Cancellation Payments Rip-Off

[Re-posted because I inadvertently hit Helpful Answer which made it show up as Resolved, which it isn't.]

Bear with me as this is going to be a rant!  Could anyone please explain how Virgin Media are allowed to get away with this situation.

My current contract (broadband, TV, landline) costs £53.31/month and ends on 11 Dec 24, when the price increases to over £70.

On 30 Oct 24 I phoned and arranged to cancel all VM services on 11 Dec 24, when the current contract ends.  I received confirmation of the cancellation date by text and email.

On 7 Nov 24 I received my next bill, in the amount of £64.82 for 28 Nov-27 Dec 24.  This is despite the fact that all services will be disconnected on 11 Dec 24, and despite the website clearly stating under “explain my closing bill” that I will only be charged for the days before the service is disconnected and that the direct debit payment will be adjusted accordingly.  I phoned VM, got the overseas call centre, and spent the usual frustrating 30 minutes or so going round and round in circles with the agent effectively telling me that I was wrong.  She did eventually say that after cancellation I would receive a refund of £36.46.  She refused to put me through to anyone else either there or in the UK.  I gave up because she simply would not answer my questions, presumably because it wasn't on her script.

A few days later I submitted a complaint via the VM website.  Their response wasn't any easier to understand than the overseas call centre, in fact I suspect that's where it came from as it certainly doesn't appear to have been written by someone whose first language is English.  This time they said my final bill would be £36.46 (the same amount previously stated as a refund).  They also mentioned a bill for £73.27 that I should ignore.

I replied asking how the £36.46 had been calculated.  Current contract is £53.31/month, it ends on 11 Dec 24, when services will be disconnected, ie 14 days to be paid at that rate.  By my calculations (£53.31 divided by 31, multiplied by 14) my final bill should be approximately £24.08.  I queried the £73.27 bill they mentioned because the bill I've already received is for £64.82.  I also pointed out that I cannot simply ignore it as they told me to do because they will be taking the money from me by direct debit!

This afternoon I've received a response and it's even more ridiculous than before.  It doesn't answer any of my questions but now tells me that on 30 Dec 24 they will take £73.27 by direct debit.  Then 45 days after cancellation I will get a refund of £109.73 by cheque.

So not only are VM going to take £64.82 from me on 28 Nov 24 for a full month's services when those services will be disconnected 14 days later but they will then take £73.27 on 30 Dec 24, 19 days after disconnection!  What possible justification can there be for this other than greed?

I thought it was bad enough that they were going to charge me anything more than the 14 days at my current contract rate, especially when the website clearly states they won't.  But why on earth should I have to pay yet another full month, at the higher rate, long after the services have been disconnected?  Then have to wait 45 days after cancellation, which will be the end of the 4th week in January, for a refund.  By cheque, so that slows it up even more.  It surely has to be tantamount to fraud, and if it isn't illegal then it ought to be.

Hi tigger137, 

Thanks for taking the time to contact us via the Community. It's lovely having you on board with us in the Forums. ⭐

We're sorry to hear you were unaware of the billing process during your notice period. 

During the 30 day disconnection period, your billing will continue as normal so you may notice that you're billed for time after your scheduled disconnection date. This is due to our system billing you based on the services that are live at that time. Once your services have been disconnected you will receive a final bill a few days later. This will included a pro-rata credit for the time you've already been billed after your disconnection date. If you are due a refund this will be sent 35 days of your disconnection date. If your Direct Debit remains active then the refund will be paid into your bank account directly. If you cancel the Direct Debit then we would send a cheque to the account address. 

Hopefully this explains things for you however if you need any further help, pop back and let us know so we can advise further. 

Thanks, 

Screenshots of the information shown when I click on, "Explain my closing bill":

FWIW, when other customers have posted their replies from the resolutions team on here in past topics, most of those VM responses have been totally incomprehensible or irrelevant nonsense.

If your next bill goes out on 28 Nov, and disconnection on 11 Dec, you should be able to follow what is going on with the final billing in real time and take any evasive measures as necessary.

Your predicted bill of £64.82 on 28 Nov seems to be in line with what might be expected under VM's billing scheme for disconnection. Once 11 Dec has passed, and you are disconnected, you should expect to see that final bill with the correct amount of refund due to you a few days after your disconnection. If that doesn't happen, you may need to take further action at that time.

I have no connection with VM but some general observations from past 'gone-wrong' disconnection topics on here, which might help you, seem to be ...

When you return the kit (wherever that may be dropped off) get a receipt for the items you drop off with a tracking number. Once you have dropped off the kit, that is your only proof it has gone back to VM. I would also note the serial numbers and MAC addresses of anything you send back so you can check against any future demands from VM. Send the kit back as soon as possible because it can take a long time for VM to collect it and sign it back into their system as being returned. Personally, I would also photograph the items and the packaging you sent it back in (for proof of what you sent back and the fact it was well-packaged if you are using DIY packaging). Complaints about not receiving packaging have been common on here and, if you are moving home, it is very possible that VM will continue to send packaging to your old address when you have moved.

It is understandable that people want to cancel their direct debit ASAP to prevent VM taking disputed amounts of money. Those who do that, before all dealings with VM are concluded, often seem to run into problems in topics on here if VM thinks it is still due a DD payment. Past topics have often described former customers having credit defaults logged against them over a disputed VM final payment. Keep good offline records of all VM's final billing demands for future reference.

If you are moving home, and not taking a VM service with you, a further reason to keep the DD in place is to do with getting the refund from VM electronically rather than by cheque. Past topics have described former customers moving home and VM sending the refund cheque to their old address, where the account was based, even when the customer had provided forwarding details.

All of the above is nothing more than my own personal opinion so use at your own risk and make your own decisions based on your own circumstances. My own view is that the info from Kath_P above is reliable and is what you should expect to happen. Keep tabs on what VM is up to as your disconnection progresses and take further action if things look as if they are heading off course from what is expected. Communicating with VM on here happens in slow-time but the results are usually more reliable dealing with the VM forum team than using VM's other channels of communication. Good luck!

Using the link kindly provided by @newapollo a few weeks ago, I requested returns packaging online.  Received a confirmation email from Virgin on 4 Dec 24 saying, "Your prepaid equipment returns packaging is winging its way to you".  It did also say, "It generally takes 2 weeks to get the packaging to you" - which made me wonder which company of carrier pigeons they use.

Okay, it hasn't been 2 weeks yet.  But yesterday I got a text saying, "There's been a delay in sending you some prepaid packaging to return our kit.  Please bear with us, it'll be on its way shortly".

So when they said on 4 Dec 24 that it was "winging its way" to me, clearly it wasn't.  And it took them 8 days to tell me it wasn't, and they still haven't given any indication when I might actually get it.

In the meantime I suppose it's wishful thinking to suppose the delay in sending out the packaging will be taken into account when they decide to charge me for not sending back the equipment.  That would be far too logical, and would require the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing.  

I still haven't had a proper reply to my complaint about being charged not only a full month for 14 days provision of service but also being told that on 30 Dec 24 I will be charged another full month, several weeks after disconnection.  All I keep getting is one increasingly incomprehensible email after another.  I have now given up on ever getting an answer to my very simple questions, it's too frustrating.  I decided to just wait and see whether I eventually get a refund - and if I do, whether it's correct - before taking further action.  Now, of course, I'm probably going to have even more money to chase when inevitably Virgin charge me for equipment that I haven't returned because they haven't sent me the packaging!

Returns box finally turned up on Christmas Eve afternoon after several weeks delay.  Virgin started chasing me yesterday (Boxing Day) by text and email to return the kit. 

Packed it up, have just walked to my nearest Yodel shop with the heavy box.  They won't take it - say they can't take any Yodel parcels because there are no drivers collecting, no idea when they'll be able to.  So I've had to bring the heavy parcel back home again.

Okay Virgin Media, so what do I do now?

What I really wanted to do was dump it somewhere rather than carry it back home, not knowing when I will ever be able to get rid of it!  Perhaps that's part of your cancellation process - make it so difficult for people to send stuff back that they give up and bin it, then you charge them for it.

But I didn't, I've still got it.  So could you please tell me how I can arrange to have it collected.  It is not reasonable or acceptable for me to be expected to keep taking it to the Yodel shop in the hope they'll eventually take it, all the while being chased by Virgin for not having sent it back.

I've already fought my way through various obstacles to cancellation which VM try, such as "You can't cancel more than 30 days ahead".  Then the issues of overpayment and being billed after disconnection.  Now it seems I'm on to the (hopefully) final stage of, "You haven't sent the kit back so we're going to charge you for it".

I requested the returns box a few weeks before disconnection but received a text on 12 Dec 24 saying it was delayed.  It finally turned up on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, 24 Dec 24.  VM then texted and emailed on Boxing Day, 2 days later, chasing me about the return which I thought was a cheek.  With some difficulty (because my local Yodel drop-off wouldn't accept the parcel due to the driver shortage) I sent the kit off with Yodel on 27 Dec 24.  Their latest tracking shows it being processed at their national hub on 30 Dec 24, no update since then.

Yesterday VM texted and emailed threatening that I'll be charged for the equipment if they don't get it back by 11 Jan 25.  That is outrageous! 

They chose to use Yodel, and then either they or Yodel caused the delay in getting the box to me.  VM knew about the delay because they texted me.  I sent the kit back on the next working day after finally getting the box.  There is no facility for me to be able to upload the tracking information to VM.  (Although given that they sent the box and generated the label, they should already have the details.)  The threatening text and emails are from 'no reply' addresses so I have no way of contacting them to say, it's on the way back to you.

The whole set-up is clearly just the next stage in their long, drawn-out, cancellations scam which is clearly designed to make it as difficult as possible to leave them.