Forum Discussion

Nednats's avatar
Nednats
On our wavelength
4 days ago

Ongoing Complaint Handling Issues – Data Protection & Support Failures

I’m still having major problems getting clear updates on my broadband fault and related complaint.

My original complaint was wrongly closed without resolution, and later complaints were either auto-closed or merged without clear communication.

For a time, I had a single contact (Daniel_Et), which at least gave me continuity. But due to repeated failures with the forum’s five-minute data protection window, I’ve now effectively lost that route of support.

I’ve spent hours trying to pass Data Protection on here, only to be left without answers. When I turned to online chat, the information provided was extremely limited and didn’t go beyond what I already knew days ago.

The Data Protectio questions themselves are confusing and impractical:

  • Two email addresses are associated with my account (VMO2 ID + legacy ntlworld address). Which is required?
  • Two mobile numbers are linked - one for Volt benefits. Which is correct?
  • Billing questions don’t make sense when credits, disputed charges, or billing errors exist — is the “amount” what they charge, or what’s actually due?
  • Direct Debit dates vary month to month, and this month nothing has been taken due to billing issues

With only seconds to reply, there’s no time to clarify what information is expected, and a wrong guess locks you out of support.

This Data Protectio system effectively blocks customers from getting help. Combined with complaints being closed without resolution, it highlights a serious failure in process.

This process creates a situation where customers are actively prevented from accessing updates or progressing their complaint. When combined with the repeated premature closure of complaints, it highlights serious failures in communication and complaint handling, which I believe fall short of Ofcom’s General Condition C4 requirements.

At this point I simply want:

  • Written confirmation of the current status of the works required to fix my broadband fault.
  • Clarity on which complaint is actually open and being tracked.
  • A reasonable, reliable way of passing data protection so I can actually access updates without hours of wasted effort.

12 Replies

  • Nednats's avatar
    Nednats
    On our wavelength

    I wanted to raise a concern regarding how my recent complaints have been handled by Virgin Media.
    I’ve raised multiple complaints in good faith, related to a persistent broadband issue but have now had several of them closed without explanation, without resolution, and without my agreement. In one case, I was told the complaint would remain open until a resolution was agreed, only to find it was later closed anyway.

    In another case, a complaint submitted through the official online form was marked as “resolved” within minutes of submission, without any human interaction or response.

    This has made it incredibly difficult to track the progress of the issue, and leaves me unsure where I stand particularly as Ofcom guidelines make it clear that complaints shouldn’t be closed until either resolution is agreed, or the 8-week window has passed to allow for escalation to ADR.

    I’ve also now engaged with the Executive Complaints Team, but even that complaint was closed without an outcome or summary provided.

    Is anyone from able to clarify Virgin Media’s policy on complaint closure especially in relation to Ofcom’s General Condition C4

    • newapollo's avatar
      newapollo
      Very Insightful Person

      Over what timescale have you raised your multiple complaints?

      Complaints should be resolved within 28 days if possible, and the case will remain open for 28 days after VM have contacted you with their proposed resolution as they want to make sure you have enough time to review and consider their proposal.

      However if you open more complaints before the original 28 days is up, or 8 weeks if a resolution hasn't been agreed then the additional complaints will be closed. 

      • Nednats's avatar
        Nednats
        On our wavelength

        However if you open more complaints before the original 28 days is up, or 8 weeks if a resolution hasn't been agreed then the additional complaints will be closed. 

        What if you have 2 seperate issues and want to raise a complaint for each? 

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    Nednats wrote:

    But due to repeated failures with the forum’s five-minute data protection window

    Not heard of this on here before. What is this five minute restriction?

    Can you not pass security with your 'memorable word' which you should be able to reset in 'My Virgin Media'?

    • Nednats's avatar
      Nednats
      On our wavelength

      I know the 'memorable word' however they will only ask it you once. So if you miscount or in my case, take longer than 5 mintues to answer they move on to other questions. The mod didn't respond to me straight away and when I got notification the website had logged me out and when I logged back in the 5 mintue window had closed.

  • Hi Nednats 

    Thanks for posting and welcome back to the community. We're sorry you feel this way. We have tried to help via PM but were unsuccessful, so we did provide to you your next steps.

    Best wishes.

    • Nednats's avatar
      Nednats
      On our wavelength

      I don’t feel that clear “next steps” have been provided. Being told to call the general support line isn’t a meaningful next step when the whole reason I came to the forum was because the complaint process had already broken down and complaints were being closed without resolution.

      I also want to stress that this isn’t simply about one failed attempt at data protection. The process itself is flawed:

      • The questions asked are ambiguous (multiple emails and mobile numbers are linked to the account for Volt benefits; billing questions are unclear when credits/disputes exist; Direct Debit dates vary and in my case haven’t been taken at all due to the billing issue).
      • The five-minute response window is unrealistic, especially when forum notifications are unreliable. Add to that the fact the forum system logs you out at random, and it’s easy to miss the tiny window to reply.
      • A single wrong guess locks the customer out, even if they explicitly say they know the answer is wrong and just need more time.

      The result is that I’m left without written confirmation of the re-pull status, no clarity on which complaint is actually open, and no reliable way to access updates.

      Telling me this is “next steps” feels like a way of closing the conversation rather than resolving the issue.

      For context, Ofcom’s General Condition C4 makes it clear that complaints must be handled fairly and transparently, and cannot simply be closed or left in limbo without resolution or customer agreement. Right now, that’s exactly how this feels.