Planned outages - FAQS

An introduction to our Change Management team and what they do.

This team is responsible for the management of planned technical changes to our network and notifying our customers of these changes. Where possible we endeavour to provide 10 days’ advance notice and conduct the work out of hours.

Do you also look after the provisioning and in-life management of services?

No, this is managed by our Customer Care team. They can be contacted on 0800 052 0800 or online, via www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/customerservices

What is a ‘Planned Work’ notification’?

This is a written communication, either by email or letter, which notifies impacted customers about planned maintenance work that needs to take place on our network. Sometimes this can mean that there is a short outage whilst we undertake the work, other times it could mean a temporary slowness in service speed. We always try to do this work out of hours, when usage is at a minimum. If our records show that your service will be impacted, then we’ll send you a ‘Planned Work’ notification.

This communication will confirm the following:

• the Planned Work reference number C00XXXXX. You may also see this referred to as a ‘Change Request’
• the date of the notification
• the start date and time of the planned work (in local UK time)
• the end date and time of the planned work (in local UK time)
• the expected duration of the planned work (or change) window – this is when your services will be impacted
• the service(s) being impacted
• a brief description of the maintenance work taking place
• the circuit reference(s) that will be impacted (CALXXXXXXX)
• the A and B end site details of the service(s)
• contact details in the event of any questions.

Are there standard planned work windows?

No, but wherever possible, we always aim to do this work out of hours so that service disruption is kept to a minimum.

Can you provide more specific impact times during the change window?

We always advise customers of the maximum timeframe for the planned work. This is because we build in an element of contingency for any unexpected events that may occur during this time. So unfortunately, this means that we cannot be more specific. We do indicate how long the expected impact to service will be but you should plan for your services to be impacted during the entire timeframe.

What is an Emergency Planned Work notification?

This notification will inform you when urgent, or emergency maintenance work, is required on our network to either resolve an on-going fault, or to prevent future faults caused by unplanned service outages.

We’ll give you as much notice as we can but due to the urgency around such an issue, notice periods are usually less than 12 hours.

What is a Postponement of Planned Work notification?

This is sent if we need to re-schedule some previously planned work. It confirms that the work has been delayed (usually for technical reasons) and that we’ll be in touch again to advise you of the revised date. 

Why do planned works get postponed?

Sometimes, due to factors outside our control, we need to change the date that planned works are due to take place. We try to keep these instances to a minimum.

What is a Re-scheduled Planned Work notification?

This notification will advise you of the re-scheduled date/time that a planned work will take place.

What is an Amendment to Planned Work notification?

This notification is sent if there is a change to the services identified, such as additional circuits being impacted or if the impact to service is reduced.

What is a Cancellation of Planned Work notification?

This notification is sent if we no longer need to do the technical work we previously notified you of. This can happen for a variety of reasons including instances where a different solution has been found, interim work has already taken place, or the requirements have changed.

Why haven’t I been notified of a Planned Work?

This could be because the maintenance work is fault-driven and, therefore not related to a Planned Work. The first thing you should do is contact our Customer Care team. They’ll deal with your query and investigate it further with the relevant teams.

If your issue turns out to be caused by a Planned Work, the Change Management team will be part of the investigation and you’ll be informed of the remedial action taken to ensure that your service isn’t unexpectedly impacted again.

Finally, it may be that we don’t have the correct Change Management contact details for you in order to notify you of Planned Work. If you think this is the case, please contact our Customer Care team. They’ll be able to confirm the current contact details that we hold for you and amend these if necessary.

How do I contact Change Management?

This varies by customer, so please take a look at the notification you’ve received - the contact details can be found at the bottom. For all other queries please call our Customer Care team or via www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/customerservices.

What if I don’t recognise the circuit or service you’ve notified me of?

If this happens please contact us – our details can be found at the bottom of the Planned Work notification.

Do I have resilience for my service?

This will depend on what service package you purchased from us, so please check your original order/contract. Our Customer Care team will be able to help you with this.