Cable Forum - View Single Post - TiVo Why can't Virgin Media ever get their customer service right??

Tim Deegan · 20-12-2011, 22:26

I would like to start by saying that VM have an excellent product. However for some reason they just fall flat on their face when it comes to customer service.

For all those VM employees on here, I'm not talking about individuals, but VM as a whole.

I have been with VM (or Cabletel, and then NTL, as they were), for 20 or so years now for my internet and telephones. Although they never used to match up to Sky for their TV service, so I had my TV with Sky.

My package with VM has gradually grown for business reasons, and extra incentives, over the years, until I had 3 phone lines, 100mb BB, and TV in my bedroom. Then recently I decided to see if I could save money by going 100% with either VM or Sky. So I called VM and told them that I wanted a Tivo box in my living room to replace my Sky+ HD box. I told her that I had everything except the sports package (obviously excluding specialist channels), with HD. Well the very nice lady suggested ways that I could change my phone packages, and get the Tivo for my living room, and would save a minimum of £50 per month. So as Sky couldn't come close, then I decided to go 100% with VM.

Now I know how unreliable VM can be with sticking to dates, so I didn't cancel my Sky until today.

My Tivo box was installed last Friday (2 hours before my time slot, but that wasn't a problem). Then after playing around with it for a while, I realised that I didn't have any movie channels. So I called VM, and explained what I was supposed to have, and the lady on the phone said that I would have the movie channels within 2 hours (which I did).

Then on Saturday I realised that I didn't have the movie channels in HD. So I called VM again. The gentleman told me that the HD movie channels would be activated within 24 hours, and that they would send me a new box for my bedroom, that would work with HD, and it would arrive today (Tuesday). I received a text within an hour of the call, telling me that the HD would be activated within one hour.

On Sunday I still didn't have HD movies, so I called again. I was then told that they wouldn't be activating my HD until Tuesday. I explained what I had been told the previous day, and about the text message. To which he answered that it was impossible to activate the HD before Tuesday. As you can imagine I was getting rather annoyed with being messed about. So I told him that if it wasn't sorted then I would take my whole account to Sky. At this he put me on hold for a while, then came back to say that he had now activated the HD. By now I was furious. Not because he had activated the HD, but because he had blatantly lied to me.

So my question is: why can't VM give consistent good customer service. And why can't they be honest with customers???? If they built up a good reputation, then far more people would use them due to their excellent product.

20-12-2011, 22:26	#1
Tim Deegan cf.mega poster Join Date: Sep 2011 Services: 3 phone lines, 100mb broadband, and TV x2 (including one Tivo) Posts: 2,128	Why can't Virgin Media ever get their customer service right?? I would like to start by saying that VM have an excellent product. However for some reason they just fall flat on their face when it comes to customer service. For all those VM employees on here, I'm not talking about individuals, but VM as a whole. I have been with VM (or Cabletel, and then NTL, as they were), for 20 or so years now for my internet and telephones. Although they never used to match up to Sky for their TV service, so I had my TV with Sky. My package with VM has gradually grown for business reasons, and extra incentives, over the years, until I had 3 phone lines, 100mb BB, and TV in my bedroom. Then recently I decided to see if I could save money by going 100% with either VM or Sky. So I called VM and told them that I wanted a Tivo box in my living room to replace my Sky+ HD box. I told her that I had everything except the sports package (obviously excluding specialist channels), with HD. Well the very nice lady suggested ways that I could change my phone packages, and get the Tivo for my living room, and would save a minimum of £50 per month. So as Sky couldn't come close, then I decided to go 100% with VM. Now I know how unreliable VM can be with sticking to dates, so I didn't cancel my Sky until today. My Tivo box was installed last Friday (2 hours before my time slot, but that wasn't a problem). Then after playing around with it for a while, I realised that I didn't have any movie channels. So I called VM, and explained what I was supposed to have, and the lady on the phone said that I would have the movie channels within 2 hours (which I did). Then on Saturday I realised that I didn't have the movie channels in HD. So I called VM again. The gentleman told me that the HD movie channels would be activated within 24 hours, and that they would send me a new box for my bedroom, that would work with HD, and it would arrive today (Tuesday). I received a text within an hour of the call, telling me that the HD would be activated within one hour. On Sunday I still didn't have HD movies, so I called again. I was then told that they wouldn't be activating my HD until Tuesday. I explained what I had been told the previous day, and about the text message. To which he answered that it was impossible to activate the HD before Tuesday. As you can imagine I was getting rather annoyed with being messed about. So I told him that if it wasn't sorted then I would take my whole account to Sky. At this he put me on hold for a while, then came back to say that he had now activated the HD. By now I was furious. Not because he had activated the HD, but because he had blatantly lied to me. So my question is: why can't VM give consistent good customer service. And why can't they be honest with customers???? If they built up a good reputation, then far more people would use them due to their excellent product.