NTL/Virgin Media broadband SNAFU

[J Clavox]

[kraftee]

No they just do it on their company line

[Bob Eager]

[Bob Eager]

[Alex Brown]

Hi Ron,

Hope you're well and enjoying your weekend.

Regards,

Alex

-- Alex Brown Senior Product Manager Product Management, Virgin Media

[J Clavox]

At least I am getting what I am paying for now and more besides and not being robbed of half of it every night of the week which is what was happening with Blueyonder .

[Gareth]

The real test will come when your line develops a problem that cannot be cheaply fixed. My experience of BT in this regard has been terrible - I hope that you never have to experience the sometimes rude and almost always total incompetence that I have.

Gareth.

[Carl Waring]

You're actually getting the full-speed you paid for from ADSL, with a completely un-limited, un-capped connection with no FUP or AUP? Well, I think you're the first and only one I've ever heard about. Congratulations!

Of course, I don't actully believe you, but you won't mind about that ;-) )

[Gareth]

Is this a joke? Seriously I can't tell if you're joking or not.

The example of Virgin Mobile demonstrates that Virgin management is more than capable of screwing up a perfectly good and once very efficient quality of customer service: incorrect basic information, a complete lack of technical support, a less than satisfactory call feature set and some of the stupidest tubbies I've ever encountered. Instead of developing the virtual provider's own technical support there's a complete absence of technical support - calls are I suspect shunted off to T-Mobile to be answered who knows when.

The Virgin brand was, during the 80s and early 90s, a marketing success but it's now more rhetoric than reality in terms of quality service - outdated and backward looking crap by and large. Even the name is capable of alienating a large part of the middle and older age generation whilst the younger generation will tend not to have the disposable income to afford some of the mid range or more expensive Virgin Media packages.

Far from offering more choice the Virgin Media rebranding has been just a rebranding - coupled with some stupid and adolescent labelling of sometimes over priced packages as "M, L and XL"! Calling the pimply shit that was NTL by any other name doesn't change a thing.

Gareth.

[Gonz]

Yeh, I knew he was talkin about you too.

[Gonz]

Where did he say any of that? You don't have to resort to distortin the facts, just to make a post. There's no credibility when you do, and it just makes you look stewpid.

[Gonz]

And now the Virgin brand is right at the bottom of the ISP ratings list. Way behind Tesco, and just on top of Orange.

[Guy King]

The message from "Gareth" contains these words:

Took nearly six months for them to fix an crackly line when I had dial-up. It was so bad it made data traffic largely unsuable for days on end.

[harrogate3]

overnight

information, a

encountered.

suspect

quality

expensive

labelling

The curious thing is that what was ntlworld - now Virginmedia - also hosts Tesco, Which, and a couple of others, so if the basic feed is the same how can there be much difference between them?

[deanNews]

Actually I think that NTL bought virgin mobile and have rights to use the virgin name. So I am guessing the only difference between the service we get is that we will now get a bit cooler looking bills and a few gimicks.

[Gizmo.]

You really couldnt make it up.

[Gonz]

I know... he's stewpid enuff :o)

[Gonz]

ADSL v Cable.

[Fred]

How far North do you go?

[J Clavox]

Yes I have had this experience with telewest staff in the passed bunch of wankers the lot of them ESPECIALLY the support staff who do not seem to know one end of a computer from the other and NEVER listen to what you tell them after being on hold for over half an hour waiting for them to decide to answer the damned phone .