Virgin launches technical support company

Virgin Group has launched a new company to help British consumers solve digital dilemmas.

Virgin Digital Help is the media group's first new launch in three years and has been set up so people can get help with digital devices in a variety of ways.

The service covers a wide range of devices, from PCs to printers, games consoles, smartphones and cameras. Support is also provided for games and software that rids PCs of viruses or spyware. Virgin has hooked up with AVG and is giving away the free AVG 9 anti-virus software in its 'digital toolkit'.

A lot of the basic help is free, with access to software and guides that the company said can solve around half of the most common digital problems.

If the consumer is still unable to self-diagnose a problem, they can log on to the online chat tool and speak to one of the online technical staff.

This service is still free and there is no time limit but Virgin said most problems can be solved reasonably quickly. If the customer prefers to speak to someone, the company also offers free telephone support on 0800 107 1175.

Some of the services are charged for however. Virgin has set up a basic £2.99 a month subscription that gives the user to access the full set of automated fixes and 70,000 self-help solutions and more than 500 video tutorials.

This service can be started and stopped as and when the consumer needs it. If the problem is PC related, the consumer can grant Virgin staff remote access to their computer.

For more serious problems such as removing viruses the company will charge from £30. A technician can also be booked for a home visit and this costs £90 for the first hour; £30 for every subsequent half hour. If it is a hardware faulty however, Virgin will only diagnose the problem and not carry out repairs.

The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week even on bank holidays.