Topic: Virgin Media

[Claire.]

that's weird though, they're normally willing to cancel and re-contract the whole lot.

[filopastry]

that's weird though, they're normally willing to cancel and re-contract the whole lot.

To be fair even the adviser I spoke to seemed a bit surprised, I would have thought it was a good way to lock me in for longer and get Sky out of the picture completely

[PaulF]

45 days to get a transcript of a conversation on chat agent with them. wtf....

And trying to find a live agent from there website takes about 45 minutes!
FWIW , head down the trying to cancel route. Surprise surprise...

[Danny Singh]

What a joke of a company.

Signed up for broadband back in August last year after one of their reps knocked on our door saying we can have this installed without any external worked done. I live in a new build estate (newish- houses all built 25/30 years ago) on a cul de sac of 6 houses which has a shared drive as you cross the middle. There are 2 homes that have virgin media installed. I am the last house on the road.

After a few months they realised external work was required and way leave forms needed from a number of neighbours. No problem - all done and returned.

They had to cancel the original order and start a new order in October.

After a few weeks I was given an installation date and they said external work will be done prior to this date.

This was pushed back 4/5 times without any explanation and finally this week I was told the order has been cancelled!

I called them yesterday after being on hold for ages and someone mentioned the work required was not in their budget. The neighbours that have virgin installed are roughly 10/20 metres away from me.

I’ve lost so much time over the last 6 months by speaking with them over the phone and waiting for instals to take place that I read I am entitled to compensation.

Has anyone gone through this before/had a similar experience and how did they manage to get this?

Appreciate anyone’s help.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Fuck them off and get talktalk.

[Statto Red]

TalkTalk are one of the worst broadband companies in the UK, wouldn't touch them with a bargepole, they're cheap for a reason, i've long boycotted them after the data breach & the casual reaction by TalkTalk over it.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

TalkTalk are one of the worst broadband companies in the UK, wouldn't touch them with a bargepole, they're cheap for a reason, i've long boycotted them after the data breach & the casual reaction by TalkTalk over it.

I disagree, been perfect for me & I've been with them years now.

[Graeme]

What a joke of a company.

Signed up for broadband back in August last year after one of their reps knocked on our door saying we can have this installed without any external worked done. I live in a new build estate (newish- houses all built 25/30 years ago) on a cul de sac of 6 houses which has a shared drive as you cross the middle. There are 2 homes that have virgin media installed. I am the last house on the road.

After a few months they realised external work was required and way leave forms needed from a number of neighbours. No problem - all done and returned.

They had to cancel the original order and start a new order in October.

After a few weeks I was given an installation date and they said external work will be done prior to this date.

This was pushed back 4/5 times without any explanation and finally this week I was told the order has been cancelled!

I called them yesterday after being on hold for ages and someone mentioned the work required was not in their budget. The neighbours that have virgin installed are roughly 10/20 metres away from me.

I’ve lost so much time over the last 6 months by speaking with them over the phone and waiting for instals to take place that I read I am entitled to compensation.

Has anyone gone through this before/had a similar experience and how did they manage to get this?

Appreciate anyone’s help.

You'll be entitled for compensation from the day the original install was due to take place up until the day they cancelled the order at a rate of £5.83 per day, and because Virgin cancelled the contract they have to pay an additional 30 days beyond the cancellation/cease date....

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/automatic-compensation-need-know

OFCOM requires that this is paid to you automatically, but that's not to say that will happen. Just log a complaint with Virgin in writing. That generally bypasses the offshore customer service which is useless.

Last but not least, as Statto said - don't go with TalkTalk. They're probably the only ISP with a worse rep than Virgin.

[Danny Singh]

You'll be entitled for compensation from the day the original install was due to take place up until the day they cancelled the order at a rate of £5.83 per day, and because Virgin cancelled the contract they have to pay an additional 30 days beyond the cancellation/cease date....

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/automatic-compensation-need-know

OFCOM requires that this is paid to you automatically, but that's not to say that will happen. Just log a complaint with Virgin in writing. That generally bypasses the offshore customer service which is useless.

Last but not least, as Statto said - don't go with TalkTalk. They're probably the only ISP with a worse rep than Virgin.

Thanks Graeme, really appreciate all your help.

Agreed - won’t be calling customer service to make the complaint.

I went onto the app and found the complaints category. I clicked submit virgin media complaint via web form but it says my account has been disconnected…

Do I need to make a complaint via post?

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Thanks Graeme, really appreciate all your help.

Agreed - won’t be calling customer service to make the complaint.

I went onto the app and found the complaints category. I clicked submit virgin media complaint via web form but it says my account has been disconnected…

Do I need to make a complaint via post?

Do they not have a live chat, I've always found them to be the best as you can pin them down easier.

[Graeme]

Register and post on the Virgin Media community forum, Virgin staff who manage those boards should be able to sort it…

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Managing-Your-Account-Cable/bd-p/ManageAccountCable

[PaulF]

Do they not have a live chat, I've always found them to be the best as you can pin them down easier.

Yes, but bloody hard to find. Or rather, easy to find, but you can only use bot pre-prepared answers.
You need to go via disconnections to a live chat with a person.

[Danny Singh]

Register and post on the Virgin Media community forum, Virgin staff who manage those boards should be able to sort it…

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Managing-Your-Account-Cable/bd-p/ManageAccountCable

Managed to speak with someone and after she checked my account I got this reply:

‘I have checked the notes on the account and can see that the install was cancelled due to the construction works that would be needed to our network to be able to provide the property with a service. This was decided on 7th February 2024 and subsequently your installation was cancelled.
 
As the installation delay was caused by construction, you would not be eligible for compensation under the automatic compensation scheme, though we do appreciate that this has been inconvenient for you. It's disappointing that we were not able to install your services as requested and can assure you that this is not the new customer journey we we aim to provide. Unfortunately, these types of delays can happen due to the way we provide our services.
 
I have raised a manual compensation review on the account to see if there is indeed any eligible compensation that can be applied for this and also raised the complaint at our side regarding your dissatisfaction with the delayed install and your new customer experience.’

Is this completely dead in the water now or do I still try but now go to comms ombudsman who seem to have success with similar cases?

[Ben S]

That appears to fly in the face of the Ofcom code of practice. Ask them to specify where exactly they have that clause documented and if they believe they don't have to pay up referr it to their ADR.

Oh and tell them they are a bunch of useless c*nts, if they couldn't offer you their service due to their own construction issues, they shouldn't have sold it to you and if they wanted to minimise their loses, they should have cancelled it sooner.


You are also due additional compensation for their failure to automatically pay up in the required time.

[RedSince86]

Pretty good that Virgin media forum for any issues.

My internet box cover at front of house had gotten blown off by a hurricane a few years back and I posted on there, one of the admins sent a message asking for my details, the next morning they'd installed a new box cover.

[Danny Singh]

That appears to fly in the face of the Ofcom code of practice. Ask them to specify where exactly they have that clause documented and if they believe they don't have to pay up referr it to their ADR.

Oh and tell them they are a bunch of useless c*nts, if they couldn't offer you their service due to their own construction issues, they shouldn't have sold it to you and if they wanted to minimise their loses, they should have cancelled it sooner.


You are also due additional compensation for their failure to automatically pay up in the required time.

I haven’t replied back yet but will be doing so this weekend.

The woman who is dealing with this has messaged me again saying that they will give me £75.79 in compensation as a goodwill gesture.

What’s the chances of me taking this further and getting a bigger payout? Or should I just take the £75?

[Ben S]

Their terms are here. https://www.virginmedia.com/legal/fibre-optic-services-terms-conditions/automatic-compensation

Did they give you a confirmed activation date or a provisional activation date?  If it was confirmed then they owe you compensation from that date until they cancelled it.

If it was only a provisional date then take their offer.

[Graeme]

I’ve had my own bizarre battle with them since November. Been with them since 2020 in a new build. Had two 18-month contracts with them since then, the most recent ending in November 2023. I’ve usually waited until contract end and called retentions however this time I got an E-mail about a month before offering my existing services for only very slightly more so agreed to the new contract online.

Since then, they’ve been unable to apply the new contract. I’ve had monthly communications with their Forum staff attempting to sort it out. As my previous contract discounts have been ended I get a full bill every month and someone has to go in and manually credit the account with the difference. The problem is that hasn’t worked successfully, and nearly every month they take an incorrect amount, and last month they took the full price with no discounts which was over double my contract price. Every month they promise the rolling credit is applied but something goes wrong. I’ve hit the roof with them several times and had loads of goodwill credits applied to my account, I think my account is actually more than a months bill in credit now because I keep complaining.

I’d have no hesitation in fucking a company this bad off ordinarily, but the price I’ve got is just unbeatable with any other providers. They stacked heavy discounts on new builds because they pre-wire every property so want to sign as many customers up as possible to make a return on their investment. We’ve currently got….

Gig1 Broadband (Fibre to the property)
Full TV package on 2 boxes
Sky Sports UHD
Sky Cinema UHD
TNT Sports UHD
Phone line
Netflix

I’m only paying £74 for that, and I can’t get anywhere near that when pricing an equivalent package up with other providers otherwise I’d bin them off.

[filopastry]

Virgin are great when its all going well, but its just a fucking nightmare when you need to deal with customer service.

They might be the only company that I've ever wanted to scream down the phone at.

[Danny Singh]

That appears to fly in the face of the Ofcom code of practice. Ask them to specify where exactly they have that clause documented and if they believe they don't have to pay up referr it to their ADR.

Oh and tell them they are a bunch of useless c*nts, if they couldn't offer you their service due to their own construction issues, they shouldn't have sold it to you and if they wanted to minimise their loses, they should have cancelled it sooner.


You are also due additional compensation for their failure to automatically pay up in the required time.

This is the reply I got:

You can see the full automatic compensation policy here in the terms and conditions, more specifically in the first sections of the page and where it starts '1. At the point of ordering the applicable service'.
Here it states that if constriction work is required, then a provisional activation date will be provided and that credits will not be payable for any changes to the provisional activation dates.
 
We would not have known at point of sale if serviceability was not possible or not until the team had fully investigated the work needed on site and accessed if within the business capacity. I appreciate that the delay and stress caused throughout this has concluded that the property is not serviceable, and so there has been nothing gained from this by both parties. I can only apologies that this was the outcome in the end.

The goodwill compensation offered here would be for the full customer experience you have had during our attempts to provide service to the property. The goodwill gesture is not instead of the automatic compensation, as this is not something that you were eligible for on this occasion, but rather an apology for any stress and inconvenience caused during this time. We understand, and can see from our findings and conversation through community that this has not been a good experience for you, and so the team have offered to apply a goodwill gesture for this.

Let me know if you're happy and satisfied with what has been advised and offered here and I can go ahead and credit the account for you and close your complaint as resolved.

Guessing I’ve have to take the £75..

[Craig S]

This is the reply I got:

You can see the full automatic compensation policy here in the terms and conditions, more specifically in the first sections of the page and where it starts '1. At the point of ordering the applicable service'.
Here it states that if constriction work is required, then a provisional activation date will be provided and that credits will not be payable for any changes to the provisional activation dates.
 
We would not have known at point of sale if serviceability was not possible or not until the team had fully investigated the work needed on site and accessed if within the business capacity. I appreciate that the delay and stress caused throughout this has concluded that the property is not serviceable, and so there has been nothing gained from this by both parties. I can only apologies that this was the outcome in the end.

The goodwill compensation offered here would be for the full customer experience you have had during our attempts to provide service to the property. The goodwill gesture is not instead of the automatic compensation, as this is not something that you were eligible for on this occasion, but rather an apology for any stress and inconvenience caused during this time. We understand, and can see from our findings and conversation through community that this has not been a good experience for you, and so the team have offered to apply a goodwill gesture for this.

Let me know if you're happy and satisfied with what has been advised and offered here and I can go ahead and credit the account for you and close your complaint as resolved.

Guessing I’ve have to take the £75..

Accept the £75 and go to the Ombudsman as well.

Here is the Ofcom version of the compo:
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/automatic-compensation-need-know#:~:text=What%20you%20need%20to%20do,action%20to%20receive%20the%20compensation.

It does not say anything that Virgin are claiming, it is Virgins T&Cs which differ and do not appear on their web either, it is not very transparent on their site here:
https://www.virginmedia.com/help/billing-and-payments/automatic-compensation

It is worth an email to ombudsman to see. Just say you complained to Virgin, would not take complaint further and you felt you had to accept the gesture of goodwill or nothing and VM closed down the complaint.

[Ben S]

It will all hinge on whether they gave you a confirmed of provisional activation date. What was it, check your emails etc.

[PaulF]

I’ve had my own bizarre battle with them since November. Been with them since 2020 in a new build. Had two 18-month contracts with them since then, the most recent ending in November 2023. I’ve usually waited until contract end and called retentions however this time I got an E-mail about a month before offering my existing services for only very slightly more so agreed to the new contract online.

Since then, they’ve been unable to apply the new contract. I’ve had monthly communications with their Forum staff attempting to sort it out. As my previous contract discounts have been ended I get a full bill every month and someone has to go in and manually credit the account with the difference. The problem is that hasn’t worked successfully, and nearly every month they take an incorrect amount, and last month they took the full price with no discounts which was over double my contract price. Every month they promise the rolling credit is applied but something goes wrong. I’ve hit the roof with them several times and had loads of goodwill credits applied to my account, I think my account is actually more than a months bill in credit now because I keep complaining.

I’d have no hesitation in fucking a company this bad off ordinarily, but the price I’ve got is just unbeatable with any other providers. They stacked heavy discounts on new builds because they pre-wire every property so want to sign as many customers up as possible to make a return on their investment. We’ve currently got….

Gig1 Broadband (Fibre to the property)
Full TV package on 2 boxes
Sky Sports UHD
Sky Cinema UHD
TNT Sports UHD
Phone line
Netflix

I’m only paying £74 for that, and I can’t get anywhere near that when pricing an equivalent package up with other providers otherwise I’d bin them off.

Yeah,
 we eventually got a refund cheque for £50 of services that we'd cancelled . (BT sport and Now TV for europa league group games and footie over Christmas).
Took enough calls, emails, VM live chat that I could have earnt that money and more. But it's the principle.  They messed up, and were so tardy in fixing it.
Fair do's they did refund without any kind of pushback, just poor systems to administer it. (seemingly, might be underhand behaviour I guess)

[lucas65]

Is there any decent alternatives to Virgin? They have just gone too expensive now. Just looked at Sky but the good speeds aren't in our area yet.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Is there any decent alternatives to Virgin? They have just gone too expensive now. Just looked at Sky but the good speeds aren't in our area yet.

Others disagree but I doubt that I'll ever leave talktalk.

[filopastry]

Is there any decent alternatives to Virgin? They have just gone too expensive now. Just looked at Sky but the good speeds aren't in our area yet.

If you don't have good speeds on Sky that will apply to most others as nearly all are delivered on BT's network.

Virgin will normally give you an offer if you hand in your notice of cancellation