Virgin Plan One

Overall, my experience using Virgin broadband has been problem free.

The customer service has been efficient and helpful and I was given a free speed upgrade from 1Mbits/sec to 2Mbits/sec about three months ago.

There was one period of non-service, but when I called the support line they explained that there was a problem with the local telephone exchange - this was quickly resolved. Other than this, the service has always seemed to work quickly and reliably.

The only difficulty I have encountered is when I moved house recently and had to transfer the broadband. I called the customer service line, which is a premium-rate number, to inform them I was moving.

I could have done this online, but I wanted to ask a few questions (how long it would take and so on). They told me I would be reconnected at my new address within seven to 10 days and that I would need to check my email or call them to confirm I had been connected.

After 10 days I hadn't been reconnected, so phoned and was told that they were waiting to hear from BT and I would have to call back. When I complained that I had to repeatedly call their premium-rate line, they gave me an alternative local-rate number.

I called again the next day and they were still waiting for BT, but a representative from Virgin called me back that afternoon and said that there were presently no free ports in my area and I would have to wait until someone had cancelled before I could resume my connection.

A specific date wasn’t given, but I was told it shouldn’t be long and that they would keep me informed. In the meantime, customers in this situation are downgraded to a pay-as-you-go dialup service and all monthly payments are temporarily frozen.

At £24.99 this isn’t a cheap service, but there is a 20GB cap and you can cancel anytime - there's no 12 month sign up period - and it has worked reliably.

I'm happy to stay with the service and recommend it to others. However, I'd probably shop around first to see if there are any cheaper deals that would suit me.

Note: This is part of PCW's long-term group test of broadband Internet packages. Links to all other packages reviewed can be found below