VM cannot bill correctly each month

[Feduppayou]

Is anyone else in the situation where, having agreed a fixed monthly contract (18 month) with VM, they send me a bill each month but NEVER manage to present a correct bill for that agreed fixed mount ?

Also, because of the above problem, I took them off Direct Debit (they were taking too much) and pay on the manual payment page on the site.

So,around the 10th of each month, they send me a bill for £x. I dont pay until the end of the month, when, on the actual payment page, it auto-fills £y. It says that you can change that amount... but you cant !! So, they ask for £x, I can only pay the auto-filled amount of £y, and therefore, (they are keen to tell me that) I appear to UNDERpay, and can I make a subsequent correcting payment, which I wont ever do.

Its fascinating, and absorbs a great deal of my time, over that 18 months, currently over 10 hours of phone calls to them, (none ever returned), and seven complaints, its still wrong. They are the gift that keeps on aggravating.

 Whilst they have innumerable ways of  annoying, upsetting and ignoring (still, I suspect, inventing more ways as we speak) their "loyal" customer base, I wondered if they had forced this unnecessary and VM created torture on anyone else.

[Matthew_ML]

Hey Feduppayou, thank you for reaching out and a warm welcome to the community I am so sorry to hear about this.

What is happening with the bill , is it not reflecting the price which was promised when you took out the deal?

Does it not match the price on your paperwork ?Cheers 

[Feduppayou]

Matt - a couple of things we need to get straight. No offense intended.

I am NOT reaching out, I dont feel the warm embrace of VM, and, you, if you read the above opening, will be about the fifteenth person who is sorry for me being in this VM-enforced situation. I was simply asking if other customers were suffering from this perversion that you have inflicted on me.

Not bill, bill’s, plural

NO-one, exactly no-one bothered to look at, solve, provide continuity, escalate, follow-up on, nor in any other way, provide, implement or deliver a permanent fix. Though my staying with you is not really enforced, I could leave at any time. After all this, just you try to impose an early release fee.!! Ten hours of phone-calls to you, through that ridiculous system, talking to someone who is several thousand miles away, deafening call-centre background noise (of other agents) who all sound like they're talking underwater. Listen to the tapes, I begged, pleaded, cajoled, swore probably, cried, threatened, and finally hoped that someone would care, anyone of those 14 people would do something, BUT NOBODY DID. They're very good at being sorry and promising something, but nothing changed. Intermingled in there, over that 18 months are seven complaints, SEVEN, all treated just the same. Next months bill was still not right.

So, I wont be answering any more questions. If I haven't made myself clear about this situation over that length of time, its because you sent me DOO-LA-LY. I need no further help from you (as in VM), in fact you haven't helped, I, like you will take no further interest. You provide the service, I will pay the contracted price MANUALLY. (You cant be trusted with a Direct Debit). Then we don't have to talk to each other. (Actually WE dont talk, I do the talking, you do the ignoring) I will continue to manage this myself. I wont be calling you to make ad-hoc shortfall extra payments. I wont complain anymore. Not once have any of you seriously considered the long term impact of such a stupid problem, every month - lets deal with VM first, then we can ....,so stupid that you cant fix it. !!!! Hey, if you notice any further problems, unpaid bills, not fully paid bills, late paid bills, be sure to give me a call, I'm really helpful.  PPS that bit there about you calling me...thas one of me jokes, that is, although if theres one thing that seems to get you people out of bed,  its the threat of withholding money for your appalling (although presentation of bills is NOT a contracted service) service delivery. PPPS I haven't charged for your required level of care, checking your bill, inputting corrections, pointing out your mistakes, maintaining spreadsheet records, ensuring and tracking manual payments, providing continuity records and other housekeeping data, nor for repeating the same story every month to a new and slightly disinterested underwater agent and waited endlessly while HE checked what I was saying. I wonder if I could charge for fatuous promises. Talking to VM over this long period of time is draining, particularly when you know next month is going to be JUST THE SAME. Youve been fun as well, though not really challenging, and I must find (lucky you) a more worthwhile hobby.

[Ayisha_B]

Hi @Feduppayou 

Our sincere apologies for the poor experience. 

I would really like to help further so will pop you a PM now to confirm some details.

Thanks

[Feduppayou]

You will be, if my memory and my maths serve me well, the sixteenth "agent" desperate to "help further". I don't believe it, I don't want it, too little, (as in zero effort from you so far), and definitely tooo late. Now that I've gone through this unnecessary, time consuming, hideously gross experience, I've come out the other side and wondered why I bothered. So, I no longer care...like yourselves have demonstrated so well. You continue to proudly action all of the very worst that you have been accused of, by the very people that ensure your survival.

I'm telling you nothing new, you know what you are. You are unworthy of any more of my time or effort. Deliver the service, I will pay the contract price. Don't deliver, and I don't pay.  Do what you like with that statement. I've said this several times before, dunno why I'm repeating myself. I won't be going through any more security checks to talk to you, no more details,...NOTHING. PS..I will, however, be only too happy to supply written records, spreadsheets, dates, times, duration of calls, copies of the seven complaints, and your responses, the monthly and mish-mash confusion of what i should pay vs what your system demands etc etc etc. I don't have transcripts of our cosy conversations, but I guess i could submit a FOIA request or DSAR to complete my collection !!

[Jodi_S]

Thanks for coming back to us Feduppayou,

We can certainly understand your frustration regarding this matter; however we would like to help you further with this issue. If you would like to request a DSAR, please can you respond to the private message my colleague Ayisha has offered and we can assist you further. 

Kind regards Jodi.

[Feduppayou]

Really, DSAR is unlikely to be useful, unless Court beckons. I was looking through the other problems people had, for my self-judgement, you understand, just in case I was being too harsh on you. But no, au contraire. I notice that YOU actually create so many difficult problems for other Customers, like you did for me. And then you let them stew, like you did for me. They have to spend hours, going through that phone system, listening to stupid msgs and muzak, getting cut off, until you re-phone enough times to finally get through to someone who can't actually do anything. Like you did for me. Then, much like so many other organisations, when the customer gets upset, you double down, they want to cancel, reportedly and personally, you make that as difficult as you can. Let me tell you a story here. A while ago, I decided to cancel, because of your "intransigence", dialled the number then option 4, option 4. "Contract termination?" I asked. "No, retentions" came the underwater reply. "I don't want to be retained, please put me through to terminations". In short he said he couldn't transfer me, couldn't get them to call me, didn't know who or where they were, and I would have to re-dial. When I recalled a couple of days later, a different agent explained that terminations and retentions were one and the same, etc etc. Sharp practise or what...but useful for my case. Names, dates and times available if you want to check.

Anyway, when the Customer justifiably threatens to cancel or not pay, you threaten back...just like you did with me.  You quite happily trash someone's credit score, because of a late / non-payment. I think you have a need to be seen as heroes, so you create problems, just so customers can be so grateful for the fix, except you can't deliver the last bit.

So sorry if this has caused you to read something you must already know.

[Vikki_M]

Hi Feduppayou

Thank you for your reply, we are sorry to hear you feel this way about us. 

We are here to help and would really like to get this issue resolved for you.

I can see we have already sent you a private message so we can help further.

If you could kindly respond to Ayishas message, we can answer any questions you have and assist further.
 

[Feduppayou]

The very idea that I would have to explain, yet again, your prolonged indifference, gross incompetence, painful inactivity, horrendous customer care and a matching level of half-disguised vindictiveness leaves me filled with foreboding dread. I don't think it's gonna happen. Strangely, one can only take so much, and you are way past the red line on my too-much-ometer.

The issue is resolved.

I have resolved it.

The way we, you and I, operate has changed.

I have previously outlined your new conditions.

I don't need your input, (not that you have EVER provided any).

I don't need your agreement, and

I don't need your permission. Nor is it "contractual". 

I won't be contacting you.

I won't be jumping though telephonic security hurdles to reach out to you.

Don't forget - if you want to help, you can call me anytime, I'm here for YOU.

[Feduppayou]

I had an email from you yesterday (Wednesday 6th) at 18:04 to say that I have a new reply.

However when I check, I can see NO update since Vicky last Thursday. I can see the entire thread, but nothing new. Perhaps you can provide guidance on how to find this new update which is not appended to the existing thread. Also, I did not "find" the PM from Ayisha, and am reluctant to deal further with personal info on this forum.

Anyway, I outlined the future details previously. I will pay ONLY the contracted (or less) price manually or through a fixed DD. If its more than the contracted price, I will let you know in good time for you to produce and present a CORRECT bill......BEFORE PAYMENT....however long that takes you to do. There will be no variations, irrespective of what you think I ought to pay, as you did for so many months previously. If you want to explain your previous prolonged ineptitude, Im sure you could trace your problem through open Complaint ref ????? which I can provide.