Update#3 - 25/7/2007 - It just gets worse. Despite claiming to have added free services to my account, I now have in my hands a bill detailing this months charges… you guessed it, I have been charged for everything. They have since credited back the money and I now have to go back to the Retentions department to ask them to sort the discount out… again! When this company was NTL, I called them a handful of times in 5 years, as Virgin Media I am calling them on average 4 times a month. I told you… baboons.

Update#2 - Looks like all is well again, (hopefully). I managed to speak to someone in their retentions department and they have sorted out my account leaving me with what I was promised. In response to queries regarding the actual broadband service, I have found it be on the whole, reliable and quick. Never really had any real problems, the only issues were with their internal billing system.

Update#1 - They have now given me back my phone number. Not even an apology for the cock-up. To make matters worse, the offer of a broadband upgrade from 4mb to 10 (then 20) hasn’t happened. I have been charged for the 20mb line, and the free 24/7 calls to 01 and 02 numbers also hasn’t happened. Basically, the entire upgrade to keep you as a customer offer never happened. grrr…

In a previous post I talked about how much better NTL had become as a result of their buyout by Virgin. Their customer support was near instant and their service worked smoothly… till recently. This story has to be the stuff urban myths are made of.

It started on Saturday, 24th June. At around 3pm I needed to make an outgoing call. I noticed that there was no dial tone. Naturally, I checked wiring and handsets to make sure all was well. Everything seemed OK. I was in a hurry so left to carry out an errand. Upon returning my wife passed on a message. Apparently, a friend had been trying to call and the phone was being answered by a complete stranger.

An angry call to Virgin Media telephone support later at a cost of god-knows per minute from my mobile (which incidentally took me 9 attempts) led me to the conclusion that they are the most incompetent bunch of baboons you are ever likely use. It turned out that, out of the blue, they cancelled my telephone service and had allocated my telephone number to another household. There was no request for a cancellation on my account, yet they decided, to the amazement of the manager I spoke to, to cancel my account.

Not only is the number the contact number for my web development business, it is also the main number for my other business. I managed to speak to the person who currently has my phone number, she told me that this was the second time it had happened to her. The reason they have my number is because their previous number was also as a result of a phantom request for a line cancellation where the number was the main contact number for another company. As with the previous company, she had received many calls regarding work. In her own words, “you have had calls all day”. So much so that they have taken the phone off the hook.

So, as of 1pm the next day, I am still without a telephone line. Apparently, I have to wait till Monday to reverse the change as that is when the dumb-ass telephone department opens.

Oh, did I mention that I won’t be reimbursed for the loss of earnings, time and the cost of calling their support line from my mobile phone? Idiots I tell you, IDIOTS!

It has been a long time coming, but i now have something positive to say about Virgin Media (formerly NTL).