Charged before setting up internet

[Crwils]

I’m moving into a new home later this month and ordered my virgin package ahead of time. 

I was under the impression I wouldn’t be charged until I set up and activated the connection as per the text I received from virgin asking me to text ‘GO’ when I was ready to set up. 

I haven’t even moved into my house yet and the Virgin equipment is sitting in a box unused but I’ve had my first bill saying it’s been active since 7th Feb.

Surely I’ll be able to cancel this and have it start from the date I specify? Not a good start to life with Virgin otherwise. 

[BenMcr]

Charges start shortly after your get your pack, which is why you get to choose your delivery day to make sure it's as close to when you're ready as possible.

https://www.virginmedia.com/broadband/installation

Activating your account

Once you’ve collected your pack or you’ve had it delivered, you should be ready to set it up. The good news is that we’ll automatically activate your account shortly after your collection or delivery. 

• For new customers – we’ll activate your account two days after your QuickStart pack collection or delivery.
• For existing customers – whether you’re adding services or upgrading your kit, we’ll activate your new services and kit six days after your collection or delivery.

[Crwils]

When I initially selected the delivery day to be my actual ‘move-in’ date, it gave a 2 week window from that date as to when it could be delivered (e.g. 25/2 to 11/3), hence I didn’t want to take any chances that it might not be delivered in time as I need the internet connection to be able to work. So I selected 7th Feb which gave a window of 7/2 to 21/2. 

I didn’t realise it would start charging me before in use/activated. Hopefully they’ll change it when I call up, bit unfair and unclear otherwise.

[BenMcr]

Was that home delivery or Click and Collect?

Home delivery should always be a specified day. Click and Collect normally has a 10 day collection window so the dates you're given are likely to be the first day you can collect it to the last day you can get it before it's returned to Virgin Media as undelivered.

However once you have collected it or had it delivered then that part of the service agreement is complete and it's a reasonable expection by Virgin Media that you'll be using the service shortly afterwards.

[Crwils]

Totally get that and I understand why they must do it given most people would want it activated ASAP, but as I said in my case I haven’t used it which they will hopefully be able to see from their end and as a result, I would really hope for a reasonable outcome.

[Crwils]

For anybody else who comes across this issue which is a very common one apparently, if you call them up (you’ll need to Google the number as it’s impossible to find on the website) they’ll refund you the amount you have paid pro-rata until your intended activation date.

[BenMcr]

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@Crwils wrote:

For anybody else who comes across this issue which is a very common one apparently, if you call them up (you’ll need to Google the number as it’s impossible to find on the website) they’ll refund you the amount you have paid pro-rata until your intended activation date.

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I'm glad you got a resolution that worked for you, but crediting for services between your confirmed delivery or collection and when you set it up is not standard policy.

As I said before, it's why Virgin Media offer delivery and installation date options when ordering. You should always arrange those as close to the date you want to use the service.