Forum Discussion

siidra's avatar
siidra
Joining in
1 month ago

tenant won't cancel active line

Hello everyone,

I am hoping someone here can help or point me in the right direction as I have completely run out of options.

I moved into this property five weeks ago. For the first four weeks, the internet was working fine. After that, the previous tenant stopped paying their Virgin Media bill and the service was cut off. Since then, I have had no internet at all and no way to get it restored.

I have no way of contacting the previous tenant. The housing agents are the only ones who have their details, but they have confirmed they cannot share any contact information or even forward a message due to data protection laws.

I am the only person living at this address. There is no shared occupancy and no one else using the property.

I contacted Virgin Media and explained the situation in full. I offered to take over the account, pay for the broadband myself, and even cover any outstanding fees or cancellation costs for the previous tenant. Despite this, Virgin Media have said they cannot do anything unless the original account holder contacts them.

Unfortunately, I have no alternative broadband options available at my house. Other providers are not available here, and mobile data is not a viable long term solution. This is now directly conflicting with my job, as I rely on a stable internet connection to work.

At this point I am desperate for a solution. If anyone has dealt with something similar or knows a way to resolve this, I would be extremely grateful. I am willing to pay £200 to anyone who can help get this fixed as soon as possible.

Help

4 Replies

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    1 month ago

    I think, under the circumstances you describe, VM has a 'gone away' process which will allow the previous account to be closed down and for you to open your own new account.

    VM people do reply on here and usually that is within a few days of your first post but may be a little longer due to the holiday period.

    Probably unwise to make offers of cash on the public forum in return for help as there have been instances of scammers lurking on here in the past who will try to take advantage of your situation, often by sending you private messages via the forum PM system.

  • newapollo's avatar
    newapollo
    Very Insightful Person
    1 month ago

    I have no alternative broadband options available at my house. Other providers are not available here, and mobile data is not a viable long term solution. 

    Usually when the previous owner/occupier leaves without informing VM and cancelling, VM can  perform what they  term as a Gone Away process so they can possibly trace that person and get the account closed down, however by law Virgin Media are not forced to provide internet services. 

    Providing you live in the UK then you should ask BT to provide the interent service as the property will fall under the Universal Service Obligation so you are able to have access to internet services. These obligations apply to BT (and KCOM if you live in the Hull area) You can contact them to provide a service. Please see https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/universal-service-obligation

  • Molly_T's avatar
    Molly_T
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    1 month ago

    Hi Siidra 👋 Welcome to the community forum! Thanks for posting. 

    Sorry to hear about your predicament, and experience trying to get this sorted. 

    As the team have already advised, we can't discuss an account without clearing security - so we wouldn't be able to discuss the former tenants account. This means we also wouldn't be able to get it disconnected via you. (We'd need to speak to them directly, but it sounds like they may have already disconnected if the services have stopped working? 🤞)

    Have you tried setting up an account at the address as a new sale? You can check to see if services are available at the address via the postcode checker 👉 https://www.virginmedia.com/broadband/postcode-checker . We can't help with new sales orders via this platform, but you can do so via phone on 📞 0800 183 1234, WhatsApp 📲 07803089684 or webchat 👉 https://virg.in/contactvm 

    Just for your own safety and protection, I'd be very wary of offering a cash reward for support. It won't change your circumstances, and it does put you at vulnerability for being scammed or taken advantage of! There's some useful advice for protecting yourself online here 👉 https://www.virginmedia.com/help/security . 

    Let us know how you get on with taking out a new sale. 🤞 Wishing you all the best! 

    • siidra's avatar
      siidra
      Joining in
      1 month ago

      thanks for getting back to me.

      The line does still appear to be active. I’ve tried to take out broadband at the address already, but I was told I can’t proceed yet because the existing line needs to be disconnected first. The advisor I spoke to suggested it may be linked to the former tenant not paying their bill, which is why it hasn’t been cleared.

      From what I understand, my only way forward now is to contact Virgin Media directly to begin the AWOL process so the line can be released and I can set up a new account in my name.

      If there’s any other way to speed this up, I’d really appreciate the advice, as this delay is costing me time on the job and I’ve been told the AWOL process could take around 2–3 weeks.

      Thanks again for the guidance.