Virgin Media Refuse to Honour Contract

[SamSamN]

I have just had a fourth (possibly fifth) complaint raised to Virgin.  Here is a timeline of events:

1)  Service has been useless all along.  The boosters provided rarely worked and both sets broke.  I later raised as a point of contention that these were part of the contract and when I returned them (in itself made incredibly difficult by Virgin), they refused to reduce the monthly charges despite them clearly being a part of the agreed package.  I actually had to buy another router and use the useless Virgin hub as a modem to get anything like the speeds advertised. 

2)  I received a letter early in the year stating my price would increase by approximately £3.  I phoned up and was offered via automated message a much smaller increase, but I raised a complaint because I wanted it to remain the same or else I had the right to leave Virgin.

3)  I waited patiently for a reply to my complaint, but it turns out Virgin just closed it without informing me or taking any action!

4)  I opened a new complaint and it was agreed my bill would not increase.  In return, I would not leave Virgin and see out my contract.

5)  I noticed on my bill last month that the price had been increased by over £6 - approximately double the amount of the original increase which they had agreed wouldn't happen!

6)  I raised yet ANOTHER complaint, only to receive an e-mail stating that I had been notified my bill would increase and that I had no reason to complain.

7)  I have just spent an hour on the phone explaining all of this and got nowhere.  The person I spoke to has opened ANOTHER case, because their team manager Karol Abramowicz REFUSED to speak with me and deal with the problem.  I explained all of the above and that it was a breach of contract, because it had been agreed there would be no price increase, yet Mr. Abramowicz refused to take charge of the situation and put things right.

I am now considering what my legal options are for dealing with this, as I already missed out on countless good deals with other businesses and Virgin are trying to charge me nearly £7 more than the agreed contract rate.  In addition, they REFUSE to deal with the problem.  I was given a phone number for Tom Mockridge, who apparently is Karol's manager, but it turns out that was just a generic number for sales anyway.  I simply cannot believe a business is being run in this way and the REFUSAL for managers to deal with the issue is absolutely breathtaking.  It is absolutely shameful.

[SamSamN]

Hi Serena,

That's not at all good enough.  As you'll be fully aware, the best broadband deals have pretty much dried up (at least last time I checked).  I had at least two conversations with Virgin Media staff where it was made clear the price would not be increased, or else quite obviously I would have already left when the best deals were out there.  In fact, I was told that because the price wasn't going to increase I was unable to leave.  Have you checked the call logs, assuming your calls are recorded and kept?

Thanks,

Sam

[SamSamN]

On 03/03 I received this message:

'Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We are writing to let you know that we have received your complaint regarding the recent problems you have been experiencing. We are sorry that you are not happy with the service you have received from us. You can be confident that we will do everything we can to ensure that it is put right. I checked your account and I see that you have a monthly package price of GBP28.50. Just to let you know, although we do not like to, from time to time we have price changes which allows us to continue investing in our network, products and services, whilst also ensuring that we remain competitive and great value for money. Unfortunately, I would not be able to make any changes over an email and we would require you over the call for security purpose. For further queries, you can contact us on the given telephone number so we can help restructure your package and check the best available discounts we have for you. It goes without saying that we truly appreciate your patience during this crucial time and we look forward to provide you with a better service in the future. Alternatively, you can manage your account online and keep an eye on any upgrade offers available to you by registering or signing in to your My Virgin Media account at virginmedia.com/myvirginmedia. '

I did call and it was agreed the price would remain the same as it was on the contract.  Moreover, why on earth would it have increased from £28.50 to £31.75.  Well, how could it... I was paying £25.50.  So I was advised my price would be increasing from £28.50 to £31.75, when I was actually paying £25.50 and it was agreed over the phone that's how it would stay.  When I called initially in response to the letter, which stated a rise of just over £3, I was given an automated offer to only increase it by £1 which means I would have been paying £26.50, with no more increases.  Instead you have increased my bill from £25.50 to £31.75 with no justification whatsoever, given that you would've increased it by only £1 in the first place!  WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON AT THAT COMPANY?

[SamSamN]

While you're looking into that, I will check to see what deals are still available with other companies.  I am 100% certain it was agreed there would be no price increase, because that's why I couldn't leave.  I am absolutely sure about that and as I previously stated, what reason could I possibly have had to stay, given everything which had happened leading up to that?  As there are only four months left, it might be best to leave because I question the professionalism of your business and your ability to get even the basics right.

[SamSamN]

And by the way, the 'resolution' repsonse I just received is completely laughable:

'Thanks so much for the chat on 04/04/2022. We’re very happy to be able to resolve things for you.

Here's a quick recap

Your complaint was:
Cable > Billing/Charges > I don't understand or agree with charges on my bill 

And here’s what we agreed:
Package > Extra info on package and product

We’ve now closed your complaint. Thanks again for bearing with us.'

Clearly you're not even trying anymore.  Absolutely shocking.

[SamSamN]

Hi Serena,

I have found a good deal with another company - I've checked and they also have a functioning customer service department!  Please arrange for my services to be disconnected without cancellation fee.

Thanks,

Sam

[Anonymous]

Well that was a whirlwind case study in VM customer service. Good luck Sam. 

[Serena_C]

Hi @SamSamN

Thanks for getting back to me. Sorry to hear you're leaving us, I shall send you a private message now to arrange disconnection without fees.

Kind regards,

Serena

[SamSamN]

Thanks for finally bringing this debacle to an end.  My friends and family were absolutely amazed when I told them and will be moving provider when their contracts are up.  I also had the other case closed today, so I am leaving this reply here as a warning to others who might consider taking out a contract with Virgin:

'Thank you for emailing us. We understand that you are unhappy with the issue concerning the package price. I see that your initial complaint on 26th January 2022 was regarding the issue with the router and the booster that was broken. You were expecting us to reduce the bill since that equipment was not in use. Sam, we are extremely sorry for the issues you have faced with us. Generally, as per Ofcom guidelines, the compensation will be automatically applied when there is a complete loss of service. Since the package we offer includes the discounts which cover all the services and the devices added to it. We are unable to meet your expectation in reducing the bills manually. However, you can always look for better deals available according to your usage on our website via ttps://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-media-changing-your-services to make any changes to the existing package. As mentioned before there was an annual price increase of 3.25GBP effective from 01st March 2022 on the package which has made your bill amount to 31.75GBP.'

Ignore the bit about the router - the bill SHOULD have gone down, but it didn't.  But my argument was about it going UP.  Below are the amounts from my monthly billing.  There's a £3.25 rise (which there needn't have been - according to the automated message when I originally called).  Yet my bill went up to £31.75.  This is actually quite simple: £25.50 + £3.25 = £28.75.  If you can't get basic sums right, then I wouldn't trust you to deliver high speed broadband (which as it happens, is something at which you also failed miserably).  AVOID.

August: £25.50
September: £25.50
October: £25.50
November: £25.50
December: £25.50
January: £25.50
February: £25.50
March: £31.75

[SamSamN]

Rather amusingly, I received TWO calls from the retention team trying to get me to stay, making offers which apparently couldn't be made previously.  Virgin Media are a bit like an abusive partner - they beat you and treat you like rubbish, then when you want to leave they beg you to stay.  What a curious way to do business!

[Martin_N]

Our apologies for any frustration with this SamSamN. 

Our deals and offer are continually reviewed and so what can be offered can change with time. 

^Martin