Appalling Customer Service!

[Dzafast]

Absolutely abysmal customer care! 25y + as customer and VM has turned into a farce!

Contract end, so went the the WhatsApp hell, 45 minutes later to be told agents system was down and try another time!! Next day 45 mins of faff then to be told you cannot have an deals available on the website. Called retentions to listen to an Indian cattle market, agent didn't speak, I listened to 20 seconds of shouting and carrying on in Indian before speaking, agent could barely speak English, audio quality of his headset was shocking although he could hear me ok, read of a script and said nothing he could do. I then asked for UK number!

That took me back to India, agent basically stuck to a script, couldn't care less, zero care, infuriating communication, no chance of getting any deal.

VM is now a faceless company behind Whatsapp and second rate call centers, zero customer care.

Well that's my customer loyalty (I know there's no such thing) gone. 

[japitts]

You echo a frustration often vented on these fora, but just so you know...

1: There is no UK-based number for any of VM's CS areas, least of all retentions. VM have adopted a policy of incoming calls being answered by any agent available, be it onshore or off.

2: Forum staff don't get involved in package negotiations, so even posting in this natter section which isn't staff monitored - fine to have a rant, but it won't achieve much else.

3: A search of past posts will reveal the best tactics to use when approaching a rengotiation, but essentially it's having prices, facts & figures from alternative providers - such that a retentions agent believes they genuinely have to retain your custom. As opposed to you (for all intents & purposes) asking for a discount.

[jbrennand]

For contract renegotiation - see Andrew’s comments in message 6 here....

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Community-Natter/New-contract/td-p/4888761

[bob18]

I must agree.
I have spent over 7 hours on one chat line after another trying to get my contract renewed. I finally got the package for £31 per month only to find the contract says £31 for the first month then £38 for the second month and rest of the 18 month contract. Further time on the chat lines and I get told it is £38 per month but they have reduced it to £31 per month by giving me a £7 rebate. They refuse to send me a contract stating this and I am told to believe a "guarantee by the agent" in the chat line that this is the case.
By the time I find out this is not the case I will be beyond the 14 cancellation time.
Utterly revolting customer service.

[Andrew-G]

If you were offered a deal and accepted it, that's legally binding on VM (Section 50 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015)  The fact that the untrained clowns that VM employ don't know that is neither here nor there.  Let's see if the forum staff can sort this out (plus a suitable goodwill credit of say £50).  If they can't then I'll explain how to force their hand by use of the industry complaints adjudicator.  Taking the matter to adjudication won't be quick, but you'll get a fair hearing by a trained dispute resolution professional.

Or you could speak to Citizens Advice, and ask them to refer to Trading Standards.

[Dzafast]

Seems impossible now to speak to anyone in the UK, ended up with India again and again sounded like a cattle market in the background, very poor. Wouldn't offer a deal on m500 so cancelled.