, needed to be cancelled separately, so another 1/2 hour of phone call, verification, explanation etc. On the phone service, it's almost impossible to speak to a human operator: the only way is saying that you're thinking of cancelling, they'll put you through the retention team who can't do anything, but they'll eventually transfer you to the other teams. Even getting there is hard: the voice password system doesn't work, and you have to dial in your password after 3 attempts. Imagine an old person trying to cancel or fix something, they'll never be able. Obviously there is no option for "the engineer never showed up", and if you select the wrong option you will descend into robocall help until they tell you to go to the website and hang up. All operators are from Asian countries, thick accents, hard to understand. A scam, hopefully the regulator looks into those shady practices.Virgin Media Customer Service Points Game: Score Your Frustration
Dealing with Virgin Media’s customer service can be an exasperating experience. To add a touch of humor to the ordeal, we’ve devised a points-based game that lets you score each infuriating encounter. Keep track of your points during your next interaction and see just how “valued” you truly are. How to Play Keep a tally of each occurrence during your interaction with Virgin Media. Add up your points based on the values assigned below. Share your score with fellow sufferers to see who has endured the most. Points Breakdown 5 Points: Being transferred to another department. Hearing the phrase, “We appreciate your patience.” Experiencing hold music for over 5 minutes. Receiving an email or text with incorrect information. 10 Points: Repeating your account details to multiple representatives. Being told, “There’s an issue in your area.” Receiving a bill higher than the agreed-upon amount. Waiting more than 48 hours for a promised callback that never comes. Delays blamed on Virgin Media's own third party contractor (e.g. Avonline) Delays incorrectly blamed on local authority (e.g. not permitted to dig up the road, even though you've seen teams digging). 20 Points: An engineer failing to show up during the scheduled appointment window. Being charged for services you never agreed to or requested. Experiencing a service outage without prior notification. Receiving a disconnection notice despite being up-to-date on payments. 30 Points: Having your complaint closed without resolution. Having your complaint ignored until you go to the OFCOM ombudsman. Being promised a refund or credit that never materializes. Spending over an hour on a single customer service call. Being told contradictory information by different representatives. Being denied compensation which is legally yours. Bonus Points 5000 Points: Successfully navigating the labyrinth and achieving a satisfactory resolution. Receiving an apology that feels genuine and not scripted. Receiving the correct amount of compensation. Share Your Score Tally up your points and share your score with others who’ve braved the Virgin Media customer service maze. Remember, while this game adds a layer of humor, your frustrations are valid. Don’t hesitate to escalate your concerns through the appropriate channels. Disclaimer: This game is for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual customer service experiences is purely coincidental… or is it?