50M Slow broadband in Brighton?

deps · 14-10-2011, 09:10

All this week I've been getting little to no broadband speed in the evenings in Brighton. Last night, for instance, it was measuring 0.1Mb! It's mostly fine in the mornings, although on Wednesday morning it was only around 20Mb. This morning it was 48Mb (usual speed).

I phoned 150 last night and spoke to someone in India (?) - I thought I'd read somewhere all tech support lines were moving back to the UK? - anyhow, they started by telling with there was high amplification on my line and an engineer would have to visit on Monday morning. When I said that wasn't convenient they suddenly said "Oh, there's a fault in your area. You'll have to wait for it to be fixed on 26th October before you can report this any further."

I'm sure it's fine but it sounded a bit fishy. Anyone else from Brighton know if there is a general fault in the area? I've looked at the Virgin Broadband Status page for my phone number and it says everything is fine.

Just as an aside, I was then put through to another department because I wanted to tell them my HD pictures are often pixelated (has been the case ever since day 1 - about a year now, despite about 4 phone calls) and they tried to tell me there is a fault with both my V+HD box and my Tivo box!

Have I been fobbed off?

Mick Fisher · 14-10-2011, 11:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by deps

Have I been fobbed off?

Probably

thedelboy · 16-10-2011, 17:31

The fault will not be fixed until 18 November according to VM staff!! I get better speed using my "3" mobile phone than I get with VM to be honest!!

deps · 17-10-2011, 10:14

Just seen this (just this minute) on the Service Status area of My Virgin online:

Service Disruption
intermittent connection issues on your broadband internet service
Reported on: Sun 16 Oct 2011, 09:20 PM
Estimated fix time: Mon 17 Oct 2011, 08:19 AM
Fault reference: F001770093

I guess we'll find out later if it's been resolved (at work until 5pm). Here's hoping.

---------- Post added at 10:14 ---------- Previous post was at 08:56 ----------

Ha! Service Status just updated:
Service Disruption
intermittent connection issues on your broadband internet service
Reported on: Sun 16 Oct 2011, 09:20 PM
Estimated fix time: Tue 18 Oct 2011, 08:19 AM
Fault reference: F001770093

I wonder if they'll just keep changing it until 18 November?

mikep · 17-10-2011, 11:41

Thats due to an unrelated peering problem.

migmag26 · 23-10-2011, 23:15

Hi,
I feel for you i honestly do, i have a very small amount of hair left due to the last few years with Virgin, starting off on 20MB and it being terrible and then moving onto the 50MB and it being equally as terrible.. When it works, it works, but it rarely works so really...it doesn't work.. I've spent a small fortune on calling them etc etc. I could have started my own circus act like i've always dreamt of with the extra wasted cash.. So as we speak a have a web page that has been loading for quite some time now.. Videos are pointless, they just don't load.. This last week has been utterly disgraceful and my patience is yet again wearing thin.. Just a pity there aren't many better providers and it costs to change.. I LOATH Virgin Media with all my heart.. So rant over.. I think we're it it for the long haul.. No notice of maintenance or anything from them, a letter would have been nice, recession sure is biting, cant even post a letter out.. One hell of a terrible company!! I hope they read through forums and understand how shoddy a service they provide.. Buffering...........................

NotImpressed1bit · 25-10-2011, 21:39

Hi guys,

Writing this from the Hove area. I'm with Orange. I hate Orange with every inch of my soul. I've been getting my usual 14Mb speed apart from in the evenings this week (when I actually use the internet and expect it to work) where I have been getting aroun 2Mb. I know that Orange are in cahoots with BT (whom i also despise). Why is this happening to users of various providers without anyone being told about it? Bit of a coincidence isn't it? I was put through to India, and I genuinely found it almost impossible to understand what the lovely chap was saying to me. I reckon if Monty Python had written this as a sketch, they would've dismissed it as being too ridiculous even for them and scrapped it!
I am absolutely baffled as to how this is possible with no announcement, notice or warning.

I am genuinely disgusted.

deps · 26-10-2011, 10:35

A quick update. Had an engineer around last Friday who confirmed (after fitting an amplifier and seeing no improvement) that it is a "street level" problem and that the Network Department will have to fix it. He said that if nothing is better by the end of this week I should phone again.

I get the feeling I'm going around in circles.

Just as an aside, today is the day (26th October) that one phone support person told me "a general problem in your area" would be fixed by.

We'll see...

[edit]
Also interesting to see that, despite it being fairly common knowledge there are big problems in parts of Brighton and Hove, the official status page still shows "Good Service" in the area and that most complaints about it on the official support forums are unanswered.

NotImpressed1bit · 27-10-2011, 18:57

Hello again,

I'm going to give this a go http://testmy.net/auto

You can set it up so that it automatically tests your internet speed on the hour, every hour, and logs the results. I'm gonna see what times it keeps happening, then submit them to ofcom.

I urge you guys to possibly try it, so that we can see if there are any similarities, even among different Internet Service Providers.

All the best

NotImpressed1bit

thedelboy · 28-10-2011, 21:05

I have been complaining for months about vms speed I am getting nothing and its a waste of time talking to them!!

PowerUser · 29-10-2011, 11:30

Living just outside of brighton Along the coast, My 50Mbit is now non existent. Web pages dont' even load quicky. Tried several 30 second Modem Resets.

horseman · 29-10-2011, 11:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotImpressed1bit

Hello again,

….I urge you guys to possibly try it, so that we can see if there are any similarities, even among different Internet Service Providers.

NotImpressed1bit

Since this appears to be hosted via a Dallas or Washington server I'm not sure how useful the actual figures are going to be given the peering/transit links/distances involved?

Have you considered testing VM's new speedtest trial servers as well?
>Help-us-test-our-speed-test

FWIW I can certainly illustrate some of this with comparative results from both "L"/10/1 tier via Brig15 and possibly even a "XL"/20/2 tier via Brig16.

thedelboy · 31-10-2011, 19:46

am really peeved now 16kbps is all I am getting and you just can not talk to virgin they offer to knock money off they should not charge for a service thay are not giving !! well here goes another call to ofcom!

---------- Post added at 19:46 ---------- Previous post was at 19:06 ----------

absolutley no bb now so am using my mobile yet again tried calling VM what a waste and every time I sign in my vm it tells me wrong password so cant even e mail them

deps · 03-11-2011, 07:29

Another update:
Phoned support again last night (tried Tuesday night but was on hold for 25 minutes so gave up). They said there is a known fault in the area which is due to be fixed on 14th November. They also said they would compensate me from yesterday until the fault is fixed. I asked about compensation for the last month (when I first reported the problem) and the guy said he couldn't help with that. Apparently I have to wait until the issue is fixed and then make a claim afterwards.