Well, I gave it a try...but alas.

AdamD · 10-10-2008, 21:53

So I was with Virgin media when I first bought this house, but had ongoing and annoying issues with various technical problems relating to drop outs and whatnot

I switched to a DSL provider, but decided to come back to Virgin again.

I am yet again moving BACK to another DSL provider for my broadband service, based on the following reasons.

When I originally had VM, I cancelled before the 30 day guarantee thing and never got my refund, but I honestly don't have the patience to talk to people I can barely understand on the phone, so shrugged it off.

When I came back this time, the order never got confirmed, I received no welcome pack or phone call, so I called them up and ordered over the phone.

They informed me I had an outstanding balance of Ã‚Â£1.(something), I think the person said Ã‚Â£1.32 or something insignificant and that's the reason the order never went through, so I paid that using my VISA card and went ahead with the order
I placed an order for the 20mb broadband package on the special offer price of Ã‚Â£29 a month.

The welcome pack arrived, with the free router and whatnot and I was setup ok (although they didn't include the setup CD, so thanks to THIS forum, I was able to setup manually...so thanks Cableforum :P)

And since then it's been a rollercoaster journey, mostly downhill, unfortunatly.

I actually had the service for about 10 days, before I decided to cancel again, due to the fact they put me on the wrong price plan, then decided to change my broadband speed from XL to M, without telling me.
But they promised things would improve and I agreed to stay
I then found out they debited Ã‚Â£88.00 from my account, but they claim they didn't know why (....eh?)
So I wrote to the complaint address I found on Adslguide for their head office, I believe
I got a check in the mail for Ã‚Â£30ish, with no explanation of why I was billed Ã‚Â£88 and WHY I still haven't got the full amount back.

Anyways, fast forward a week, yet again my broadband was dropped from XL to M
And to make matters worse, now all three of us in the house are using the broadband connection (Radio streaming, downloads, html/email and anything in between), the STM kicks in pretty damn fast, and that leaves us with a barely useable connection for three people
When STM kicks in, all of us find that clicking a link to a website results in either a "Page cannot be displayed" or it takes upwards of 10-20 seconds for a page to load
We can't do anything except email, web viewing and simple stuff
And for some reason the STM speeds we experience are FAR less than the quoted STM speed restrictions
I can barely manage 50kb/second on a single PC, so you can imagine how slow it is for 3 computers.
And to add insult to injury, they billed me for Ã‚Â£74, the wrong price for the offer we went for, heh.

So....now I'm at odds as to what to do
My uncle got his own broadband connection because he was fedup with the slow speeds, so he's now on BT Broadband
So now I'm thinking of ordering my own BT landline and getting Bethere again.

Phew.

Gary L · 10-10-2008, 22:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamD

So now I'm thinking of ordering my own BT landline and getting Bethere again.

Phew.

That's what I'd do too.

AdamD · 10-10-2008, 22:06

Heh yea, I just placed an order with BT
Although it's gonna cost me Ã‚Â£120 for the new line...I figure it'll be worth it. (At least, I hope)

AdamD · 11-10-2008, 09:06

Just logged in this morning to find websites taking an age....again
And low and behold

Network Access : Allowed
Maximum Downstream Data Rate : 2048000
Maximum Upstream Data Rate : 200000
Maximum Upstream Channel Burst : 1600
Maximum Number of CPEs : 1
Modem Capability : Concatenation Enabled, Fragametation Enabled, PHS Disabled

And yet, the virgin media page says

Your existing package is Virgin Media broadband Size XL . This is a Ã‚Â£37 per month subscription.

So why do they keep putting me on the 2mb line? hehe.

CrowmanUK · 11-10-2008, 09:21

Cant say enough good about bethere, I moved from virginadsl and its a world of difference mate

chickendippers · 11-10-2008, 10:16

Virgin ADSL is entirely different from the cable service, and is unfortunately one of the worst ADSL services in the country.

Trent · 11-10-2008, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickendippers

Virgin ADSL is entirely different from the cable service, and is unfortunately one of the worst ADSL services in the country.

Well I am sorry I have to disagree, both my Gran and my sister are on Virgin Media DSL, they dont live in a cable area, when they first got the service they struggled to get 1mb ill give you but about 8 months ago it all sped up and are now consistantly getting between 5 & 7mb. My sister lives closer to the exchange than my gran so she tends to get 7mb while my Gran lives a bit further away and gets 5mb.

They used to have BT and could barely get online let alone 1mb download. BTW i dont know who you are speaking to when you call but i almost always get someone who is from Scotland when I call. Unless you cant understand us scots!!!

CrowmanUK · 11-10-2008, 10:55

I left Virgin DSL because of how hopeless it was, the cable boys moan a lot about STM but if they had a taste of what happens on DSL then they'd have something to moan about, as long as you dont download anything you're laughing. If you do though get ready for some retro internet, 80kbps anyone?

chickendippers · 11-10-2008, 15:18

Trent, Virgin ADSL was consistently the worst provider in pretty much all areas of the SamKnows Performance Monitoring Report: http://www.samknows.com/broadband/pm/PM_Summer_08.pdf

If the speeds increased to 8mb with Virgin after a time, the change would have happened with BT as their ISP; all DSLMax services go through exactly the same equipment.

D.Casey · 11-10-2008, 15:27

I live over 30 mins walk from my BT exchange & couldn't get above 1mb at peak times

you'd think BT would build more exchanges in major citys/towns as I can't imagine anybody putting up with the service they get if they live a fair distance from their exchange.

AdamD · 14-10-2008, 13:16

Well for a couple of days I was back on 20mb, but again today we're noticing problems.
And...yet again
Network Access : Allowed
Maximum Downstream Data Rate : 2048000
Maximum Upstream Data Rate : 200000
Maximum Upstream Channel Burst : 1600
Maximum Number of CPEs : 1
Modem Capability : Concatenation Enabled, Fragametation Enabled, PHS Disabled

Axegrinder · 14-10-2008, 13:24

Youve been dropped back to 2mb again

AdamD · 14-10-2008, 13:27

Aye, ...Getting so tired of it now, heh.<br>I was about to cancel the 2nd phone line install so I could go back to ADSL, but I think I'll stick with it :P<br>

AdamD · 15-10-2008, 20:58

Does anyone have any advice on how/where to argue for early cancellation of a contract?
I don't really fancy talking to someone in India about my problems and why I think it should be cancelled.
Would writing to the head office be better than calling the generic number?

D.Casey · 15-10-2008, 21:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamD

Does anyone have any advice on how/where to argue for early cancellation of a contract?
I don't really fancy talking to someone in India about my problems and why I think it should be cancelled.
Would writing to the head office be better than calling the generic number?

Write to customer complaints, you get to speak to somebody from swansea usually then when they ring you up.