Please help: my bill is more than 5 times what it should be.

[VMupsetcustomer]

Hello all,

I'm extremely stressed about this current situation, I lodged a complaint last week after recieving notification of a bill of 5 times more than what it should be. I had contact by WhatsApp with the complaints team at VM but they have only increased my stress and worry even more. I cannot afford to pay the amount they're asking on the bill, plus the amount they have said is just completely wrong and unfair.

Here is a summary of my complaint:

I was called in early May 2024 with an offer to upgrade to 1 gig broadband and a deal including calls, hub 5, a TV box 360 box with 1TB recording facilities and a channels package included. I clarified on the phone twice to ask if it needs any extra wires or cable and I was assured that it only needs a HDMI lead and the WiFi.
When the engineer came, he said the box needs a cable and as I live in rented accommodation we cannot have drilling and fitting of wires, I was advised by him to contact Virgin Media customer service.

When I did this it took hours on the phone as the person went through several different account options and restarted the whole upgrade process for some reason for what should still cost the same as the original deal.

Instead I haven't received the SIM card promised but I have been charged a monthly fee in addition to my VM bill for an O2 SIM I haven't been given.

In addition to this, I have only got a TV stream box, not a box with recording facilities or the channels package I would have had with the TV stream box, I tried pursuing and asked for either a discount for the experience to that point as it's worse than what I was originally sold and the fact I was mis-sold the original package was frustrating enough, or a credit or extra channels package to make up for it.

Then the paperwork came through and I questioned the charges on there but the customer service agent the following day said I would have to call once a bill generates and everything will be sorted by then. I have had a bill come through online today but it shows a charge of over £160 instead of around £35 per month.

Please help as I'm spending so much time trying to get this resolved by VM and so far getting nowhere other than increasing my stress levels and worry about what will happen on payment day. I am feeling very desperate.

[Cardiffman282]

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[Molly_T]

Hi VMupsetcustomer 👋 welcome to the community forum! Thanks for posting. 
Sorry to hear about your recent experience in changing package, your complaint, and trying to get this resolved by phone. We appreciate your frustration given the experience!

Sincerest apologies if you were not informed that our TV box services do require some cabling connections in order to operate! We can take a closer look at your current package and services on the VM side to ensure you are not set up / paying for anything that you don't currently have (or want!)
Sadly if you are looking for support with any O2 SIM services you will also need to contact them directly for support, so they can cancel any unwanted SIM. You can do this via  👉 https://www.o2.co.uk/contactus  📲8002 from an O2 mobile or over 📞 0800 977 7337 from a landline.

We'd like to help get things sorted for you. We will just need to start by confirming a few account details via PM so we can do this. You can find the PM in the top right corner of the page in your Inbox. 📩 We can then return to this public thread with another update when possible. Thank you for your patience in the meantime!

Wishing you all the best. 🌞

[VMupsetcustomer]

Hi Cardiff man, thank you for your reply and the links you have shared.

I'm hoping the forum team member, Molly_T can help resolve this and have a quick process so it's before payment day.

I currently feel trapped in this situation and desperately need it resolved. I'm not sure I can cancel right now, as one of the previous agents I spoke to said if leave the current contract (even though it's the wrong service/price compared to what I had agreed to on the phone) that I'd have an early disconnection charge of over £1100 which I find absolutely ludicrous and scary.

[VMupsetcustomer]

Hi Molly_T, I hope you're well. Please can you send me a reply to my private message as you requested I sent you one but awaiting response.

The situation is feeling more and more stressful as we get closer to payment date, so please can you help me?

[Beth_G]

Hi VMupsetcustomer

We completely understand your frustration. We can see that Molly has since replied to your private message.

Please note that the Community Forums aren't an instant-response support channel, but Molly will always aim to reply to your messages when she is online 😊

[VMupsetcustomer]

Hi Beth,

Thanks for the reply. I'm currently trying to call VM after a one hour long conversation with Complaints where I thought everything was just about resolved. However, the credit isn't appearing in my account, the email summarising it was vague and currently the new bill is higher than what was agreed to.

I'm willing to be patient but it's extremely when my VM account shows an unfair and unaffordable amount of money will be taken soon and I cannot get through to an agent on the phone. Please help me.

[Zach_R]

Hi @VMupsetcustomer,

That's a shame to hear. I'm sorry to hear you've not had a great experience with us recently.

As suggested by my colleague, if you respond to the last private message that we sent to you regarding this then we'll be able to assist you further from there.

Thanks,