Virgin Mobile Poor Signal - Had Enough!

Fatboss

Hi Guys,

I've been a loyal Virgin Media and Mobile customer for a lot of years but I'm running out of patience with my mobile service.

I've never had the best mobile signal where I live and up to now I've put up with it - probably because nobody ever rings me!
I have raised this as an issue a number of times with little success but the latest episode has tipped me over the edge!

The latest response I have received from Virgin Mobile was along the lines of 'yeah your signal is rubbish but don't blame us because it's not our kit - we only piggy back off it'. I pushed this further as the attitude was completely unacceptable.

I received a letter (because they couldn't contact me on my mobile!) and they are openly saying that the signal is unlikely to get any better in the future so they suggest that I move to another mobile phone company!

But it's not as straightforward as that (it never is!)
Two of the phones on my account (out of 5 in total) are on their new tariff which means the payment for the phone itself is separate from the tariff for the calls, texts and data.
They are willing to cancel the tariff for the calls but I still have to keep paying for the phone.

I'm tempted to tell them to take all 5 phone deals (3 x contract and 2 x PAYG) and shove them somewhere cozy!

The only thing that's stopping me is that I can't get a phone deal from any supplier that's better than I'm paying now - especially for two of the latest contracts. I know - you get what you pay for right?

My question is - am I within my rights to tell them to cancel the 3 contracts completely leaving me with 3 phones to unlock and move to another provider. Or should I see out the remainder of the contracts and change them over one at a time? The latter will take me to December 2017 at the earliest.

Thanks for listening. I would appreciate any feedback or similar experiences.

Dave. (Fatboss)

grumbler

Fatboss wrote: »

I've never had the best mobile signal where I live and up to now I've put up with it - probably because nobody ever rings me!

Nothing changed recently then?

I have raised this as an issue a number of times with little success but the latest episode has tipped me over the edge!

The latest response I have received from Virgin Mobile was along the lines of 'yeah your signal is rubbish but don't blame us because it's not our kit - we only piggy back off it'. I pushed this further as the attitude was completely unacceptable.

I received a letter (because they couldn't contact me on my mobile!) and they are openly saying that the signal is unlikely to get any better in the future so they suggest that I move to another mobile phone company!

What exactly is unacceptable?

But it's not as straightforward as that (it never is!)
Two of the phones on my account (out of 5 in total) are on their new tariff

Did they force you to take the new contracts when you already knew that the signal was poor? That's why new customers often have a cooling off period, but you weren't new.

which means the payment for the phone itself is separate from the tariff for the calls, texts and data.
They are willing to cancel the tariff for the calls but I still have to keep paying for the phone.

Good for you that it's for the phone only. With other type of contract it would be the the remaining cost of the airtime contract as well.

I'm tempted to tell them to take all 5 phone deals (3 x contract and 2 x PAYG) and shove them somewhere cozy!

Why not simply switch PAYG provider?
Re the contracts, do this, and you'll have your credit history rightfully trashed for 6 years.

The only thing that's stopping me is that I can't get a phone deal from any supplier that's better than I'm paying now - especially for two of the latest contracts. I know - you get what you pay for right?

Not right. EE and their MVNOs have millions of customers getting good signal in other areas.

My question is - am I within my rights to tell them to cancel the 3 contracts completely leaving me with 3 phones to unlock and move to another provider.

No to cancel for free.
No to unlock.
Yes to move, but either pay or get defaults in your credit history and, possibly, debt collectors chasing you.

Fatboss

Hi Grumbler,

grumbler wrote: »

Nothing changed recently then?
I need to be able to contact my kids - and them contact me. Now they're older they are out of the house a lot more than before.

What exactly is unacceptable?
The attitude of one of the agents. I've since had a separate apology for the way this person spoke to me.

Did they force you to take the new contracts when you already knew that the signal was poor? That's why new customers often have a cooling off period, but you weren't new.
I wasn't forced into any new deal and as I said before I was a relatively low user in the past.

Good for you that it's for the phone only. With other type of contract it would be the the remaining cost of the airtime contract as well.
Every cloud has a silver lining eh?

Why not simply switch PAYG provider?
All the phones are with one provider so that we benefit from free calls - which is good for the kids if they need to contact me with no credit on their phone.

Re the contracts, do this, and you'll have your credit history rightfully trashed for 6 years.
My credit history is already zero. I am coming to the end of a painful IVA (I've learnt my lessons there). I should have mentioned that.

Not right. EE and their MVNOs have millions of customers getting good signal in other areas.
Yes you're right but for some reason the area around my house is a bit of a dead zone. No high buildings, structures or anything that would explain that either.

No to cancel.
No to unlock.
Yes to move, but either pay or get defaults in your credit history and, possibly, debt collectors chasing you.

Are you suggesting that I simply ride out the storm until the contracts come to their natural conclusion? I suppose I've put up with a crappy signal this long. A little bit longer isn't going to matter I suppose. Plus while I am in the midst of this IVA I may not be able to switch supplier as simply as those with a decent credit rating.

Thanks for your response.

Dave.