I’ve just booked an upgrade to go with my existing 10mb broadband – XL TV, V+Box and M phone (£39) and was given the offer price of £49 for installation/one off fee.
But when do I actually pay this – I presume when they’ve actually installed it…?
Just signed up for Virgin (BB, phone TV) picked a couple of dates on the web for installation. Virgin e-mail me saying the earliest they can do is a week later.
Is this normal for Virgin?
You’d have thought that setting up a database & web app that actually kept track of installation slots shouldn’t be to hard these days – not for an IT/comms company… 
I’ve already got a second standard box on the xl package (v+ downstairs already)and want to replace it with a v+ and from what I read the cost is £150 +£5 a month .Is this correct?I find the installation charge a bit excessive considering there would be no cabling and it would just be a simple case of plugging the box in. Are there any offers etc. for existing customers? or any other way of reducing this cost?
I am currently on the VIP package but decided I wasn’t using some of the channels and aren’t really bothered about getting 20MB broadband (which never seems to happen anyway!), so I’ve decided to save myself a few quid. I was looking on the website to see what offers were on and decided on XL TV, L Phone, L BB – which came in at £47.45 per month (with line rental). There was also a charge for V+ of £99 (installation fee).
I rang up and got through to the change package service, who stated the “existing customer” price of about £65 per month. I argued about the new customers deal and they transferred me to cancellations (retentions) and immediately got the £47.45 per month deal. However, they said I would have to pay an extra £10 per month (as per current VIP deal for V+ box) or a one off £99 instalment fee to keep the “already installed” V+ box.
I have been on VIP for several years now, so I was a bit disappointed about having to pay again for something already installed.
I can get a similar (slightly slower BB speed and less TV channels) package with Sky HD (with actual HD channels) for £42 per month + £49 one off payment. However, I do quite like the V+ box and On demand / catch up TV etc plus I’d have to go through all the installation of Sky.
I’ve almost talked myself into paying the £99 (begrudgingly) but just wanted to see if anybody else had managed to get the £99 installation fee waivered?. Then again, maybe I should stick to my principles and tell VM to do one and go with Sky?
I have read over the threads for DTT in last few weeks and noted that a huge number of threads come back to lack of signal strength through poor aerial installation.
When you have DSAT installed they come along and professionally fit a new dish and cable. They don’t use an old bin lid that has been sitting around for 10 years pointing at Mars! You can get away with an aerial that is not in perfect alignment as UHF is more accommodating than microwave but there is no better way to get DTT than to have an aerial with new cable fitted by a professional with the right meter and equipment. It may even be a false economy to try DIY as the prof. will have the right gear and knowledge.
PS. I am not an aerial installer!
There have been a few posts from people complaining about Ondigital reception.
As a Sky digital & Ondigital customer I can say that Sky is not without its problems also. Good reception on both systems depends on the quality of the installation.
When Sky digital is installed it uses a new dish, double screened coaxial cable and high quality connectors. Ondigital on the other hand is sold as plug and play, however it is my experience that a similar quality set-up is required for 100% reception with the right aerial for your transmitter, a good screened cable without joins (satellite quality) and a tight fitting coaxial plug.
I know that in this forum people have stated they receive perfect pictures from their previous aerials, indoor aerials, loft aerials etc. however you can’t beat an outside aerial. I my case the aerial cost me £19 and the cable £20 which I put up myself.
A modern digital aerial has to deliver a strong signal and a clean signal, balanced across a wide range of frequencies.
Perhaps the reason we could live with the performance of unmatched aerials in the past was that we were only ever looking for four signals and if they got through, even with a little bit of ghosting most consumers were satisfied with the result. The problem now is that we are looking for ten or more signals and multiplexes across a wide frequency range and its not a consumer that we have to satisfy, but a black box!
Hi, I’ve just had my virgin BB and telephone installed, and the guy has not long left. I’m a bit dissapointed with the work though as the BB socket was very loose and has now come right away from the wall. The guy only drilled into the plaster and cut a rawl plug to fit in the hole, which was about 1cm deep if that, and the screws to fix the box are about an inch or so. Pretty poor if you ask me. The same thing really with the telephone socket next to it, but that is slightly more fixed (at the moment).
Going to do the job properly myself now and actually drill a big enough hole into the wall! He seemed in a bit of a rush and more interested in taking a personal phone call about what he was doing later.
I just hope this isn’t a sign of the service to come!
Hi guys,
I am switching to Virgin in a couple of weeks. When they do the installation I am wondering how they are going to run the cable to the house. I have a tarmac drive, so do they dig a trench, or run the cable along the edges?
Also, my PC/TV room is at the back of the house. Will they put the modem point in the back room, or do they always install it in a room at the front of the house?
Cheers
im struggling with the process of self installation of virgin broadband can anyone help ? dont mean to sound thick
Is it possible to install Virign Broadband yourself without getting an engineer in? We had a bad experience with an engineer before and we’d rather install it ourselves if we had the option.
We dont have broadband at the moment but we do have virgin tv and telephone packages.