Over and above the full refund, you'll also be due significant compensation for this outrageous act of billing you for nine months without service (I'd suggest this is very serious and remarkably protracted as per the adjudicator's guide to compensation) so that's at least another £200, and then we get to the delayed installation compensation, a separate matter that the regulator Ofcom have set at £5.25 per day so sounds as though that's another £1,400 and still counting. There's a very strong argument that as they've been billing you, the contract has started and this therefore amounts to a loss of service not a delayed install, in which case the £1,400 morphs into £2,300 because the daily rate is higher, at £8.40. I'd certainly start from this latter position.
As a start Glenmckie, speak to Citizens Advice, do it today. Make sure you understand your legal rights in this matter before agreeing any settlement with VM.
As VM's track record on prompt and fair settlement of matters like these is not good, you should prepare yourself by also carefully reading the customer guidance for escalating a complaint to CISAS (the industry complaints adjudicator) and you should also read this little snippet: VM have in some instances claimed that they could not install as they did not have the necessary permissions. This is a valid excuse if true, but has on repeated occasions been abused by the company. VM are still liable to pay compensation for delays caused if they didn't promptly apply for any necessary permits, and for delays if they didn't act when they had the permits. If there's any attempt to play the "council delays" card, then contact your local council's highways team, and ask them if Virgin Media applied for a "Section 50 permit" near to your property, when that was applied for and when it was issued. Typically the councils are a lot more efficient than urban myth has it, and they'll take a day or two to turn these around, and it's those couple of days that VM might reasonably claim they shouldn't be liable for - in the instances I have in mind they've wilfully tried to misrepresent the delays as entirely or largely down to the council.
And finally, when the forum staff pick this up, don't settle for some mediocre goodwill gesture, nor should you settle for a credit against your account. This is serious money, you want the refund, the billing compensation, and the delayed installation compensation as a cheque. Any messing around, and take the matter to CISAS with the same requested resolution - the overwhelming majority of CISAS complaints are found in favour of the customer, and VM get hit with a adjudication fee of several hundred quid on top. If approaching CISAS, be clear on the arguments above around any "council permit" hand wringing by VM.
Don't be a pushover, don't settle for anything short of what I'm suggesting, VM are soooooo in the wrong here.
