Tractorlad

Another shout-out for a pressure washer. Far the easiest solution.

Investigating a suspected immigration issue? Just a guess. I suspect you might have too much time on your hands. If it help, I've a stack of ironing at home if you're bored? Thanks.

I seem to remember paying about ?5 at Aldi last year and was pretty happy. Put it this way, nobody felt the need to steal it! The Indo has put together a handy guide to Christmas wreaths and Aldi make the list with their ?7.99 2016 offering. http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/christmasgifts/decorations/best-real-wreaths-christmas-aldi-interflora-a6765226.html

I hear Guinness doesn't travel well, at least that's what they say in Ireland.

I had lunch at the Dog's "sister" pub, the Plough on Saturday. They told me that due to ongoing differences with the Dulwich Estate, reopening has been delayed until April 2017. New wager. Which will come first, the Dog opening to paying customers or Virgin media upgrading the broadband in SE22?

Just in time for Tower Bridge to be out of action for three months!

Stiff brush of the garden variety & some hot soapy water, done!

What is the closest sandy beach to ED by car? We're looking to make a dash to the coast this weekend and thinking of Camber Sands in East Sussex. At best I think that might take us 2 hours with traffic. Any suggestions for somewhere closer?

We switched to BT on Barry Road about 6 months ago. We got Virgin installed in 2012 and all went well for the first 18 months or so. From Jan 2014 however the problems with their broadband in the area began. Despite promises of fixes the service never improved. We now have BT Infinity which has worked flawlessly since installation. I must say though that we do miss Tivo. BT Youview is a very poor relation. There is a lack of content and the functionality on the box isn't a patch on Tivo. Its a shame Virgin can't get their act together.

She uses a complex offshore arrangement called a Irish Double with a Caribbean Blue!

Hi Mick Mack. I think of the main broadband providers you either have cable (Virgin are the only option locally) or ADSL (all the rest using BT infrastructure). However, whilst its technically not necessary to have a landline with Virgin, they bundle this with their TV and broadband in such a way that its more expensive not to have it! End result all the providers are roughly the same price for TV+Phone+Broadband give or take a few pounds and new customer incentives. The Culture Secretary recently proposed scrapping of line rental for households not making fixed line calls and encouraged the main broadband providers to come up with alternative charging models. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35869222

jacks09, it might be worth asking if they're referring to May 2016?!

Dimples, just give VM notice and tell them THEY'RE in breach of contract since they're not providing a reliable service. We threw in the towel a couple of months ago mid contract. Raise the matter with the CEO office who will ensure you don't serve notice. [email protected]. They're well aware that they're unable to provide the service in the area they're charging for pending the "upgrade" they need to do. If it makes you feel more comfortable, run regular speed checks and keep a log. They won't argue.

No tears shed here.

Tas, if you're concerned check with VM which exchange you're connected to. Its their Lewisham facility that seems to responsible for the diabolical service in SE22. If you are connected to Lewisham then expect some problems pretty soon.

See my update on the other Virgin thread last Thursday. It took many month of calls to get some addition transparency on the problems that they're having in the area. They basically need to upgrade their building in Lewisham making changes to the "fabric of the facility". http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1622769,page=3 They're been promising a fix for over 18 months. Take April 2016 with a large pinch of salt!

Further to a post yesterday is seems Virgin are still up their usual tricks in the Underhill Road area. As above, I have now left Virgin for BT. Whilst the TV package with BT is inferior, so far the Infinity fibre seems pretty good. I'm glad I left. Before I cancelled I did though seek to escalate my complaint to senior management and have a small amount of additional information about the problems they now acknowledge they're experiencing in the area. The issue relates to upgrade work that needs to be undertaken and completed on their dedicated Lewisham facility. The extra capacity required has implications for both power and cooling capabilities at the site. They tell might that not only do they need to upgrade the telecommunications infrastructure but also make changes to the fabric of the building. The person I spoke with wasn't sure that the work had commenced but it seems that the issue is complicated to resolve. This is no consolation to existing customers but I think this is more information that they've previously disclosed.

Hi James, I note your article in the free SE22 magazine that comes through the door regarding road the maintenance budget. I know its not your patch, but I cycle to work daily from ED to the City and have noticed a nasty pothole has developed on Commercial Way SE15 between Pentridge Street and Chandler Way. The hole is large enough to shred a car tyre or upend a cyclist. How do we go about getting that patched? Many thanks.

I have finally thrown in the towel with Virgin. I plugged the BT box in Sunday evening. I've received a steady 50 mbps every time I've run a speed test whilst Virgin was languishing in the 5/6 Mbps at best 10 minutes before switch over. See attached screen shot. I have also raised a formal complaint with Virgin which has taken me months to escalate. I've asked them simply, what the problem is, why its taken so long to fix and when they'll fix it. I've also told them that I'm disgusted that their attitude so far is to ignore the residents of SE22 and "solve" the problem problem by giving ?10 rebates or inform people their welcome to leave. I'm sure they feel that people will be placated and keep quiet. I'll report back if I get more transparency than what has been reported in this thread. I'm not hold out much hope of any progress though to be honest.

ed_pete Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I spoke to VM on 27/1 to complain about their poor > download speeds in the evening, (which BTW I am > currently monitoring on an automated basis and it > falls off a cliff between 6pm to 11pm) and they > promised to rebate me until it was fixed, which at > the time they reassured me would be "early Feb". > > Needless to say that (a) it has not been fixed and > (b) when I received my bill no rebate had been > applied. > > However when I spoke to them again today, they > were more efficient and forthcoming and have > provided a rebate of ?7.50 per month, backdated to > 27/1 and fixed in place until 19th May which is > when they expect the capacity issues to be > resolved. Dont believe them. About 10 fix dates came and went last year v

rabbitears Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Richard Wilson at the Lordship (should have been > the Actress, really). I don't believe it! Sorry I just had to.

Ribrob. Great piece of insight. So it confirms what I have suspected. There is no fix just a review. These guys are a shambles with customer service and misleading advertising

bzgeo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I find it that virgin's network needs an upgrade > in our area... we do need to create a formal > complaint gathering as many signatures from Virgin > customers. Bzgeo. Please see this link for their complaints process. Rather disapponigly I spoke with a gentleman from the CEO's office asking if I could escalate my grievance according to this process. He told me my best option was to leave with no notice. I other words, do one! A strange approach to customer service. http://store.virginmedia.com/content/dam/eSales/Downloads/Consumer%20Complaint%20Code%20of%20Practice.pdf

Willard Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Better still why don't you tweet a link to this > page on the forum, mention @virginmedia with > #crapservice (or something). > > I would do it but my service seems ok (for now). I > will keep checking my speeds though. It dips from > 40mbps in day to around 15mbps at night. > > I think it's awful people are paying for a service > they're not getting. I tweet daily and get nowhere. I think its disgusting what this company charges relative to the service they provide. I'm leaving in Feb but not before I get my money back!

If like me you feel that Virgin Media is taking the residents of SE22 & 21 for a ride you can follow their complaints process here. It's time to take action against these cowboys! http://store.virginmedia.com/content/dam/eSales/Downloads/Consumer%20Complaint%20Code%20of%20Practice.pdf