£35 Activation Fee?

[GOLDI3]

Hello all,

I just joined VM on a new 18 month broadband and phone contract that was on offer at £26 a month for the first 18 months with £0 setup fee.

Internet and phone is all setup and working fine but I noticed under my first bill that I am being charged a £35 activation fee.

Nowhere during placing my order was this activation fee mentioned and I even have an email I received shortly after placing the order with my order summery showing my first payment will be £26 and my next monthly payment will be £26. I cannot afford this addition charge of £35 and need this to be rectified.

If somebody from VM can help me, that would be very much appreciated.

Thank you and kind regards

[Ayisha_B]

Hi @GOLDI3,

Welcome to our Community Forums and thanks for posting. It's great to have you on board with us. 

I am sorry to hear you were unaware of the £35 Activation Fee we charge. 

The installation fee is not the same as the activation fee. The offer to waive the fee would be for the set up only. Activation costs are standard to connect your equipment to your account and services on our systems. 

I have a link here which has this information in - Price Guides.

The terms and conditions also state this in subject I. Paying for your services in our Legal Stuff link. 

I appreciate this isn't the outcome you had hoped for, but the activation fee is a valid charge as per our terms and conditions, therefore we are unable to remove this.

Regards

[GOLDI3]

Hi Ayisha_B

Thank you for your speedy response. I have looked at the advised links and understand that the activation fee is not the same as the installation fee however, after having placed the order I received an email – see image.

order_sum
Similar to placing any other orders/shopping online, an order summery reflects the amount to be paid. Instead, I am having to pay an additional amount which is evidently a hidden charge as this was not made clear nor depicted on the email.

[Ayisha_B]

Thanks for sharing the screenshot. I see you opted for QuickStart.

I will pop you a PM now so I can clear security with you and take a look at the account.

Speak soon 🙂

[Ayisha_B]

Hi @GOLDI3, 

Thanks for providing the details as requested via PM. I have taken a further look into this and the £35 activation fee also applies to Quick Start Orders. 

You can find reference to this within the FAQ section here where it states 'your set up fee includes a £35 activation fee, with free Click and Collect delivery, or £5 extra for a home delivery of the QuickStart pack.'

The screenshot of the email advises of the monthly package cost which is £26. 

I am really sorry for any confusion this may have caused but I hope this clarifies things for you.

Kind Regards 

[GOLDI3]

Thank you for getting back to me.

I have had a look under the FAQ which does state: "Your set up fee includes a £35 activation fee". How is this transladeted into an additional charge?

Include is defined as: comprise or contain as part of a whole - see attached image01.

This evidently means the setup fee is comprised of parts, where one of the parts is the activation fee.

My setup fee was free when I placed the order. Even now it is displayed on VM website as No setup fee - see attached image02.

Because the activation fee is included in the setup fee, the setup fee is the overall charge of everything that it includes. It is advertised that the setup fee is £0. I should not be charged for this.

If the statement had said excluding a £35 activation fee it would have made sense to chartge me but this is not the case. 

Image01

image01

image02

image02

[Ayisha_B]

Hi @GOLDI3

The set up fee is separate to an activation fee. I do apologise if the wording has lead you to believe otherwise. 

I have already provided the links to our T&C's and FAQ's where it advises of the £35 activation fee. 

If you wish to raise a complaint please refer to our Complaints Code of Practice or I can get this logged for you. 

[bazza3]

HI

Can you tell me does the activation charge apply to existing customers too, i have just renewed my contract and changed my package i am going to receive a quickstart pack put still being changed the £35 but my services are already actived?

[Reece_MH]

Hi @bazza3,

Activation Fees can apply for existing customers, depending on what changes they make to their package. As you're changing your equipment, this would have a £35 Activation Fee by default as this charge is to connect your new equipment to your account and services on our systems - it also covers any future faults that may occur with the equipment, which would be repaired free of charge.

Thanks,

[bazza3]

thanks Reece