@Lee_R I’m in a similar boat… after making 3x two hour phone calls where I was put on hold REPEATEDLY for 30 mins or more and told my account couldn’t be cancelled, I stopped my direct debit and switched to BT. Virgin left it six months (the time in which they manage to erase any record of my phone call - how convenient!) and then chase me for £380 for a line I had cancelled and which I had not used. I disputed this with the ombudsman and won compensation, but my account was reactivated and a bill was produced (as well overdue) and sent directly to debt collectors with the corresponding debt collector trace you describe. I do not owe Virgin a single penny. Now Virgin has left a tracer on my near perfect credit record just because I tried to cancel my account (how dare I) and won a case against them with the ombudsman (again, how dare I). How can a company be allowed to get away with this? Surely it’s illegal? Unless I hear back within 24 hours that the trace has been removed from my credit file as requested via equifax account query 230825-2603695, I intend to pursue legal action in as public a forum as I can and I’m sure from reading the threads on here I will have a ton of support from other disgruntled ex customers: this is the kind of thing that attracts punitive damages in Court. It’s a disgrace.
