Why won't Virgin come to collect my equipment?

[DE1987]

I recently terminated my service with Virgin and was asked to send back their equipment. No problem. Before I receive the packaging I'm sent an e-mail saying Virgin have "key workers" in the area and can collect my equipment. Great. I set the date for the 15th April, the day comes, and goes... nobody shows up. I made 3 calls throughout the evening asking when I should expect the equipment to be picked up and was told increasingly later times - up to 8PM! I live by myself so had stayed in the entire day waiting for a pickup that never happened. 

My pickup was rearranged for today, and guess what? Same thing. Once is bad enough, but twice? I spoke to a customer service rep just now who was sympathetic but seemed powerless to do anything to help and recommended that I just keep the equipment and wait for Virgin to contact me again. I'm a bit concerned that a charge will be put on my file for not returning equipment, though (although Virgin have now had two opportunities to pick said equipment up and not bothered turning up). At this point I'll probably just end up requesting packaging and returning it myself, but I would have done that in the first place had Virgin not told me they'd be coming to collect the equipment and basically restricted me to my house for two separate days. Both times I got an email the day before saying they would be coming to collect, and on the 15th I even got a text in the morning reminding me!

What exactly is going on here? This is absolutely appalling customer service and has pretty much put me off ever returning to Virgin in future. 

[goslow]

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@DE1987 wrote:

Hi Ash,

Thanks, can you confirm my account will be marked as such so that I am not chased to send back or charged for not doing so? I can share account details over PM if needed.

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If you have a Hub 3, then that is listed by VM as equipment they want back.

[DE1987]

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@goslow wrote:

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@DE1987 wrote:

Hi Ash,

Thanks, can you confirm my account will be marked as such so that I am not chased to send back or charged for not doing so? I can share account details over PM if needed.

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If you have a Hub 3, then that is listed by VM as equipment they want back.

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They seemingly don't want it back that much, judging by their decision to blow off two scheduled collection appointments 😒 all I want is for somebody at Virgin to advise me why those collections didn't happen, as it's made returning the kit a much larger inconvenience that it would have been if I'd not been given the collection option and just returned the items myself. 

[goslow]

You're not that likely to get any explanation from VM about the non-collections. All just part of the VM merry-go-round of non-communication.

You won't have to look too far through the forums though to find former customers reporting that they have been charged for non-returned kit and even examples of unpaid charges for non-returned kit causing issues later down the line regarding credit checks etc.

Charges at the bottom of this page for non-returned kit, a Hub 3 is listed as £50

https://www.virginmedia.com/shop/the-legal-stuff/priceguides

[DE1987]

I'm planning to send the stuff back regardless, as there's nothing wrong with the equipment and most of it is fairly new. Although at this point I fully expect to do so and still be chased/charged as the left hand doesn't seem to know what the right hand is doing in these departments. 

[japitts]

@Ashleigh_C 

Sorry to ask on the open thread, but would you possibly mind double-checking the returns status for the OP's SH3? You've mentioned this isn't needed back, but the https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-media-return-or-recycle-equipment lists this as being returnable, and @goslow has correctly pointed out that this is potentially subject to non-returned charges.

[Ashleigh_C]

Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention @japitts. I have double checked the account and had another colleague check to and there is no equipment showing for you to be charged for so you will be fine @DE1987.

Apologies for my delayed response and thank you very much for letting know! 

Thank you.  

[goslow]

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@japitts wrote:

@Ashleigh_C 

Sorry to ask on the open thread, but would you possibly mind double-checking the returns status for the OP's SH3? You've mentioned this isn't needed back, but the https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-media-return-or-recycle-equipment lists this as being returnable, and @goslow has correctly pointed out that this is potentially subject to non-returned charges.

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And on a similar kind of topic below there was a request for a Super Hub 2ac to be returned, yet this is not listed on the recycle/return link above!

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Networking-and-WiFi/Kit-return-scam-mail/m-p/4693556#M398903

so just the usual muddle of conflicting information from VM for the customer to try to get to grips with as to what needs to be returned and what does not!

[DE1987]

Hi Ash,

OK, thanks for confirming. I will still send the equipment back at some point, hopefully next week, but I assume as there is nothing on my account to be charged for I won't be receiving any further emails asking for my equipment to be sent back.

[Zoie_P]

Hi DE1987,

Thanks for your reply, 

your account has been noted 

Zoie

[newapollo]

Just for info purposes,  to confirm the  Superhub 2AC  has recently been added to the returns list