Break of Contract due to outage

VM will almost certainly not release you from a minimum term contract on the basis of an outage. The best you will be entitled to is the OFCOM compensation below

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/billing-and-payments/automatic-compensation

so keep detailed records, along with evidence of all VM's failures to fix, to ensure you get paid the correct amount.

Any fix dates/times VM gives out are nothing more than estimates, not guarantees.

You need to give VM 30 days notice to leave (or you may be able to truncate the notice period by using the one-touch-switch system with a new supplier) but you need to complete your minimum term to avoid early disconnection fees. If you wish to cancel VM yourself, the usual advice on here is to do it by post using a tracked service to confirm delivery.

Depending on who you plan to move to, some providers offer to pay off early disconnection fees (up to a few hundred pounds I have seen previously) so you may be able to leave via that route.

Many of the regulars on here would suggest that the best way to switch (if it is feasible/affordable to do so for the customer) is to get your new service installed and overlap it with VM.

That way you get to try out the new service in your 14 day cooling off period with VM as a backup in case the new service is unsatisfactory. Overlapping also gives you a bit of a buffer in case there is a delay in getting the new service installed.

It's a grey area in the way it's phrased, but if the problem lies within VM's network, and they are unable to fix it within 30 days, they may offer you the right to exit your contract without you being penalised. This usually relates to a drop in speed and not total loss of service, although I would argue that total loss of service is a speed reduction.

Info below from the Right to Cancel FAQ's section on the https://www.virginmedia.com/broadband/our-speeds-explained page.

If the actual download speed you received to your Virgin Media Hub during the test period falls below our ‘minimum guaranteed download speed’ for 3 days in a row (continuously or intermittently), we’ll confirm that there’s a speed fault, and if we can’t fix the issue within 30 days of your report, you may be eligible to leave us without paying an early disconnection fees............

You can read more about ending your contract in Section N of the terms and conditions https://www.virginmedia.com/legal  If we don’t provide the ‘minimum guaranteed download speed’ as set out above (i.e. we have not remedied the speed problem within 30 days of your notifying us or we cannot address the problem) then we’ll offer you the opportunity to end your contract immediately, without an early disconnection fee. In exceptional circumstances (for example where you cancel technician visits or miss appointments) we may extend the 30 days but we’ll always discuss this with you beforehand.

You should allow VM 30 days for their engineers to test your connection (although I can't see how they can perform any testson your connection if it's an actual area fault)

You cannot cancel by email.  The https://www.virginmedia.com/help/leaving details the accepted cancellation methods.  Click on the View Contact options link which will open a pop up window, so ensure you have pop ups enabled in your browser. You can click on "Chat to us online", however the chat/messenger options won't work if the office is closed.

You can call VM by dialling 150 from your Virgin Media home phone or 0345 454 111 from any other phone.  Select options 1,1,4 and 4 for the cancellations department.

You can send your leaving request by registered (signed for) post to: Virgin Media, Sunderland, SR43 4AA  including your name, address and account number.

You can also contact VM via WhatsApp on 0780 3089 684

Or you can contact VM on Social Media by either messaging 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virginmedia  or Twitter: https://twitter.com/virginmedia

“I have been a customer for over 20 years and hope that would mean something ?” Alas that means nothing, actually no, in VM’s eyes in means you are very unlikely to move on now, so don’t offer you anything! Yes, you’ll make all sorts of threats to go, but in their eyes you won’t actually do it, so ignore them - unless of course you do actually leave, in which case they will be all over you like a rash to get you to stay.

VM have no customer-facing email addresses for support, you can’t email them anything. Almost as if they really don’t want to have to deal with annoying people, like paying customers. Odd, but it is the way they work.

Now here’s what I would do if I were in your situation, you have two months left of your minimum term contract, right? Sign up now with an alternative provider, get yourself back online. Meanwhile you are now due compensation from VM of a little under £10 per day (with some caveats), so you are now owed some £75. Give it about another month and then cancel VM, cancel completely (I assume that you have your new provider in place), and do it via a physical letter to their Sunderland office - there are certain legal protections doing it via letter (keep a copy and send it by registered - signed for delivery)

Now even though you have left, you are still owed the compensation - short term you will probably be out of pocket, longer term you are free of VM and may possibly make a small profit!

In the dropdown "Our minimum download speed guarantee" it states "The minimum download speed guarantee does not apply to outages."

Huge thanks for the feedback all much appreciated, the thing is my connection is not just slow but none existent, since the 10th I have had no internet access at all and the TV requires internet access on most of the channels as it keeps coming up with a internet connection Warning you keep having to click off every few seconds, I have decided to go with the quick switch system whereby the other supplier pays for any possible end early fee`s, makes me less likely to go back to Virgin later down the line if the other supplier does not work out.

Just a update to say I have now surpassed the 2 fix dates and now on the 4th fix date today, I don't suspect my issue will be fixed today 24th July and simply another fix date will be added for the 27th etc! We shall see.....

Also whenever you ring or look online it explains the outage has been identified and a engineer is on their way! I have had this on every fix notification! seems like a standard template they use and not really related to the issue!, they need to be a little more honest, more detailed and transparent of what these issues really are, the way the system works at the moment does not feel anyone with confidence your getting a genuine update, presently it just feels you are simply being fobbed off with any excuse, I did actually get a call from Virgin Media today who did explain a little more detail which was a breath of fresh air and it was explained that the issue was some kind of line noise they cannot presently locate so who knows how long my specific issue will carry on for ? 2 more months until my contract runs out ?

Two more fix dates issued, one was for the 6 August 2025 and now today I had a update for  31st of July. 

Nope fix date has now gone back to the 6 August! = 8 Fix Dates!

Hello Virgin Media Team,

I'm trying to get some clarity about compensation for a complete loss of service (broadband and TV) between 2nd July and 1st August — 30 days in total without any connection or access to services.

I used live chat and was told:

"According to Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme, if any of our customers experience a total loss of service for more than 48 hours, they will be eligible for automatic credit. If you qualify, this will be applied to your account automatically; there’s no need to claim it manually."

While I appreciate the response, I’m left unsure about a few important things:

Has my outage been properly logged as a total loss of service?

Am I eligible for compensation for the full period under the Ofcom scheme?

When exactly will this credit appear on my account?

Is there any confirmation or reference number available?

Based on the Ofcom rules, the compensation should be £9.76 per day after the first 48 hours, which would total around £284.04 for 29 qualifying days — but there’s no way for me to check whether this is being processed or when I’ll receive it.

After such a long outage, the lack of clarity just adds to the frustration. I would appreciate it if a moderator or Virgin Media team member could confirm what’s happening.

Thanks in advance,
Michael Rixon