Help & Advice needed RE: new UBR

[ECW_Original]

Hi, well for the past 2 years my "top level" broadband package is WAY below par, I am lucky if I get 2Mb in the early hours!

I have spoken to a nice friendly chap on here who is also a tech chap for VM and this is what he had to say:

Ah Peterborough...

Ex NTL Bell CableMedia region. Histroically NTL were always a bit "cheap" when it came to providing equipment and, unfortunately, this region is suffering. Peterborough hasnt had an equipment upgrade yet doe to technical issues with the headend equipment. Hence the UBR's are stil using decomissioned MC16E cards compared to the newer MC28U cards used elsewhere. There are speed issues with all the UBR's in this region and also an issue with cloned modems, which appear to be causing the majority of speed issues. Virgin Media are rolling out further upgrades to ex NTL regions to counter this and hopefully your speeds will improve soon but at the moment there is no ETA for completion of this work.

So going by this, and what I already know, the UBR's around here are way over-subscribed, is there ANY way at all of talking/bribing/forcing VM to add 1 or 2 new UBR's in the street cab to make the users speeds a bit decent compaired to what they are?

I spoke to a nice manager at VM a few weeks ago, and he said that HE too experiences really slow speeds (surely for a manager, HE can do something at least??) but basically the most important thing he told me to do was call up TS & find out when the first problems was reported, then DEMAND a full refund, and if the TS agent didnt do it then call straight back and the manager would fill out a Triple CS (wtf is this?) and whoever refused would be in trouble.

Now I have been told by the TS agent that all has been refunded (first recorded prob was 4th August 2006!!

Surely by now they have got the message and something NEEDS to be done!!

So, back to my original Q; how would I make them sort all of this rubbish out?

Thanks all for your patience in reading this, and I await any reply to this situation!

[piggy]

you have quoted your own answer there is no ETA and imo there is nothing you can do.

[ECW_Original]

Forgive me Piggy, if this comes across as rude or ignorant, but how the hell can VM get away with this? EVERYONE in VM knows about the over-subscription, but NOBODY will do anything about it, but if I dare withold even a month's payment for this 1Mb over an 'upto' 20Mb connection, then I get threatning letters, maybe I should do the same back, stating that UNLESS they upgrade the componants, then they will ONLY get paid UPTO the speed I am actually getting.

This is totally unacceptable, and I will not put up with it anymore.

As far as I see, VM have 2 choices, sort the problems out or let me have it for free, as I WILL NOT pay £37 a month for a connection that is even slower than the 2Mb service we have at work!

[piggy]

Originally Posted by ECW_Original

Forgive me Piggy, if this comes across as rude or ignorant, but how the hell can VM get away with this? EVERYONE in VM knows about the over-subscription, but NOBODY will do anything about it, but if I dare withold even a month's payment for this 1Mb over an 'upto' 20Mb connection, then I get threatning letters, maybe I should do the same back, stating that UNLESS they upgrade the componants, then they will ONLY get paid UPTO the speed I am actually getting.

This is totally unacceptable, and I will not put up with it anymore.

As far as I see, VM have 2 choices, sort the problems out or let me have it for free, as I WILL NOT pay £37 a month for a connection that is even slower than the 2Mb service we have at work!

i totally agree but this is a company that does not spend on infrastructer the only area they spend on is sales and advertising the backbone gets nowt as you say everybody knows and also everybody knows it will cost money and historically they have proved they do not spend it in this area

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by ECW_Original

Forgive me Piggy, if this comes across as rude or ignorant, but how the hell can VM get away with this? EVERYONE in VM knows about the over-subscription, but NOBODY will do anything about it, but if I dare withold even a month's payment for this 1Mb over an 'upto' 20Mb connection, then I get threatning letters, maybe I should do the same back, stating that UNLESS they upgrade the componants, then they will ONLY get paid UPTO the speed I am actually getting.

This is totally unacceptable, and I will not put up with it anymore.

It is becoming more common knowledge now that they are over subscribed and more and more employees are stating this. before it was a complete denial by Virgin Media. so don't worry I think now everybody knows including OFCOM and the such, things will start working for the customer. they can no longer get away with it and drag it on any longer

[SapperGB]

Originally Posted by ECW_Original

maybe I should do the same back, stating that UNLESS they upgrade the componants, then they will ONLY get paid UPTO the speed I am actually getting.

Hmm now theres an idea, a user petition signed by users stating that we will happily pay 'UP TO £37' a month for say over 15Mb (5Mb allowance is generous enough i think) then we pay a percentage of the £37 in accordance to our true speed.

my maths is poor, can anyone work out what 0.6Mb is as a fraction of £37 and then convert this to a percentage?

I rekon VM would get around £1.50 a month from me

[Nedkelly]

They need to pull there finger out and start putting in new kit as it is getting beyond a joke .They say the money is there but is the kit there ? .I have heard it all yes we will move you to a new ubr ,ive put you on a new server .When the tech comes he will put a new modem in and it will be ok .These are what some tech support people have said to some of the customers .Why cant they just tell the truth

[ECW_Original]

Originally Posted by Nedkelly

They need to pull there finger out and start putting in new kit as it is getting beyond a joke .They say the money is there but is the kit there ? .I have heard it all yes we will move you to a new ubr ,ive put you on a new server .When the tech comes he will put a new modem in and it will be ok .These are what some tech support people have said to some of the customers .Why cant they just tell the truth

VM tell the truth??? now that IS a laugh!!

But seriously, yes I am not happy with NTL/VM, I have been a cable customer since 2002, and I started with the 115Kb/s broadband, and gone through all packages, and TBH, the first time I noticed speed problems was when they first rolled out their 10Mb service, all was good upto that point.

Apart from my idea's on the "upto" payment, I really dont know what to do, we dont have a BT line installed, so it is no good saying "just leave VM" as I really wish I had that option, I'd have taken it a long time ago.

[SapperGB]

Do as i wil lsurely be doing ECW,

sell all your xmas prezzies and give BT their dammned £125 in January

[ECW_Original]

Originally Posted by SapperGB

Do as i wil lsurely be doing ECW,

sell all your xmas prezzies and give BT their dammned £125 in January

lol no offence fella, but im not going to budge, VM have 2 choices, upgrade the necessary kit, or let me have it for free..

I really am waiting until they cut me off for not paying the bill, then they WILL get what they dont want, as I will make sure that something is done, by ANY means necessary, and I WILL try EVERYTHING within my power to get the upgrades, even if I have to camp out at our headend (its only about 15 mins walk away)

I WILL get what we all need, even if I have to take unconventional messures to make this happen!

[SapperGB]

Originally Posted by ECW_Original

lol no offence fella, but im not going to budge, VM have 2 choices, upgrade the necessary kit, or let me have it for free..

I really am waiting until they cut me off for not paying the bill

I WILL get what we all need, even if I have to take unconventional messures to make this happen!

Originally Posted by ECW_Original

Now I have been told by the TS agent that all has been refunded (first recorded prob was 4th August 2006!!

I thought you had got it for free?

[ECW_Original]

Well, they at TS say it has all been refunded and I will be in credit, but as we all know, VM are hardly known for their honnesty, so the only way I will find out is when the bill comes through the door next week, and boy will they know about it if I haven't been credited!!

[SapperGB]

LOL,

good for you in sticking to your guns.

just one thing though, IF you get the credit and VM are giving your service for free, how will you spend it?

Personally if its on your bill as credit, THEN may be the time to cancel subscription. the cheque should give you your BT line and pay for a subscription for a cpl. years.

[ECW_Original]

Originally Posted by SapperGB

LOL,

good for you in sticking to your guns.

just one thing though, IF you get the credit and VM are giving your service for free, how will you spend it?

Personally if its on your bill as credit, THEN may be the time to cancel subscription. the cheque should give you your BT line and pay for a subscription for a cpl. years.

Hmm, now that IS a really good idea wish I was that good at thinking when I feel like Im dying from the flu!

Although, I just remembered last week I did 1 of them BT tests, where they tell ya how far away from the exchange etc, i think it said something like 2Km stright line distance, and I could get a massive 2Mb maximum speed!

Hmm, for all that money, I guess I'll stay put!


As a side note: does anyone know how much it is to purchase a new UBR? maybe the extra credit could be used to buy 1 if they really ARE that short of money!

[lucevans]

ECW_Original;

Which part of Peterborough are you in? I'm in Werrington and I've had my suspicions that the speed problems were partly due to the old Bell Cable Media equipment (I can remember the problems when the old analogue cable TV was first installed donkeys years ago, and I wouldn't be surprised if we're still using the same cabling!)

Bob