Saturday, February 2, 2008

Internet, internet, internet...

Well Ryan and I have successfully escaped our nearly-collapsed hovel known as our Boyer Street residence. We are safely installed in a 1 bedroom flat in Newcastle that we have all to ourselves! Yes-- bask in amazement that newlyweds can live in their own apartment together. It's quite nice.

Anyway, it is apparently English tradition to forgo heating the first night you're in your new place. I spent the first day solving this part of the equation whilst waiting for our internet to be moved via Virgin Media. It did not go according to plan, to say the least. Below is an angry letter I intend to send to Virgin. Suggestions?

1 February, 2008

I am writing this letter in complaint against Virgin Media’s customer services. My husband and I moved house on Tuesday after speaking to a Virgin Media customer services representative who informed us that we should leave our cable modem and power source in our old home and that a new modem and set up would be delivered to us on Wednesday.

I waited at home an entire day Wednesday only to receive an incomplete set. When I called to inform Virgin Media that my set was incomplete, they refused to even speak with me on the grounds that the account was in my husband’s name. I have all the account information, I am using the same phone and address, I have confidential information (i.e. his date of birth etc) to confirm that I am his wife. But Virgin Media wouldn’t even allow me to order a new set. I had to wait until my husband returned, by which point it was too late to get a new set out the next day.

Now it is Friday and I have had to wait at home again for another Virgin box to arrive. I set everything up and called to turn on service in our house, and once again was refused service, even after claiming to be my husband, using all his information. I am merely trying to get the internet service turned on in our house, the house Virgin knows my husband lives at. Instead I was called a liar and treated like a criminal. What am I supposed to be; some kind of thief who breaks into peoples’ homes and activates their internet for them?

Virgin’s customer service team has proven themselves to be an entirely bureaucratic and unconcerned lot. I have no doubt that the individuals working here would like to be of help, but the policies of this company are more about protecting themselves from frivolous liabilities than helping the customers who are paying their bills. I have thus far been thoroughly dissatisfied.

I have wasted two days waiting for delivery, plenty of phone minutes (for which I’m being charged, no doubt), and lost several days of internet usage that I am paying for. Furthermore, when I asked to speak with a manager to register a complaint, the customer services representative wouldn’t pass me along. I am entitled to complain about this poor service and am thus writing this letter.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Katharine Strange, legally married to Ryan Strange, living in his same house, using the same phone and on the same bloody bank account.


Anyway, Ryan thankfully arrived home to deal with the Virgin people and get us all set up. My next order of business was tracking down this week's episode of Project Runway, which I didn't find, but instead found the video of this amateurishly hilarious fellow. Enjoy.

2 comments:

Imaginer said...

You write like a British bloke!
Your letter sounds very profession but has a bit sarcasm. This sarcasm is very effective. I think they'll get the point. You should bole them over with fork lifts. That's my new favorite punishment.

Malle said...

Haha Katy, you still have to get used to British reality!
Everyone in Britain knows that Virgin customer service is the least reliable & caring service unit in the whole country. It is a fact as our politics lecturer spent 5 mins talking about it a few weeks ago!
Personal experience: we had to wait for two weeks after moving in for our Internet & TV to work!

Hope u r having a good time in NC ;)

Malle