Virgin Media (formerley) NTL seemed to have given up on their customers. When the NTL 'family' owned the business it took 1 to 2 hours to get an answer on broadband support HOT? line. What utter rubbish. Yet we patiently listened to the ansaphone message... "You are twenty-xxxx in the queue. All our operators are busy. .please wait patiently ... unless you die whilst we are getting round to answering the call.... else dial emergency services instead ... "
Branson, who in most other Virgin projects was a breath of fresh air to the business, (Virgin Atlantic, Trains, Cola etc), has gone down the wrong path. Generally we get 0.23-0.24 of 4mb bandwidth,most of the time (checked with your speed checker). We do it all properly, no half baked tests and we get fed up checking it, as the results are almost always stupidley low. We ring, now Virgin Media support, get told as usual (nothing new here) to disconnect all the gear (1 router) and then something magical happens when we connect it all back again.
I won't bore others with the details, but we have proven time and time again that our router is not the fault, it's the damn cable modem or cable or basic NTL (Virgin Media) incompetance time and time again. I say incompetance because we never ever get a sensible answer to why the service sucks. Maybe there is some major fault with the modems they just won't admit to. Do they send an NTL cable modem reset code to the modem after we disconnect our kit to hoodwink us into thinking it's all our fault.
Since Virgin Media have been running the NTL business, the support staff answer the phones promptly (well at 25pence a minute why wouldn't they?!). We go through the same old rubbish script as usual (inherited from NTL) and then on top of everything else they're damn RUDE to us when we're not happy with the service. Almost borderline f**k off elsewhere attitudes.
We don't get the 4mb we pay for each month dutifully.. By the way now I think of it , we were sent a letter saying we would get 8mb F.O.C .. we don't even get the full 4mb service regularly.
So we'll go buy a new router, just in case we really don't understand computers (huh!) and when it goes wrong, we'll vote with our feet (well footprint) and connect somewhere else.
How many customers does Virgin want to lose before they 'Get Smart'. We have paid NTL/Virgin media about £4500 or thereabouts over the years. Can they afford to lose customers as quickly as the Water boards lose water !?!?
We don't think so. Also the Gadget Show are looking into this and Watchdog. Branson give it up and sell to someone who wants to keep their exisiting loyal customer base. You we're sold a duffer and there's no signs of improvements since you bought NTL. (warts and all ! )
I'm on the upto 8mbps adsl service, I complained about having a stuck ip profile, they said they would raise the issue with BT and phone me back at 4pm that day, they didn't, so I phoned them back, using the rip off 25 pence a minute helpline and they didn't have any record that I had phoned earlier and then went onto to try and say I didn't have a stuck ip profile and blamed the BT line, which had just been renewed a year ago. So guess what, after this complaint, my speed dropped to dialup and they are saying that I am a heavy downloader within their peak times, which that is a joke, because you can't get a descent speed to download anything then... So as of now this is my connection and download speed:
I'm moving to o2 Broadband, I've had a few queries to ask o2 and anytime I've phoned them, they have been so helpful and the best thing is, it's a free call, they know what their talking about and their based in Glasgow, not India... So Anyone that is considering signing up or moving to Virgin Media... DONT!
Virgin Media Broadband
Posted - 27/05/2008 : 17:13:01
