Yes, I've had similar experiences with Virgin Media.
Internet goes off, so I reset router and modem and check all the cables are properly connected etc.
So I login to the router admin page and sure enough it tells me it's unable to establish a WAN connection, modem lights also indicate that it's not getting a connection either.
So I call technical support hoping that they will check and tell me if there is an issue with the service in my area.
They ask me to reset modem and router, so I say "yes, tried all that" they make me do it again anyway. Ok , well that doesn't work so I ask if there is any problem in my area.
Instead they want to dig around in my computer's network/firewall settings. So I tell them the problem is that my router can't get a connection out to the WAN. Lady on the other end doesn't really know what a WAN is but I've already told her that the modem light that should be on is off.
Still they insist on going through the troubleshooting steps on my PC and can't proceed until they've done that. The only computer in my house at the time is my Ubuntu box so they insist it must be that and I have to call them back from a Windows or Mac computer.
So I call back, pretending to have a Windows computer in front of me, pretend to go through all of their steps to no avail. About 45 minutes later she gives up and checks the service status. Sure enough, there is maintenance in my area which is why my internet doesn't work.