Oh joy - wasn't a condition of NTL: Telewest using the Virgin brand that their CS levels matched those of the Virgin brand

. I've never had a (major) problem with TW CS to date (the odd problem with their billing system but not the people). Looks like that's all going to change

.
At the risk of mentioning the obvious have you tried calling the 0870 number they offered? (Although if the response there is anything like the e-mails it might just be less painful to pull some of your own teeth out with a pair of rusty pliers.)