Virgin Media - woeful...

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Nom de ploom

Original Poster:

4,890 posts

173 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
we've had nothing but trouble with VM from a shoddy new build pre-installation to never getting anywhere near the promised line speed - 150mbps...you;re having a laugh....80 is about the highest we've ever had over a wired connection.

the tv randomly records stuff - I know you can turn this off but its soo annoying -

the customer service is frankly appalling with the billing system being the biggest gripe - why in this day and age can we not have real time billing?????

so, question - if we want to switch is Sky the only real credible alternative? what switching costs are we likely to incur?

opinions gratefully received...

VEIGHT

2,362 posts

227 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
I've just switched and it was a month's fee.

I know most people know this but with sky they offered 10% discount for the year. Then found a 20% discount code. I asked if their was a 30% discount code which their was etc etc.

WinstonWolf

72,857 posts

238 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
When it's working well it's awesome, I get 200MB here smile

I'd go back to the faults dept and look for a resolution, you do have to persevere...

TEKNOPUG

18,844 posts

204 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Nom de ploom said:
we've had nothing but trouble with VM from a shoddy new build pre-installation to never getting anywhere near the promised line speed - 150mbps...you;re having a laugh....80 is about the highest we've ever had over a wired connection.

the tv randomly records stuff - I know you can turn this off but its soo annoying -

the customer service is frankly appalling with the billing system being the biggest gripe - why in this day and age can we not have real time billing?????

so, question - if we want to switch is Sky the only real credible alternative? what switching costs are we likely to incur?

opinions gratefully received...
Is 80mbps proving insufficient for you? The maximum speed that SKY offer is just 76mbps.

As for the TV randomly recording stuff; this is a feature of the TiVo box. You set it to record any types of programme that you are interested in and then it records any it finds to whatever free space you have. It then records over it if it requires space for a specific recording you have scheduled. It's full customisable, has it's own section in the EPG and can be switched off.

Do you really need real-time billing? Surely you have a set DD each month and you receive a bill before then or simply log-on to you account?

Yes, their customer service is rubbish.


I've gone from Virgin to SKY and the only thing that is better with SKY is that you get the "SKY Atlantic" channel.

Virgin line speed is faster and more stable than SKY.
The TiVo boxes are better than SKY
The EPG is better than SKY
You have 3 receivers rather than 2 with SKY (so you can record/watch more things simultaneously)
The picture quality is better


Unless you are having physical issues with the line (signal keeps dropping, very low speeds, generally unstable) which they are unable or unwilling to fix, then I would honestly say that you are better staying with Virgin. Short of one TV channel, I can't think of any area where SKY are superior and Virgin Fibre (although in no way perfect) would always be my preferred choice for internet & TV over SKY & BT.

BRISTOL86

1,097 posts

104 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
We don't have any trouble with VM for Internet but their TiVo box and associated interface is absolutely horrendous compared to a Sky+ box.

Countdown

39,690 posts

195 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
BRISTOL86 said:
We don't have any trouble with VM for Internet but their TiVo box and associated interface is absolutely horrendous compared to a Sky+ box.
Agreed.

Been with VM for 18+years and generally the service is pretty good. The techs that have visited our house to install stuff have always been friendly and helpful. Internet works well 99% of the time, TV and phone are also good value (IMO).

However if you are phoning their indian call centre it is one right royal PITA.

TEKNOPUG

18,844 posts

204 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
BRISTOL86 said:
We don't have any trouble with VM for Internet but their TiVo box and associated interface is absolutely horrendous compared to a Sky+ box.
I think it's akin to using a PC or a MAC.

I've gone from SKY to TIVO and back to SKY.

Once you learn one system (SKY), the TIVO can seem counter intuitive and can be frustrating to learn. However, having gone back to SKY, I'm left wondering where all the functionality has gone and why they are so basic.

TiVo boxes are actually sold in the US as PVR boxes and therefore have a lot additional features; such as streaming media from a NAS/PC and connecting TiVo boxes together so that you can share the recordings between them. They are an all-in-one media hub. Virgin however, have turned off a lot of their functionality for the ones they provide as part of their package.

Bobhon

1,057 posts

178 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
TEKNOPUG said:
I think it's akin to using a PC or a MAC.

I've gone from SKY to TIVO and back to SKY.

Once you learn one system (SKY), the TIVO can seem counter intuitive and can be frustrating to learn. However, having gone back to SKY, I'm left wondering where all the functionality has gone and why they are so basic.

TiVo boxes are actually sold in the US as PVR boxes and therefore have a lot additional features; such as streaming media from a NAS/PC and connecting TiVo boxes together so that you can share the recordings between them. They are an all-in-one media hub. Virgin however, have turned off a lot of their functionality for the ones they provide as part of their package.
So can you turn this additional functionality back on at all? The NAS server aspect really appeals.

Bob

megaphone

10,694 posts

250 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
OP. Check with your neighbours who have internet running down a Openreach/BT line, see what sort of speeds they are getting, I doubt they get anywhere near 80mbs.

All customer service from all utility providers is poor, all billing is made to be confusing, then you never really know what you're paying for!

If you want to talk to someone in the UK, who can usually get things done, go to 'I'm thinking of leaving' when you call, you'll then get through to cancellations in the UK call centre. It's up north, so still difficult to understand them.

Edited by megaphone on Friday 22 July 13:04

TEKNOPUG

18,844 posts

204 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Bobhon said:
So can you turn this additional functionality back on at all? The NAS server aspect really appeals.

Bob
No, it's all locked-down as far as I'm aware.

For example, you can connect multiple TiVo boxes and therefore share the recordings. So we had one in the living room and one in the bedroom. This meant that we had twice the storage capacity and could record up to 6 programmes at once. However, Virgin had only negotiated licencing rights (to allow streaming of recorded programmes) with a handful of channels, such as Discovery. None of the mainstream ones (this may have changed now). So in practise it was worthless. However, I could of course simply unplugged the TiVo in the bedroom and plugged connected it in the lounge and watched everything on it there.....

I guess a lot of the channels want you to use their on-demand services, rather than streaming using your own network.

The latest TiVo boxes are capable of the following:

Integrated Netflix, Amazon Prime & more
4K Ultra HD compatible out of the box
Easy, one-touch skipping of entire commercial breaks
Watch recordings on mobile devices
Records 4 shows at once, up to 150 HD hours of storage

In the US though, there are multiple cable providers to choose from. In the UK, it's just Virgin or SKY. So you can only use their own locked-down boxes. In an ideal world, you would just need a viewing card and then use whatever box you like.

Downward

3,490 posts

102 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Try downloading box sets on sky or anything on demand.
You'll need to plan it ahead

BRISTOL86

1,097 posts

104 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
TEKNOPUG said:
I think it's akin to using a PC or a MAC.

I've gone from SKY to TIVO and back to SKY.

Once you learn one system (SKY), the TIVO can seem counter intuitive and can be frustrating to learn. However, having gone back to SKY, I'm left wondering where all the functionality has gone and why they are so basic.

TiVo boxes are actually sold in the US as PVR boxes and therefore have a lot additional features; such as streaming media from a NAS/PC and connecting TiVo boxes together so that you can share the recordings between them. They are an all-in-one media hub. Virgin however, have turned off a lot of their functionality for the ones they provide as part of their package.
I'm basing my loathing purely on the interface/software or whatever. It's absolutely horrendous IMO, having come from a Sky+ box. Laggy as hell, and my main gripe is that it seems as though for everything that would have taken 1 or 2 button presses/menu selections on the Sky box now takes about 8, navigating through clunky menus and just so slow to do anything on...

All that jazz

7,632 posts

145 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
If you're maxing out at 80 on a 150Mb connection then I'd say you've either got an incorrect modem or it's a firmware issue. It's quite a common problem and one or the other usually instantly fixes it allowing you to get your full quota. Speak to VM.

BRISTOL86

1,097 posts

104 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Are you using your own router with the hub in modem mode or using the hub as modem and router?

DocJock

8,341 posts

239 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Downward said:
Try downloading box sets on sky or anything on demand.
You'll need to plan it ahead
So true.

I need to plan downloads on Sky at least 30 seconds ahead...

chris285

811 posts

131 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
I've not had any issues with virgin media myself and had it for 6yrs or more, granted customer service on the phone could be better but speeds have always been good and v little downtime overall

I have my own router though and the virgin hub just passes traffice

DervVW

2,223 posts

138 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all

Virgin internet is the best i've ever had. When it works, thankfully thats been 95% of the time. We had an issue with a root growing through a cable, that was a nightmare, virgin can't dig without the councils permission, council wont do anyting because, well because they are birmingham city council where answering the phone is a chore too much must times...

As for the TiVo, great idea all the recoding and smart recording and streaming netflix or youtube, but mygod is it sloooooooow. I assume that it has less than half a gig of RAM and a dead hamster as the processor?

As for billing, its a dark art... the bill fluctuates by a coupld of pound a month and frankly I have no idea, I call up and I am non the wiser, it goes like this..

Wait in call queue for ages then finally after 15 mins...

me "Hello why is my bill another £3.72 this month?"
CS "Because fish like water"
me "Why does this mean my bill goes up?"
CS "pinapples are good this time of year"
me "Yes, very good but why has my bill gone up?
CS "yes, very good"
me "so... why?"
Cs "have you thought about upgrading?"
me "No, but I would like to know why my bill has increased, please, thats the only reason ive called, no upgrades, no fish, no food, just why is there an extra charge?
cs "Calls are not all itemised"
me "Yes I have a phoneline because some weird reason its cheaper to have it as part of my package, but its never used, both my wife and I have mobile phones with loads of mins. In fact there isn't even a handset in the house let alone plugged in"
CS "have you seen the wonderful offers on virgin mobile"
me "no! Why has my bill gone up?"
cs "As a valued customer you should get a great deal on a new iphone 6"
me " No! No! No! I dont want to buy anything, why has my bill gone up?? Please thats all I want to know"
Cs "Sorry sir there is a problem with the line I can't hear you"
me "Really you suddenly can't hear me?"
Cs "I am terminating the call, i'm very sorry can't hear you"

Piersman2

6,596 posts

198 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Seriously, VM is like a breath of fresh air when compared to the sewer dwellers at Sky. I would never go near Sky ever again after the hours, and hours, and hours I spent on the phone to them every fecking month getting the to sort my bill out. I finally cracked when they refused to sort my bill out and refused to pass me through to a supervisor (for the fourth month in a row). I wrote two letters cancelling the service and then kept copies of them for 5 years (still have them) so I could fend of the debt collection agencies that Sky would set on me every year or so, for £47 they said I still owed them. wkers. Keep well clear!

All that jazz

7,632 posts

145 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
DervVW said:
Virgin internet is the best i've ever had. When it works, thankfully thats been 95% of the time. We had an issue with a root growing through a cable, that was a nightmare, virgin can't dig without the councils permission, council wont do anyting because, well because they are birmingham city council where answering the phone is a chore too much must times...

As for the TiVo, great idea all the recoding and smart recording and streaming netflix or youtube, but mygod is it sloooooooow. I assume that it has less than half a gig of RAM and a dead hamster as the processor?

As for billing, its a dark art... the bill fluctuates by a coupld of pound a month and frankly I have no idea, I call up and I am non the wiser, it goes like this..

Wait in call queue for ages then finally after 15 mins...

me "Hello why is my bill another £3.72 this month?"
CS "Because fish like water"
me "Why does this mean my bill goes up?"
CS "pinapples are good this time of year"
me "Yes, very good but why has my bill gone up?
CS "yes, very good"
me "so... why?"
Cs "have you thought about upgrading?"
me "No, but I would like to know why my bill has increased, please, thats the only reason ive called, no upgrades, no fish, no food, just why is there an extra charge?
cs "Calls are not all itemised"
me "Yes I have a phoneline because some weird reason its cheaper to have it as part of my package, but its never used, both my wife and I have mobile phones with loads of mins. In fact there isn't even a handset in the house let alone plugged in"
CS "have you seen the wonderful offers on virgin mobile"
me "no! Why has my bill gone up?"
cs "As a valued customer you should get a great deal on a new iphone 6"
me " No! No! No! I dont want to buy anything, why has my bill gone up?? Please thats all I want to know"
Cs "Sorry sir there is a problem with the line I can't hear you"
me "Really you suddenly can't hear me?"
Cs "I am terminating the call, i'm very sorry can't hear you"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U12ZYBTnHvM

hehe

I do have to concur about the sorcery surrounding the bills. I took out a contract with them last year for 50Mb internet, which of course is cheaper with the phone package when you break it down wobble and the price was x for x months, then x for x months for the remainder of the term. All good, happy to go along with that. All installed in a swift and friendly manner and it's been rock solid since. However after about 3 months I got a "your bill is going up" letter by a few quid and I think there's been another once since. I tried to made some sense of the difference on their internet bills from the original ones but it's laid out in such a retarded way that it makes no sense, so like you I just go along with it if the monthly amount on each bill "looks about right". wobble

TX1

2,348 posts

182 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
quotequote all
Been with VM for many years since the early Telewest days and I personally find them pretty good.
Have the 200mb connection which always reaches the said speed and over, have had a couple of V+ boxes fail and no hassle they change it on the spot.
Also have a Tivo which works pretty well however the wife prefers the V+ so that gets most use.
The only gripe is the way they keep putting the sneaky charges up every so often, so every year I ring up and book a termination date and wait for them to ring and offer a better deal.