Vulnerable Virgin Media customers beware!
My account is marked that I am a vulnerable customer. I have a physical disability which causes me to have memory problems, I also suffer with depression. I also have 3 autistic adult children who i care for.
My children's lifeline is the Internet, as it is mine as well
We don't have a package, we just have the top broadband thing. Our broadband was cut off last night. I often forget to pay bills, and I looked to go pay it and I was shocked to find that i owe about £460 and they want £400 to reconnect our service. It turns out the last bill i paid was in July. By their own accessibility and vulnerability policy I should have been contacted by phone or another means to assist me.
All they have sent me is bills which I didn't look at because I just go onto the Web page when I want to pay which is sometimes when our services are restricted but I just go and pay when they are restricted and what i would have done last night if it wasn't £400 to reinstate the Internet. I should have set up a direct debit but last time I spoke to them a couple of years ago I asked about a direct debit and was told I'd need to phone again to do that, which i forgot to do.
I called up today and was told I had to pay £400 to have it turned on. She did say something about a payment plan but it involved a lower broadband speed. I asked if I could speak with a manager which then took an hour to get through to. She said I could have it turned on if I pay £270 which i can't afford. No mention of a payment plan. Both the people i spoke to said that they asked be to build up 6 months of debt because I was on the "special needs" list so they were helping me by doing that.
I said nobody had contacted me to tell me ot was building up and that i hadn't paid for 6 months, they both said that all they needed to do from their side was send me bills and that's all the contact they need to do.
So someone whose vulnerability and disability involve forgetting to pay bill gets to have it build up to an impossible amount of money and only notified it's built off by having services restricted.
This is from Virgin Media's accessibility and vulnerability policy:
"If you are struggling to pay your bills we can help you as we have a specialist team who will start by reviewing your account. We will attempt to contact you by phone or preferred method of communication to discuss your situation and needs."
I got no telephone calls, no letters, no emails from a specialist team.
All I got was bills sent to my inbox. I doubt open them, when I remember to pay i go directly to my account, not open the email. The same when my services have been restricted. I go straight to my account.
This must be a new unadvertised rule for the vulnerable that they let us go 6 months without paying with no contact other than bills and then demand a £400 lump sum.