CANCEL MY BRAND NEW ACCOUNT ASAP

[cushtyvm]

2 days after signing up for a Virgin Media M2 package I want to cancel it because of exceedingly poor customer service that I have endured already! 

Right now I've spent the first 1 hour and 24 minutes of my day attempting to speak with someone to assist me with this but am just kept on hold...and twice thus far disconnected from the call itself.

The last email I received from ResolutionsTeam@virginmedia.co.uk indicated that they could not cancel my account / planned installation and that I must speak with someone. 

Please can someone here from Virgin Media Customer support assist me ASAP ? 

[ALF28]

poor customer service- so many stories lately of bad service- what is happening.

I am sad to see that the customer services are so poor and customers can not resolve issues easily and not resort such desparate methods to get answers, part of this is that virgin use offshore phone centres  with poor assistance.and long wait times.

For me customer service is everything, and I often will ditch companies where I can not get support and call waiting times longer than 15 minutes.

Virgin are introducing a lot of new products but they need to improve customer service if they want to keep customers, I can remember when the call centres were in the UK and gave a good service, it has gone backover.

It is time virgin media put customers first and address this poor customer service and confused billings/costings.

I was recently caught  out by apps charges but did get a refund after a month, took several calls to sort that one.

alf28

[cushtyvm]

Hi Zach_R on the Forum Team , once again !

So, another half a day / 3 hours has gone by and I've still heard nothing further from yourself or any of your fellow forum colleagues.

As I mentioned earlier this morning , I replied to your PM 10 minutes or so after you messaged me last night. I've provided all the info you asked for....

Appreciate you may not be 'on shift' ...but am hoping if you are you find time to follow up?...or one of your fellow forum colleagues does?....

[Figlasz]

The new company TOOB is taking over areas. They customer support is brilliant, they cheap and they are 4x quicker then Virgin. 

I personally believe that Virgin realised how crap they are and the only way to make money nowadays (as a lot of people leaving) is to rip them off. They put you on hold for that long on purpose. It is unacceptable. 

This is the 4th day I'm trying to get through and I'm being disconnected, transfered and God knows what else 😪

After several years with Virgin I must admit it is the worst provider I have ever used. 

DO NOT RECOMMEND. YOU STILL BE RIPPED OFF AND DISRESPECTED.

[Figlasz]

The only way to do so is to cancel your Direct Debit and let them contact you 🤷‍♂️

[RJMD]

For anyone thinking of upgrading to Ultimate Volt - don't. Apparently only new customers get Gig1, and existing customers just get 600Mb, and that's how it is. Looks like Virgin only want new customers, and for their existing customers to pay over the odds to subsidise their new friends.

JD

[cushtyvm]

A WARNING!

After far too many hours over the last two days I *think* I may finally have escaped the clutches of Virgin Media....To be clear all I wanted to do was cancel the contract I signed up for on Monday this week.

Why did I want to cancel? ...simply because the M200 offer I signed up to include a £0.00 (free) installation. But after I had signed up (direct debit set-up) the very first email I received said I had to pay standard £35.00 setup fee and , oh, the installation date you chose isn't available , you'll have to wait another 2 weeks. So, I figured I'd look elsewhere.....

And that's when the real fun began. 

I opened a complaint via email with the 'Resolutions Team' - after 8-10 emails back and forth (authored in broken Eengleesh) I was steered toward the 0345-telephone support number. After navigating the IVR and authenticating myself (fair enough) I was then left on hold for 1.5 hours. I gave up then and joined this forum...obviously I should have done so sooner as I would have realised that Virgin Media is no place for those expecting even a modicum of customer service. The back and forth on this forum is (for the time being) there for all to read through - except for the direct messages I received from two of the 'staff' here. These were of no help at all. After a while , yesterday afternoon I stumbled on to the fact that support was available via WhatsApp chat .

Huzzah , I thought, this will get the job done.... How wrong could I have been? I hope to post the whole of the WhatsApp chat session here - I have removed anything personally identifiable , account numbers etc mainly in the hope that the mods don't use that as a reason to remove the post. We will see I guess....Suffice to say the WhatsApp chat ran from 14:46 yesterday though until just before 13:00 today. THEN I had to endure a 40 minute phone call (thankfully to an 0800 number this time) to a young lady in a call centre on another continent. 

By the end of the call she had realised that she couldn't persuade me not to cancel , then spent the next 12 minutes trying to send me an email - I have a very clear , simple email address - but she struggled...and struggled...and then after claiming to have sent a confirmation email 4 times , magically on the 5th attempt an email confirming the best news arrived - confirmation that I will never , ever have to have anything to do with Virgin Media.

I'm not usually one for tirades like this , but I figured If it saves even one person the grief of dealing with such a badly run customer service operation then it's been worth my time. I'll be doing the rounds on the spammy review sites like trustpilot etc too , just to make sure I've done the best job I can. Absolutley from top to bottom the worst customer service experience i have had. Steer clear.

WhatsApp chat below - some of it is actually amusing

05/05/2022, 14:45 - This business works with other companies to manage this chat. Tap to learn more.

05/05/2022, 14:45 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Hi from VIRGIN MEDIA! To continue your conversation, please reply to this WhatsApp message

05/05/2022, 14:45 - This business is now working with other companies to manage this chat. Tap to learn more.

05/05/2022, 14:46 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Please cancel my account ACCOUNT NUMBER and proposed installation date of 23/05/22 I do not wish to proceed with contract.

05/05/2022, 14:47 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Hi, I’m Toni, VIRGIN MEDIA’s Chat BOT,  please can you tell me which of our services you would like to talk to us about?

05/05/2022, 14:47 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Please select one of the following options ??

1) Broadband TV or Phone

2) Mobile

05/05/2022, 14:47 - CUSTOMERS NAME: 1

05/05/2022, 14:47 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Thank you so much for messaging us today. We will get you to one of our team as quickly as we can. Our wait times to be connected to an adviser can vary throughout the day from a few minutes to over an hour depending on how busy we are.

If you are on WhatsApp you will get a message on your device as soon as one of the team is available. If you are on a desktop browser please keep it open and one of the team will message as soon as they are available. We look forward to chatting with you soon

05/05/2022, 14:47 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Can I start off by taking your first name?

05/05/2022, 14:47 - CUSTOMERS NAME: CUSTOMER FIRST NAME

05/05/2022, 14:47 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Thanks CUSTOMER FIRST NAME. What can we help you with?

05/05/2022, 14:47 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Please select an option below ??

1) Price Rise ??

2) Technical support ??

3) Billing/Payment queries ??

4) Change my package ??

5) Cancel my services ??

6) Installations/Deliveries ??

7) Make a complaint ??

😎 Moving home ??

9) Something else ?

05/05/2022, 14:47 - CUSTOMERS NAME: 9

05/05/2022, 14:47 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Thanks. Can I just check, are you contacting us about a Technical issue/Fault or something else?

1) Technical Issue/Fault

2) Something Else

05/05/2022, 14:47 - CUSTOMERS NAME: 2

05/05/2022, 14:47 - CUSTOMERS NAME: 2

05/05/2022, 14:47 - VIRGIN MEDIA: OK, can you please give me a brief description of the issue you are facing?

05/05/2022, 14:47 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Please cancel my account ACCOUNT NUMBER and proposed installation date of 23/05/22 I do not wish to proceed with contract.

05/05/2022, 14:47 - VIRGIN MEDIA: OK. Let's get you through to the team! I'll just need some info from you so the team can access your account

05/05/2022, 14:48 - VIRGIN MEDIA: First, I'll need your full name (as it appears on the account):

05/05/2022, 14:48 - CUSTOMERS NAME: CUSTOMERS NAME

05/05/2022, 14:48 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Alright, CUSTOMERS NAME got it! Can I take the account number please? If you're not sure just type "UNSURE" or enter your landline number.

05/05/2022, 14:48 - CUSTOMERS NAME: ACCOUNT NUMBER

05/05/2022, 14:48 - VIRGIN MEDIA: And can I just check, are you the account holder?

1) Yes

2) No

05/05/2022, 14:48 - CUSTOMERS NAME: 1

05/05/2022, 14:48 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Great, thanks CUSTOMERS NAME! For security purposes ?? I'll now ask 3 verification questions. This means when you are through to an agent, we can continue with your account securely:

05/05/2022, 14:48 - VIRGIN MEDIA: First, can you confirm the email address ?? registered on your account?

05/05/2022, 14:48 - CUSTOMERS NAME: customers@emailaddress.com

05/05/2022, 14:48 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Got it! And which date does your Direct Debit usually come out of your account?

05/05/2022, 14:48 - CUSTOMERS NAME: It hasnt begun

05/05/2022, 14:49 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Lastly before we get you through, what was your last bill value?

05/05/2022, 14:49 - CUSTOMERS NAME: not been billed

05/05/2022, 14:49 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Got it! Ok, just to recap your info:

Full name on your account - CUSTOMERS NAME

Account Number - ACCOUNT NUMBER

You are - Account Holder

Email address on the account - customers@emailaddress.com

Direct Debit date - It hasn't begun

Last bill value - not been billed

Details - Please cancel my account ACCOUNT NUMBER and proposed installation date of 23/05/22 I do not wish to proceed with contract.

05/05/2022, 14:49 - VIRGIN MEDIA: You are now in the queue for a member of our team. As we are currently experiencing high demand for our messaging service, it may take us longer than we would like to connect you. we will respond as soon as possible.

05/05/2022, 14:49 - VIRGIN MEDIA: If you’re contacting us through our website, please keep your browser open. In the meantime, you may find the answer to your query at https:/url.here

05/05/2022, 14:49 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Is there anything you would like to add before I transfer you to an Agent?

05/05/2022, 14:49 - CUSTOMERS NAME: No please transfer

05/05/2022, 14:49 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Transferring to an agent...

05/05/2022, 14:49 - VIRGIN MEDIA: We wanted to let you know that we are busier than expected today and as a result you may have to wait for a while to get connected to a member of the team.  We are really sorry for any inconvenience and rest assured we are working hard to get to you as quickly as we can.  Thank you so much for your understanding.

05/05/2022, 14:59 - VIRGIN MEDIA: We are sorry you are still waiting to be connected to one of team.  Our wait times are very high at the moment due to an unprecedented demand to speak to the team.  As soon as an agent becomes available they will drop you a message, so please feel free to get on with your day and we will be in touch as quickly as we can.

05/05/2022, 15:02 - VIRGIN MEDIA: We are just connecting you to Bharath who will be helping you today.  They will be with you shortly.

05/05/2022, 15:09 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Hello Good Evening CUSTOMER FIRST NAME, you are through to Bharath, I firstly apologize for the wait time you had, I can see that you would like to discuss about the Installation, you have reached right team I will surely check this and help you with it in priority. I really appreciate the time you have taken to answer all the questions with the bot,it is really helpful for me to verify your account details. However the security answers you have provided to the bot, did not match with our records, so I will need to ask you for the password Characters 1st, 4th, 6th of the security password to get access to your details.

05/05/2022, 15:09 - VIRGIN MEDIA: [Cable] Security answer request: l<LINK TO SECURE WEB FORM HERE>

05/05/2022, 15:10 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Good afternoon

Mdv

05/05/2022, 15:10 - VIRGIN MEDIA: The following Secure Form has been submitted: [Cable] Security answer request

05/05/2022, 15:20 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Thank you for the characters, I see that you are looking to discuss about the installation.

05/05/2022, 15:21 - CUSTOMERS NAME: At the risk of repeating myself...Please cancel my account ACCOUNT NUMBER and proposed installation date of 23/05/22 I do not wish to proceed with contract.

05/05/2022, 15:28 - VIRGIN MEDIA: CUSTOMER FIRST NAME, so you want to cancel the services and not proceed with the installation, am I right?

05/05/2022, 15:29 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Correct please cancel the services and the installation

05/05/2022, 15:29 - CUSTOMERS NAME: And please confirm that here?

05/05/2022, 15:39 - VIRGIN MEDIA: I will get you connected to the cancellation team who will be able to help you with the cancellation, please stay connected.

05/05/2022, 15:40 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Hello you’re through to the Customer Relations messaging team. Our opening times are Monday - Friday 8am until 9pm and weekends 8am - 5pm. We have your query and a member of our dedicated team will be with you as soon as possible. Please be aware that replies to this service are not immediate allowing you to get on with your day.  Just to let you know that our conversation will be recorded, archived, and monitored for quality assurance and training purposes. Staying connected to this conversation means you’re okay with this.

05/05/2022, 15:45 - VIRGIN MEDIA: We are sorry you are still waiting to be connected to one of the team. Our wait times are very high at the moment due to an unprecedented demand to speak to the team & we are experiencing some issues with our internal systems. This may mean a delay in being transferred to one of the team. We do apologise and appreciate your patience. As soon as an agent becomes available they will drop you a message, so please feel free to get on with your day and we will be in touch as quickly as we can.

05/05/2022, 16:29 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Anyone there please? this 'chat' has been ongoing now since 14:46 and its now 16:26 and I'm no further forward. I simply want to cancel my account / services and the proposed installation of VIRGIN MEDIA (23/05). I have already spent 1.5 hours on hold on the phone this morning and been sending email back and forth to your 'resolutions' team all day. Please provide me with confirmation that my contract / installation is cancelled?

05/05/2022, 16:46 - CUSTOMERS NAME: You deleted this message

05/05/2022, 16:47 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Please be aware that your lack of replies to me are being logged, in fact this whole Whatsapp chat is being logged , timestamps and all, by me and will be used as adequate proof that I have clearly stated I do not want your services/installation. Staying connected to this conversation means you’re okay with this ...OK ????

05/05/2022, 16:47 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Its now over 2 hours since the 'chat' began.

05/05/2022, 16:48 - CUSTOMERS NAME: No response from anyone (other than a bot) at VIRGIN MEDIA since 15:28 , 1 hour 17 minutes ago.

05/05/2022, 16:52 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Just in case you've mislaid my account details (available in the chat history, verified much earlier this afternoon) I will provide  them for one last time today. Please use these details to cancel my account/contract and proposed installation of VIRGIN MEDIA Services to my property on 23/05/22.

Account number: ACCOUNT NUMBER

CUSTOMERS NAME

customers@emailaddress.com

06/05/2022, 07:30 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Good morning, just to let you know were about to open for the day and we just wanted to check if you still need some help with your query

06/05/2022, 07:30 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Please select either yes or no

1) Yes

2) No

06/05/2022, 07:58 - CUSTOMERS NAME: 1

06/05/2022, 07:58 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Transferring to an agent...

06/05/2022, 07:58 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Hello you’re through to the Customer Relations messaging team. Our opening times are Monday - Friday 8am until 6pm and weekends 9am - 6pm. We have your query and a member of our dedicated team will be with you as soon as possible. Please be aware that replies to this service are not immediate allowing you to get on with your day.  Just to let you know that our conversation will be recorded, archived, and monitored for quality assurance and training purposes. Staying connected to this conversation means you’re okay with this.

06/05/2022, 09:10 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Must be another busy day if even the bots aren't responding now?

06/05/2022, 10:57 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Hello anyone home? approaching the four hour mark since you solitary automated bot response at 07:30 this morning with nothing further from you since. Mind you considering I started the chat at 14:46 yesterday I shouldn't be surprised I guess....

06/05/2022, 12:28 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Hello good afternoon

06/05/2022, 12:28 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Hello anyone home? approaching the four hour mark since you solitary automated bot response at 07:30 this morning with nothing further from you since. Mind you considering I started the chat at 14:46 yesterday I shouldn't be surprised I guess.... so sorry to hear that

06/05/2022, 12:29 - VIRGIN MEDIA: I appreciate your patience on the line, your time is priceless, let me go ahead and make these things right, and see waht i can do on my end.

06/05/2022, 12:32 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Oooh that would be splendid

06/05/2022, 12:39 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Let me go ahead to open  up your account

06/05/2022, 12:39 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Am I speaking to the account holder yeah?

06/05/2022, 12:39 - CUSTOMERS NAME: You are indeed

06/05/2022, 12:40 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Do you have an active account here?

06/05/2022, 12:40 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Can you with me your post code?

06/05/2022, 12:40 - CUSTOMERS NAME: CUSTOMER POST CODE

06/05/2022, 12:40 - CUSTOMERS NAME: ACCOUNT NUMBER : ACCOUNT NUMBER

06/05/2022, 12:42 - VIRGIN MEDIA: ok thank you CUSTOMER FIRST NAME

06/05/2022, 12:43 - VIRGIN MEDIA: As I can check here that this is a new account

06/05/2022, 12:43 - VIRGIN MEDIA: This is retention team Could you please tell ,me more about your concern

06/05/2022, 12:43 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Yes its a brand new account which I want to cancel along with cancelling the planned installation

06/05/2022, 12:44 - CUSTOMERS NAME: I've spent the last two full days explaining. Simply please confirm that my account is cancelled.

06/05/2022, 12:46 - CUSTOMERS NAME: I am well within my rights to cancel - 14 day period - I signed up on Monday. Please confirm cancellation.

06/05/2022, 12:46 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Ok no problem since that we are dealing for an existing customer only I need to transfer you to the right team cause even I would love to help you its beyond my protocol

06/05/2022, 12:46 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Please stay on the line I will give you the right team

06/05/2022, 12:47 - CUSTOMERS NAME: You are joking? I've had this chat open since yesterday at 14:46.

06/05/2022, 12:48 - VIRGIN MEDIA: Im so sorry but I need to do this

06/05/2022, 12:49 - CUSTOMERS NAME: Get me to the right person please this is exhausting !

[12:54 pm, 06/05/2022]  VIRGIN MEDIA: ok no worries

[12:55 pm, 06/05/2022]  VIRGIN MEDIA:  this is the number that you will need to call    [12:55 pm, 06/05/2022]  VIRGIN MEDIA: 0800 XXX XXX   thank you so much for the inconvenience

[13:00 pm, 06/05/2022]  VIRGIN MEDIA: Hi, just to let you know you're still in the queue and it's a little busier than usual due to unprecedented demand. We're sorry you are still waiting to speak to one of the team and we will get you connected to someone as quickly as we can. Thank you for your patience, we really appreciate it.

[Zach_R]

Hi @cushtyvm,

I am very sorry for the experience that you've had. If you need further assistance then please refer to our private message conversation.

Thanks,
 

[Mr-Dee]

I agree, I have been with VIRGIN for VERY many years and I have virtually been forced to cancel with them today (although I STILL have had no confirmation of this !) Virgin used to be one of the very best companies to deal with until a few years ago and now are completely useless, when they shipped their technical support out of the uk to save money to a team that do not seem to have a clue what I or they are talking about for starters, long wait times for an engineer visit, unreliable WIFI hubs, they have tried to fix my phone line twice by twisting wires together (which lasted 2 weeks in both cases) and now they do not  seem to even want to try to keep their customers I find it an insult with how much I was having to pay, well no more !    my brother is also cancelling his and I am also cancelling the Virgin connection at work !

[cushtyvm]

There certainly seems to be so many disgruntled folks.. it's a surprise that they (VM customer service teams) haven't tackled some of the major issues? I only wish I'd done my 'homework' before even entertaining the idea of signing up with Virgin Media. Lesson learned.

Just ake a gander at the tens of thousands of one star trust pilot reviews - yes I know trust pilot has its own issues - but tens of thousands of one star service reviews for virgin media cannot all be fakes!

I hope you move on to somewhere better... I'm staying with Sky for the time being, not perfect, but reliable and honest at least

[Mr-Dee]

Well this has been happening with Virgin over the last few years and it was always going to happen, I have been with Virgin/NTL for over 20 years, it is going to be an absolute massive task for me to re-set up all my various accounts that use  my virgin email address for security as well as the upheaval of changing suppliers etc, but even that has got to be better than staying with a company that has absolutely no interest in trying to keep me as a customer !

Technical support - waste of time

The person I spoke to to try agree a better deal did not even have a clue how to adjust packages and could not offer me a suitable deal then asked me what he was supposed to do next !    I just told him to cancel it all and he went in a mood lol, and i STILL have not had any confirmation of cancellation.

Yes SKY isn't the best  but at least do try to look after their customers and will always offer a decent deal to keep you, I am going to give BT a try . . .