Re: 500mb Question
 

Listening intently!!

Where is the typical punter going to glean that £27 (Now £32) from? It isn't in any of the upfront literature. If it was that critical it would be in the package headlines.

BTW: Thank you General Maximus!

Re: 500mb Question
 

Does it say fair use limits apply?

Re: 500mb Question
 

I don't think it's Virgin's intention to allow use in the manner roughbeast has so it'll be interesting to see if he is billed (and if he wins the argument).

Re: 500mb Question
 

Of course the FUP can apply.

https://store.virginmedia.com/FUP-Calculator.html

Re: 500mb Question
 

no it doesn't and I have looked in the small print on that page and all other pages. The FUP policy and calculator clearly applies to contracts which have a stipulated data allowance to use and which can be exceeded.


If you click on the "what if I go over my data allowance" you get

That is never going to apply to the unlimited sim because there isn't an allowance top exceed. If you look at the T&C's at the bottom of the page there is no information regarding a fair usage policy or a monthly guideline for the unlimited sim. All it says is:

and for more info look at the legal stuff. If you have a look at the Acceptable Usage Policy for the mobile service there is no mention of any limits. I am not going to copy it all but basically it says that if they deem your use to be disproportionately excessive then they can suspend your service. I have read through the whole legal T&C's for the mobiles as well and there isn't anything in there either.

All their info on charges and the FUP calculator is geared around customers who have a contract with a data a specified data allowance.

No it can't. It probably should but it can't. Even if you click on the help button in the FUP link it takes you to the page which I copied and pasted from earlier and all the information, warnings and charges are guidance for customers who have a specified data allowance. Nowhere on any page on the VM site is there is any information with regards to allowances, limits, fair usage, charges or anything else for the unlimited sim. A Fair Usage Policy probably should exist for the unlimited sim and they'll probably end up making one to deal with rare occurrences like this when they get hit with a massive charge but at the moment one doesn't exist and they haven't got a leg to stand on.

Re: 500mb Question
 

If my mobile bill is £0.00 with unlimited data then my Fair Use allowance is 0MB. How do you apply 0MB? In the real world, that means FUP doesn't affect my account?

Given that most of my time abroad has now been accounted for and there is no charge, what catch-up is going to haunt me later? My detailed / itemised bill showed that each item cost £0.00 right up to the 12th August bill refresh date. Also, I got no data warnings from Virgin Mobile. My bill was £0.00. The three days since then have already exceeded your suggested allowanceof £13.75. All items, even ones of 2GB+ on our last day in Greece are shown as £0.00. There is no legal way of changing that! It has been declared. This is not a case of some non-EU network operator in Asia or Africa informing Virgin of usage and costs a few months later. The usage and cost have already been declared, i.e. £0.00.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I'm not sure why people in life seem to want to make things difficult.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...-european-zone.

"You can now use your UK allowance of minutes, texts and data anywhere in the EU, just as you would at home – subject to fair use limits."

https://www.virginmedia.com/content/...conditions.pdf E-11-1 for the oomph bundles.

"11. Roaming 1. Our mobile services may be made available to you in countries outside of the UK if we or the partner who provides us with our mobile network have roaming agreements in place. Please check your roaming settings via your account online and ensure that data is turned on via the mobile handset. If you are roaming in the EU, you also need to comply with our roam like home policy. The costs for outside of allowance for EU use and additional services that allow roaming outside of the EU are set out in our tariff table or are available from our team. Overseas network operators may bill us some time after you use the mobile services – sometimes up to three months later, accordingly there may be a delay in when such charges show up on your bill. Please be aware that when you use your phone outside of the EU charges will apply."

"Roam like home

the use of your inclusive minutes, texts and data allowance in your airtime plan while roaming in the EU. Fair Use Policy applies https://store.virginmedia.com/the-legal-stuff."

Re: 500mb Question
 

I think they must have thought this through. I will not have been the only one to have travelled in the EU since the Oomph package launched. I will not have been the only one to have exceeded all possible limits by a mile and not been charged. The launch was just before the holiday season after all.

You took the words from my mouth.

Re: 500mb Question
 

If that is the case then his data should be capped at £50.50 unless he has previously asked for it not to be?

Re: 500mb Question
 

You have more faith in Virgin than I do ;)

I expect they’ll try to charge you (but hope they don’t). You’ve got reasonable arguments to make if they didn’t text you to say you’ve hit the threshold.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Fair point.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I offered some friendly advice backed up with links. If you don't want to take that advice, that's fine.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Your advice doesn't stack up. The facts, so far, don't support your view.

How can I take your advice anyway? What is done is done. We are at home making use of our VM broadband service.

I was sold an unlimited SIM with no visible ceiling, ( Not unless you really search for one and scrape the barrel) and no data warnings whilst caning my connection just like I could have at home.

Re: 500mb Question
 

The facts are that fair use applies to roam like home which you agreed to the terms and conditions I linked to when you took out the ultimate oomph bundle.

The facts fully support you don't have unlimited data when roaming. You not believing the facts is your problem, not mine.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I am not sure what the point of that was. I have quoted all that previously and as I have already stated it does not and cannot apply to the unlimited sim tariff. There is no allowance to use or exceed and there is not a fair usage policy in place either. If have previously quoted it but if you click on your link for the Roam like Home T&C's and help you have:


He has no allowance, there is no fair usage policy and he cannot run out.




He hasn't received a message or text informing him he has gone over his allowance because there isn't one for him to go over. In order for the FUP calculator you keep referencing to apply he has to have a monthly allowance and there isn't one. I have read through the extensive pdf on the legal stuff page for sims and mobiles and nowhere does it reference any kind of FUP, allowance, cap or however else you want to describe it for the unlimited sim.

Re: 500mb Question
 

He has an allowance, an unlimited allowance. Using this allowance for roam like home brings fair usage policy into place. To see what this is, you use the calculator. As he is on the ultimate oomph bundle which contains the unlimited sim, to get the cost of the sim, you use the cost of how much it would be to buy the sim which is £32 then you click on the button which states you have an unlimited data. This equates to 13.75GB

https://store.virginmedia.com/FUP-Calculator.html

I'm not sure why we are still going around in circles. Those are the facts. Why is there a place to click "I have unlimited data" on the calculator if there is no allowance to go over with unlimited?

Re: 500mb Question
 

At what point does a punter like me, buying into the Oomph package, get to discover that £32 is the actual cost of the SIM component of the £99 or £89 we pay monthly? I haven't seen that figure in any of the paperwork I received. I didn't buy the SIM as a separate item. Its cost is embedded in the cost of the total package. Using your calculation full kahoona TV, landline and 500Mb broadband cost me only £57 a month! My bill has said every month that I have had this SIM that it costs me nothing. That is the amount to put in the calculator. I think you might have to face the fact, that unlimited really means unlimited and that I can cane my SIM connection as much as I want at home an in the EU.

There is no indication in my billing so far that I am wrong. However, I will apologise in full, for not accepting your view, if I turn out to be wrong some months hence.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Roughbeast I think you are taking this a bit personally. Wait and see what happens when the bill comes in.

Mythica isn’t setting out to be argumentative, and neither do I, but the EU directive does allow for charging above a calculated limit and it’s buried in Virgin’s T&Cs (although I accept not apparent from how it’s bundled).

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizen...s/index_en.htm

I think you’ve a reasonable argument to make to them especially if they’ve not text you to say you’ve hit the limit.

Re: 500mb Question
 

The first mistake you're making is saying the sim cost you nothing. The sim is bundled into the cost of £139 (£99 discounted) doesn't mean it cost you nothing, just means you aren't seeing the cost of the sim because of the way it's bundled. Also you don't have this magical sim, it's the sim you can buy for £32. Forget you have the bundle and you had the unlimited sim, what are you going to put into this link?

https://store.virginmedia.com/FUP-Calculator.html

Roam like home on any sim comes with FUP, that's obvious to see, those denying that aren't reading correctly. I said check your bill based on the facts above and keep checking it but please don't be under the illusion that you have unlimited data when roaming, you don't.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I'm not taking this personally at all. I'm just confused by the clear difference of view here. However, I have been berated for ignoring sound advise, when nothing tells me, so far, that that advise is sound.

I have decided to contact Virgin Mobile, hoping that this does not stir up a hornet's nest. My case will not be unusual surely, given that regular punters will, like me, have taken 'unlimited' at face value. I'm using their text facility for consultation, so I await a response.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Best of luck with it. Happy to help you formulate a formal complaint, if required.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Thanks. You can count on it.

Re: 500mb Question
 

When you buy the unlimited sim for £32 and use the FUP calculator, what happens? Why do you think your unlimited is more unlimited than the £32 unlimited?

Its unlimited at home. When roaming you have to abide by the FUP which is in the terms and conditions which were linked to. If you don't get charged, brilliant. I'm more annoyed at having gone to the effort of finding and linking the terms of use only for you to say no sound advice has been given.

"You can now use your UK allowance of minutes, texts and data anywhere in the EU, just as you would at home – subject to fair use limits."

If I'm being totally honest, I'm not sure how much simpler the above can get.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I think thats enough of the arguments now.

The answer will be known in the next couple of months, either he will get charged, or he wont - continually arguing about it here wont change anything.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I have just spoken to an operative, having got fed up waiting for a text response, and have been told that the upper daily limit for 'unlimited' SIMs of the kind I have, (paid for through a broadband deal), is 100GB a day! Not even my family managed to exceed that! I asked the OP where the limit is written down. He said in roaming FAQs in my mobile account. I haven't found it yet, but will keep looking. You would think it would be more obvious than that!

So, as it stands, the OP's answer does account for the lack of charges so far. He agreed when I suggested that the 100GB figure was arrived at because a line had to be drawn somewhere and only a maniac would exceed that. He also agreed that the FUP calculator does not apply to this situation.

BTW There has been discussion elsewhere.

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5...ighlight/false

Re: 500mb Question
 

I'm not, I'm just pointing out that roam like home has a FUP. To find out what that is, you go here.

https://store.virginmedia.com/FUP-Calculator.html

An unlimited sim from VM cost £32. Put that in and click unlimited data and it tells you how much data you can use. Your sim isn't any different just because it's part of a bundle.

Re: 500mb Question
 

So my conversation with a VM operative counts for nothing? He tells me the EU fup roaming limit is 100GB a day for my kind of SIM and you tell me he is wrong?

Re: 500mb Question
 

The EU Data Roaming FUP for the Unlimited Oomph SIM is 11.6 GB.

The Oomph team do have that information and I understood that it was to be updated for the customer calculator and roaming information - I'm not sure why it's not been done yet.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I'm telling you he cant point to that and you cant find it. All the while I've pointed to terms and conditions, calculators and paragraphs from the VM site which state what I have being saying is true and now you have a VM employee above (Ben) telling you the same.

Can I ask how much data you normally use a month?

Re: 500mb Question
 

In that case, VM are also really confused and are utterly crap at communicating essential information, such as that for ordinary punters with a SIM like mine. Why are different VM reps providing different information?

My normal usage is 2 or 3 GB monthly, but this rises when we go on family trips within the UK. Unlimited data is great on long car journeys with 2 data-hungry teens in the back! We managed 5GB on a recent 400-mile round trip. A draw back in the UK, but not in Greece, is poor 4G coverage. Even India has universal 4G in the most remote areas. Needless-to-say I didn't turn on data roaming whilst I was there.

Re: 500mb Question
 

VM have always been crap with things like this, it should come as no surprise.

Re: 500mb Question
 

This.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Re: 500mb Question
 

Roughbeast just make a mental note of the time and date of the phone call and hopefully it will have been recorded as well. As Ben said, the website hasn't been updated properly and if anything does come of it you can raise all the points I have and prove that you have shown due diligence by contacting them for the "correct" information as you were unable to find it online and that was the information you was given so you have done everything right and they are in the wrong.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Thanks mate. VM incompetence astounds me.

I had a further call with the 'Concerns' department. The OP was excellent and really tried her best to get an answer. She couldn't find an answer in any documentation. She spoke to her immediate line manager who repeated the view that Roam as at Home meant just that and so no charges have been made or would be made. I asked for documentation that confirmed that, but just as I made that request, the manager of the whole department walked past the OP and was of the same view as Mythica, that a nominal price for the cost of my SIM should be applied, i.e. £25.00. On the calculator that would give me a roaming allowance of 10.74GB.

Naturally, I asked why I hadn't been charged by the system and why I hadn't received a data or credit warning. The manager reported that she didn't know why, but that I wouldn't be charged now or retrospectively. I then asked where in my contract or billing details it stated that £25 was the nominal cost of my SIM. She had to admit that this was not stated in either location. Finally, I asked what would happen if I went on holiday in the EU next week and caned my SIM again. Would I be charged? She wasn't sure, but thought I should be.

I wanted all this in writing, so asked her to email me with a full explanation of what my EU roaming allowance really is and why the system doesn't want to charge me for going way over the limit unsuspectingly. Needless-to-say I don't have great hopes that I will be any the wiser.

My next planned EU visit is in May, so we shall see, or perhaps we won't. If we leave the EU with No Deal it probably all ends anyway.

Re: 500mb Question
 

In my eyes, the only piece of information that is missing (yes it's important) is what you'd put into the calculator. But even then a bit of common sense goes a long way. I've just come back from Greece and knew the unlimited sim we have as part of the ultimate oomph bundle isn't unlimited when roaming.

Everything else is there in plain black and white. It clearly states FUP applies. As I pointed out before, the sim you have is an unlimited sim which if bought separately costs £32. Put that into the calculator and click you have unlimited data and it gives you your allowance for roaming.

If we take away all the arguing over the last few pages, your downfall was not reading the terms and conditions of your contract correctly and believing you could just use all of your allowance while roaming which clearly isn't the case.

Re: 500mb Question
 

If you remember, this whole saga began with me reporting not being charged for using well over 100Gb of data over 2 weeks in Greece. On top of that I have had as many versions of what was supposed to happen from as many departments contacted. Your version has been partly confirmed by just one department. What is a regular punter supposed to think? One thing has been confirmed, is that I will not be charged retrospectively, namely because of poorly displayed information in VM documents and web pages and I received no data or credit warnings. The documentation, automatic metering and billing systems need updating if what you say is right, which it probably is.

Just put yourself in the position of a non-IT savvy punter, like my mum, who just buys into what sounds like a great service. She would not have made the connection between what someone pays for an unlimited SIM directly, (something she wouldn't know anyway) and what she pays as part of a global VM package. To make that connection the upfront documentation would need to spell it out, i.e £25 of your £99 is for your unlimited SIM and you should first of all enter that into the FUP calculator before you think of roaming in the EU. Nowhere does the documentation say that. It isn't even in the small print of my contract or my billing information. (Please note that the £25 suggested by one department, doesn't even match the £32 you say is in black and white.) Someone like my mum would just accept the fact that she hasn't been charged for using many, many GB watching her favourite Netflix movies back at her holiday apartment every evening or siesta time. Even if she knew about FUP she would have put £0.00 in the calculator because that is what her Virgin Mobile bill would say her SIM costs each month.

VM cannot be excused for this, by anyone saying it is obvious and written in black and white for all to see. It's a bit like the Vogans saying, "‘There’s no point acting all surprised about the intergalactic highway and the demolition of Earth. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display in your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for fifty of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now.’ How would ordinary Earthlings like my mum know about that unless they had a letter through their door?

Re: 500mb Question
 

To be fair, I'd say the whole saga began when you assumed you could use unlimited data while roaming. I'm not here to be argumentative but apart from the FUP calculator not explaining how to calculate if you're part of a bundle, it is black and white that FUP applies while roaming, in my eyes that cant be argued and the fact some VM staff don't know this speaks volumes of the training that happens in VM, but that doesn't surprise me.

Re: 500mb Question
 

At the time of heading off roaming I was unaware of the calculator or of any nominal cost for my SIM. There should be direct clear links to such information. There are not. In effect I am like any Jo Bloggs with a new toy and no upfront documentation telling me that Roam as at Home was actually misleading guidance. You are telling me that it is not Roam like at Home. Just like any Jo Bloggs my assumptions seemed to be confirmed by the fact that I got no data warning, credit warning or any charges in my mobile bills. The facts that you have ended up having to repeat frequently on my behalf are only in black and white if you know where to find them. They are as hidden as the notice on Alpha Centuri

As I type I am in conversation with another department where the OP has gone off to speak to a manager, because they don't know the definitive answer either. His assumption was the same as mine, i.e no charges for unlimited SIMs of the Ooomph kind in the EU. He was surprised that there is a charge and told me that he had given that advise to other callers.

Sorry mate. In the end you may well be right, but most, not all VM employees haven't discovered this yet.

I am not going to respond again for now, unless I come up with definitive new information with documentation that tells me precisely what I should put in the calculator, if anything, £25 or £32 or something else.

Bye for now.

Re: 500mb Question
 

The text you receive when you connect to another network when roaming as soon as you switch your phone on specifically states about the FUP. Did you not receive that text? I'm guessing you also didn't read your terms and conditions of the contract you signed which also states you have to abide by the roam like home policy.

I'm not here to cause grief or trouble or be argumentative. I do believe that the FUP calculator could be more clear for those on packages like the ultimate oomph. But this just smacks of well it's not my fault as I didn't read anything and just assumed I can do what I want. I hope you don't get charged, I'm just annoyed that after doing all the research, pointing you in the right direction that it all fell on deaf ears simply because you didn't believe what I was saying, even when providing links. Just to add, there is no special sim for the ultimate oomph bundle, it's just the unlimited sim they sell for £32.

I wish you the best as you might be in for a long ride.

Re: 500mb Question
 

'New' and definitive information re Oomph Unlimited SIM card:

But first-

I actually did read the legal stuff for Oomph (previously boosted) whilst in Greece and at home. It doesn't tell you in the section on Virgin Mobile or anywhere else what price to put in the calculator and doesn't link you to the calculator anyway.

https://www.virginmedia.com/content/...conditions.pdf

There is a reason for this.


I just rang the Oomph Team (Sheffield based) and spoke to an op named Simon. The Oomph Team are fully trained up on all aspects of Virgin Media's service and are able to answer 99.9% of your problems and troubleshoot similarly. This is the definitive answer.

The Oomph unlimited SIM is truly unlimited at home and in the EU. There will be no charges for my usage and no charges if I went and did exactly the same tomorrow. I asked Simon to check this with his peers and his manager. He did so and also checked with the manager for the whole unit. This is now a 100% definitive answer. The Oomph SIM is a truly unlimited at home and in the EU. It is unique in that respect. He is now going to approach all the other departments I spoke and texted with, to tell them this. Their information is not up-to-date. Simon apologised for all the confusion.

I did explain that some members of forums had told me in no uncertain terms and 'written in black and white' that I had to pay formy data usage according to the fair use policy. He tells me that they are wrong. FUP doesn't apply to this SIM card.

I also asked him about the status of regular SIMs with a limit on. For them he explained that in the EU they can use 80% of the allowance they get at home, so a 10GB allowance would give you 8GB to use in the EU.

Just a thought. Perhaps folk with standalone £32 unlimited SIMs should call Virgin Mobile and ask about FUP for their own EU roaming. They might get a pleasant surprise. What is 80% of unlimited?

For example: A 50GB limited SIM costs £25. 80% of 50GB is 40GB available to use roaming in the EU. It would seem unfair to me that someone who pays £32 for an unlimited SIM can only use 13.75GB per month.

Anyway. Thanks for all your input.

Re: 500mb Question
 

No it doesn't tell you what to put into the calculator which means you simply just ignored the FUP and did what you wanted anyway even though you knew there was some kind of FUP in place. That's listed in the terms for the oomph bundle. Did you receive the welcome text that stated about the FUP when switching your phone on in Greece?

He has already gave you incorrect information regarding the sims. Using the calculator, £25 for 50GB gives you a limit of 10.74GB, not 40GB like you are stating.

I hate to question someone who is supposed to have superior knowledge on the products they sell, but I'm still not convinced. Everything in black and white points to a FUP on roam like home be it unlimited or not. I also want to know why you think your unlimited sim is better than the £32 unlimited sim. They are both unlimited sims.

Have you got all of this in writing? I'd be asking for documentation before trying this again.

Re: 500mb Question
 

The Roam Like Home FUP does apply to all Oomph SIMs - from the link above:

Unfortunately he is incorrect there. I'll also pick this up with my colleagues tomorrow and find out why he's given incorrect information.

Again unfortunately that's wrong. The FUP calculation is here - it's never been a straight 80% of your UK allowance:
https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...roam-like-home
I appreciate this is difficult for the Oomph SIMs currently as there is nothing to direct what to put into the calculator - but as I said above I did expect this to have bee updated online now. All agents should have a list of the Roam Like Home FUP data figures for the SIMs - I do not know why Simon didn't have this.

Re: 500mb Question
 

You are finding this hard to accept aren't you?

When I used all that data in Greece I went with what I already understood from the sales team when I was sold the Oomph package. They told me the SIM is truly unlimited in the UK and EU. I therefore had no doubts, so didn't go blindly in, as you put it. (I'm trying not to take personal offence here.) Indeed I recommended the SIM to a number of folk I met over there. Doubts were sown after the adamant and cautionary responses to my celebratory post of a couple of days ago. It's a shame really. I have spent hours waiting for or talking to confused VM staff when I could have just carried on enjoying my good fortune. I felt I had to investigate further just in case I had misinformed fellow holiday makers. Luckily I hadn't.

I am sorry you still doubt Oomph department experts and managers. I can't help you out of your fixation on what you can see in black and white any further. I did ask for a definitive paragraph, but that is in the training manuals, something VM staff can't share. Hopefully, shortcomings in VM publicly available pages will be amended soon. Are we being too optimistic expecting VM to have updated relevant pages to a service that only came out in May? If I ran VM I would have had the information pages ready to go on Day One. Meanwhile, I am just happy that those who really should know, the Oomph Team, have confirmed what I thought I knew all along.

---------- Post added at 19:37 ---------- Previous post was at 19:24 ----------

All I can say to your carefully researched response is that the OP was already 100% sure of his facts, because he has been telling new Oomph customers this ever since the product came out in May. At my request he spoke to his managers relating my doubts to them. Their answer is 100% certainty, even to the extent that they are now going to do the rounds of other departments to make sure they are up-to-date.

Meanwhile, I am sitting here looking at a long list of SIM usage accumulated since 1st August up to the end of my billing cycle on 12th August. and each item with £0.00 next to them. It all fits the facts I have been given by the people who should know, the very people who sold me the package in the first place. The advice I am giving myself and others is to wait until all the literature has been updated and to curse VM for its tardiness.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Don't take offence, do as you please with what you believe is correct, I'm just trying to help you and others reading this. While you have nothing in writing, the terms and conditions of the oomph bundle you are on, you know, the very legal bit? They state a FUP applies. You've spoke to numerous different Virgin staff who are supposed to be trained yet have give you different answers. The last person as even misinformed you of the roam like home on the 'normal' sims.

I get you, I really do. You have some random person who doesn't work for Virgin Media telling you different to those that work there. But take a step back and look at the facts. I'm more than willing to hold my hands up and admit I'm wrong, but until I see documentation stating otherwise, then FUP applies to roam like home on all sims including those that are unlimited, it's the only thing that makes sense.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I am finished here. Just consider please that the 'in black and white' facts you are using are quite possibly in need of updating.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I'd agree if we were talking about a product that was years old but we aren't.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Brand new. The Oomph totally unlimited SIM became available about the same time as the Ultimate Oomph 500Mb package.I bought in on 13th May 2019. I was one of the first existing customers to get it for £99 a month.

Re: 500mb Question
 

That's my point, the terms won't need updating if it's a new product. I'm on the same package.

Virgin Media staff have replied to your post on the VM community forums.

I urge anyone reading this that roam like home is not unlimited unless you have written documentation stating otherwise.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I suggest they speak to Oomph staff, the people who sell you the deal. They will tell you it is unlimited even in the EU. Enough now.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Is there any rollout schedule?

Re: 500mb Question
 

afaik it should be available in all areas. Have you tried giving them a ring? If it isn't available yet they should be able to give you a due date. They have just started trials on 1gbit which they'll probably start rolling out end of this year or beginning of next year so you should definitely be able to get 500mbits now.

Re: 500mb Question
 

In my area on the postcode checker on the VM website, 500Mb was available and I'm on the ultimate oomph bundle with 500Mb but now when you check the postcode checker it says only 200Mb is available. Any reason for this?

Re: 500mb Question
 

Great, so you cant even get 350 now. It has got to be a mistake and something which will no doubt take a lot of jumpinh through hoops trying to speak to the right person to get fixed.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Ignore Ignore what your postcode search says. Ask to be put through to the Oomph team. I tried to get 500Mb twice, always ending up with an off-shore op. Once I got through to the Oomph team they sorted me out quickly.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Only 350mb available in my area they said when 500 is ready I'll be switched over automatically.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Lies. 500mbits isnt an uplift, it is a new higher tier which you have got to subscribe to a pay more for. If you want it you are going to have to chase it and ring back and try and speak to.somebody who knows what they are talking about.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I'll ring them today and see what they say.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I rang and got the usual that 500 is not available in my area asked to be transferred to oompth and gave up after 30 mins on hold.

Re: 500mb Question
 

ring retentions or whatever it is these days ("I have a problem") and tell them you are sick and tired of being the given run around and ask them why is it so hard to give them more money?

Re: 500mb Question
 

Your mistake is phoning on a weekend, try phoning just after 8am on Tuesday if possible.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Hi,

Does anyone know the reason why the >M500 Fibre Broadband< service is not available in my area? the odd thing is it’s available for my friend who lives a few miles from me in the same city.

Is it down to the CMTS, UBR or cabinet?

Thanks for looking at my post and I’ll look forward to the responses.

;)

Re: 500mb Question
 

CMTS and UBR are the same thing, they are different names used by different vendors who provide the equipment. Not only does it depend on the cmts you connect to, but also the line card within the cmts. Because CMTS' have varying loads some may have the capacity in place to handle a new tier however VM will not advertise the upgrade as being available until all uplift work has taken place. As an example, I think there are 3 or 4 CMTS' for Lincoln and VM will make new tiers available as and when upgrade work has been completed on the cmts to make it ready for it. For this reason distance can't be factored into it. I know the area down the road two miles south from me is on a different cmts and similarly five miles north at the other end of the city is as well.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Anyone heard anything about standalone M500?

I'm starting to get worried that their top tier will never go standalone and will always be tied to their crappy TV/Phone/Mobile services which I have absolutely no desire or need for.

Doesn't bode well for the 1gbit rollout!

Re: 500mb Question
 

that may be the case but at least we know 500mbits will be available as standalone once 1gbit becomes available. Atm they are probably doing two things in order to decide how to proceed in the future. You have got to remember that 500mbits is still being run on docsis 3. I think they have edged on the side of caution and deliberately restricted 500mbits to the oomph bundle knowing that it will only appeal to a minority of customers. This way the tier is available across all areas geographically and they can assess the load and impact on the network. Secondly, it is a bit of a trial for them to see how many customers they can pull into an expensive bundle just because they want 500mbits. It is all about $$$. If it has worked out well for them I imagine they'll continue to do it with future tiers and if it hasn't hopefully they'll make 1gbit available to everyone. The capacity will definitely be there for it on 3.1.

Re: 500mb Question
 

The capacity is only really there if they switch everyone to 3.1 which they won't do as it will mean replacing all the modems.

I'm not convinced me switching from 350 to 500 would have much of a network impact, I'm on 350 as I downloaded a lot right now, 500 wouldn't have me downloading more!

Re: 500mb Question
 

I have been saying that since 200. Still download the same about but just faster.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Yeah I'm with you there. I was on 200 for years and only recently upgraded to 350 because of a retention deal. It hasn't changed my habits at this point, but I do appreciate the additional upload speed.

As for 3.1, Virgin will eventually upgrade everyone but like every single hub upgrade in the past it'll go to top tiers first and be a requirement for those upgrading.

They usually start off by offering them to those willing to pay a premium for the super top tiers, then for a one-off cost to those upgrading a tier (or simply wanting a new modem), then as standard for new customers on those tiers, then as standard for all new customers and finally, for whatever stragglers are left, they'll offer a free speed boost to those that take the new modem (this was done for DOCSIS3 by launching the 30Mbit tier as an upgrade to those on the at-the-time 20Mbit). It'll take years to reach that point though.

I think DOCSIS3 launched around 2008? And the 30Mbit tier didn't appear until about 2016 if I remember correctly (Feel free to correct me on dates).

Assuming we see the beginnings of 3.1 this year, I imagine it'll take them a year or so to make the rest of the country 3.1 compliant (though I don't know how much of that work has already been done), then probably a couple more years of tier upgrades and rollouts and if we're really lucky, by about 2025 nearly everyone will be on 3.1.

Re: 500mb Question
 

I will ;)

I pretty sure it was 2007 or maybe even 2006. I remember being one of the very first customers on it and at launch it was completely stm free which was unheard of back then. It was an incentive to get people to upgrade and move over to docsis 3 because the old network was on it's last legs and they were dying to give it some relief. They quickly changed their tune after a few months and new subscribers were hit with stm. I got away with it for about a year I think and then they forced it on me as well. I remember being on 50mbits with my ambit 300 for a long time, managed to keep in 2008 ish for 100mbits and then when 120 came out in 2010 I was forced onto a shub. Luckily by then modem mode was available.

I was under the impression they have been working on this for the last year or so and all the necessary hardware is in place on the network and now it is just a case of sorting out the cpe.

Re: 500mb Question
 

Couldn't help yourself, could you! :wavey:

All right, I'll bite!


I did a quick google, here's a Digital Spy article from December 2008 about the launch. So I was barely right about it being 2008, as it was more like 2009!

The STM-free(-for-all) of the 50mbit service was definitely glorious at the time. I remember STM came in slowly, first it was the "P2P networks only get slowed down, but all the time" thing which came about in 2010, then later on the "regular" STM for pure usage, regardless of use. I can't remember exactly when this happened, but I think it was around 2012.

Here's an article talking about updated policies that definitely show 50/100 getting STM, but I'm not sure if this was the first incarnation of it.

If that is the first time, then we had a good 4+ years with no STM on 50Mbit+.

100Mbit definitely didn't launch before 2010 - I remember working for Virgin at the time it was being trailed (100Mbit customers had a special phone line, meaning I didn't have to deal with them :p:). BBC article from October 2010 on the launch: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11627507

You also didn't get 120Mbit until 2012 at the earliest: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16491614

Seems you're getting old, my friend, your memory is fading. Have you left the oven on? :jk:

I still love you, max :kiss:

Yeah, it seems a lot of work has been done in the background! But trials still seem very limited and it's not like Virgin do to do a big-bang switch on across the whole network, especially for major upgrades. We still haven't even got IPv6!

Re: 500mb Question
 

VM has announced that 1Gbps will be available to all by 2021, but it's hard to see that happening. DOCSIS 3.1 needs a new hub and its rollout will cause some problems no matter how good it is. VM managers should shudder at the thought of their call centres, already unable to properly deal with existing problems, having to pacify some customers who cannot understand why they have a fault which happened at about the same time as their new hub was installed.

What we will see is something like Project Lightning whose objective gets pushed into the future.

Re: 500mb Question
 

There's a stark difference between everyone having 1Gbps and it being available to them :D

Re: 500mb Question
 

I think you are right. I was so sure I had 50mbits back in 2006 but now I come to think of it I think I was on 1.5mbits as I finished uni which was in 2003, and if you say for the sake of argument we got upgraded every year, I then had 3mbits in 2004, 10mbits in 2005 and 20mbits in 2006 so 2008 probably is right although I didn't think it was that late. I thought I had 100mbits before 2011 but I have just found two posts which I got a big telling off for :p

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/show...3#post35334143

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/show...8#post35343278

Re: 500mb Question
 

*** Subject to accepting a massive additional charge for sports, movies, and 12 TV boxes you don't want or need along with an overpriced mobile sim

Re: 500mb Question
 

Finally, VM have updated their FUP calculator for Roam Like Home in the EU. This now applies transparently to the truly unlimited SIM that comes with the Oomph package. Previously the calculator asked us to enter what we may be charged for our unlimited SIM, e.g. £32.00 for the standalone SIM. This gave an EU roaming cap of 13.75GB. For those with an Oomph SIM there was no contracted specified cost for our SIM. It was was an embedded cost so the FUP calculator didn't work. I discovered the nominal cost of £32.00 here in this forum!

Some of you may recall the contradiction I encountered when sold my Oomh unlimited SIM. I along with many others was told, by the sales team, that my SIM was also unlimited in the EU. After a trip to Keffalania we clocked up something like 160GB of data in two weeks, using my phone as a mobile hotspot. (Two teenage sons!!) My bill was as expected, £0.00. It was only when I celebrated this fact here that the contradiction arose. Folk told me I should have been charged and my limit was 13.75 GB, as if I was paying £32.00 a month.

Repeated calls to various VM departments revealed complete disarray across VM. Some said FUP meant I should assume that my SIM cost £32.00 even though, nowhere in my Virgin Mobile or Oomph paperwork did it state that. My mobile account stated that my SIM cost £0.00 a month.

Another department, after checking with a manager, said that the Oomph SIM was not affected by FUP. Later in the conversation another manager thought my SIM was subject to FUP, but agreed that the current FUP calculator was misleading and that I shouldn't be charged.

My next conversations were with the Oomph team, based in Sheffield, the ones who set up my Oomph 500 package. The first operative, after checking with two managers, including the department big chief, declared that my SIM was unlimited in the EU and not subject to FUP. It was 'unique'! I reported this conversation to you guys here and on the official VM support site. Again I was told here that the Oomph team was wrong and shouldn't be selling the SIM as unlimited in the EU.

The op in my next conversation with the Oomph team gave the same view. This SIM was unlimited in the EU. He said the FUP didn't apply and FUP was becoming AUP anyway (Acceptable Use Policy) He speculated that all other departments would be requiring training packages to get them on message.

To cut a long story short, within the next couple of calls I decided to raise a formal complaint. This triggered a conversation with management and complaint management staff. They agreed that something had gone wrong and they would investigate. They agreed that whatever the outcome I would not be charged. They had automatically recorded all my conversations and confirmed that I had been given different advice by different departments.

Three weeks ago I had the definitive answer. It appears that the Oomph sales team and ops, including managers, had got it wrong and had been mis-selling the SIM. They were wrong, not the rest of VM. It was also agreed that the contractual paper work, the FUP calculators and guidance on various VM web pages made it impossible for customers to discern what charge there would be for excess use, if any. They required urgent updating. I would not be charged retrospectively for data use over 13.75 Gb.

It appears that VM have now updated their guidance for FUP including the FUP calculator.

https://store.virginmedia.com/FUP-Calculator.html

My advise to anyone who was sold a 'truly unlimited' Oomph SIM as part of the whole Oomph 500 package, and has taken it at face value by caning their connection in the EU, is to call the Oomph department and complain that you have been misled. You should not be charged for excess data use in the EU, even if it appears months later in your mobile bill. Threaten, as I did, to go to the ombudsman if they try to charge you.

This is by far the worst case of disarray and incompetence I have come across in my long years with VM. I have asked for a written apology admitting where the fault was and what VM intend to do to prevent further inter-departmental disarray. No chance. I have had apologies over the phone, admitting fault, but the only written apology was very non-specific. "We are sorry that there has been some confusion..." That's as good as it gets. Corporate cover-up abounds. No apologies, either, were forthcoming for the hours I spent waiting in a queue to speak to a human.

No doubt the next time I bring up this subject, it will be to report that VM mobile have attempted to charge me for excess use of data in Greece.

Re: 500mb Question
 

well at least they have made it clear now. You wonder how nobody thought of it at the start when they sat down and were either coming up with the parameters of the oomph deal or writing the new T&C's

Re: 500mb Question
 

Glad I read this thread before I went on hols as I had assumed it was totally unlimited :) Thanks for taking the time to follow up with the answers. I wonder if the charges are enforced or not.

On a separate note, does anyone know if the 500mb speed on the Oomph Bundle will be lifted to 1 gig once Gig1 gets rolled out elsewhere?

Re: 500mb Question
 

It is going to be a new tier

Re: 500mb Question
 

If we are in the EU next time I travel within EU countries, I will put it to the test by going a little over the 13.75GB allowance. It might take three months to confirm after getting back though.