Virgin Cable Broadband

[ExtraVirgin]

We would like to have fibre optic cable broadband to our house (obviously so I can surf on Mumsnet even faster ). It is available all the way down our street up until the corner (5 houses away), it is also available on corner with the next street (ca. 3 houses away). We have phoned Virgin and initially they said it was not "economically viable" to come and connect us, but now they have agreed to send around one of their engineers to investigate further. By stretching their network to us, they would be able to reach another 28 houses. We have said that even if it is not economically viable for them it might be for us... Depending of course on how much it costs we would be willing to contribute.

Anyone dealt with similar situation? If so, what can I do/say to make them agree to connect us.

Not really what you are asking but please consider connecting to Virgin. They are ex-NTL World and they had an absolutely appalling customer service record under the previous ownership and still do according to our neighbours.

We are bombarded on a bi-weekly basis with their "please get your fibreoptic service from us". We are with another company because i am terrified of them frankly. Double-charging, refusing to disconnect, lost communication with us - we went through that all. It took us 8 months to finally get rid of them and we were contractually free to do so when we tried to.

Canvas people you trust who had dealings with them and then decide whether you actually would like to push for their services.

www.reviewcentre.com/reviews119065.html

www.reviewcentre.com/reviews119065.html

sure bemybebe, thing is: it would actually not be for us. we are selling atm and our buyer is insisting on superfast broadband or he'll pull out. we were ready to exchange today until he dropped this bombshell on us yesterday... we are therefore desperately trying to get cable and as virgin are the only ones that are near us.....

Your buyer will pull out unless you sort out his broadband connection?? What a prick!!

Is your buyer incapable then? That is ridiculous.
FWIW, we are with Virgin. Simply because it was the first shop we saw when we needed a phone and internet line.
They seem OK, but I have nothing to compare them with.

i cannot comment on my emotions towards our buyer... we are very very upset. cannot face having to go back on the market again and losing (possibly) our dream house. we were going to move in less than two weeks...

Why can't he get his own damn broadband like every other bugger??
So you'll get lumped with the extortionate installation fees?

Avoid Virgin here too. It took 3 years and threat of suing for my mate to get them to fix her broadband. Engineer then discovered that 2 households had been wired into the same box and she was paying for someone else to get broadband free!!
She says Router overheats constantly, speeds drop significantly, customer service?? HAH!

why cant your buyer sort it?! since when do the amenities of a house come into a sale? would they force you to switch energy providers?

the problem is that atm it looks like it might not be available for our address, even though just down the road they have cable.
for our buyer it is crucial that he has it.

Sorry for your predicament. Your buyer is an idiot. If it was that important, s/he would have mentioned it before you are so down the line, so it smells like an excuse to me.

I had a buyer sometime ago for my flat that messed me for 2 month and then just before the exchange declared that since her piano won't fit up the stairs she is no longer interested. Guess what, I was on the 2nd floor Victorian house with VERY narrow stair going to my maisonette (sloping ceiling and the rest), so I was just gobsmacked she had the audacity to pull that instead of just saying she changed her mind.

Buyers... phaw!!

What's your ADSL speeds like? Or is he insisting upon Virgin cable?

To be fair, a good speed would be a mandatory requirement for any house I buy. I simply wouldn't purchase a house where I couldn't get a decent broadband signal anymore.

You may also wish to check if/when your area will be enabled for FTTC which is BT's version of superfast broadband. SamKnows can tell you if/when it'll be available.

Thanks!
I found SamKnows. Unfortunately according to Sam our house should be able to get Virgin cable. Speed is upto 2MB so not snailpace, but not that great either.
I checked with BT today, but they did not want to disclose any info as we are not a customer. On their website I found that our exchange is not on rollout.
We were supposed to have a Virgin engineer come and inspect today, but no one showed. Will try and give them another call. It' s not looking positive...

Bemybaby... Victorian staircase and grandpiano... I can see why she came to see your house in the first place .
Our buyer has now pulled out. Back at square one.