Thanks for the response. I was mistaken about the account details, the only genuine item was in fact the area ref, the rest was random.
I am not in the habit of clicking links in ANY email, never mind those from VM, my bank or my friends and family.
My reason for posting was more a dig at VM who, despite my loyal custom, still think its good business to make it impossible to contact anything resembling customer service.
Any one receiving similar phishing attempts should forward them here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-email
It's a complete waste of time trying to warn VM directly.
