Paper Billing - is Virgin Media breaking the law?

[SuMic]

My 94-year-old neighbour is registered blind. She can’t manage to use a computer or a mobile phone. She needs to receive her bills on paper in large print format. With what remains of her vision she can just manage to read the bill using a special magnifying glass. She is a lovely generous lady who has helped many people in the past, so friends and neighbours clubbed together to get her an Alexa device and set it up for her. When she tried it out, she was visibly moved to find that not only could it help her with her daily life but could also give her access to talking books and beloved music that she hasn’t been able to listen to for a few years now.

Here comes the fly in the ointment. She needed to add broadband to her Virgin Media account so she can use Alexa at home. I have been helping her. For various reasons this was a complicated process that took quite a few phone calls. Most of the Virgin Media staff we spoke to were friendly and helpful, but a couple seemed either incompetent or downright obstructive. After one call my neighbour was reduced to tears.

Thankfully we now have a date for an engineer to call and set up the service, but I am left with one more issue. I discovered my neighbour is paying £1.75 a month for paper billing. Remember, as a disabled person this is the only way she can access her bills. I believe this charge contravenes the 2010 Equality Act. Citizens Advice and the RNIB Advice Service agree with me. Here is an extract from the RNIB email I received.

How do I get my bills and statements in a format I can read?

Companies have a legal obligation under the Equality Act 2010 and Disability Discrimination Act (NI) to make 'reasonable adjustments' like this for you, you should:

• be able to ask your provider to mark your account with your preferred format
• never be asked to pay extra for the adjustments you require
• follow your provider's complaints procedure if you are unhappy.

I have called Virgin Media Customer Services twice. They will only reiterate that it is Virgin Media Policy to charge all customers £1.75 for paper bills. They refuse to pass me on to anyone who might consider the issue more seriously.

Can anyone suggest any other ways of sorting this out before I write a formal complaint letter, which will take a month to grind its way through the system?

[Client62]

Pick your battles. 

Similar printing charges and online only discounts for not having printed bills exist with most telcos, utility companies and even banks.

[John_GS]

Hi @SuMic 

Thanks for posting and welcome to the community.

I will PM you now to assist further

Kind regards

[Anonymous]

Looks like the forum team are on the case here so let's hope for a happy outcome. 

For purposes of the thread, and for CPD at Virgin Media's outsourced and offshored customer service "operation", here is VM's policy in full on this area:

https://www.virginmedia.com/corporate/media-centre/public-policy-statements/accessibility-and-vulner...

[SuMic]

Last week I was told to expect a call from the Virgin Media Vulnerable Customer Team. "This is normally a 48 hour thing but with it being the weekend, it maybe Monday."

I'm still waiting at the moment.

Thank you for the link to the VM Accessibility and Vulnerability policy. I note that free paper billing is offered to Talk Protected customers, but Talk Protected is for people who only buy landline services.

I know some people may see this as making a big fuss about a small amount of money. But my neighbour's monthly bill has just gone up by quite a bit with the new service. I see it as my duty to negotiate her a fair deal, as she can't do it herself, and I don't want her to pay any charges that she shouldn't be paying.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post

[Adri_G]

Hi SuMic, thanks for your posts and replies, also for offering to assist a customer with certain needs and requirements.

Sorry to see you've not received the call back promised before.

We'd love to help, in reference to our policy on this matter we'd offer a free of cost paper billing service to anyone on a landline-only deal (Talk Protected). 

As stated on our page, any additional services such as TV or broadband would cause the account to be ineligible for free paper bills however if you believe in this case we're wrong or need a further individual review we could help with raising this to our teams and investigate further to decide if your claim could be accepted.

Please, refer to our complaints code of practice for more on this process.

We could also help by adding accessibility features (braille bills etc) tailored onto the customer's needs too, however some of these actions require to speak directly to the account holder so this could be best done over a call due to the circumstances.

 Please, let us know if you wish us to look into this further for you.

[SuMic]

When I started this thread I thought I just needed to find a way to get through to someone who could understand my neighbour’s situation and make a relatively minor and inexpensive adjustment for her. I know of other large companies who have made the adjustment easily once their original error has been pointed out.

 After 35 years of advocating for my learning disabled daughter I know very there are always barriers to overcome for those with a disability. Often those barriers are unintentional. With a little discussion and mutual understanding we can often find a solution that is satisfactory to all concerned.

In this case I was being naïve.

When I read the Accessibility and Vulnerability Policy Overview I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The sentiments are admirable. The reality we experienced over the past week or two has been quite different. (This is not just about the billing charge).

Do I still think VM is wrong. Yes, I’m sure you are wrong, but I now see that you will continue put obstacles in my way in the knowledge that no one with a life can expend the time and energy that is apparently needed to make you do the right thing.

As an earlier post said “Choose your battles”

[John_GS]

Hi @SuMic 

Thanks for coming back to the thread. I am sorry you've not been contacted. I have reached out to the team and you'll be contacted asap.

Best wishes.