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virgin + hdmi

worried_jim
Posts: 11,631 Forumite

I help to look after an elderly neighbour who has seen his mobility and quality of life go rapidly downhill over the last 2 years from being an active 80 year old to being practically housebound. I try to ensure that he has plenty to do during the day, keep his internet working, I've helped install a big stereo as he is a massive classical music fan and is quite content to spend all day listening to his many cd's, and when he's not listening to them he is online buying more of them!
He has an HD tv and loves the cricket so I suggested getting upgraded to V+ from Virgin so he can record the test match and also see it in better clarity. I am so angry at the shoddy service he has received from them. I went round last night to check up on him and there he was, proud as punch "you must look at the brilliant tv picture"- I couldn't see any difference so I went thru the instructions to make sure that he was getting the HD signal and discovered to receive this (which he is now paying for) the V+ box needs an HDMI cable which isn't included with the installation- fair enough, but I would have thought that the engineer or call centre staff would have advised him of this, "get one of these leads and the picture will be even better". He would have never have known unless I fiddled around at the back of the tv trying to turn on the HD signal and all this time he would have been paying for a service and thinking he was getting it. I am so disappointed at Virgin. rant over.
He has an HD tv and loves the cricket so I suggested getting upgraded to V+ from Virgin so he can record the test match and also see it in better clarity. I am so angry at the shoddy service he has received from them. I went round last night to check up on him and there he was, proud as punch "you must look at the brilliant tv picture"- I couldn't see any difference so I went thru the instructions to make sure that he was getting the HD signal and discovered to receive this (which he is now paying for) the V+ box needs an HDMI cable which isn't included with the installation- fair enough, but I would have thought that the engineer or call centre staff would have advised him of this, "get one of these leads and the picture will be even better". He would have never have known unless I fiddled around at the back of the tv trying to turn on the HD signal and all this time he would have been paying for a service and thinking he was getting it. I am so disappointed at Virgin. rant over.
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Comments
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Just a couple of points, my v+ box came with a hdmi cable, so might be worth checking the box if they left it or giving customer services a bell!
Also, there is only currently one HD channel on Virgin. Although I believe that the other channels get upscaled if viewed through a HD tv.0 -
There is loads of HD content on the demand service such as David Attenborough's blue planet. In the little instruction book with the box it also states that the box is supplied without the cable but they will sell you one if you ask. How does an 80 year old know about this and how does a company miss an opertunity to sell another product.0
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worried_jim wrote: »How does an 80 year old know about this
How does anyone know about this? They are told/read about it - if the guy is ordering a product it's fair to assume he knows what it's to be used for...0 -
When my V+ box arrived, the installer said did i have any intention of upgrading my tv. When I said yes, he took the cable from box and handed it to me.
Thinking about the conversation, with virgin, one question at the start , was , did I have a HD ready set .
So ! was the question asked when Box was ordered??
Can see why the OP is mad, would be easier if the HDMI cable was just left, wot ever the present tv was/is.0 -
When I upgraded to V+ the VM guy left a HDMI cable and then I received 2 more through the post.0
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From my experience, whether the engineer leaves a cable is just down to whatever they have in their van/spare, rather than what the company (virgin/sky) actually include with the product. HDMI cables rarely come with anything, but they're not expensive to buy anyway.
When I explain to customers about needing an HDMI cable, they usually go on a rant and have a go at me for not including a free cable in every box, so during a long day, I may not mention the importance of an HDMI cable every time.
Really, if you're going to buy something, do a bit of research. My partner's gran is in her mid 70s and is frighteningly tech savvy. I know nothing about vacuum cleaners, so have done extensive research about buying a new one.
Not getting the cable isn't shockingly bad service, it's just one of those things.0 -
Its not the fact that he didn't get a cable, its that he wasn't even told about it and since the box was being connected to a HD ready tv is it too much for the engineer to have told him about it.0
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