appalling customer service from Virgin is this what its usually like ?

[gadgetmanuk]

I requested cancellation of the service last month via live chat 

i then got an email last week saying they were sorry i was leaving and would i like 27 pounds for 100mb i accepted did this via email got an email saying they were chuffed i was back and that i would get an email giving me hints and tips about the new services.

fast forward afew days no email checked my online account still the old price checked the contract details still the old details so i contacted live chat yesterday. after about 90 minutes he said he couldn't deal with this as the offer was sent by rententions and there had been a systems error when it was applied i had no knowledge of this  but he would transfer me. this was done at 3pm no further contact was made by virgin until 9am this morning.

at 9am they contacted me via whatsapp what i believe was retentions but they called it another name.  it seemed as though none of the previous chat had been transfered so i had to go through it again. CS then told me there had been a systems error last week when  applying the new price and while my disconnection was cancelled the new price wasn't and so i'm still on the higher tariff. but they couldn't offer me the 27 pounds tariff but they could offer me a more expensive one lol

I've requested a manager callback i was told it would be between 24/48hrs 

is this what virgin call good CS and how can a customer be penalised because virgin has system errors which isn't caused by the customer

[Paul_DN]

Hi gadgetmanuk,

Thank you for reaching back out to us, we are sorry to hear you haven't been able to get the offered price due to a system issue, have you spoken to the Retentions team since , we aren't able to add any packages or apply discounts via our community as this is only available via our customer relations team?

Regards

Paul.

[gadgetmanuk]

a manager is supposed to be phoning me within the next 24/48 hrs if they do or not thats to be seen 

i find it astonishing that virgin can in affect cancel my disconnection without my authority and then admit its their own system error that caused this but then refuse to give me the tariff i was offered  i have the email confirming i accepted the offer

but i can have a more expensive one lol and while this is going on i'm paying the old tariff which is far more expensive than even the one offered. 

[Hayley_S]

Please let us know if you do not get that call back @gadgetmanuk.

Then we can see what more can be done 🙂

Have a nice Sunday.

[gadgetmanuk]

thanks for the reply and yes i will if no one calls

[-tony-]

a manager will not call you back - thats No 1 method of ending the call with you thinking something will happen - i dont know the legal ins and outs but afaik if you have the £27 in writing then they must honour that - there are no iffs and buts just wriggling  - will ask someone who knows much more on the subject to add something

@Andrew-G - can you help andrew

[Andrew-G · Accepted solution]

A pleasure to put my oar in, although most of the text below is a re-post of the usual advice...

These "didn't get the deal I agreed" situations happen from time to time.  However, your legal rights are crystal clear - information provided by a company verbally or written is binding if the consumer relies upon it when entering a contract (Consumer Rights Act 2015), so VM have to honour whatever was offered and you accepted, whether they now like it or not.  No if, no buts, no "computer says no", no "that deal should not have been offered to you", no "that deal is no longer available.

Hopefully the forum staff can pick this up and get it sorted - by which I mean that you get exactly the deal you were promised, not some less attractive compromise.  That would be the best resolution for both parties, and perhaps recovering some goodwill in a bad situation.  The forum staff can't change packages, but they can bring these matters to the attention of those who can.  If the forum staff and the others can't get it sorted in that complete manner, you need to search, read and follow the Virgin Media Complaints Code of Practice.  Don't start a complaint until you've seen if the forum staff can get this sorted, because I believe they can't get involved once it has become a formal complaint. 

If you do need to raise a formal complaint (use the online form in My Virgin Media), request that as per your legal rights the company honour what was agreed.  State that unless this is implemented and backdated to the original date you agreed the terms, then you require a "deadlock letter" for the purposes of escalating to the industry arbitration scheme CISAS as soon as permitted by the rules.  In the meanwhile, don't do anything daft like stopping your direct debit, that'll be recorded as a credit default, and opens up whole new realms of difficulty for you.  Don't worry if VM contact you claiming that they couldn't get hold of you, or close, lose or fob off the complaint, this doesn't stop you being able to take the matter further.

If VM still won't honour the contract despite the complaint, then you follow the process and escalate to the industry arbitration scheme.  Explain the background and request that VM be required to give you the promised deal, fully backdated, and add on a request for compensation for the hassle.  Not only does escalation to CISAS cost VM money (free to you) but it gets your case investigated and impartially heard by expert dispute resolution staff.  From published data, the majority of reasonable complaints are concluded in the customer's favour.  Sadly that's not quick, on the other hand your legal rights are very clear.

As I said earlier, hopefully the forum staff can get this resolved quicker and without the formality.

[Hayley_S]

Thanks for your message @gadgetmanuk.

Have you received a call back regarding your complaint yet?

We don't usually deal with package changes on this platform, but as we can see it's been ongoing for a while now I'm eager too see what we can do to help get your complaint resolved.

To prevent any further delay I am sending you a private message now, please look out for the plum envelope and reply when you can.

Many thanks,

[gadgetmanuk]

thanks for all the messages regarding my situation i've only just checked online  so apologies for the delay 

very helpful comments and advice that is much appreciated

all i want is the original price they offered and i accepted i actually have the ermail saying thank you for accepting this and welcome back etc 

i'll follow the above advice and take it further if required  

thanks again 

[Hayley_S]

Hello @gadgetmanuk,

I have responded to your PM, please can you respond so I can help you?

Many thanks,