Free Tech Support Is Back [Archive]

zing_deleted

19-03-2008, 09:42

The premium support upon thought I did actually agree with. As long as credits were made when the fault was to do with VM( mine always were and were credited) I do think none supported calls should be charged as they are a waste of time. Allowances should be made for the clueless but a tech support line for pc issues should be put in place for these people to call once it has been assertained its not a VM issue

Tech_Boy

19-03-2008, 09:45

a tech support line for pc issues should be put in place for these people to call once it has been assertained its not a VM issue
There is one Zing, it's called PC Help, and it's Ã‚Â£1 per minute.

cleshe

19-03-2008, 09:46

From the 1st june virgin media are changing the prem number back to the free number it was released today no more prem number 151 free form a virgin line or 0845 from a non virgin line

Just being picky,but surely 0845 numbers are charged at local rates, not free?
I must admit it used to annoy me at the thought of having to pay premium rates to report a fault.The reality was I didn't ever have to pay, was always creditted ( though I once had to ask for such credit).
Having said the above, I think Zinglebarb has it right, the thought of having to pay must have filtered out some irrelevant calls.

lostandconfused

19-03-2008, 09:47

snip
a tech support line for pc issues should be put in place for these people to call once it has been assertained its not a VM issue

there is already, its called pc help is Ã‚Â£1 a minute, i cant remember all the number 0906 xxx 0001, maybe someone else knows the middle bit?

Just being picky,but surely 0845 numbers are charged at local rates, not free?

its free from a vm landline on 151, just like calling CS

Tech_Boy

19-03-2008, 09:49

Just being picky,but surely 0845 numbers are charged at local rates, not free?

151 is free if you have a VM phoneline;)

and the PC Help No is 0906 991 0001
for more info on PC Help
http://www.virginmedia.com/help/pchelp/

xspeedyx

19-03-2008, 09:51

I am really happy regarding this

zing_deleted

19-03-2008, 10:04

Wonder if I should set one up for 50p per minute lol

Stuart

19-03-2008, 10:12

Why would people call unless they need to?

They do. I know a few ex-VM support people (mainly Marge), and apparently they get queries ranging from geniune problems with the service, through complaints about content (both DTV and broadband) and even a few problems with other random household devices.

Also, there's the old "Oh, they work for the same organisation, I'll call them" syndrome. A friend works in the road safety department of a major county council. She frequently gets calls from council house tenants complaining that their toilets are blocked (amongst other things). I do Tech support at a Uni. I don't usually do phone support, but I get phone calls with queries ranging from computer queries through to problems getting exam results, problems with the Student Loans company and even queries as to which lecturers are in (bit difficult for me to answer that one: I only see lecturers if they have a session booked in one of our labs).

esdxc37

19-03-2008, 10:25

Really bad new for those that have a genuine problem with BB.

Although I did not at first agree with the 09 it did filter out a lot of the calls which were nothing to do with BB.

I can see the old problems of waiting hours to get through to the tech support line resurfacing and lots of needless calls to other departments thinking they have a magical number that will vault them straight to the front of the queue.

moaningmags

19-03-2008, 11:18

Yay, I might stop saying "Good evening your thru to virgin media technical support speaking to me, calls are 25ppm and 10p to connect mobiles and other networks may vary how can i help" in my sleep. hubby says it's driving him nuts.
On the other hand I'll now get calls with people demanding I fix their Norton or their hoover or some other such stuff.

brundles

19-03-2008, 11:20

TBH, although it's off putting having to dial the premium number in the first place, my issue was more the CS side of the use of that. i.e. They wouldn't refund the true cost of the call, only what it would be if you were paying them for a phone line. Not to mention when they screwed it up and actually put it on the bill as a charge instead of a credit!

One thing about this - didn't they make a bunch of people redundant claiming fewer calls required fewer staff? Assuming that went through, I feel really sorry for those left now they're changing this back again.

lostandconfused

19-03-2008, 11:24

One thing about this - didn't they make a bunch of people redundant claiming fewer calls required fewer staff? Assuming that went through, I feel really sorry for those left now they're changing this back again.

yes, they made a load of people redundant and then less than 3 months later started recruiting loads more staff. I think they did offer them their jobs back, but after 3 months most would have already found another job. Still, bad form IMO

Zee

19-03-2008, 12:02

They do. I know a few ex-VM support people (mainly Marge), and apparently they get queries ranging from geniune problems with the service, through complaints about content (both DTV and broadband) and even a few problems with other random household devices.

Also, there's the old "Oh, they work for the same organisation, I'll call them" syndrome. A friend works in the road safety department of a major county council. She frequently gets calls from council house tenants complaining that their toilets are blocked (amongst other things). I do Tech support at a Uni. I don't usually do phone support, but I get phone calls with queries ranging from computer queries through to problems getting exam results, problems with the Student Loans company and even queries as to which lecturers are in (bit difficult for me to answer that one: I only see lecturers if they have a session booked in one of our labs).

:D lol

am gona call in sometime asking why my toilet is blocked and if someone could send tech support over to help am gona sound really clueless too

Welshchris

19-03-2008, 12:42

because they are calling about things which are not supported. And thats a lot of calls.

From experience i dont think VM know what they support or not. I remember back a few years ago on their website when it was NTL it said that they recommended Norton Antivirus\Internet security for all your security needs etc etc and underneath in small text it said that any problems with configuration to contact Tech support. I started having problems where the firewall section of the internet security was blocking emails and i couldnt get it to configure properly so i rang tech support, first off they said that they didnt support or reccomend Norton products and i said well take a look at ur own website and secondly they said that what was meant by contact tech support is if a problem was with net connection, but it clearly stated under the norton product if the problem was with that configuration.

xspeedyx

19-03-2008, 12:48

theres mixed views here but I throught people was soo ****ed at tsc been chargeable

lostandconfused

19-03-2008, 13:24

From experience i dont think VM know what they support or not. I remember back a few years ago on their website when it was NTL it said that they recommended Norton Antivirus\Internet security for all your security needs etc etc and underneath in small text it said that any problems with configuration to contact Tech support. I started having problems where the firewall section of the internet security was blocking emails and i couldnt get it to configure properly so i rang tech support, first off they said that they didnt support or reccomend Norton products and i said well take a look at ur own website and secondly they said that what was meant by contact tech support is if a problem was with net connection, but it clearly stated under the norton product if the problem was with that configuration.

That may well have been the case, i wasnt in tech support when it was ntl, i was CS then. But the boundaries of support are quite clear now. Most agents will offer advice if they can from their own experience, but VM only support their own equipment or software. Anything else would have to be supported by the manufacturer or seller

xspeedyx

19-03-2008, 14:11

its common sense really u wouldnt ring vodafone for help with vm broadband

slowcoach

19-03-2008, 14:35

Let's hope the next step is to cut the cable leading to India. :monkey:

esdxc37

19-03-2008, 14:46

its common sense really u wouldnt ring vodafone for help with vm broadband

some customers would :D

xspeedyx

19-03-2008, 14:54

some customers would :D

How true lol:angel:

huyi

19-03-2008, 23:42

it makes no difference to me as i will still have to call from a phonebox if i have a problem with my broadband, so it will be just as expensive, no way am i calling from my mobile phone!

ceedee

19-03-2008, 23:43

Originally Posted by darthlinux:
its common sense really u wouldnt ring vodafone for help with vm broadband
some customers would

From what I hear of folks' experience with the offshore call centre, you'd sometimes get better advice from Vodafone...

xspeedyx

20-03-2008, 08:12

it makes no difference to me as i will still have to call from a phonebox if i have a problem with my broadband, so it will be just as expensive, no way am i calling from my mobile phone!

simple soulation get a phone line installed and its free and u might even get a really good deal

Florence

20-03-2008, 11:17

Well the last few times I had to call VM tech support they agreed the call charges woud be refunded yet I had to call to get the refunds after the bill arrived.

Recent connection or bloomers from VM causing issues like internet denied even though I was paid uptodate, sometraffic working yet nothing working through 80..

Well countdown to ADSL is now active I refuse to con-phorm with the new

lordy

20-03-2008, 14:00

out of interest I would love to know the stats. ie did VM make more money or less with Premium Rate Help Desk. Did it affect new subscription and or renewal rates?

I doubt that VM did this out of the kindness of their hearts or even on the back of the Phorm issue. Somewhere along it was a financial decision even if staff now have to be resigned to filtering out a high percentage of irrelevant calls.

xspeedyx

20-03-2008, 14:26

They was making ariund Ã‚Â£3 million from the number and saving Ã‚Â£10 million in running cost of the department

rogerdraig

20-03-2008, 15:03

Wonder if I should set one up for 50p per minute lol

that's a thought that's crossed my mind a few times to lol

lordy

20-03-2008, 17:08

Giving up 13Mil ? Wow. Must have been hitting them in the pocket somewhere else OR they were getting more grief than I could imagine from a fair percentage of customers. (not just us minority of noisy ones on the forums)

lostandconfused

20-03-2008, 19:13

I think its more because BT have just removed their premium rate number and Virgin Media are just keeping up with the Jones'

utt

20-03-2008, 19:19

They was making ariund Ã‚Â£3 million from the number and saving Ã‚Â£10 million in running cost of the department

Don't think so....

tomo

22-03-2008, 12:29

I for one have been impressed with the quality of the tech support since the move to 0871, the calls are answered quickly, and the staff are knowledgeable. I think opening the floodgates by offering "free" support again is a retrograde step in terms of service quality. The 10p/min charge on the 0871 number is enough to make people think twice and do all the common-sense checks before they call up.

If they do go ahead with the free number, I would support the idea of a 2nd "premium" number, maybe billed at 10p/min or 25p/min, where calls are put at the top of the queue, and possibly directed senior or more knowledgable staff. I would much rather pay some money and get a good prompt service, rather than spend 30mins in a queue and not get a effective service or an answer to my problem at the end of it.

It's probably a no-brainer for them to offer a two-tier service with a modern call centre application.

I do sometimes wonder about the number of tech support phone number changes there have been over the years in the transition from dial up to broadband and from ntl to virgin. I think this will be the 9th change in about as many years. Nice to have some more inconsistency!

Just my 2p. I wonder if anyone from Virgin Management reads this stuff??!!

ceedee

22-03-2008, 13:55

If they do go ahead with the free number, I would support the idea of a 2nd "premium" number, maybe billed at 10p/min or 25p/min, where calls are put at the top of the queue, and possibly directed senior or more knowledgable staff. I would much rather pay some money and get a good prompt service, rather than spend 30mins in a queue and not get a effective service or an answer to my problem at the end of it.

Methinks you've got the germ of an excellent idea there, tomo.

How about a free call to the offshore support (that you've found excellent) and 10p/minute to a (guaranteed) UK support centre who won't put you through the "turn it off and on again" routine but will expect you to have done the basic tests* yourself?

Or, of course, people could use the Tech Support newsgroup (http://www.virginmedia.com/customers/newsgroups/setting-up.php) instead...

* These are the basic tests TS are likely to request to assist any investigation (lifted from Annie's excellent Broadband FAQ (http://broadband-faq.brion.me.uk)):
* Your netstat -a (see Q05 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q05))
* Your total download speed from 4 simultaneous file downloads (as outlined in Q02 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q02))
* Ping to www.bbc.co.uk (see Q06 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q06))
* Two trace routes to www.bbc.co.uk (see Q06 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q06))
* Your modem logs and signal levels (see Q07 (http://a.myby.co.uk/broadband-faq.html#q07))
* And a good description of your exact issue
* Your alias - The part of your email address before the @ symbol, this is so support can identify your account details on their system. ie. if your email is fredbloggs@blueyonder.co.uk or fredbloggs@ntlworld.com then fredbloggs is what is required

xspeedyx

22-03-2008, 17:03

Don't think so....

Do work for the company no I do and was told this in a conference call

ceedee

22-03-2008, 17:28

Do work for the company no I do and was told this in a conference call

Yeah, but what's Ã‚Â£13 million between friends, eh?

:erm:

XFS03

22-03-2008, 22:26

tomo

23-03-2008, 17:41

Broadband support is an 0906 number @ 25p/min, not 0871 @ 10p/min.

.

That just goes to proove my point that the constant change of phone numbers is confusing! ;)

Trent

04-04-2008, 18:14

Hi all,

Dont know if this has already been reported but VM are finally reversing their decision to make us pay for technical support... just in time for the "alleged price hike"

See here : http://newsletter.virginmedia.com/re?l=9x8dktI2rtgp9uI2&req=tsp=1207326335387&custid=7065&uid=6035639538&sig=JODEBMNPCCBHGEDI%26mid%3D600013757

anyone feel like a rendition of Grand old duke of york?

Paul

25-04-2008, 21:56

I got an email from Virgin about this today.

Graham M

25-04-2008, 22:09

Yeah me too, I made a thread about it and it got closed and not merged :( Oh well I tried lol! :)

tweetypie/8

25-04-2008, 23:10

From the 1st june virgin media are changing the prem number back to the free number it was released today no more prem number 151 free form a virgin line or 0845 from a non virgin line

thank god !!.

r00t

26-04-2008, 08:22

Expect the wait time for the phone to be answered to go up.
TSC will once again be inundated with questions about: 3rd party routers, printers, mobile phones, firefox, opera all manner of 3 party software, "what time is is" ( because the speaking clock is 50p per min)

whydoIneedatech

26-04-2008, 15:17

This the email that all customers will be receiving telling them about doing away with the premium line to Tech Support.

================================================== ========================

Hi there,

We always try to listen to what our customers tell us and because you didn't
think the premium rate call charge for our technical support helpline was
right, we decided to do something about it!

That's why we're dropping the 25p per minute charge to call our broadband
technical support line. From 1st June, we're replacing it with a number
that's free to call from your Virgin Media phone, plus a separate, local
rate number if you call from any other phone. That means that now you can
get the help and support you need, totally free, just like you asked.

To call our new broadband technical support number from 1st June, just dial
151 for free from your Virgin Phone or 0845 454 1111* from any other phone.

Get Ã‚Â£50 off your bill!

And we're not stopping there. Tell your friends about Virgin Media and, when
they sign up to our cable services, we'll give both of you Ã‚Â£50 off your
bill.

All they'll need is this phone number 0800 052 1412 and your account
number. And the best bit is there's no limit to the
amount of friends you bring!

The Virgin Media team

*Calls to 0845 numbers cost 7p per minute with a 7p connection charge from a Virgin phone. Calls from other networks may vary.

Connect a Friend: For eligibility criteria and Terms and Conditions click here.

moaningmags

26-04-2008, 15:18

Is that a valid account number in that link Peter?

ceedee

26-04-2008, 15:57

Is there any truth in the rumour that the 'price' to be paid for free tech support calls will be unmanned support newsgroups?

Can't express how much I hope it's not true...

moaningmags

26-04-2008, 16:02

Half the people I work with have never heard of newsgroups nevermind any rumours about them. To me personally, it seems a bit daft to make all new servers, get into a contract with a company for them then do away with the newsgroup support. But apparently NTL used to have support groups and they went, we all know who's in charge at VM so maybe it is true. Hope not though.

homealone

26-04-2008, 16:21

Is there any truth in the rumour that the 'price' to be paid for free tech support calls will be unmanned support newsgroups?

Can't express how much I hope it's not true...

same here, if my recent experience has anything to go by

- basically I had a problem with an upgrade to XL broadband not being properly provisioned on the modem & phoned customer service, they said to phone technical support - who then told me to phone customer service...

- That call to customer service resulted in a chap saying he had 'sent a signal to my modem' & I could expect it to be active in ' 2 to 3 hours' - over 3 hours later no change - a further call to customer service met with someone insisting I phone technical support....all this was over a 24 hour period.

So I posted in the support newsgroup - and the problem was resolved within an hour.

- my point being, that no matter whether the calls are going to be free, if the people on the end of the phone can't deal with the problem, it isn't worth contacting them at all....