V+ : Return to Virgin proving a nightmare

[montehampster]

Left Virgin TV for Sky 4 years ago as with a new HD TV there was simply no content at that time. As my Sky box was slowly dying and not wanting a third refurbished box for £65 I decided I could fore go certain channels and accept Sky Sports and Movies in SD only and save a significant amount per month after the initial set up costs.

So last Saturday I had the V+HD box installed downstairs and a VHD box in the bedroom.It should have been a simple install as all the cabling was already there. I explained to the guy the main box was replacing a Sky one which I had just removed so all the cables were there IE HDMI cable, Scart to DVD recorder and Optical to amplifier.

Firstly they managed to cut off (literally) the broadband cable and had I not actually been working on it at the time I wouldn't have discovered this until after they'd left resulting in a further call out. The set was connected up on Scart not HDMI so after they'd gone I had to effectively reinstall everything again - not an onerous task I admit but when you're £40 for the privilage you don't expect to have to do it yourself!

Box froze on 2 occasions but came back after rebooting and seemed to settle down. I was delighted on Sunday as having said I could'nt see a need for 3 tuners I ended up recording BBC1HD, and ITVHD1 while watching the golf. Last night was the first chance I've had since to sit and really watch. Recorded programmes fine. Watched Sky 1HD live and no problem then switched across and no ITV SD or HD, no BBC One HD or BBC HD.

There were quite possibly more missing channels with an error code of 3203 and a message to ring but I wasn't going to test all 165+! Turned off at the mains and back on still the same. Too late to ring then as about 12.30 am so switched off again at the mains.

Tried again this morning and everything seemingly working normally. So do I give it another shot, ring for service or cancel and return to Sky? I don't watch a tremendous amount of "live" TV but when I do get the chance to sit down I want to be able to know the box has recorded what I want and over the last couple of months my 2 year old refurbished Thompson box has shown the dreaded signs of failure. I haven't paid £99 to replace it with a new box that so far is even worse!

[fixerman]

Originally Posted by montehampster

Left Virgin TV for Sky 4 years ago as with a new HD TV there was simply no content at that time. As my Sky box was slowly dying and not wanting a third refurbished box for £65 I decided I could fore go certain channels and accept Sky Sports and Movies in SD only and save a significant amount per month after the initial set up costs.

So last Saturday I had the V+HD box installed downstairs and a VHD box in the bedroom.It should have been a simple install as all the cabling was already there. I explained to the guy the main box was replacing a Sky one which I had just removed so all the cables were there IE HDMI cable, Scart to DVD recorder and Optical to amplifier.

Firstly they managed to cut off (literally) the broadband cable and had I not actually been working on it at the time I wouldn't have discovered this until after they'd left resulting in a further call out. The set was connected up on Scart not HDMI so after they'd gone I had to effectively reinstall everything again - not an onerous task I admit but when you're £40 for the privilage you don't expect to have to do it yourself!

Box froze on 2 occasions but came back after rebooting and seemed to settle down. I was delighted on Sunday as having said I could'nt see a need for 3 tuners I ended up recording BBC1HD, and ITVHD1 while watching the golf. Last night was the first chance I've had since to sit and really watch. Recorded programmes fine. Watched Sky 1HD live and no problem then switched across and no ITV SD or HD, no BBC One HD or BBC HD.

There were quite possibly more missing channels with an error code of 3203 and a message to ring but I wasn't going to test all 165+! Turned off at the mains and back on still the same. Too late to ring then as about 12.30 am so switched off again at the mains.

Tried again this morning and everything seemingly working normally. So do I give it another shot, ring for service or cancel and return to Sky? I don't watch a tremendous amount of "live" TV but when I do get the chance to sit down I want to be able to know the box has recorded what I want and over the last couple of months my 2 year old refurbished Thompson box has shown the dreaded signs of failure. I haven't paid £99 to replace it with a new box that so far is even worse!

Welcome back!

Sorry to hear your tale of woe. Your installation story is quite a common one. I have learnt that the best thing to do is install your cables yourself as much as you can. Your experience with the V+ box however is unusual. I'm sure your V+ will settle down. I have had two V+ boxes for a few years now and have found them to be very reliable. I have never needed a service call. The only drawback is the size of the hard drive and therefore I have ordered a Tivo which is due to be installed this morning.

[mersey70]

If you are within 28 days of being connected just phone up and say you want to cancel and explain all the problems.

If they don't offer to sort out the problems quickly then maybe you should consider your other options, one of which is perhaps telling Sky of your experience and seeing what they can do for you.

Both are worth a try but VM are normally very helpful in such circumstances. If all else fails you could email the ceo's office and tell them of your experience:-

neil.berkett@virginmedia.co.uk

[montehampster]

Thanks guys.

I have had to mess with the settings since install to try to resolve (unsuccessfully!) an issue with copying to DVD so now everything appears OK I'll give it a week to "settle down" and if there are still problems I may get the Sky box back out of the loft!

I think threatening the CEO with cancellation is a bit drastic. Should the OP not simply try to get the problem fixed through normal channels before going nuclear?

Just call customer services monte. Despite the horror stories you read on here, most of the time they fix things without any bother.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by Chris

I think threatening the CEO with cancellation is a bit drastic. Should the OP not simply try to get the problem fixed through normal channels before going nuclear?

Just call customer services monte. Despite the horror stories you read on here, most of the time they fix things without any bother.

Indeed, I am not aware I suggested that though. I merely suggested contacting the CEO's office if the OP dosen't get a satisfactory response from CS first.

'If all else fails' was a nod to that!

Indeed you didn't ... I seem to have lost my speed-reading specs this morning sorry!

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by Chris

Indeed you didn't ... I seem to have lost my speed-reading specs this morning sorry!

No worries, the point I was really making is that perhaps the 28 day guarantee is the best time to get problems sorted as quickly as possible. I am sure it wouldn't be required but if it means contacting the CEO's office then I wouldn't hesitate to.

[Arthurgray50@blu]

I spoke with two VM engineers on Wednesday, and the whole engineering side are getting a bit fed up with all the crap that they get from customers on all types of problems they are getting with customers.

Which is not entirely there fault, BUT this is tpical VM, they should give customers a perfect service, but they don't.

My V+box was given us terrible problems the other night, we called VM and they told us, that could be the weather. What weather it has been clear skies for a couple of day.

Arthur, no one can give a "perfect service" at an affordable price - you are living in a pipe dream.

However, what a company should be doing is responding to any problems that arise, resolving them in a timely manner, and if appropriate, crediting for the lost service.

We all make mistakes (individuals or companies), it's how we respond to those mistakes that makes a difference (imho).