AlexanderUK said:
I switched from their broadband service to PAYG yesterday. The people at Virgin also gave me a fresh mailbox whilst they were at it meaning that I've lost all my email and contacts.
Just changing package should not bring about getting a new mailbox.
So either the account became completely deactivated and then reinstated
as a pay as you go account.
or
your broadband account was cancelled and a new and different pay as you
go account opened.
I've just been on the phone to them and they state that they don't offer any kind of support for their mail service and "cannot" restore the old mailbox. What's worse is that I asked exactly where it said the service was unsupported and he said it was in the terms and conditions, but after going through the terms and conditions with him it appears there was no mention of it - he was desperately clinging to his own definitions of what 'residential' vs 'business' means - 'residential' apparently means 'no support from us!'.
It seems to me that you were desperately clinging to harassing the
person you were speaking to for slightly misspeaking themselves.
A quick trawl through their terms and conditions yielded the following
relevant to your situation.
If the mailbox has been closed then according to their terms and conditions
it cannot be restored.
C4c Where data has been deleted or barred and mailboxes disconnected, we will not store or reserve either your data or your username.
H3 would also apply
Effect of Account Cancellation:
<snip> all email addresses (both primary and secondary email addresses) and any other features provided as part of the Service will be deleted and we regret that we will be unable to retrieve this data. We will not be able to reassign the same email address to you at a later date if you decide to re-register. <snip>
F14 would also seem relevant
use the Service other than for your personal use, and you acknowledge that Virgin.net shall not in any way whatsoever be liable to you or to any third party for any business losses (including without limitation any loss of profits, business or anticipated savings or for any destruction of data) suffered in anyway whatsoever by you or any third party;
Obviously the loss of contact information is unfortunate but surely if
it is of importance to you then you would have it stored in more than one location.
[/quote]
What was really insulting is being told "I'm sorry sir but it's Christmas Eve and we are really busy". Well firstly that's completely irrelevant - they shouldn't be open on Christmas Eve if they can't handle things, and secondly one of their customers has lost several years worth of contacts so it's a Merry F**king Christmas from Virgin.Net as far as I'm concerned. Also being told "every residential ISP service will do this" - no ISP I know does this, my BT mailbox still remains intact after 2 years.[/QUOTE]
I've got to say from what you are saying here I would get the guys point.
You are understandably upset at losing your contacts but once you
were told that they cannot be retrieved it seems you thought christmas
eve was a good time to then harangue and hassle some poor sod of an
agent.
It isn't his fault so really no point in taking it out on him.
If you have a complaint about the way in which email accounts
etc are assigned, created or ceased then why not put it in writing
to their head office (you know, the people who are responsible for the
way the service is supposed to work)