Sort out our wifi – that’s the message from Virgin Media users in and around Hitchin, with customers reporting speeds massively below what the provider promises.
When the Comet went to the public to gauge the scale of the problem, one social media user quipped that it might be quicker to ask for Virgin customers whose internet actually worked as it should – as dozens of users in Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock and surrounding villages complained about slow speeds and cut-outs.
Those speaking out include Vanessa Sawyer, of Hitchin, who last night sent Virgin a photoshopped version of their logo bearing the words ‘Virgin on the ridiculous’.
In an extensive complaint, she described a 25-minute call to Virgin Media customer service, followed by a second in which a representative denied that the company was having problems in the Hitchin area.
“Now I am no Erin Brockovich but a quick Google – one that has now cost me precious data! – and I discovered that there is clearly some sort of war breaking out between you and my beautiful town,” said Vanessa.
“Your name is mud. You’ve hurt people Virgin – hurt them bad. Netflix and chill is a mere pipe dream for many in Hitchin. Mobile data usage is on the rise.
“A friend of mine resorted to watching the Game of Thrones finale in a Wetherspoons! A Wetherspoons!”
Hitchin ice cream maestro Fabio Vincenti, of Fabio’s in Hermitage Road, also said he had “endless issues” with his service from Virgin on both his business Hitron hub and his Super Hub at home.
He said: “The Hitron hub dies every four months or so. Engineers then have to install new ones.
“At home we’ve had constant cut-outs. They upgraded me to the 3.0 where the connection is more stable, but the speeds are poor – streaming Netflix and so on always buffers.
“I’ve got loads of phone calls logged on my account. The business one is the most frustrating as it takes down our card machine.”
Several people told the Comet that the company had admitted to them that they had too many customers in the Hitchin area, which was slowing services down. Virgin Media told us this was not an official statement.
A Virgin Media spokeswoman said: “We are aware that some customers in the Hitchin area may be experiencing slow speeds and we are currently working to resolve it.”
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