Can not get virgin media to install a service

Hello I have been with Virgin media 50mb for a couple of years and it is very good.

I am trying to get it installed for my sister at her home. If I order online it lists only one house in the street. Where my sister lives the house was built about 7 years ago. Virgin media sent out a manager to look if they can supply cable. The manager has deceided that they can not supply it!
The green cable box is the other side of the garden wall at my sisters. About 3 inces away from the garden wall. Then about 5 meters of garden to the house.
The front of the house also has pipe with some blue rope running in it. I guess this rope is for installing cable.
I phone virgin media back to talk about this and the connection rep seems not to understance how cable works, he said they run fiber optics fromthe grenn cabinet to the front of the house. I explained it is fiber to the green cabinet then co-ax to the house. He disagreed,I asked him had he ever seen how cable is installed, he said no.
anyway how can i get them to send an engineer out rather the a useless manager with old maps and info. I think an engineer would have no trouble installing a cable,as I say the green cabinet is only 3 inches from the property.
I am tempted to install the cable run myself but that would be illeagal.
any idea's

Surely it's not illegal to do the cable run on your Sisters property (presuming she owns it or has permission), it's just not legal to touch their equipment. Therefore it really depends who the blue pipe belongs to if it's not your sisters then obviously you can't use it but it doesn't stop you putting your own in.

The problem is even if you did legally do the cabling up to the fence it doesn't mean Virgin would use it, I have a feeling they wouldn't but just a feeling no experience with them myself.

My dad had a similar issue when Cable was first intalled as he was the first house on an unadopted road that wasn't cabled whereas the main road was.

My dad cabled it from his house right up to the join between adopted and unadopted road and asked them to connect which they did but this was years ago when cable was first installed and it wasn't even NTL then let alone Virgin Media. Took us a while to dig as the house to road was alot further than 5 metres unfortunately!

If you do go this route be sure to have enough cable left over for them to connect

if you go to the link below and type in your address ((sister`s) details
a virgin rep will come and look at your sister`s house and then
they will see she can it

https://shop.virginmedia.com/homevisit

In reply to a post by Johnct:

if you go to the link below and type in your address ((sister`s) details
a virgin rep will come and look at your sister`s house and then
they will see she can it

https://shop.virginmedia.com/homevisit

Did you read his post at all? someone came out and already looked and said no they cannot install
.

Edited by BuckleZ (Thu 03-Mar-11 13:59:44)

I would think that VM wouldn't use a users own cabling, as if there was a problem then whose cable is to blame.

The engineer (loose term) that installed our cable across the lawn said that even if I went through the cable with a spade someone would be out to repair it FOC.

Maybe an engineer will be sent and NOT a manager this time!

i guess you did not read all the post yourself ! poor buckle

Virgin media sent out a manager to look if they can supply cable. The manager has deceided that they can not supply it!

i

A manager is as competant as an engineer to decide on this... When i got virgin installed in a flat a few years ago i got a manager out to survey the site.

In reply to a post by broadband66:

I would think that VM wouldn't use a users own cabling, as if there was a problem then whose cable is to blame.

The engineer (loose term) that installed our cable across the lawn said that even if I went through the cable with a spade someone would be out to repair it FOC.

This is why I didn't think they'd go for it, it was different in ~2000 as the cable company was a local operation that had much more latitude I presume.

Post deleted by Ribble

It maybe an issue of connection capacity and there maybe no more available at the cabinet, but I admit to not knowing much detail about cable networks
If its just a case of running cable across her property then it should not be too much of an issue as they are often preppared to just lay it over the ground or pin it to a fence or if your really lucky through some green `hosepipe'. If you can get in touch with a local manager/technician again then maybe you could ask them to supply the cable and you run it across the property?
Physically hooking it up to the cabinet (if there is capacity) may require some civils work (digging/ductwork) as the underground network may not be complete or damaged/blocked

Hi any luck on the virgin install for your sister or you

Edited by deleted (Sat 05-Mar-11 20:26:37)

Virgin media have now said they can install.. They said it would cost them £700 , I dont know why they mentioned this as it is not relevent to the customer. This distance is only 5 meters, green cabinet to the house.
They will do an offer of 50mb internet and free phone line rental for 12 months @ £35 per month plus installation of £40 and £25 upfront costs. The price should be £25 per month for 50mb and £12.99 line rental.
The salesman says this is not fiber optic in front of the house hence the £700 pounds cost. II keep explaining that fiber optic is only to the green cabinet then co-ax to the house! Virgin media need to do alot more traing. this salesman has been with them 12 years!
Oh well at least my sister can get it now.

Sounds to me as if that green virgin box is not live.

This situation sounds very similar to the one my mate found himself in. He lives in a housing estate that is about 10 years old and the road leading to his is all cabled up.

Telewest installed the green boxes, the conduit to the houses, the CATV manholes in the pavement and the little black CATV taps at the end of drives yet the Virgin checker says only the first house can get cable, his house.

So he placed an order with Virgin and the Virgin installer came and went to the cabinet opened it up and there was nothing inside it. Telewest had done the basics and left basically.

Virgin now want a stupid ammount of money to install the fibre thats needed and he's told them to swing on it.

Stupid as everything is in place to cable. Why would Telewest do that? Ran out of money?

Edited by wolvesmad (Tue 08-Mar-11 18:42:11)

It's quite possible they ran out of money or simply a mixup and it got missed off a work order....

I can't see why Virgin claim it would cost them a fortune to install the equipment.

Everything is in place apart from the cable in the floor and the equipment in the cabs.

Just like the OP, complete madness.

Edited by wolvesmad (Wed 09-Mar-11 09:09:24)

Cost of turning up £100

Leaving about £200 in budget to do the work, i.e. unless everything is in place they generally cannot be bothered, or are worried about wayleave orders.

It is possible the pipe does not lead into the VM cabinet, but just ends nowhere useful. Saying that have seen some VM installs which were spade in grass then push coax an inch or two down. Guess what council grass cutters chopped after a year or so.

In reply to a post by wolvesmad:

I can't see why Virgin claim it would cost them a fortune to install the equipment.

Everything is in place apart from the cable in the floor and the equipment in the cabs.

Just like the OP, complete madness.

Apart from the equipment in the cabs... what's that £20k, £30k??
I don't think they'll see it as a return on investment unless they can pre-book a number of the new customers to use it.

In reply to a post by commsguru:

Virgin media have now said they can install.. They said it would cost them £700 , I dont know why they mentioned this as it is not relevent to the customer.

The target is apparently £300 per property. I can't have it either because mine would cost £960. You're very lucky if they're making an exception for your sister, it's not a charity.