This is no longer really a DAK, rather it's become a desperate plea for suggestions. Posting here because it belongs in this thread.
I have now made some considerable efforts to complain to Virgin.
First through the contacts available on their website.
- There is no mechanism to file a ticket with them. Only supposedly-interactive options.
- There's web chat, which just tells me their operators are unavailable (this is firmly within their advertised opening hours, and on most attempted occasions also within regular Mon-Fri 9-5 hours).
- There's a phone number, which I tried from my mobile (the broadband service being too poor to use VOIP). It started off promising: they identified me from my mobile number, which then claimed to run tests on my connection, including an apology for taking longer than expected. But once that test had apparently failed to reveal the problem, it put me on hold, with the promise of speaking to a human "in two minutes". The on-hold "music" is some yob screaming aggressively: the kind of thing you move rapidly away from if you hear it from the next street on a Friday night in the roughest part of town. After ten minutes (against a promise of two minutes, and with no interruptions to the "f*** off" noise for updates) I can stand it no longer. I recollect a previous occasion when after a long time on hold it finally put me through to an extension that merely played a recorded message and hung up.
So on Jan 30th I get soaked going in person to a Virgin shop. No, they can't deal with faults, I can't file a ticket with them, I can't even try to call customer service from the shop. From his very firm manner, the man I spoke to is clearly used to frustrated customers, and ready for those who might get abusive.
So getting home that afternoon and finding no change with either the phone or the web chat, I reluctantly sign up with their "community", a process probably no more longwinded than signing up for Lemonfool, but it certainly feels it when all you're trying to do is make contact! I then post a question about contacting Virgin, and get a near-instant reply telling me that posting there is probably the best way to make contact, but that it'll be about a week. Someone else suggests 7-10 days.
At the same time, I cancel my direct debit to them, pending at least contact if not resolution.
It's now two and a half weeks from that post, and I still haven't been able to speak to a human. Not even a call centre droid. Any suggestions?