Forum Discussion

davidhomer's avatar
davidhomer
Tuning in
2 years ago

HELL ON EARTH: Should I just cancel my direct debit?

So I'm amazed Ofcom lets Virgin Media carry on. They're saying my contract runs out next week and my contract will double in price to nearly £100 a month.

So I was like OK let's renew - there's no renewal link. You login and you can't renew online, only upgrade and give them more money.

I've been on the online chat for multiple hours but noone's there.

If you call Virgin media they give you a multiple hour wait time and say why not text? The text system then tells you to not use text and moves you to WhatsApp, WhatsApp then says to not use WhatsApp and instead redirects you back to web chat.

What the hell is this? How is this legal? There's literally no way to contact Virgin.

I've now been kicked off the chat after I think 2.5 hours.

Should I just cancel my direct debit and let Virgin take me to court? I can't see a judge siding with them when it's price gouging to force me to double my contract price?

 

 

 

  • davidhomer's avatar
    davidhomer
    Tuning in
    2 years ago

    Did you manage to escape? I've been on the chat for multiple hours and the text system just tries to redirect you back to web chat, calling them tells you to get a text, which then moves you to WhatsApp which then sends you back to the web chat again. Total hell. I think the only option is to terminate the Direct Debit and let Virgin take it in front of a judge. Disgusting company.

    • davidhomer's avatar
      davidhomer
      Tuning in
      2 years ago

      Ironically I've been trying to contact them for three days - initially I just wanted to renew the contract for another 18 months but they won't let you so they force you into a contract price being DOUBLED if you can't get through.

      • goslow's avatar
        goslow
        Alessandro Volta
        2 years ago

        Cancelling your direct debit is not a good idea. All it will do is initiate VM's debt collection processes (which is a part of the company that works very efficiently). At the end of that proces it can result in missed payment charges, a trashed credit history and contact from debt collectors.

        If you simply wish to cancel, with no further negotiation or discussion with VM …

        You can cancel your services by post as per info below

        https://www.virginmedia.com/help/cancel-virgin-media

        Use a first-class, signed-for delivery service. This will give you a date/time of delivery when you gave VM your 30 days’ notice to cancel. Also keep a record of the tracking number.

        If you cancel during a minimum term period VM may charge you early disconnection fees.

        You can share your unhappy cancellation experience with OFCOM.

        They launched an investigation into VM on 13 July 2023 specifically into VM's cancellation and complaints processes.

        https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/bulletins/enforcement-bulletin/open-cases/cw_01275

        Case ref. no. and an email at the bottom of the above page or submit with same info via the contact form

        https://ofcomforms.secure.force.com/formentry/SitesFormCCTMonitoring

        Submitting information won't help your individual complaint but it will contribute to the OFCOM investigation and it sounds like your experience is directly relevant to the terms of reference of the investigation.

  • Tudor's avatar
    Tudor
    Very Insightful Person
    2 years ago

    Whatever else you do NEVER cancel the Direct Debit. VM will put a marker on your files with the credit reference agencies and it’s very difficult and time consuming to get removed even if it was put there incorrectly. It can affect being able to get credit, get a credit card or mortgage. 

    • davidhomer's avatar
      davidhomer
      Tuning in
      2 years ago

      Too late, already done. I've made all reasonable attempts to cancel the contract. I just wish it was possible to warn people what dealing with Virgin is like. They made it impossible for me to leave 18 months ago so I just gave in and renewed. They can't be allowed to get away with bullying customers like this.

  • Steven_L's avatar
    Steven_L
    Forum Team
    2 years ago

    Hey davidhomer,

    Welcome to the community and thanks for taking the time to post here on the forums.
    I’m sorry to hear of the issues that you’re having trying to speak to the team, have you tried to speak to the team over the phone using 0345 454 1111 option 1, 4 and 4 again, this will get you through to the contracts team, who will be able to look into this, they would also be able to process a cancellation request, should you want to disconnect your services with us, we are unable to raise any cancellations or any package renewals from the forum. 

    Kind Regards,

    Steven_L

    • davidhomer's avatar
      davidhomer
      Tuning in
      2 years ago

      Yes, as stated I'd rung the number and Virgin immediately tells you to use text instead, then from text to WhatsApp, from WhatsApp to Web Chat and then don't answer on Web Chat. The Facebook page has banned comments because of all the criticism from customers when Virgin just wants to do marketing and not listen to complaints. In the end FOUR HOURS on web chat I managed to get a person and they were clearly dealing with multiple other people.

      It should be illegal to allow asymetric sign up like this - easy to join, impossible to leave.

      Hopefully the Virgin media business will finally die a death and people won't get trapped in these contracts any more.

      • Matthew_ML's avatar
        Matthew_ML
        Forum Team
        2 years ago

        I am so sorry to hear you had this trouble getting through to us we understand its frustrating.

        You can feely comment on our Facebook page we wouldn't block any comments when you also send us a WhatsApp its not an instant reply but we will reach out when we can.

        Did everything get resolved in the  end for you? Cheers  

  • japitts's avatar
    japitts
    Very Insightful Person
    2 years ago
    davidhomer wrote:

    They're saying my contract runs out next week and my contract will double in price to nearly £100 a month.....it's price gouging to force me to double my contract price?

    I'm going to pickup on a few comments from your first post. You don't have a fixed term contract that ends on a date, that would also mean that your service automatically stops on that date.

    What you have is a rolling contract with 1: A minimum contractual term and 2: A time-limited discount. The discounts likely expire with the end of your minimum term.

    Your contract and every monthly bill shows your undiscounted package price, together with the amount & expiry date of all your discounts. You suggest a >50% discount, which is very generous, and you will do very well to match that without taking a considered approach to the renegotiation process.

    I agree with other comments about cancelling your regular payments and the potential implications for your credit file. Be very aware, and do a search on this forum for "credit file", "default" & similar terms.