Refusal to add Automatic Compensation

[Goobie123]

Hi,

First of all please let me know if this is the incorrect board to post this on, there isn't a clear board that this appears to be relevant specifically to - I wanted to know if anyone else is finding/has found it nearly impossible to get Virgin to apply Automatic Compensation to their online account? 

For context: We agreed with Virgin Media that our WiFi and Telephone package would be installed on a specific date, and without being informed why this date was changed by Virgin to over a month later than agreed. When I called, I was told external work needed to be completed. We went back and forth with Virgin to get this sorted as soon as we could as I work from home and as such required the internet to be set up as soon as possible. Without going into too much detail, this still took us over a month to have installed. When it was finally installed, we were told we had a £50 initial credit to the account for inconvenience (which was great) and that we'd be given £5 a day automatic compensation due to being left without internet for the period of time we were. The £50 credit arrived no problem, but has since disappeared. The automatic credit has never arrived. 

I have called Virgin an untold number of times and I always get the same answer: "I have spoken to my manager and the credit will appear on your account within 24-48 hours" - this has never been the case. The first of our bills was due, and it came from my debit card rather than out of our £50 credit and the £50 credit has also now vanished. It has got to the point now where I have requested the phone recordings for our conversations as I am seriously having to consider finding external assistance with this matter. May I add, we have not been contacted regarding this request for our phone recordings.

Can anyone provide any comment on if they have experienced this issue as well, and if so how they (if they did) managed to rectify it?

Thanks!

[Andrew-G · Accepted solution]

Forum staff can usually sort this out for you - they're UK based, much more helpful than the offshore slaves who will say anything to end a call and chalk it up as resolved.

Couple of points to know:

1) VM have in some instances claimed that they could not install as they did not have the necessary permissions.  This is a valid excuse if true, but has on occasion been abused by the company.  VM are still liable to pay compensation for delays caused if they didn't promptly apply for any necessary permits, and for delays if they didn't act when they had the permits.  If there's any attempt to play the "council delays" card, then contact your local council's highways team, and ask them if Virgin Media applied for a "Section 50 permit" near to your property, when that was applied for and when it was issued.  Typically the councils are a lot more efficient than urban myth has it, and they'll take a day or two to turn these around, and it's those couple of days that VM might reasonably claim they shouldn't be liable for - in the instances I have in mind they've wilfully tried to misrepresent the delays as entirely or largely down to the council.   

2) As above, forum staff should be able to resolve this to your satisfaction.  As a matter of record rather than expecting you to need this, if they can't sort things out, ask the forum staff to raise a complaint for you (much easier than trying to use VM's broken and dysfunctional web or telephone complaint options), and to identify that the resolution of the complaint is payment of the additional £5.25 per day compensation (not netted off against the separate £50 credit that VM chose to volunteer but is not part of the Ofcom compensation scheme), plus a further modest goodwill gesture because of VM's failure to pay resulting in the need to complain - say a further £50.  You should get an acknowledgement and reference number for the complaint.

3) Either VM concede and settle on your terms, or you get a "resolution" that isn't a settlement on your terms.  If it's the latter, then you reply by rejecting the resolution and asking for a deadlock letter.  When you get the deadlock letter you ask the industry complaints adjudicator CISAS to investigate and settle the matter.  This is always a bad outcome for the company, as they get charged by CISAS (always free for you to use), and VM lose or concede the majority of complaints taken to CISAS.  Complaints and adjudication are slow, a settlement between you and VM on the suggested terms will be quicker for you, and save the company the hundreds of pounds that an adjudication costs. 

[Goobie123]

Hi Andrew,

Thank you kindly for your response - this is extremely helpful. Could I ask one further question? How do I flag this to a moderator for comment by them? When I try to flag the post or your comment its to report is an inappropriate, which I do not want to do.

Cheers!

[Andrew-G]

You don't need to flag for staff - they will get round to this, that can take a few minutes through to a day or three depending on workloads.  If that seems a bit slow or random, it's simply because the forum isn't part of VM's "first line" customer service, and also have to do a range of other work rather than being 100% allocated to forum duties.

You can try phoning if you don't want to wait, but in my experience, it's always better to engage through the forum rather than the miserable and often dysfunctional telephone contact options. 

[Chris_W1]

Hi Goobie123, thanks for the message and welcome to the forums. I am sorry to hear that there is an issue with the Auto compensation and I will be happy to look into this for you and will send you a private message. 

Chris. 

[Zoie_P]

Hi Goobi123, 

Thank you for your post 😊

I am so sorry that you have had these issues with us regarding auto comp discrepancies, I know this must be frustrating. I can certainly take a look into this for you to see what has happened.

I will pop you over a PM to go over some details. Keep an eye out for the little envelope 📩

Zoie