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Kevin000's avatar
Kevin000
Joining in
3 hours ago

My 79 year old dad with Alzheimers charged £75 per month out of contract for nearly ELEVEN years!

On digging through some of my dad's affairs last week I was surprised on finding out he was paying £75 per month to Virgin and realising he didn't even have broadband or a landline dug a bit deeper. It turns out he went out of contract nearly ELEVEN years ago and has been unwittingly paying the £75 out of contract charge for the whole period of 2014 to the present for essentially just Virgin TV, no broadband and no landline! He had no clue this was the case and neither did his disabled 70 year old wife. Nobody at Virgin thought to alert him to a better deal or offer and continued to let his out of contract charge roll on this whole time. Having complained to Virgin I still haven't heard back and he is still having to pay this charge. Eleven years it has continued and on speaking to the complaints department and asking if they were to be offered Virgin TV, no broadband and no landline for £75 a month the person at the other end unsurprisingly agreed they wouldn't accept that offer. My dad clearly didn't have options explained to him and Virgin clearly knew what was happening. Just unbelievable how a company can exploit an elderly vulnerable couple who have no perception of modern media yet remain unwittingly loyal. Just disgusting. Does anyone have ideas or advice on how to best escalate this? Thoughts were communications ombudsman or even one of the newspaper consumer champions. Sounds drastic yet I can't understand how this can be allowed to happen yet alone for such a length of time. Does anyone have any experience of this or anything similar? Thanks. 

2 Replies

  • Steven_L's avatar
    Steven_L
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    2 hours ago

    Hello Kevin000,

    Welcome to the Community, and thanks for taking the time to post here on the forums. I’m sorry to hear of the issues that your dad is having with his package and being out of contract. 

    I'd be happy to take a further look into this for you; however, I would need to confirm a few details via private message. Please look out for my message, and we can get started.
    Kind Regards,
    Steven_L

  • RetiredATCO's avatar
    RetiredATCO
    Up to speed
    2 hours ago

    Was the TV service being used?   

    Unfortunately it is up to the consumer to keep abreast of contract dates and deals.

    How have VM been billing and communicating with your father?

    They have no obligation to "explain" anything but I expect he has had multiple emails or letters offering upgrades along with his bills.

    If is not exploitation although you may perceive that it is, your parents have just fallen into the "out of contract" trap either due to apathy or illness 11 years ago.

    Has anyone advised VM that your father is unwell and cannot manage his account and if so, when?

    You can make a formal complaint but as neither your parents or your family have brought it to VM's attention until now I wouldn't hold out much hope of compensation.