Cancellation nightmare

[Gtonyg]

I know many have had this issue. Im currently on hold again with the 6th call centre person trying to cancel. Each one wants all my security questions answered again, and one even asked me to give her my bank account and sort code!!!!  I'm moving to a new address that doesnt have virgin availability. All I wanted was for someone to say thanks for the thousands of pounds you've paid us over the last 15 years and no problem to cancel, we'll send you the boxes to return equipment and good luck in the future. But no.  1 hour and 40 minutes so far. Another 10 minutes and I'm hanging up, cancelling my direct debit and they can do what they want to try and find me. Its disgraceful.  

[newapollo]

Hi @Gtonyg 

Unfortunately all contact methods have long queues at present.

You should call at 8am when lines first open and are least busy.

Even though you say VM isn't available at your new property you should speak to the Home Moves department not Cancellations.

If you do stop your direct debit then make sure that your account is closed first.

There are lots of forum posts of problems due to stopping direct debits without the account being cancelled/closed as VM's auomated systems will keep billing and this will incur additional late payment fees, and the possibily of debt collection agencies becoming involved affecting your credit score.

[Gtonyg]

Eventually done by speaking with a very nice lady. Only final issue I have is that Virgin bill your last bill in full instead of the amount you owe, then send any credit back by post by way of a cheque!!!  This instead of billing the amount you owe. Crazy again, but it is what it is.  

[newapollo]

Hi again @Gtonyg 

Thanks for updating the thread.

As I said in my previous post, cancelling the direct debit can cause issues, although VM will send you an amended final bill once the account is closed. 

If you did cancel your direct debit then you would be able to pay the balance from the amended bill over the phone using a debit/credit card instead

I hope that moving into your new home goes more smoothly than todays experience.

Good luck at your new address.

[FedUpCustomer6]

VM are under a specific obligation* to make it as easy to leave VM as to sign up. Register your complaint with the regulator Ofcom, it takes 5 minutes.

* Ofcom Fairness Code, Paragraph 5: "Customers can sign up to, change and leave their services quickly and smoothly. Providers ensure that customers who are leaving do not face additional barriers or hassle compared to those who are signing up to new services;"

[Gtonyg]

Ah, thanks for that, yes, I'll leave a complaint with Ofcom. 

[Molly_T]

Hi Gtonyg, welcome back to the community! Thank you for posting. 

Sorry to hear of your difficulties trying to cancel with us. As new Apollo advised the phone lines may be a little busier than usual at the moment. Here are all the ways to cancel. 

Glad to hear we were able to get things sorted for you over the phone in the end!

If it was a case that you wanted to cancel your direct debit and make the final payment via your My Virgin Media account you could do so. Providing you have paid any outstanding amount by your Bill due date you will not receive a late payment charge. 

If you still wish to raise a complaint regarding your experience you can do so here: https://virg.in/makacomp. 

Once raised you can view and manage complaints here: https://virg.in/mycases. 
You can find our complaints code of practice here if needed: https://virg.in/comcop. 

Please let us know if there is anything outstanding you need our support with, and we will be happy to help!

All the best. 

[Gtonyg]

To Clarify. After the initial phone keypad security input, the call was answered quite quickly, I was pleasantly surprised.  It was the fact that once the call was answered, that person (it appeared to me) couldn’t be bothered dealing with my call, so put me on hold for someone else to deal with.  I then waited listening to the annoyance of the hold music, then messages, then more music, until someone else picked up the call.   More security questions later, they then put me on hold again, leaving it for someone else. Then more hold music etc. and probably 20 minutes wait, another person answered and yes, security questions again. 6 people before eventually after 2 hours waiting the “helpful” lady came on.  
so this issue had nothing to do with call centres being busy, it was sheer incompetence or the cant be **bleep** so I’ll let someone else deal with it attitude. That really annoyed me. I pressed the buttons initially for cancellation so the first person who answered should have dealt with it. 
so there’s no defence I’m afraid. Why they can’t let you cancel online is beyond me in this day and age. I get that they want to try to retain people by offering a better deal, but that’s another matter that many people are annoyed about. If you can give me a better deal why didn’t you offer me it without me asking. Over the last 15 years I’ve probably spent at least 10,000 pounds with Virgin media but you wouldn’t think it from the treatment people like me get. 
so I’m glad that there’s no service offered where I’m going to. I appreciate I may well get a similar service from other providers but I will feel marginally better knowing my money isn’t going to Virgin. 

[Molly_T]

Thank you for the additional feedback - if you would like this to be formalised via a complaint on your account please either raise one via the links provided or let us know if you need some help and we will send you a PM to raise one on your behalf! 

Sincerest apologies again for your experience both on the phone and trying to cancel. 

Please let us know if there is anything further we can help with! 
All the best. 

[Gtonyg]

Molly

Thankyou for your apologies. I don't need further assistance thanks. 

What I would like however is someone to trawl back through the thousands of posts on this and many other forums going back years and see the problem and do something about it. I fully understand that there is a duopoly here, basically Virgin or Sky if you want that content, and they seem to be in a race to the bottom together to see who can perform the worst when it comes to customer service. Perhaps if someone was to view the call logs in my case and take action with each of the failed staff that led to this thread being created, then publish the findings and actions taken it would help others. It may also help to take out full page ads online and in print showing what you are doing to improve things, and then incentivising your staff to behave better. I know in many companies I have worked for that I would be out the door by now for treating people in this way.

For your info, as I mentioned, I have spent thousands with Virgin over the years. In the same period I have been dealing with my bank, who I have paid nowhere near that amount. They operate 365 days year 24/7. They pick up the phone within 2 minutes maximum and they deal with any query there and then. So it can be done.