Automatic compensation scheme for full loss of service - not being resolved appropriately

[Elora]

I am having a great deal of difficulty securing the automatic compensation that I believe I should be entitled to for a loss of service for 38 days from 23rd January to the March 2nd this year.

I have spoken to the VM team on multiple occasions via the chat function and telephone over the past three months and have received different messages every time I speak to someone.

Initially I was assured that I would receive £9.33 for every day (after two days) that I was without access to VM services. This has now been denied and I have since been offered £25, £48, £50, £88 and now £100 as a good will gesture. I do not understand where these numbers are coming from, especially as the agent on the chat is currently telling me that I didn't have a full loss of service for more than one day!

There is no clarity from VM on this process and it feels like the amount I am offered depends on who I am in contact with on any given day. Can anyone help?

[jbrennand]

VM's conditions are a bit complex - see the links below.  Basically, you receive it for each day's "total" loss of service (24h) - so if its an intermittent fault where you have some connectivity for a some time - then it isnt applicable.

Do you have a BQM running that will prove the total loss of service time windows and provide the evidence to show to them?

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/automat...
https://www.virginmedia.com/help/automatic-compensation
https://store.virginmedia.com/the-legal-stuff/terms-and-conditions-for-fibre-optic-services/automati...

[Elora]

Thanks jbrennand. Really appreciate your support and advice. I don't have a BQM (as far as I know) but the broadband cable was cut through by the council when they were repaving the street on 23 Jan and the cable wasn't refitted until 2nd March. We definitely didn't have access to Virgin Media services throughout that time.

At the time (Jan 25th) when the first technician came out I was told that they needed a spare part that they didn't have in stock. A technician was then booked for 13th February, but this was cancelled by Virgin and booked in again for 29th February and then again for 2nd March when the broadband was finally reconnected. 

Over the past few days I have been following up on the compensation that I was told via the chat and the phone that I'd be due (reimbursement for the time that I continued to pay VM for a service I couldn't access i,e, my monthly direct debits for Jan and Feb) as well as a £9.33 for every day (after day 2) when I couldn't access the service.

I have been really confused by VM chat team who seem to change the story every time i speak to them and offer me different good will gestures. But all I really want is to not be taken for a fool and for VM to pay me what I am sure (having read many posts on this forum) I am due through no fault of my own.   

[goslow]

You seem to have a good understanding of what you should be entitled to. Unfortunately those operating the VM phone lines often do not!

They will typically offer a 'goodwill' gesture payment which is significantly less than what is actually owed under the compensation scheme.

For a 'total loss of service' (broadband and/or phone), which you would certainly have had if the cable was cut, VM has two full working days to fix the fault. After that you would be entitled to £9.33 per full calendar day until the fault is fixed.

You need to log the fault with VM by phoning in or by using one of the online tests which then confirms a fault.

If VM has not paid you what you are owed you need to log a formal complaint via VM's complaints processes.

This is likely to be fobbed off/ignored or to generate a nonsensical and unacceptable 'resolution'. When/if that happens you reject the 'resolution' if VM does not pay up what is owed and VM should issue you with a 'deadlock' letter to go to arbitration (but VM is not very good at this either). In any event, after 8 weeks you can go to the ombudsman.

https://www.commsombudsman.org/

Assuming you phoned in the TLS on Tues 23/1/24, VM gets all of Wed 24 and Thurs 25/1/24 to fix the fault. From there you would have 36 days @ £9.33 for 26/1/24 to 1/3/24 inc. = £335.88 if your service was up and running again some time on 2/3/24. Adjust the calc's accordingly if I have misunderstood the timeline.

[japitts · Accepted solution]

A few thoughts then.

1: Have you read the links that were posted above, and familiarised yourself with the broad gist of them? If your incoming co-ax was physically broken then that would certainly provide a total LOS, and providing you registered that - you should satisfy one of the tick-boxes. The other being a 2working day grace, and the resolution day not counting.

2: Setup and get a BQM running - it silently monitors your connection 24/7/365 and provides a pretty graph output that you can use as&when, to diagnose and/or prove connection issues.

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality 

[Elora]

Thanks so much. Earlier this week I was told that I wasn't entitled to the automatic compensation scheme as the delay was caused by the local authority not responding to a section 50 notice. This was the first time that virgin had mentioned that this was the cause of the delay to the repair. However, I can see that VM's own compensation stipulations state:  'Credit shall still apply if the issue was caused by an event outside of Virgin Media’s or the customer’s control, unless a resolution is not possible due to the limitations set out in paragraphs 32-33.' Admittedly, I don't know what paras 32-33 say! 

From what I have read on this forum it seems that the virgin forum moderators can help sort these issues out quite effectively and I'm hoping one of them may assist!

[goslow]

The original OFCOM document on compensation is here

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/216962/Industry-Code-of-Practice-for-Automatic-...

para 40d is an excuse VM will try to fall back on (time and again) to avoid compensation pay-outs. VM frequently claims huge delays in completing installations or repairs are due to waiting for 'council permission'. There have been many past topics on here which have shown that this is frequently untrue and delays have been caused by VM's own bungling contractual arrangements with its cabling sub-contractors or that VM never requested permission at all or in a timely fashion.

VM may be able to reduce payment for a genuine delay waiting for a council permit for street works (typically a few days for work on the pavement) but any reduction is limited only to the wait for the permit (not the entire duration of the fault).

Some savvy customers, in similar past topics on here, have contacted their local highways authority (might be your local council or county council) and asked them to provide details of when permits were issued. From past topics, where this has been mentioned, some customers have found that permits were never requested or they were issued but lapsed as VM never completed the work in the time allocated or the delay was actually just a day or two (when VM had claimed it was much longer).

So try and find out from the council what the real story on dates/times for work permits was, then prepare your formal complaint to VM and pull together your evidence to take that further to the ombudsman. Once you have all of the facts to hand you can work out your own correct/accurate calculation of what is due to you.

[Sabrina_B]

Hi @Elora 👋.

Thanks for reaching out to us and welcome to the Community Forums, Apologies for the delay in responding to your message and the issues that you have had with loss of service along with trying to get compensation for this. We would like to discuss this further with you in a private message. Please look out for the envelope on the top right of your web browser or if you are using a mobile device, it will be located under your profile icon.
 

Thanks.
 

Sabrina