cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Ending broadband services

rolyandroly
Joining in

I have done exactly what is advised on this forum and also in virgin media terms of contract;  phoned up on 27 May to end services for contract ending 26 June.  When I called the  wait time to speak to someone was getting excessive so I hung up and then called back to choose the text link option for a call back.  Using the link I completed all the necessary for ending broadband service 26 June and sent it, i got a reply back saying all the team had gone home!!  

A few days later I called back to check the 30 day notice had started (as I never got a call or message) and after a very long wait to speak to someone was told "I've just spoke with my manager regarding this and it's being dealt with by a different dept and someone will be in touch soon".

But, no! nobody got in touch and what I did receive was a bill for another month at almost double the cost.  I have lodged a complaint and I've also contacted citizen's advice who day this is a "breach of contract".  What happens now???

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

Andrew-G
Alessandro Volta

What happens next depends on how strongly you feel about being treated with utter contempt.

1) Easy option, wait for the forum staff, they can probably sort this out, given that you've already told VM that you want to cancel ( hint to staff "we don't process cancellations in the forum" is the wrong response, notice has already been served, but not processed ).

2) Try to cancel again do so by donkey post (use recorded delivery, address on this page), but also complain to Ofcom, and do it today.  They won't get involved in your complaint, but they monitor VM's performance on complaints and service standards, and by complaining you're helping add to the evidence that will hopefully result in a proper regulatory investigation, since difficulty cancelling is a repeated complaint round here (along with failure to properly process a cancellation request).  I'd suggest you comment in the Ofcom complaint that this fiasco around the supposedly simple business of closing an account is a particularly serious breach of Ofcom General Condition C1.8, which requires that cancelling a contract is quick, simple and easy.

3) The most involved option is to wait on the complaint, see if it is handled well.  Many are not.  If it is not, you reject any "resolution" the company offer and ask for a deadlock letter, and then escalate to CISAS, asking for the contract to be cancelled, for this to be backdated to your first attempt to contact the company, and for compensation for (a) the poor customer service, and the poor complaints handling (b).  I'd ask for £50 against each of those.

See where this Helpful Answer was posted

4 REPLIES 4

Andrew-G
Alessandro Volta

What happens next depends on how strongly you feel about being treated with utter contempt.

1) Easy option, wait for the forum staff, they can probably sort this out, given that you've already told VM that you want to cancel ( hint to staff "we don't process cancellations in the forum" is the wrong response, notice has already been served, but not processed ).

2) Try to cancel again do so by donkey post (use recorded delivery, address on this page), but also complain to Ofcom, and do it today.  They won't get involved in your complaint, but they monitor VM's performance on complaints and service standards, and by complaining you're helping add to the evidence that will hopefully result in a proper regulatory investigation, since difficulty cancelling is a repeated complaint round here (along with failure to properly process a cancellation request).  I'd suggest you comment in the Ofcom complaint that this fiasco around the supposedly simple business of closing an account is a particularly serious breach of Ofcom General Condition C1.8, which requires that cancelling a contract is quick, simple and easy.

3) The most involved option is to wait on the complaint, see if it is handled well.  Many are not.  If it is not, you reject any "resolution" the company offer and ask for a deadlock letter, and then escalate to CISAS, asking for the contract to be cancelled, for this to be backdated to your first attempt to contact the company, and for compensation for (a) the poor customer service, and the poor complaints handling (b).  I'd ask for £50 against each of those.

And I would add to this, that even if you opt for option 3) and see if the complaint is handled well - hint, it won’t be handled well - you seriously need to invest the few minutes in filling in the OFCOM complaint form on line. All you need to say is that you were given a massive run around in trying to cancel.

Now, admittedly, this won’t help you personally in any way shape or form, but it does add to the increasingly large pile of complaints about VM which must be building up. Now OFCOM can be fairly moribund but every now and again they feel the need to justify their existence, unless HMG or Parliament pulls the plug on them.

Giving a massive kicking to an ISP will show that ‘they have teeth’ and ‘offering a service to the public’ which shows them and the Government in a good light, and God knows HMG could do with a bit of positive news at the moment.

Just saying!!

Ilyas_Y
Forum Team
Forum Team

Hey @rolyandroly, thanks for the post and welcome to the Virgin Media forums.

I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you've had handing in the 30 day notice and the bill that came through.
I can understand your frustration, but rest assured we will investigate this and see what has happened regrading the notice.
I will send a private message - watch out for the purple envelope 🙂

Kind regards.

Ilyas_Y
Forum Team

New around here? Check out the do's and don'ts, in our Community FAQs


Hi Ilyas_Y

Thanks for your response, hopefully you've received the details requested.  

Just missed a call from VM at 14.39 left no message, hoping this was to sort out the issues I'm having.

Await your response