50M : Virgin broadband is driving me crazy

[octatonic]

The saga continues II.

The tech came out a few days ago and now it is worse.
AND they broke my landline- didn't connect it back up when they switched me to the new junction box.

So today they said I should downgrade to 20Meg as it will now take them until November 20th to fix the utilisation issue.
Also, if I want to go back to 50meg after this then I will have to agree to a new 12 month contract.

This happened this morning.
I am now clearly on a 20Meg line but I am having exactly the same issues.
I get 20MB about 1/2 the time and the rest I am getting 1-2MB.

F****'s sake.
What do I have to do to get a reliable connection?

I've tried to complain to OFCOM but they can't do anything for me.
I have to go to CISAS for adjudication.

---------- Post added at 15:57 ---------- Previous post was at 15:53 ----------

Originally Posted by LaineY

I would have thought the Downstream Power Levels are too high for 50MB,

I'm sure they are mean't to be below +7

I have an attenuator on and now mostly get around 0 to +1.

---------- Post added at 16:04 ---------- Previous post was at 15:57 ----------

Speaking to Virgin Media tech right now.
He is saying 'going from 50MB down to 20MB will NOT fix the issue for me.

This company just can't seem to get it right.

---------- Post added at 16:27 ---------- Previous post was at 16:04 ----------

This is what I am getting currently.



---------- Post added at 16:32 ---------- Previous post was at 16:27 ----------

Back on 50MB now.
It is as bad as ever.

Less than 1Mb/s downstream.
Ping is over 100ms.
Upload is 3Mb/s.

[Tim Deegan]

If I were you I would give Consumer Direct a call, to find out exactly where you stand legally. They have had plenty of time to sort the problem.

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by Tim Deegan

If I were you I would give Consumer Direct a call, to find out exactly where you stand legally. They have had plenty of time to sort the problem.

I am going to mediation in 8 weeks time with CISAS.
I'm then need to see if I can sue for the last 12 months internet connection charges and the ridiculous amount of time I've spent on the phone sorting this out.

The term '[Mod Edit ]in a brewery' comes to mind right now.

Please do not use words which invoke the swear filter - this is against Site T&Cs

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Please do not use words which invoke the swear filter - this is against Site T&Cs

Sure.

[Tim Deegan]

Originally Posted by octatonic

I am going to mediation in 8 weeks time with CISAS.
I'm then need to see if I can sue for the last 12 months internet connection charges and the ridiculous amount of time I've spent on the phone sorting this out.

The term '[Mod Edit ]in a brewery' comes to mind right now.

So does that mean you are stuck with them for at least another two months?

It's a real shame that they can't sort it out, as the service is excellent when it works. But you can't carry on like this.

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by Tim Deegan

So does that mean you are stuck with them for at least another two months?

It's a real shame that they can't sort it out, as the service is excellent when it works. But you can't carry on like this.

Longer.
My contract is up until March.
This is another issue I have actually.
Anytime you change something with Virgin they sign you up to another 12 months contract.

I'd gladly cut my losses and go back to ADSL if they would just release my contract.

[Tim Deegan]

Originally Posted by octatonic

Longer.
My contract is up until March.
This is another issue I have actually.
Anytime you change something with Virgin they sign you up to another 12 months contract.
I'd gladly cut my losses and go back to ADSL if they would just release my contract.

I'm sure someone has said previously that this isn't strictly legal??

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by Tim Deegan

I'm sure someone has said previously that this isn't strictly legal??

Legal or not, they still do it.
I actually know the mechanism that allows them to get away with it.
They use a 'discount' code that requires you to sign up to a new contract.
You could make the changes without the new contract but that pushes you up into a different price bracket.
Pretty much everyone that has a bundle has this discount applied.
Removing the discount adds something like £30-40 to the price of the bundle.

I rang OFCOM about this today and they were supremely disinterested in addressing this issue though.
I expressed the idea that it is an unethical practice and I was told 'no-one else is complaining about it so we can't do anything.

I spoke to 2 different customer service reps at Virgin today and they confirmed that if I downgraded to 20Mb and then upgraded again to 50Mb that I would be put on a new contract.

I requested a letter from them to specifically except me from this, which took me 30 mins of arguing to get them to send it.
It should arrive sometime next week- I will scan it when it arrives so everyone can see it.

[Tim Deegan]

Originally Posted by octatonic

Legal or not, they still do it.
I actually know the mechanism that allows them to get away with it.
They use a 'discount' code that requires you to sign up to a new contract.
You could make the changes without the new contract but that pushes you up into a different price bracket.
Pretty much everyone that has a bundle has this discount applied.
Removing the discount adds something like £30-40 to the price of the bundle.

I rang OFCOM about this today and they were supremely disinterested in addressing this issue though.
I expressed the idea that it is an unethical practice and I was told 'no-one else is complaining about it so we can't do anything.

I spoke to 2 different customer service reps at Virgin today and they confirmed that if I downgraded to 20Mb and then upgraded again to 50Mb that I would be put on a new contract.

I requested a letter from them to specifically except me from this, which took me 30 mins of arguing to get them to send it.
It should arrive sometime next week- I will scan it when it arrives so everyone can see it.

The trouble with ombudsman services is that they are funded by companies within that industry. That isn't so much of a problem with say, the financial sector. But in the telephone business there are only a few main companies. So although OFCOM are supposed to be independent, sometimes ombudsman services in industries without many businesses an be reluctant to make bite the hand that feeds them.

[Nopanic]

Originally Posted by Tim Deegan

The trouble with ombudsman services is that they are funded by companies within that industry. That isn't so much of a problem with say, the financial sector. But in the telephone business there are only a few main companies. So although OFCOM are supposed to be independent, sometimes ombudsman services in industries without many businesses an be reluctant to make bite the hand that feeds them.

Not addressing the OPs issue directly, but OFCOM are not taken lightly by VM.

[Tim Deegan]

Originally Posted by Nopanic

Not addressing the OPs issue directly, but OFCOM are not taken lightly by VM.

And so they shouldn't.

However there is always the fact that if VM stop financing OFCOM, then they will lose a massive proportion of their income....think about it.

Nothing like a bit of innuendo and smear to colour an argument, is there?

Here is how Ofcom are funded -

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/files/2010/0...es_2001011.pdf

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by Nopanic

Not addressing the OPs issue directly, but OFCOM are not taken lightly by VM.

and OFCOM will only address issues that are raised by a fairly large number of people it seems.

Individuals, like myself, with issues of service are totally ignored by Virgin and by OFCOM.
The problem I am having is that NO-ONE will address my issue directly.
I am passed from pillar to post by one incompetent jobsworth to another.

Every time I get close to the resolution date this date is revised back by Virgin.
My feeling is actually that Virgin have zero interest in investing in better infrastructure.
It is more profitable for them to just take our money and sit back and do the bare minimum- employing more foreign call centre staff to manage the complaints is more affordable than infrastructure investment.

You cannot even leave because every time you make a change to your service they tie you back in to a 12 month contract.
Don't believe me?
Look at this:



This letter is something I had to fight to get this letter because when they downgraded me yesterday (which did nothing to fix my issue and a manager in the technical assistance dept confirmed this) they acknowledged that moving me back to 50Mb would invoke a new 12 month contract.
I only agreed to let them downgrade me once I knew I had a letter coming because I've been stung by this before- 18 months ago I was signed up for another 12 months when I went from an M to XL TV package.
I didn't require an engineer and there was no good reason they gave me for signing me back up other than 'this is how we do it'.
Just thinking about me makes me want to invoke the swear filter.

This morning I've run about 10 different speed tests.
The fastest connection I can get is 2Mb/s.
Currently it is 1.98Mb/s.


I am supposed to have a 50Mb/s connection.
It is a joke.

To anyone else having performance issues, I suggest we join forces and blitz OFCOM all at once.
If enough of us complain all in the same day they will be forced to respond.

I highly recommend that people keep a log of every call made, the period of outage (or poor performance) and then present that information to OFCOM.
Virgin have 8 weeks to rectify the fault (this is also a complete mess- who can have no or little broadband for 2 months in 2011, not me for certain) and then they have to respond.

The reason you may not be getting much help from Ofcom may be due to this....

What is Ofcom

What we do
Our main legal duties are to ensure:
the UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including high-speed services such as broadband;
a wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;
television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations;
people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material;
people are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio programmes, and from having their privacy invaded; and
the radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most effective way.

What we do not do
We are not responsible for regulating:
disputes between you and your telecoms provider; <-------
premium-rate services, including mobile-phone text services and ringtones;
the content of television and radio adverts;
complaints about accuracy in BBC programmes;
the BBC TV licence fee; or
newspapers and magazines.