Elderly vulnerable customer overcharged

[Ben77]

My elderly father recently contacted Virgin as his bill had risen over time to £72/month, for basic broadband and phone, a product which is advertised by Virgin at £29.99.

He succeeded in reducing his price but only to £62, still double what he should be paying.  He then received a box from Virgin which he didn't know what to do with.  I visited him yesterday to find he has been sent a Virgin TV box.  He has no use for and had not asked for any TV service.  Having managed to log in with him to his online account, I find he also has been sold a service including M350 broadband (he had M125 before which is more than adequate for his use), and includes a Homework service - he's been retired for over twenty years!

This appears a serious case of misselling to a vulnerable customer.  How can I contact Virgin to resolve this for him please - he is upset about it, and is reluctant to call again.

[Ben77]

Thanks for your reply.  

I don't understand why we would need to be careful, or why a loyal customer would not be able to receive the service for the same price as a new customer - surely that is simply fair pricing?

It was, unfortunately, more then 14 days ago, more like 28, I believe.

He doesn't need the TV service at all - he has a SmartTV and accesses what he needs that way.

So the question as to 'what am I going to do?' - this is why I am seeking to find out the best way to contact Virgin to resolve this - is there a contact route that will actually sort this out?

[goslow · Accepted solution]

Collect evidence of the call via a DSAR

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/dsar

If you believe misselling has taken place make a formal complaint to VM

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/complaints

This is a required formality but will very likely be fobbed off with an incomprehensible nonsense reply.

From there escalate to arbitration via the process below

https://www.commsombudsman.org/our-process

You will find past topics on here describing similar treatment of elderly customers by VM sales agents and elderly customers paying ever-increasing prices once their minimum term has expired and they fail to renew or cancel VM.

[Kath_P]

Hi Ben77, 

Thanks for taking the time to contact us via the Community. It's lovely having you on board with us in the Forums. ⭐

We're sorry to hear that you feel your father has been mis-sold to. We're happy to take a look at things from here but just to set expectations, we wouldn't be able to make any changes to the account without speaking to the account holder. We will need to confirm some information with you in order for us to proceed with checks. 

I have sent you a direct message to allow us to do this with you in a private space. If you are using a PC/Laptop then you can just click on the little ✉ at the top right-hand side of the page to access your inbox. If you are on a mobile/tablet device then instead click on the little circle icon in the top right then select 'Messages'. 😊

Thanks,

[Ben77]

Thanks 'goslow'.  I'm engaging in a conversation with Virgin, but if that gives no helpful result, then this looks like the next route.  Appreciate your advice.