Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

[scott2310]

Hey,

Houston i have a problem but this is going to be the Readers Digest option and i would love anyones adivce on this.

Basically, I had VM in Oct. and i took out the XL package only for the 60mgs of broadband speed and as i had been to Sky i had a long debate with it but it was due to the drop out rate so i thought being fibre optic there would be less so i went for the Premiere package. Had low speeds but didnt go throughthe calling them business as i knew or thought i knew what they would say, but i was wrong as a few months ago a guy from VM told me (after i wanted to leave) that as its now been upgraded to 100mg i should at least get 70mg broadband speed via wireless and close to 100mg but i was getting barely 23mgs (have speed test proofs). So when i was on the 60 package i was still only getting 23 mgs of speed, but i should have had alot higher. It gets confusing now as i will need to jump to other bits but basically i went to the top with a complaint email and Debroah from Executive Comlaint team spoke to me saying that my demands will not be met and all she can offer is £20 compensation, and no cancellation fee to cancel and then passed me on to broadband specialist who was really good saying that i would never get the advertised speed as my wireless card and network card on pc cant go that fast. so in my email i asked for £50 compensation due to the fact the package im on is £13 more for the higher BB speeds. this was rejected. Also im contantly in arrears and get charged £15 £5 is due to non DD customer but they wont let me go onto DD as i need to have zero balance!!! and i asked for what these charges are for and a detailed calculaton but this was also rejected as i signed and agreed.

But im sure they have mis sold me and there adverts are mis representative of there product thus in breach of distance selling.

1. Im not getting advertised speeds
2. when i took out there was no tick list online for my computer requirements to make sure the BB package is fit for purpose
3. in the T&C's there is only a minimum PC requirement, but they would know that different PC's Network/Wireless Card will allow different speeds but still make you believe as long as you meet there requirements you can get speeds.
4. So im paying £13 more for nothing as i cannot get the speeds and i wasnt told or made aware to check before hand had i done this i would of got the right BB package

I have this Deborah calling again tomorrow and i want to be armed with ideas etc as she will fob me off and i think this is a serious breech

Thanks for reading

sacott

[IsItRequired]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

I feel for ya but unfortunately cant help....They are one scummy company to have to deal with...I vote them to be the worst company I have ever had to deal with.
I reported a trip hazard cable in my street that belongs to them 2 months ago,then a month ago, and still its there waiting for someone to injure themselves and claim...or for someone to really annoy me and disconnect my TV and internet connection.
There mobile contract they send out, the document is confusing and missleading...they have ignored my request for an answer about this issue.

And SKY `s broadband was quicker and never off like virgins fancy cable thing...With virgin I get the spinning thing on the screen or page not found thing all the time.

Also the TV delay silent blank screen or spinning thing when looking for stuff to watch on there tv thing , reminds me of ceefax and the annoying wait for a page to load...with Sky you just press a button and your programe is there.1 year left on my virgin contract and then I will pull there cables from my property and get Sky...also Sky customer service and care if you are happy or not, I have found to be brilliant ,faultless in fact...with virgin the only nice helpful people I have dealt with are the sales people.And as for maybe getting any help or sympathy for being disabled, forget it...they will still cut you off, disregard your health and ignore your requests.
Most of the Virgin Media network of cables is illegaly installed aswell...the cable entering my property when not above the serfice its no more than a few inches under...and on every property i have ever worked on equal depths have been observed...who ever laid it did not do it properly and it is a national disgrace that they can use a system that can only be if done wrong...dig up all the streets and gardens to lay there cables properly would be too costly...If someone wants to annoy them I am sure you can demand that there supply to your home conforms to the rules of the land before any contract has worth?...I might be onto something here?...get em where it hurts, there must be laws for cable laying depths? well there is on building sites for water and electric ect...hmmmmm.

[ostell]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

I complained to Virgin about one of their cables being a trip hazard and was ignored for a long time. Next call was to say that if they didn't fix it I would cut off the cable. Never seen them move so fast.

[IsItRequired]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

I complained to Virgin about one of their cables being a trip hazard and was ignored for a long time. Next call was to say that if they didn't fix it I would cut off the cable. Never seen them move so fast.

If I am about to go on holiday I might do this...But at the moment it would only be me that suffers...was thinking of writing on my wall in chalk that a claim could result from this cable as the council and Virgin have been notified , not that I would like to encourage anyone to make a fast buck but to warn them and for infomation in case they become victim to it...but then I thought no becuse for safety until the digging team arrived the cable might just get cut to stop the trip hazard...I might now, thinking about it...write my chalk warning, photo it and send to virgin media, then ,not telling them wash it off so no one gets busy with my supply...if only I had the energy...lets hope tomorrow I have, be fun to do.

[vanman]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

So ok. :yo:
What you need to do is take a Network Ethernet Cable and plug into the router


And your laptop or computer.
Establish an internet connection.
Run speed test.:typing:

Do you get more than 23mb?
If yes do you get near the 50/100/152mb?
If yes then virgin have supplied you with the up to 50/100/152mb (take note your contract says up to )
It not virgins fault that you have old equipment that is not capable of receiving fast data.:smash:

(wireless network card)


Regarding the £5 none DD fee is also in the T&C that you read before you entered into the contract.
they also charge a £10 late payment fee.

if you log on to my virginmedia https://my.virginmedia.com/home/index
you will see a breakdown of your bill.

[teaboy2]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

Agreed with Vanman above, you even said in our first post that the engineer said you'd never get the advertised price based on the network card and wireless card your using.

Also the telephone line from your socket to the nearest telephone exchange box, is likely only capable of 8mb to 12mb, as that cable to the local exchange box is likely the old copper line. Fiber optic only goes from/between local exchange/network hubs to local exchange boxes on your street.

[ostell]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

Also the telephone line from your socket to the nearest telephone exchange box, is likely only capable of 8mb to 12mb, as that cable to the local exchange box is likely the old copper line. Fiber optic only goes from/between local exchange/network hubs to local exchange boxes on your street.

With Virgin the connection from consumer to the street box is co-ax cable (hence the name cable service!). This should result in higher speeds. However: Wired network speeds have changed over the years. started at 10Mb, then 100Mb and now 1,000Mb and potentially more. Similarly wireless network has also speeded up over the years with B,G and N standards with speeds of 11Mb, 54 Mb and 150Mb respectively. These are maximum speeds and are reduced, sometimes dramatically, depending how far you are away from the wireless access point and interference.

Therefore if your hardware can't support the higher speeds then no matter what you do you will not get higher. Do as vanman said and use a cable for testing the speed. The router you are using may only support lower speed.

Edit: As you have Virgin are you also taking the TV service? If you are using wireless access is your wireless router close to the TV (common with Virgin setup)? Try moving the wirelss router as far as possible from the TV.

Are there great chunks of metal between the wireless router and your computer? Things like radiators, fridges, freezers washing machines, hot water tanks.

[vanman]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

The router you are using may only support lower speed.

The OP is a new customer of virgin they would be given a superhub which is capable of receiving 300Mbps
or they may have been given a superhub 2 with better wifi range.

so the router is not :nono: going to be a issue

so the best way is to fix the network card problem is to get a wireless N USB adaptor.

[ostell]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

Vanman, I don't disagree with you but virgin are still supplying modem only in some cases and the customer supplies the wireless router. How do I know this? Had to help install a couple of months ago.

The router may be able to receive at 300Mb but what it does after that depends on the capabilities of the other equipment in the network. There is still a lot of 801.11g equipment out there and the consumers don't know the difference.

WiFi range is subject to a lot of ifs and buts. Seen a G signal that would not even go 15 metres because of a hot water tank and an ironing board in the way.

[vanman]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

Vanman, I don't disagree with you but virgin are still supplying modem only in some cases and the customer supplies the wireless router.

sorry no virgin no longer supplies a modem only.
they supply the superhub for up to 50mb and the superhub 2 for 100mb and the 152mb
and Virgin Media National list is below.
However you can turn you superhub into the modem only mode and use you own router if you like.:okay:

QUOTE If you wish to use wireless with 100Mbit or above, it is important that you use equipment that supports the wireless 'N' standard to get the most from your connection. All wireless equipment that Virgin Media supply to cable customers is compatible with the wireless 'N' standard.
from here

What Virgin Media National supply and support Here



. Supplied and supported hardware

• We'll support your broadband connection via a USB modem or ADSL router/gateway that we've provided.
• We'll support the broadband connection via Ethernet cable, built-in wireless, or one of the wireless adapters (USB or Ethernet) that we've provided.
• We'll ensure that the Virgin Media network provides a high-speed broadband Internet connection to your home.

Here are more details on what is classed as Virgin Media-supplied USB modems, ADSL routers/gateways, and wireless adapters.
USB modem

• Thomson SpeedTouch 330 (we no longer supply this)

Wireless ADSL router/gateway

• NETGEAR DG834G (v3, v4 and v5)
• D-Link DSL-2640R
• Thomson TG585v7
• Thomson ST706/ST716/ST780 (we no longer supply this)

Wireless adapter

• NETGEAR WG111Thomson ST110/ST121 (we no longer supply this)

How do I know this?

been a cable-tel / ntl / virgin media customer for 20+ years now from dial up 512mbb at a 1p per minute to 152mb.

and as i said virgin are not responsible for your network. Here


as the routers from virgin are not for sale or rented (no monthly fee is payable for it )
so the distance selling does not apply to it .

[ostell]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

We are not disagreeing vanman !!!! You can have the broadband as fast as you like but to no avail if the equipment used for the home network isn't capable of supporting the higher speeds.

If a wireless connection is being used then what's between the router and the computer also needs to be taken in to account, hence your good comment about cable connection for testing. Most computers these days should have at least a 100Mb network adapter in them.

Get the test conditions sorted out then move forward.

[vanman]

Re: Virgin media breach of contract, false advertising & distance selling breaches

We

:suspicious:

Get the test conditions sorted out then move forward.

:yield:
i agree thats why i suggested that the OP plugs straight into the router and/or gets a wireless N USB adaptor if then they have slow broadband speeds .
then they may have a case of not fit for purpose.