Virgin didnt cancel previous wifi provider

[Lynsay12]

When I joined virgin media online it advised that the previous WiFi provider would be cancelled automatically, they did not do this, I cancelled the direct debit for talk talk and am now receiving invoices and late payment charges for 2 months of unused WiFi.. what should I do?

[dannylau]

Normally the cancellation is done when the telephone number is transferred, that is the only method virgin have of canceling your contract with talk talk. 

If you had the number moved to virgin it is an error on their part as they cannot provide a service without it, if you did not transfer the number you should have cancelled the service 

[Andrew-G]

VM never cancel broadband & TV services with previous providers, and this has created a Cat In The Hat grade of mess for you.  In addition to the overdue payments and any late payment surcharges, if you check your credit history you'll find that's been messed up, and any late or non-payments will be visible to lenders and service providers for the next six years.

If you misunderstood and VM didn't say they'd cancel then it isn't VM's fault and you'll have to resolve the matter.  If you were told that they would, you've been lied to in order to secure a sale, and somehow or other you need to force VM to resolve this.  

You say that you joined online and were advised VM would cancel - how so?  Was this a chat session?  If it was then there will be chat transcripts that will show anything that was promised.  You can request a copy of any call recordings or chat sessions from VM's data team which should clarify what was promised.  Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, anything that a company representative says or writes is legally binding if you rely on it when entering a contract.  If the facts support you, the the money side of things is straightforward, but how VM can iron out the credit history mess, when that's essentially a matter of fact, and the entries were correctly made by TalkTalk, I've no idea.  If this is 100% VM's fault, they need to resolve this with the credit reference agencies and TalkTalk, or to buy you off for a considerable sum (and even then you'll need to add a manual "Notice of Correction" to the credit history with each of the three main credit reference agencies).

I'll flag this for the forum staff to comment.  You may want to contact Citizens Advice and ask about your rights here, although it's a times like this that being a subscriber to Which Legal Services pays for itself many times over.  If the facts support you, and VM don't take ownership of their problem and resolve it quickly and generously (including the credit history issues) then you will need to raise a formal complaint with VM, that will be fobbed off, but you can then escalate to the industry complaints scheme CISAS. 

[Robert_P]

Hello Lynsay12

Sorry to hear of the confusion caused during your recent contact with us regarding your previous provider and cancelling the services, we understand the frustration and appreciate you taking the time to raise this via the forums. Welcome to the community.

As has been mentioned previously, due to dat protection laws we are unable to speak to your previous provider to request a cancellation of broadband and TV services, if you requested a landline number be transferred then this is cancelled purely due to the number leaving your previous provider.

Can you confirm how this was confirmed to you? Was it via a web chat or when you ordered online? If it was via a web chat if you could let us know when this was we can look into this to see what was discussed or advised.

Rob