Please help me. I’m trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare

[Nathanp1]

My bill cannot be paid. No one at VM can help me. No one understands what is happening. 

[newapollo]

Hi @Nathanp1 

Are you unable to pay the VM bill due to financial issues/

Or is it problems with a diret debit, or setting up  a direct debit?

Or is it issues paying online?

You can make a payment using the dedicated automated payment line on 0800 064 3777. It’s available to use all day, every day.

Just make sure you have your account number and area reference number to hand. You can find these details at the top right hand corner of your bill.

[Nathanp1]

My father owns the flat in which I live. He set up a broadband account with VM in 2017 before i moved in. After i moved in i paid him in cash every month. In June 2022 i made the very foolish decision to try to move the account into my name. I was assured that this was completed on June 16th. I set up a direct debit to be paid on the 28th of each month. Nothing has been taken from my bank account. Whoever i have talked to assumes i am my father, despite the changes supposedly having been made to make me the named account holder.

None of the dozens of people i have spoken to at VM have been able to explain why no money has been taken by DD or why the account details haven’t been changed. I’ve just paid by credit card but i have no faith that I won’t have money taken by DD or that these problems won’t be a monthly occurrence.

i want to leave VM but i am left waiting for hours to speak to the cancellation team.

The incompetence of the staff and uselessness of the systems is truly staggering. I was one of the surveyors who helped to build the network in the 90s and i am very disappointed at how crap the company is today.

[jem101]

@Nathanp1 now despite what you have been told, I very much doubt that the account was ever transferred into your name - I believe that last year sometime VM stopped the ability to do this other than in the case of bereavement or critical illness. Customer services assume that they are speaking to your father because he is still the account holder!

Personally I’d be tempted to leave well alone although you (or technically he) could change the billing arrangements so that they come from your account rather than his. The other option would be for him to cancel and then you sign up as a new customer and get all of the offers available. Might be a period of no service in between and you would lose any email addresses set up though.

[Nathanp1]

Thanks for your reply. Yes this is probably what happened. But i did sign up for a new deal two weeks ago. It still doesn’t explain the fact that no DD was taken from my account. Various people told me that it had been taken, or hadn’t or that i owed more, or less.

it’s a big mess and i will definitely be leaving ASAP

[Travis_M]

Hi @Nathanp1

Thanks for posting on our community forum and I'm so sorry to hear about your issue regarding the payments etc.

I'll be happy to drop you a private message now to try and clear up any of the blank space and get everything up to date for you, please keep an eye on your inbox.

Regards