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Virgin Broadband
Description: Perfect if...
you're new to broadband but don't want to sign a 12 month contract. Its 3 GB monthly download allowance is ideal if you want a fast connection to surf the Net and send emails without tying up your phone line.
Reviews (18):
 Virgin Ruined Telewest
Reviewer: Anonymous London 11-21-2007
We have been Telewest broadband/tv customers since 2002 and have enjoyed all their services. As soon as Virgin took over, we lost two good TV channels, lost all hopes for ever watching anything interesting in HD. But that was not the worst thing.
The worst thing was that virgin totally destroyed in my opinion the best UK ISP by introducing caps (and still claiming to be an unlimited service). I would like you all to note that NOWHERE in the terms & conditions or acceptable use policy does it mention these caps. Virgin refers to it as traffic shaping, but its merely another cap. Now my 20mbit line is acting slower than my 10meg telewest line ever did. Even downloading from ftp.virginmedia.com doesnt give full 20mbit. Then they changed a local rate tech support number to charge 25 ppm.
Why did they take a working, good business model and run it into the ground? Now my internet service is slower than 8mbit DSL and im paying for 20. I know its not the websites/services that I use because telewest gave me a faster service to the same websites despite being half as fast (10mbit vs 20).
AVOID VIRGIN unless you like having a company that offers you less service than the companies they consumed. Bad customer support, bad everything.Unix systems administrator
They make BT look good
Reviewer: Anonymous england 10-30-2007
Virgin Broadband
well where should I start ...
1) No contract tie in tariff advertised .... but if you try as I did to leave the contract you get stinged for £50. So not quite as advertised.
2) If you try and move and wait to get connected expect to wait a month before getting connected whilst STILL BEING CHARGED for that month.
3) Broadband speed tests on the 8MB option showed speeds equivalent to dial up!!!
DO NOT GO WITH VIRGIN UNLESS YOU LIKE PAIN!!!
and if you do like pain you could also try BT.
Virgin.net
Reviewer: bucker northapton 10-27-2007
moved house was on blueyonder couldn`t get cable at my new location so went on virgin adsl , all i can say is it sucks i`m lucky if a page loads, I have wrote to them called them but nothing, should have gone with sky think I will have to get rid of them as the service is not what i`m paying for
bucker
Do not use this company!!
Reviewer: Anonymous uk 10-26-2007
Do not touch Virgin! I upgraded to 8mb wireless and I have had awful problems with slow speeds 135kbps being the best speed! I was told by an it lad (the first lad didn't cbk) that i am best cancelling as it is a problem with their servers and too much traffic and i am unlucky and suggested i go elsewhere and promptly gave me the number for the cancellations dept-who when i called had no record of that phone call and told me i cannot cancel without paying for the yr in full! i did an online chat just after who had no record of my tel call to cancellations! They are dishonest and do not cbk when they say and it costs a fortune to call. Very disappointed!
awful broadband and lies from a top rated company??
Reviewer: jb bristol - england 10-18-2007
I have recently signed up to virgin.net adsl broadband down a bt phone line. There-in is the problem. IT DOES NOT DO WHAT IT SAIS ON THE FRIGGING TIN. Now I feel like a real MUPPET and never presumed that Virgin.net would string me up like a monkey and take my cash happily for a cr*p service!!!!!! When will these big companies get the message that it consultant
Worst Provider In UK
Reviewer: Verry Dissapointed Customer UK 09-10-2007
Been with them since they were ntl for quite a few years but i can honestly say since virgin took over things have went down hill fast ! their customer service is pathetic and a complete wast of time phoning them for anything as you will (after waiting for 30mins) get the old
CRAP!
Reviewer: Anonymous 07-18-2007
Dial-up is faster! Worthless, useless carp!
Speed slow
Reviewer: Anonymous somerset 12-18-2006
I was told by BT the line is not there concearn it is wholesales who rent it from bt so called them, why am I only getting 1,2 mb when I should be getting 8. Sorry cant talk to you only your service provider. Contacted virgin who infromed me my threshold was over the min so no they were not going to do anything about it. Be warned 8mb for virgin really means 2mb.
Poor service oh yes I upgraded from 2 to 8 so thats a new contract which means another year or £50 to get mac codes.
Decided to go with Virgin.net because of no 12-month tie-in.
Reviewer: changamire 05-14-2006
Decided to go with Virgin.net because of no 12-month tie-in. First up went to their site, did a line check and was told that my line could support 512 kbps. Fine, signed up for the 512 kbps service all going well so far. Couple of days later, find out my line can support 2 Mbps (by checking with other broadband providers). Phone Virgin cancellations to cancel my order as they have misinformed me. Spoke to woman in customer services who assures me 'there is no difference between the 512 kbps and the 2Mbps service - if your line can support 2M, you will get 2M even if you are paying for 512 kbps'. I tell her this is ludicrous as they charge more for a faster service. She says 'I know it sounds strange but that is how it works' Hmmmm. Don't believe this, so phone the next day and speak to another woman who informs me that what I was told is not, in fact, true. Really?! Request cancellation AGAIN. Decide to move to plus.net, but oh no, Virgin has gone ahead and activated the line. Another call to Virgin customer care. Speak to man who informs me that it will take a couple of weeks to remove activation from line and goes on to say 'in the mean time you may as well use the service - you won't get charged for it anyway'. Hmmmm, where do they find and train these Virgin guys?!?!?! Honestly! Next day notice Virgin has charged me for first month, so cue ANOTHER call to customer services. Speak to another man and inform him about what I was told about using the service pending disconnect. Not true says he, if you connect you will be charged (well now that makes sense). So MORE misinformation from Virgin. STILL waiting for refund - apparently it can take 6 weeks to process. Honestly, steer away from these people, they just lie continuously to you.
Virgin don't respond to any web messages you post.
Reviewer: nmarchini 05-14-2006
Virgin don't respond to any web messages you post. They never call you back when asked and their customer services number is premium rate. This company should be avoided at all costs - they are rubbish and I am sending in several complaints about them. I am trying to move house and this cannot be done online and they expect you to pay 25 per minute to call them and ask them to do it.
 A penalty of £50 to cancel before twelve months is NOT contract free!!!
Reviewer: Ryan4297 05-14-2006
Although paying higher prices for the Virgin broadband service, I liked the idea of being able to cancel at the end of any month. That is until the small print informed me that a PENALTY of £50 is charged for cancelling before a full twelve month period has completed. This would be fine if clearly stated on the website when first ordering. However, on viewing even today, there is no mention of this penalty.
This puts me off Virgin.
My Virgin Broadband never worked!
Reviewer: VIRGINNETSUCK 05-14-2006
My Virgin Broadband never worked! They mixed up my order constantly! They activated my phone line but didn't send me the drivers/software in order to use it. I requested it 3 times and each time I was assured it was sent. I borrowed a friends computer to download the drivers in the end, but guess what? They didn't work! I was then told that this is common with their downloads and I should have requested the drivers by post!!
At this point I decided to cancel and request my money back (which I was told would be fine)... 1 week later and... oh you guessed it... they're not going to give me my money back, and apparently they have no record of anyone saying that etc. Now they're dragging there heels releasing the line so I can go with another provider!!! (1 month and counting).
 Great speed, price, 6gb download allowance, great customer service!
Reviewer: thegvstar 05-14-2006
I have been with Virgin.net broadband since March 05 when they started giving free activation and modem with all there packages. I opted to plan two , £17.99, at the time it was 3gb which was a good amount. 3 months later it was upgraded to 6gb which was great! I have never ever had any trouble with it what so ever,the only time I've needed to contact customer services is to see if I was able to get the free download allowance upgrade and speed upgrade, the customer services are great. I've always got connected through straight away! But what now makes it a super excellent package is that the speed is now 2mbps instead of 512kbps, that's superb value for money, seeing as BT only give a pathetic 2gb download allowence but do offer 2mpbs. Which sounds better,Virgin.net broadband plan two £17.99, 6gb+2mbps and fantastic customer service and no 12 month contract or BT broadband option 1 £17.99,2gb+2mbps with poor customer service (I was with BT broadband before and it was the worst!) and you have to have to stick to a 12 month contract? I'm sure you can see which is the best.
So far, after being a customer of Virgin Broadband from the very beginning
Reviewer: postmanp 05-14-2006
So far, after being a customer of Virgin Broadband from the very beginning, on their only 512k plan, I have to admit for me (living in the sticks), my connection has been 99.9% faultless the majority of the time.
Good to see the speed increases free of charge from 512k plan 1 to 1MB, and now 2MB.
The sudden change of conditions of use from an unmetered account to a metered account. I'm not too happy about this as it was a sudden change, and I was unaware until now that this capping of usage has been enforced.
The service quality has deteriorated recently compared to when I first signed up around 2 years ago, with connection issues/problems.
Overall, I will be staying with Virgin for now, well at least until I finish university. After this, I may well change, due to me requiring an uncapped service.
 Virgin broadband: ( I am a heavy user ). Well, the customer service is good
Reviewer: Nanny Ogg 05-14-2006
Virgin broadband: ( I am a heavy user ). Well, the customer service is good, the staff on the telephone helpful, and emails are replied to promptly in my experience. The price is comparable me thinks, and the comment of one review that online security is not the best, pop up blockers and so on, I think that there is free software on the net aplenty. The only thing I am not always happy with is that the e-mail server does seem to be down a lot more than other providers, but then, hey, nobody is perfect. And to be frank, I’d rather give my money to an old hippy to spend frivolously, than to other providers that seem to be full of pompous old power hungry businessmen...lol. ( though BT seems pretty good actually ) So, thumbs up to Virgin!
 Slow, Unreliable, Customer Service is Poor, Expensive
Reviewer: Channi 05-14-2006
The only good point about Virgin Broadband is that it is obligation free. So you can stop the connection and connect whenever you like without any contractual obligations.
With experience I think it's a good service for the student from a household where nobody else uses the internet. I live with my parents, and I'm the only person in my home who uses the internet, I study in Wales so it's very convenient for me to stop and connect whenever I'm at home for long periods.
This is however strongly overpowered by all its bad points. The service is volatile! It's slow and unreliable. The customer service department is not very helpful, and it is way too expensive compared to its competitors, making it a very poor service.
Virgin Net are awful.
Reviewer: apjelley 05-14-2006
Virgin Net are awful. It is expensive, slow, unreiable, and the customer service is appalling. DO NOT CHOOSE VIRGIN NET, go with someone else... please believe me.
Virgin.net Broadband: I have spent 7 months trying to get my account and my website working properly and also trying to find an address I can complain to.
Reviewer: doorsey 05-14-2006
Virgin.net Broadband: I have spent 7 months trying to get my account and my website working properly and also trying to find an address I can complain to. Now the modem doesn't work.
I am now leaving it in the hands of my solicitors and am going with another provider.
Branson - you should be ashamed at the appalling disregard for your customers this company shows.
Warning to anyone reading this review - do not ever go near this company.
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