VM often 1Mbps. Can I cancel as Breach of Contract?

FreeBear

RealGem said:

FreeBear said:

Log in to your hub (192.168.0.1) and have a look at the logs under Advanced Settings->Tools->Network Status

There may well be some clues there as to why you are getting a poor speed.

Last time I was having problems (wired & wifi kept dropping out), I badgered VM for a replacement hub. It took a while to convince them that the problem was with their hardware not mine... But as soon as the new hub was plugged in, the issues disappeared.

I found the Network Logs:

Yes..."Critical" and "Error" ...This is what I'm talking about!

The people on the phone were insisting there was nothing wrong at all!

To be fair, I have a few of those "DHCP RENEW WARNING" and "No Ranging Response received" errors, but no where near as many as you. One pair a week, and usually accompanied by a "DHCP Renew" notice. Keep bugging them, and hopefully you'll get through to someone who actually knows what they are talking about.

prowla

With Virgin you have to keep calling them until you get to speak to someone who has a clue.

I had major issues a while back and the responses ranged from it was all my fault to getting an engineer sent out.

They also told me I could have some wi-fi pods. When they didn't arrive I called and they assured me that they were in the post. When they still didn't arrive I called again and the person told me they must have lied (yes, they used the word "lied"!) and anyway there were none in the country.

As a result I said I was cancelling, so they sent a 2nd engineer out who said the 1st one hadn't done the job properly and it seems to have been OK since.

They also offered me a reduced price which I agreed to and then I got another call from someone else offering me a lower price, so I took that.

The on-hold music still pays in my head "all I need choo won't let me down, choo won't let me down...".

JJ_Egan

OP  self employed then you should be on a business connection with service level agreements .

RealGem

JJ_Egan said:

OP  self employed then you should be on a business connection with service level agreements .

I know I should!... Can't afford it atm.

cx6

my advice would be to complain formally again. Those speeds are not acceptable. Make sure it is a formal complaint under their complaints procedure.

also, one thing you could try is connecting your pc to router using a cable ie bypassing wifi and see it that fixes the prob.

RealGem

cx6 said:

my advice would be to complain formally again. Those speeds are not acceptable. Make sure it is a formal complaint under their complaints procedure.

also, one thing you could try is connecting your pc to router using a cable ie bypassing wifi and see it that fixes the prob.

Hi yes I have one PC already connected directly and a laptop on wifi and both are badly affected. I've already tried rebooting many times. That has no effect either. 

Somone suggested asking for a new hub. So I'll  try that too. 

Yes I will complain formally thanks. I have been researching the best way to go about it. I expect to spend all tomorrow on the phone! 

RealGem

FreeBear said:

Log in to your hub (192.168.0.1) and have a look at the logs under Advanced Settings->Tools->Network Status

There may well be some clues there as to why you are getting a poor speed.

Last time I was having problems (wired & wifi kept dropping out), I badgered VM for a replacement hub. It took a while to convince them that the problem was with their hardware not mine... But as soon as the new hub was plugged in, the issues disappeared.

Hi FreeBear, 

Thanks for suggesting a new hub. 

The Virgin Media man just visited, and he gave me a new hub.

I am now getting 50+mbps. Let's hope it continues!

He had an Ookla speedtest app on his phone that tested the wifi speed and he was getting 111mbps, which was strange because when we both checked on the same Ookla website on my laptop, it only said 55mbps. 

So he said Try disabling the firewall just to see if it makes a difference, as that can affect it sometimes. We did that and it made no difference. So not sure why the website is saying half the speed that his phone app of the exact same tool is saying. But at least my broadband connection is usable ...fingers crossed!

victor2

RealGem said:

FreeBear said:

Log in to your hub (192.168.0.1) and have a look at the logs under Advanced Settings->Tools->Network Status

There may well be some clues there as to why you are getting a poor speed.

Last time I was having problems (wired & wifi kept dropping out), I badgered VM for a replacement hub. It took a while to convince them that the problem was with their hardware not mine... But as soon as the new hub was plugged in, the issues disappeared.

Hi FreeBear, 

Thanks for suggesting a new hub. 

The Virgin Media man just visited, and he gave me a new hub.

I am now getting 50+mbps. Let's hope it continues!

He had an Ookla speedtest app on his phone that tested the wifi speed and he was getting 111mbps, which was strange because when we both checked on the same Ookla website on my laptop, it only said 55mbps. 

So he said Try disabling the firewall just to see if it makes a difference, as that can affect it sometimes. We did that and it made no difference. So not sure why the website is saying half the speed that his phone app of the exact same tool is saying. But at least my broadband connection is usable ...fingers crossed!

Engineer was probably connecting with his phone at 5GHz, your laptop may not support that so is connecting at 2.4GHz and not getting the full bandwidth available. Try a cable connection.

RealGem

UPDATE:
Sadly it is still happening. Despite gettting a new hub, I am still getting drops in connection and often less than 1mbps. It's definitely the router and not the Wifi, as the hub's poor performance is detailed in the Network Logs (see my screenshots of Critical Errors previously in this thread). 

If anyone has advice on how to contact Ofcom regarding Virgin Media's poor broadband, I am all ears. 

Thank you

Neil_Jones

You don't.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/problems/broadband-landline-faults - "Although Ofcom does not investigate individual complaints, your help in highlighting problems plays a vital part in our work and we may investigate a company if monitoring data reveals a particular problem"

Also from Ofcom: "If your provider fails to repair a fault by the date promised, or you are unhappy with how long it is taking, follow their formal complaints procedure. This should be explained on their website or by their customer services team.

If your problem is still unresolved after eight weeks, you can complain to an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme. Ask your provider for a ‘deadlock’ letter so that you can refer your dispute to the relevant ADR scheme directly before the eight week mark."

Virgin is CISAS ADR scheme, so https://www.cedr.com/consumer/cisas/ is where you would go after eight weeks.