A quiet word about Virgin Media

• The phone was answered quickly when I called to report my broadband fault, and I didn't have to navigate multiple layers of options ( maybe there were two - but it did feel bad ).
• I spoke to some one who understood me ( I think she was in India, but she could hear me fine and didn't insist on stupid things like connecting my computer to the cable modem and removing my router before only using Windows XP before being willing to speak to me). She quickly identified that a visit was required from an engineer.
  
• I had a range of appointment dates for an engineer to pop round within two working days the appointment time slot in half a working day.
• The day before I had a txt message reminding me of the appointment
• The engineer turned up when he said he would, fixed the issue in 5 mins and made an appointment for someone to check the local exchange box in the next few weeks.

My broadband now works - and is much faster also ( even the Wife notices ).

So - well done Virgin Media.

This was not always so. Its taken some time to produce this sort of customer service ( and I'm including NTL and Cable Com in this ), but you've arrived and made a loyal customer very happy.

Why isn't England's cable network open to competition ?

Recently I received my last phone/cable TV/broadband Bill. It was over £80 for one month !

Over the last year, since I last phoned NTL Virgin to try to prune some of the cost the Bill has risen from about £50/month. I'm just back of the phone after talking to some phone operator in India about reducing the set of services I receive again. I think I've reduced by Bill to about £35/month, but we'll see.

Why stick with Virgin Media ? Well their cable modem service has been good over the last few years, and we can't get reliable TV reception. But it occurs to me that I should have more of a choice. Surely Virgin should be forced to open its network to competitors, just as BT has been forced to do ?

I know Richard Branson has good relations with the Labour government, but isn't it time the free market arrived for cable customers also ? ( OK I understand the original argument about needing to get a return on laying the cable network, but the time period for this is long past ).

I wonder what ofcom are doing about this ?

Virgin media pull the plug on Sky 1

This has been in the UK media for a while. Virgin media and Sky have been having a row over paying to run Sky's basic channels via the UK cable system.

In short Virgin media may have had a point on Sky asking for too much - however Sky one was one of the main reasons for having cable, which is otherwise an expensive way of getting most of what Freeview gives you anyway.

I was half way though the latest 24 season and Battlestar Galatica ( don't snigger - its great stuff, sort of Star Wars and the West Wing combined ). Now I'll have to wait for the boxed sets.

So I'm not a happy bunny. I pay Virgin Media about GBP 180/year for the cable ( removing telephone replacement cost at BT basic rate ). I'm pushed to see what I get for it now.... which means it may be time for me to pull the plug on Virgin.

Update: A summary of the dispute is available by Tom Douglas over at the BBC (whom may be excused for enjoying all this ) here ..

Tag Virgin+Media, Sky