Virgin media issues

Anybody else having problems in this area please? I'm on VM "super fastbroad" (50mg down and 3mg up) and I've been having problems since about Feb 2016. The problems usually start at around 4pm when speeds start to drop to about 25 to 30mg and then by about 7pm it's around 1.5mg and this is 7 days a week. It's obvious looking at the pattern that the area is over subscribed!

I've contacted them twice and they've confirmed it's a high utilization problem and they're now fobbing me off with fix dates and a speed upgrade. I don't think they've got any intention of resolving this issue but I just wondered if anyone else is having the similar problems and also if you've had any response from VM?

Thank you

I have a thread on here asking for opinions on Vodafone Fibre because we have the same issue with Virgin and are planning on swapping. It's been happening in exactly the same way you describe since last October for us. We get a part refund every month and they usually give a fix date several months ahead, which never actually happens. Current fix date they've given me is a date in September (hysterically the guy on the phone even gave me a time of 9.30am on that day). We've waited on four or five other promise dates which have all past without improvement, so we're off.

Good when it works but can't currently handle the demand.

Thank you for the reply daisydaisydo! This to me seems to be their business model! Take on as many subscribers as possible regardless of what effect it has on the BB speed and hope that people don't complain too much and string them along for as long as possible without actually doing anything about it!

I phoned them for a second time this week and not surprisingly they revised the fix date. And when I asked them on why they take on more customers than their network can handle the Customer support person said they their sales staff have been advised not to take on any more customers in my area. She also said that a manager would call me to give me more information. I knew it was nothing but lies but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. But sure enough no one called and a day later I saw a VM can outside a house a couple of streets away from me and they were installing broadband! I don't know how they get away with it!

Vodaphone Broadband uses a PhoneLine like 90% of other providers, and as such is constrained at peak times of the day, as there's only so much available bandwidth in your local exchange - there can be up to 50 homes connected to a single line card..

With Virgin, they don't have the same issues, in the same way, they do have peak times when things slow down, but they have the traffic management, where if you go over certain limits, they will cut your speed - you could (in theory) go from a 50mb connection to a 1.5mb connection by hitting the limits multiple times....

Take a look at the Thresholds here...

https://my.virginmedia.com/traffic-management/traffic-management-policy-thresholds.html

If you select option 5 when you call, which I think is 'Press 5 if you are moving house or think of leaving us' you get through to someone who would normally try to make you stay by offering a deal. This person also seems to normally give quite reliable advise regards system improvements. On my most recent call the guy told me that he wasn't going to try and talk me out of it as they were so over subscribed in our area, and because he had little confidence the service would actually improve before Christmas. He said if you take a new package elsewhere for 12 months then we might have just got our network improved by the time that ends if you want to come back.

I have also heard that they are able to keep the download speeds good for new customers until they reach the end of their 30 day cooling off period, and then they 'throttle' the speed down to 1-2MB at peak times once they can no longer leave.

How much this all comes down to Branson no longer owning it having sold it to the Americans I don't know.

If you select option 5 when you call, which I think is 'Press 5 if you are moving house or think of leaving us' you get through to someone who would normally try to make you stay by offering a deal. This person also seems to normally give quite reliable advise regards system improvements. On my most recent call the guy told me that he wasn't going to try and talk me out of it as they were so over subscribed in our area, and because he had little confidence the service would actually improve before Christmas. He said if you take a new package elsewhere for 12 months then we might have just got our network improved by the time that ends if you want to come back.

This I can believe, they are generally honest and very good with things like that....

I have also heard that they are able to keep the download speeds good for new customers until they reach the end of their 30 day cooling off period, and then they 'throttle' the speed down to 1-2MB at peak times once they can no longer leave.

This is BS, they cannot individually target users like that, and if they were found to be doing that they would be in trouble for fraud and preferential/unfair treatment of customers etc...

Ghozer, do you have any opinions on their rivals? Bt claim to be truly unlimited with no traffic management, whereas Plusnet (cheaper) have no download limit but do use traffic management. I know BT owns Plusnet and they would be using the same equipment, but would most users notice any effect from the traffic management? Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Bt claim to be truly unlimited with no traffic management

It depends on which package:

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10495/~/bt-broadband-usage-policy

Ghozer, do you have any opinions on their rivals? Bt claim to be truly unlimited with no traffic management, whereas Plusnet (cheaper) have no download limit but do use traffic management. I know BT owns Plusnet and they would be using the same equipment, but would most users notice any effect from the traffic management? Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Before Digital region came to my area I was with IDnet for about 5 years and they were great. First class customer service and no bs. I only moved because they couldn't supply a fibre connection ( they piggyback off the BT infrastructure like most other ISPs but my exchange hadn't been upgraded to fibre). Then when DR went under my only option was VM and it was great for about 18 months.

If you live in an are where BT can supply fibre broadband then defiantly avoid the big companies and go with small independent ISPs. If and when they upgrade my local exchange ( Attercliffe) then I'll go back to IDnet or another independent.

Before Digital region came to my area I was with IDnet for about 5 years and they were great. First class customer service and no bs. I only moved because they couldn't supply a fibre connection ( they piggyback off the BT infrastructure like most other ISPs but my exchange hadn't been upgraded to fibre). Then when DR went under my only option was VM and it was great for about 18 months.

 

If you live in an are where BT can supply fibre broadband then defiantly avoid the big companies and go with small independent ISPs. If and when they upgrade my local exchange ( Attercliffe) then I'll go back to IDnet or another independent.

Thanks Buggz. Will look into it further.

Before Digital region came to my area I was with IDnet for about 5 years and they were great. First class customer service and no bs. I only moved because they couldn't supply a fibre connection ( they piggyback off the BT infrastructure like most other ISPs but my exchange hadn't been upgraded to fibre). Then when DR went under my only option was VM and it was great for about 18 months.

 

If you live in an are where BT can supply fibre broadband then defiantly avoid the big companies and go with small independent ISPs. If and when they upgrade my local exchange ( Attercliffe) then I'll go back to IDnet or another independent.

Buggz - Attercliffe exchange was upgraded for Fibre about 8 months ago. I'm connected to it and have had Fibre from Sky for the past 2 months.

Check here & here to see if your street cabinet is live yet.

http://www.superfastsouthyorkshire.co.uk/sfsy/where

http://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/OurNetwork/Superfast.aspx

Buggz - Attercliffe exchange was upgraded for Fibre about 8 months ago. I'm connected to it and have had Fibre from Sky for the past 2 months.

 

Check here & here to see if your street cabinet is live yet.

 

http://www.superfastsouthyorkshire.co.uk/sfsy/where

 

http://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/OurNetwork/Superfast.aspx

That's great news! Thank you Paddy ?