Final Bill!?

[thebands]

Hi,

I gave notice of cancellation to VirginMedia on 26th April. My services are due to stop on the 26th May.

Before I log a formal complaint can someone tell me why Virginmedia have just sent me a bill for £107 covering the period 30 May to 29 June please?!

In fact why did my previous bill, also £107, cover the period up until 29th May when my services will stop on the 26th May? The May billing period should have been the last and should have been pro-rata'd. Neither of the bills mention actually being a final bill, both mention 'package changes' but don't specify what those package changes are.

What on earth are VirginMedia playing at and how do I get this sorted?

[Sabrina_B]

Hi @thebands 👋.

Thanks for getting back In touch with us, If there Is a bill that has already generated during this 30 day notice period you can receive another bill, depending on how your 30 calendar days fall for your billing, shortly after the system will update and rectify any billing with refunds that are due back to the customer. 

Sabrina

[unisoft]

---

@thebands wrote:

Hey RobertP, thanks for the reply.

But if you take the time to read my complaint VM have billed me for a period AFTER my disconnection date, having ALREADY GIVEN 30 DAYS NOTICE, and then apparently it will take a further 45 days to get the MONEY I DO NOT OWE TO VM REFUNDED

---

yeah, clearly didn't read my reply from someone who has done this.

Rather than rant, read and digest first. VM's process is to bill until ACTUAL disconnection. A few days after ACTUAL disconnection a final bill is done - if the month billed ahead is not taken already (by DD) then VM simply adjust the final bill. Depending on the date of ACTUAL disconnection, and whether it goes into a new billing cycle, you may only get charged a small amount OR a refund for an unused part of a previous month's subscription that has already been paid.

For example, I disconnected on the 28th (actual disconnection) - The bill for that month was due to go out the following month on the 14th. Around the 26th just before actual disconnection a new bill was produced for the month ahead which I wouldn't be using as would have disconnected. So, around the 3rd of the next month and after actual disconnection, the my Virgin Media Billing portal adjusted the final bill and VM wiped off the next month ahead charges and I got a refund of £6.53 for a couple of days unused subscription that I had already paid for as I disconnected before end of that charged for period. I simply ignored emails sent by VM near/just after disconnection as they were worded very badly and saying that payment wasn't received for previous month. Of course, technically it was true because the date for VM to collect the amount by DD had not been reached yet. So ignore those emails as they will just frustrate you and treat the My Virgin Media portal, billing section as authoritative because that is correct in what VM are presenting. In my case for the credit, it could have taken up to 45 days to appear in my bank and I think it took around 21 days. Sometimes they refund electronically and other times a cheque is sent.

This is the process and it's in the T&Cs so you just have to work with it as you signed up in a contract to it.

[thebands]

So my contract and service ended on 26th May.

My final bill was calculated on the 28th May and I was £15.71 in CREDIT

Yesterday 06th June VirginMedia have taken a Direct Debit from my account for £107.00 !

When will VirginMedia correct this and refund me the £122.71 they now owe me?

This is a breach of the Direct Debit Guarantee so unless someone can assist with getting this refund processed quickly by VirginMedia then I am considering raising a complaint accordingly.

[unisoft]

as per original reply:

"it could have taken up to 45 days to appear in my bank and I think it took around 21 days. Sometimes they refund electronically and other times a cheque is sent."

If your actual disconnection was too close to a date the DD would be taken, then its correct to still take it, as I am afraid this is in the contract T&C's in terms of billing up till day of actual disconnection. It sounds lie after adjustment you will get £15.71 refund due. The my Virgin Media billing portal is the authoritative source (compared to emails sent), and an adjusted bill appears a few days after actual disconnection.

[japitts]

---

@thebands wrote:

This is a breach of the Direct Debit Guarantee

---

Breaches of the direct debit guarantee should be taken up with your bank directly. Although this may depend on the interpretation of an invalid DD having been taken. If the payment taken matches that on your bill, I suspect this would be viewed by your bank as accurate.

[thebands]

Knowingly taking an additional payment 10 days after the contract has ended and a final bill produced when no monies are owing is clearly a breach of the Direct Debit Guarantee. I will be complaining as such both to my bank for an immediate refund of the £107 and to OFCOM over the unscrupulous behaviour of VirginMedia.

I might accept that the refund of the £15.71 might take a few days but there is zero reason why VirginMedia should be taking additional payments out of my bank after the final bill has been produced.

As I have said previously, for a modern digital company there is no excuse.

[thebands]

" If the payment taken matches that on your bill, I suspect this would be viewed by your bank as accurate."

My final bill (28th May) states VirginMedia owe me £15.71CREDIT how can taking £107 out of my bank account (6th June) be considered accurate?

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @thebands 

Thank you so much for popping back to us, I am so sorry that this has happened. I'd be happy to take a closer look into this with you via a private message. 

I will pop you a PM across now, please keep an eye out for the envelope at the top of your screen alerting you to a new message.