It's the 1st anniversary of the day Virgin Media failed to show up for a scheduled installation at our house, without any notification that the installation had been cancelled.
This was the 2nd installation which had been cancelled, though at least they notified us the first time: by phone, the day before.
Both installations were cancelled because Virgin Media didn't know where their own cable was, even though it was new cable which had been installed only a few weeks previously, supposedly specifically to allow our part of the street to be connected to their fibre optic network. At least, according to the salesman who knocked on every door to notify us that Virgin Media's services were now available to us, immediately after the new cable had been installed.
Information about the location of their new cable, and the circumstances, was never retained no matter how many different people I (and at least one of our neighbours) explained it to.
Throughout my lengthy dealings with Virgin Media the same conclusion was inescapable: unless it's 100% routine, this company don't know what they are doing. If you tell someone something which disagrees with what the screen in front of them shows, it's as if you didn't say anything at all. The level of sustained incompetence was staggering, far beyond anything I have ever encountered before.
The consequence of the 2nd cancelled installation was that our phone line and internet connection were cut off (something VM had assured me on several occasions 'could never happen'; it seems certain they still tell people that), our phone number transferred to Virgin, and our contract with original supplier EE cancelled. VM had notified EE about the transfer date, and EE had confirmed in writing that they were going to cut off our service with them on that day. EE did exactly what they said they were going to do.
Our phone and internet connection remained cut off for more than 6 weeks, while discussions continued with VM on how to resolve the situation. One of VM's managers visited our house soon after our service had been cut off (not that anyone at VM had bothered to tell him that was the reason for his visit; he was unaware of that until I told him, and had thought he was visiting for a different reason). Once he became aware of what had happened, he fully acknowledged the extent to which VM had been at fault (which was considerably more extensive than previously suspected, as quickly became apparent). He apologised 'on behalf of Virgin Media for the very shabby service you have received'.
That was the only sincere apology I ever received, and the only time VM acknowledged they had been at fault in any way.
Eventually we were told that our street wasn't going to be connected to Virgin Media's network at all. Everyone in our part of the street had been affected to a greater or lesser extent. VM walked away leaving a lot of disgruntled people behind.
I spent most of the rest of the year seeking fair treatment, reasonable compensation, and at least an acknowledgement that VM had been at fault, without any satisfactory result. The people I dealt with in the Executive Complaints Team had the level of integrity and commitment to customer service which would make them suited to the kind of jobs which entail phoning people at random, claiming to be from 'Windows', and telling whoever answers that there's a problem with their computer.
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We remain appalled that a big company can get away with this kind of behaviour. (Ofcom were very sympathetic, but don't deal with individual cases. They recommended I seek legal advice.)
The full epic story of what happened is recounted on the first blog I ever posted here, in November 2016. Anyone who has received poor service from a telecoms company should find a great deal to relate to.
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