Forum Discussion

Korrupt's avatar
Korrupt
Tuning in
1 day ago

Compensation for loss of TV service

I’m posting to chase compensation that I still haven’t received for a loss of TV service.

My TV service was unavailable between 29/11/25 and 02/12/25 due to a faulty TV box. The fault was not caused by anything at my end and resulted in a complete loss of service.

When I reported the issue by phone, I was told that compensation would be applied, but this has still not appeared on my account.

Under Ofcom’s Automatic Compensation scheme, I should be entitled to compensation for this loss of service. Could a member of the Virgin Media team please confirm when it will be credited to my account.

Thanks.

7 Replies

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta

    Loss of TV for a few days would result in compensation of £0. The reality is that TV just doesn't matter that much as far as OFCOM is concerned. Even loss of broadband or phone would only kick in after two full working days.

  • nodrogd's avatar
    nodrogd
    Very Insightful Person

    All that is likely to happen is a refund equivalent to 2 days TV subs. So for example if the TV component cost is £40 PCM it would work out at £40 divided by 31 times 2 = £2.58

    • japitts's avatar
      japitts
      Very Insightful Person

      All that is likely to happen is a refund equivalent to 2 days TV subs

      I agree totally, but would just add that quantifying the component cost of TV is where the fun would start. I don't know if VM's internal systems break the costs out but it's never been itemised on bills.

      The amount involved is certainly small compared with the amounts on the loss-of-service scheme, which I suspect is partly designed to penalise slow repairs on the services deemed as essential.

    • newapollo's avatar
      newapollo
      Very Insightful Person

      Korrupt​ 

      If you ever lose TV connection then you should be able to watch your TV channels by taking advantage of  using VM's TVGo app which is available for ios and android devices (tablets and mobiles)

      TVGO is also available via a browser and so will work on desktop and laptop computers   https://virgintvgo.virginmedia.com/

      If using a desktop/laptop you should also be able to connect that to your TV via an HDMI cable.

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta

    TV has never been remotely as important as broadband or phone, so you'd have to fight hard and long for loss of TV - and even then the loss of service would probably be for weeks or even months. These days this kind of loss of service would be highly unlikely.

  • japitts's avatar
    japitts
    Very Insightful Person

    To add to goslow's comment... the guidelines for VM's loss-of-service compensation, reflecting Ofcom's own, are outlined below

    Ofcom guidelines

    VM guidelines

    You'll note the scheme only applies to broadband & landline telephony, not pay-TV. You're certainly free to request a goodwill payment for the pay-TV element of your package, but quantifying that is not necessarily straightforward. You lost service on a Saturday, and regained service on the following Tuesday - only two complete days, and only one of those was a working day.

    That seems pretty reasonable to me, for a residential service. I've no idea what TV package you're on, but I've got Mega TV with numerous premium add-ons, and would probably only expect a couple of ££ at best, for this.

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta

    The OFCOM auto comp scheme only covers landline and broadband. VM also gets two clear working days to fix any fault with those before any compo is applied. You may have to request a 'goodwill' payment from VM for the loss of TV service.