My 84-year-old mother-in-law was bereaved in September 2021 and Virgin Media was quick to inform us that if she wanted to keep a service then she had a limited time to take over the package that was in the name of her recently departed husband... I had the same pressure when my father passed away in 2013, as soon as they hear the account holder has died then the clock starts ticking...
Anyway, back to the current issue... We signed Margaret up with a new package - phone, TV, broadband and mobile phone for around £40 - basic services to keep us connected and provide her with entertainment during the day.
3-4 months later she moved home and Virgin Media said she would have to take another 18 month contract, it was a similar price I believe, I can't remember.
The package price increased with RPI to £46, that's fine, but last month, without any notice or warning, she received a bill of £100. a 117% increase. It scared and upset her, she can't afford to pay that much.
I checked the contract, it started on 18 January 2021 and has a minimum period of 18 month so runs out on 17 July 2023, but the usual discount to match the agreed price ran out in April.
I figured this was a simple administrative error, the discount period had not been updated to reflect the new contract so earlier today I called Virgin Media billing. I was shocked and appalled when I was informed this is correct, discounts don't match agreed pricing and she is still in contract at £100 but she can take another 18 month contract to reduce the price.
Is this legal? It certainly isn't right, frightening an 84-year-old woman living on state pension with a 117% price increase without any notification or warning is shocking, made worse because she can't escape! Apparently her only options are to pay the full £100 for the next 3-4 months or agree to a new 18 month contract, it's like Virgin is strong-arming her.
I made a complaint and have been waiting for the promised call back within 1-2 hours. It's been almost 3 hours now and nothing. I was hoping we could deal with this quickly and put her mind at rest; we haven't told her she is locked in yet, just that we are sure there's been a mistake and we will get it rectified.
I'm thinking of going to the media about this, utterly appalled that a company thinks it can behave this way.
