A subject I know that some people dont want to admit, especially when they are wrong bt here i go, I dont it yet again. this story I am going to tell you happened on the 22nd December 2007 as well as yesterday, it was as if it was ground hog day, word for word, apart from this time I managed to keep calm, or calmer.

I have my phoneline, cable tv and broadband internet wit hVirgin media, yes Richard " I am stinking rich" branson's very own firm, or one of them.

My TV stopped working at the same time as my modem. I had no TV or Internet
I phoned the helpline and after pressing all the 2's and 4' and 1' to get through to someone I managed finally to get through to the call centre in India ( cheap labour for Mr Branson) where they read all their solutions from a screen, and if all fails, which in this case it did again, they say they have to send an engineer out as the cable box is broken.
I said how can the TV and Modem decide to break at the same time? , they had no answer on their screen for this. "it is a fault with your box" they kept saying. "ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, could you send someone out to look at my tv box and my modem"?  "No" they replied but we can send someone out for the TV, you have to phone and press the correct number for internet help" ( I done this later and got told the same engineer would have a look at both)

Ok, so they were sorting an engineer to come out and look at my box, Monday 12 pm - 4 pm they say. NO, I calmly said, this time is no good as I am at work, someone will have to come out after 4:45pm. "oh no no no, we cannot do this" said the screenreader in the call centre. Why not I asked. because this is the last times they are available. I started to get angry.
In my unprofessional angry irate voice I let rip. something like this

" look, I am not taking time off work so one of your guys dont turn up until 4:30 and I lose money for not being at work ( which happened before) so you will just have to make sure a virgin engineer comes out to fix their equipment that I rent off them at a time that suits me, the customer. I pay in advance for this service and I damn well expect a good service."

no no no he replied, we cannot do this. So while I was arguing wit hhim over the times and how monday was no good for me, he then told me that the Monday appointment had just been filled by someone else and I would have to wait until Tuesday. So we went through all that again, same things said for the tuesday 12-4 appontment being no good.
By now I was pacing up and down the living room clenching on to the phone and pointing into thin air while telling him what I wanted ( as if he could feel me prodding my finger into his chest)
I got nowhere with him and ended up going on hold to talk to the floor manager, he was quite irate and abrupt wit hme telling me take it or leave it, I told him he was lucky he was not 2 miles down the road from me. I told him I see virgin vans out at 6pm 7 pm so why could I not get one at 5pm. He said this was the only times his call centre could send people out. OK, I accept that I told him, "now give me the number of someone in the UK that can help me, someone that can send me out an engineer at a time that suits me". we will not do this he told me.
Yep, by this time I was going mental ( but not as bad as 2007)
I argued wit hthis manager for about 15 minutes over how I should get someone out when it suits me and they should pay a few quid overtime if needed for an engineer since big Richard B is loaded. I got nowhere with him and told him " OK, send the engineer out on Tuesday bewtween 12 and 4. he said " will someone over 16 be in for the engineers"? , I told him I had no idea but this was going to be my time and I wanted him out at this time and if no one was in he would have to keep returning that day until i was.
he told me if an engineer turned up and no one was in I would get charged £10, I began to laugh down the phone and asked him when i was getting my lost earnings from 4 years ago when i waited in all day without pay. he said that was nothing to do wit hhim, and I told him whether i was in or out had nothing to do wit hhim and just get it noted that an angineer will be out to me on tuesday and that I would not pay any £10 if no one was in for him.
I also said I was not payuing a full month rental since i was not getting 24/7 service, so he refunded £10 for the three days. For the full month it is about £30 all in for tv and cable so that was fair enough

Then I phoned the internet helpline, yep india again... but like I said the same engineer can look at the modem as well as the tv, but if you phone for tv they will not send someone to look at the modem, doesnt make sense. But the internet people very so much helpful and understanding than the twits in the tv call centre that read of a screen. the internet people read off a screen too but they make it sound more interesting and make it sound as if they know what they are doing. I told tham all this and what had happened.

S I was resigned to the fact I had no tv or internet for 3 days, oh and by the way, lol, my wife is off on holiday from monday morning so someone could be in, I just felt like being awkard with  them
I thought to myself this is just the same argument i had 2 years ago and thought how after arguing I checked the connection of the cable, the cable has one cable going to a splitter, something that makes the cable go from one cable to two, one for the tv and one for the modem.
The cable was out   no wonder I had no connection with internet or tv. I plugged it back in an hey presto, I had tv and internet.

I phoned and cancelled the engineer and told them it just started again.
I still got the £10 refund I tried to tel lthem to take it back and they said they didnt know how to and jst to leave it as it made it easier.

Ken