Virgin Media - wish to cancel - Being OVERCHARGED with no contract really upset.

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I wish to cancel with Virgin Media. 

As my old broadband deal was £32 per month. This month it has increased to £59.25. I was given notice of this but no option to cancel the deal.

When I called to ask to change it, I was told if I changed to a new deal today they would waiver my bill. When I said I could get a new deal elsewhere I was essentially haggling the price down over the phone and felt that the £59.25 bill was put at ransom, ie if you don't want to pay that larger bill you will need to stay with Virgin Media. As I was told the bill would be written off if I changed to a new deal right away. But if I leave I will be charged the bill and I have to stay for 30 days despite not having a contract.

Really upset and shocked at how a large company could run in this way.

I have been told over the phone that I cannot cancel without giving 30 days notice. This is a new deal and so would require a new contract. 

As I am within 12 days (this changed on the 12th of Jan) it is now the 24th of January and I wish to cancel, I am entitled under UK Trading Laws the right to a 14 day cooling off period.

See below the information from your own website:
If you have have entered into a new contract, you have the right to cancel those services within your 14 day cooling off period. You can cancel immediately during this time without having to pay an early disconnection fee.

Please also note that on my Broadband Virgin Media account online, it states: 

'Unfortunately we don't have a digital copy of your current contract.'
And so if you don't have any record of my contract, how are you abiding by terms of a contract which do not exist for my account.

Putting this into writing:
I wish to cancel within my x14 days cooling off period. I would like Virgin Media Services to end on the 2nd of February when Vodafone are installing new broadband.

I have cancelled my direct debit of the £59.25 leaving my account which is for services up until the 12th of February, to which I will no longer be using your services.

Can you please confirm with me that:
- Services will not be charged after the 2nd of February
- And the bill of £59.25 will be removed from my account

Gill

[Anonymous]

I was also told I would get an email today (24th of January) which put into writing that I would like to cancel my Virgin Media Broadband.

I have not received this email yet and so please consider me putting it into writing that I would like to cancel this and finish services as of the 2nd of February.

[Anonymous]

FYI https://www.virginmedia.com/content/virginmedia/dotcom/en/myvmapp/help/help_l3_t3_s6_a1.html

[jbrennand]

You cannot cancel your contract on here - see below for what to do.

DO NOT cancel your DD - if they cannot connect your final bill 30-days after then your debt is transferred to a debt collection agency. Expect a knock on the door and a damaged credit rating that will be a pain to get rid of
__________________


Call 150 from a VM phone or by dialling 0345 454 1111 - select options 1,1,4,4, - thats the UK based retentions team - but calling at 08.00 is the best time to get through without being diverted offshore I would record the conversation too. "TOP TIP: If you're struggling to get through or are tired of waiting in the queue - you can try Virgin Media's cancellation and retentions department directly on…. 0800 952 2277 or  0800 052 2001 - no guarantee of getting through there either though

2. Cancel In writing to…
Virgin Media
Sunderland
SR43 4AA

Include dates, name ,address and all account details. They say to also include your phone number so they can call you to confirm - probably to make you an offer to stay.
Do it by registered mail next day delivery guaranteed and with a receipt for signature on arrival.

3. Or, if a new customer in the 14 day period - completing the cancellation form you have been given as part of your welcome pack and returning this to them at the address specified on the form (the Sunderland address?).

Whatever you do DO NOT cancel your direct debit until the final bill has been settled or or it will cause all sorts of issues you dont want.
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Send the letter by Royal Mail Guaranteed delivery and save a copy along with the proof of sending and the proof of delivery with signature.

Some information on cancelling & early disconnection fees are here...

https://www.virginmedia.com/shop/the-legal-stuff/terms-and-conditions-for-fibre-optic-services#end

https://www.virginmedia.com/shop/the-legal-stuff/terms-and-conditions-for-fibre-optic-services/early...

[jbrennand]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello,

I wish to cancel with Virgin Media. 

As my old broadband deal was £32 per month. This month it has increased to £59.25. I was given notice of this but no option to cancel the deal.

---

So does that mean that your special new customer deal you got on sign up has ended and the package has reverted to the normal full price everyone else pays?  If so you can cancel the contract without any penalties with 30-days notice - as it states in the contract.  Do it as I showed in my other reply.

[Anonymous]

So does that mean that the special new customer deal you got on sign-up has ended and the package has reverted to the normal full price everyone else pays?  If so you can cancel the contract without any penalties with 30 days notice - as it states in the contract.  Do it as I showed in my other reply.

---------

Hi John,

Thanks for your help. So I was paying £32 PCM for 18 months. However, I have never received a contract (a glitch?) And on my account, it states 'we cannot find your contract'. 

After the 18 months is up I received notice it would be coming out of that deal of £32 and changing to £59.25 as of the 12th of January. I now have a bill for 12 Jan - 12 February 2023 for £59.25. I rang to see if I could get a better deal, which there was a lot of haggling, to which I said I wanted to just cancel. I was then told I would have to have a 30-day notice period in order to cancel (and so paying the £59.25 and a little more). If I stayed I would be instantly be put on a new deal. 

Is this within the UK trading laws of 14 days cooling off , I am out of the 18 months and considering I do not have a contract that can be found?

Many thanks,

Gill

[Anonymous]

*Please note I was told if I changed to a new deal - I would be instantly put on a new deal and the bill would be removed. 

[jem101]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So does that mean that the special new customer deal you got on sign-up has ended and the package has reverted to the normal full price everyone else pays?  If so you can cancel the contract without any penalties with 30 days notice - as it states in the contract.  Do it as I showed in my other reply.

---------

Hi John,

Thanks for your help. So I was paying £32 PCM for 18 months. However, I have never received a contract (a glitch?) And on my account, it states 'we cannot find your contract'. 

After the 18 months is up I received notice it would be coming out of that deal of £32 and changing to £59.25 as of the 12th of January. I now have a bill for 12 Jan - 12 February 2023 for £59.25. I rang to see if I could get a better deal, which there was a lot of haggling, to which I said I wanted to just cancel. I was then told I would have to have a 30-day notice period in order to cancel (and so paying the £59.25 and a little more). If I stayed I would be instantly be put on a new deal. 

Is this within the UK trading laws of 14 days cooling off , I am out of the 18 months and considering I do not have a contract that can be found?

Many thanks,

Gill

---

It is often assumed (wrongly) that these are 18 month contracts, they are not. When you originally sign up for a VM deal, you actually sign up for a ‘perpetual’ contract - it never actually ends until either you or VM decide to cancel it, with the proviso that you (or they) need to provide 30 days notice. Where the confusion comes from is that for the first 18 months you get a ‘discounted rate’, and as soon as that period is up, then you revert to paying the ‘full’ price.

Now VM like all suppliers are obliged to contact their customers in good time to remind them of this and to point out what the new price will be - which does seem to have happened in this case as you state that you ‘were aware of the increase’. At this point you have one of three options; a) do nothing, you pay the new, higher price and the service you get stays the same, b) call VM before the thirty day required notice period, and cancel - you request to cancel as of the date when the 18 months is up, and that’s it, you have 30 days to find another supplier, or c) you call VM and try to negotiate a new contract, probably more than you are paying now but less than the ‘full’ price, but this does start a new minimum 18 month contract.

If you chose option c) but then change your mind within 14 day, then, yes you have to right to revert back to what it was before, it’s as if you never called up and hence option a) is in effect. Since it is now too late to give the required 30 days notice before the end of the 18 month period, then yes, you will be charged one month (or part thereof) of the full price.

And yes, you absolutely are on a contract and you are bound by it, legally, there doesn’t actually have to be anything in writing, the fact that you have been paying VM for the past 18 months, they have been supplying the required service, no Court is going to accept that you were not aware of this, especially as you freely admit that you knew that price was going up and what it was going up to. Using a service and paying for it is, tacit acknowledgement by you and VM that a contract exists.

So what I would do is this, firstly call VM asap and clearly state that you wish to revert to the original terms under the 14 day cooling off period and start making enquiries about alternative suppliers and see what they offer. You will, alas have to ‘suck up’ paying the full price for a month or two, but you won’t be locked into a new contract for the next 18 months! Armed with what you could get elsewhere, you call VM back and cancel. Either go through with the cancellation, in which case it is likely (but not guaranteed) that you get a call from them within the 30 days offering a good deal - accept it on the spot, or don’t, it’s entirely up you you, but you probably won’t get a second chance!

Oh and yes, as mentioned above, please reinstate the DD, you might ‘think’ that you are making a stand and making it clear that you wish to leave VM and no longer want their services - actually all this will do is initiate an entire world of pain for you and your credit rating, VM won’t be bothered in the slightest!

[jbrennand]

Yes that's correct. Once the initial discount period ends you have to give 30 days notice to leave. You could have done it 30 days ago and exited the day after the 18 month period ended. Now you are on a "rolling" 30 days notice package. Unless you negotiate and agree a new deal which will start you on a new 18/24 month contract.

The contract you were on will be stated on the online account and then you need to click through the website to find the standard T and C's for that contract

Re. Contract renegotiation - see Andrew’s comments in message 6

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Community-Natter/New-contract/td-p/4888761

[Ayisha_B]

HI @Anonymous, 

Welcome to our Community Forums and thanks for your post. 

I am sorry you've not had the best experience with us and I can see John has provided you with some detailed info on how to cancel your services, should you wish to do so. 

We do not deal with cancellations over the forums but if you do reach out to the team on 0345 454 1111, they can assist further. 

Let us know how you get on.