Are VirginMedia still awful?

[RichardCranium]

I was getting cable broadband through NTL when it became VirginMedia. The service and customer service became spectacularly dreadful, far worse than it had even been with NTL. I dread having to deal with such awful service again.

However, I'm now moving to a house with no 'phone line but does have cable. VirginMedia is the only cable provider.

Do I:
- take out a 'phone & broadband package with VirginMedia 'cos they've changed?
- pay over £100 to have a conventional 'phone line fitted and use ASDL?
- or is there another option?

NB: I don't have or intend to get a telly so TV reception is irrelevant.

NB: I want to continue to use my 0845 number which requires a landline to point at so a pure mobile solution is not an issue.

NB: I typically only download 3-5Gb per month (except that time I followed Diver's links to some sites that host movies and clocked up 11Gb in a few days ... I don't intend to do that again.)

[Bunk]

Are you sure it'll be over £100? I thought that was only if there has never been a phone line in the property. If they're just reconnecting an old disconnected line it shouldn't cost that much.

[RichardCranium]

Are you sure it'll be over £100?

Yep. The ISP PlusNet said they would want an extra £105 because there is no line; I checked with BT who said the line has been removed and they would want £122:50

[BrilloPad]

IMO stick with Virgin. There are loads of horror stories about other companies.

I am with virgin : they have issues from time to time.

[daviejones]

I work there....

[RichardCranium]

I think I have my answer.

In the absence of a "No, don't do it!" I placed an order with VirginMedia online. Because my bank accounts are still at this address, I phoned them to say the payment details need to be altered.

After being passed from pillar to post, I get through to someone who says the order takes 24 hours to arrive on their systems and passed me to Sales. The nice man in Sales deleted the order from the system (somebody lied) and started creating it again. He quoted me a higher price and told me I was wrong when I said the web site gave a lower price. I find the page and start explaining, he starts making up lies about "Oh, that's because we charge you for installation then refund it". I point out that's a different offer; he says I'm wrong. He then says I cannot have free installation as there has never been cable broadband or TV to that address; I know that's not true 'cos the landlord said so and I've seen the wiring!

So I see VirginMedia are still liars that quote one price and charge a higher one.

[pmeswani]

I think I have my answer.

In the absence of a "No, don't do it!" I placed an order with VirginMedia online. Because my bank accounts are still at this address, I phoned them to say the payment details need to be altered.

After being passed from pillar to post, I get through to someone who says the order takes 24 hours to arrive on their systems and passed me to Sales. The nice man in Sales deleted the order from the system (somebody lied) and started creating it again. He quoted me a higher price and told me I was wrong when I said the web site gave a lower price. I find the page and start explaining, he starts making up lies about "Oh, that's because we charge you for installation then refund it". I point out that's a different offer; he says I'm wrong. He then says I cannot have free installation as there has never been cable broadband or TV to that address; I know that's not true 'cos the landlord said so and I've seen the wiring!

So I see VirginMedia are still liars that quote one price and charge a higher one.

So the moral of the story is... get a mobile and don't bother with the landline phone.... or... don't bother with the phone or internet... life is better without either.

[eliquant]

I'm going to defend virgin as I had a trouble free install for my TV XL cable package and also their internet service.

I was so impressed with the service (and one day its going to superceed Sky TV as they have the tv cable network wrapped up - oftel are you watching !) that I got their 50Mb/s Virgin internet service and it works a treat, no down time no lag, wireless works amazingly well (provided you are not on the same channel as your neighbours but you can change that easy).

All in all hasstle free installation, good service for internet and TV (and their tv is getting loads more HD channels soon, already around 6 available plus other streamable HD content).

I kept BT Broadband as a backup internet service but that just sucks banana.

[NickFitz]

Getting it set up is a nightmare, or at least it was with ntl: (to give them their full title). In my experience, once you've battled your way through the initial incompetence and got it working - and their own systems have stabilised around the fact that there's another customer - it tends to Just Work.

When it doesn't Just Work - well, then you have to get back to hassling them. It helps if you know the solution, or parts thereof, to the problem before you call them, or at least enough to convince them that you know what you're up to. I had them thank me for being able to tell them that I'd turned it off and on again several times and describe the results in precise detail, as it saved them a lot of time going through "required procedures" at their end

Basically, the call centre staff are 85% morons. The remaining 15% are very good. It sort of reflects the levels of intelligence in the population as a whole - in other words, they aren't very choosy about who they employ to sit on the end of the technical support lines.

It's often worth hanging up and calling again until you find the one who knows what they're doing, as they can often get things sorted out within a minute or so. The engineers that actually come out and do stuff when that's necessary tend to be fine, in my very limited experience of them - very limited because I've almost never needed to encounter them, which must count for something.

[NickFitz]

<a load of stuff>

I'd sum up my view of VM as: "Praised by faint damns"