Virgin Media Community

[AnneSewell]

Having spentt over 5 hours now on chat and then WhatsApp I am still no closer to getting proof of non usage from 22nd May 2021.  I was told I was being passed to Customer Services then told it wasn't Customer Services I was speaking to.  The advice I was given on a telephone call before Christmas was incorrect and has cost me a months rental and now that I need evidence of non usage it seems to be overly complicated.  The billing system shows usage but because the TV is part of the bundle and therefore the costs - it does not prove non usage.  

I need to show evidence of non usage of TV in order to get a refund on the TV licence for my disabled sister.  How can I get this evidence from you please?

[japitts · Accepted solution]

It's a requirement within VM's T&C's that you need an active TV licence if you have a VM-TV service.

VM have supplied you with working service, whether you've used it or not is of no concern to them.

With these factors in mind, you won't get the proof you're seeking.

[AnneSewell]

Thanks for your response but you have mis understood my question.  

[japitts]

I interpreted your question as being.... "I need to show evidence of non usage of TV in order to get a refund on the TV licence for my disabled sister.  How can I get this evidence from you please?"

What was the question, if not that?

[AnneSewell]

I have been informed by 3 different customer services that I can get the evidence requested by the TV Licensing authority. No one is disputing the service wasn't available. Any refunds are for the disabled person who used to live there and is now forced out of the only home she has ever known thanks to a situation out of her control.

[BenMcr]

To back up what @japitts has said, I'm not aware of any such non-usage proof ever being available for the reason you're asking for, and I honestly don't remember it ever coming up on this forum before either.

I don't know what the people you've spoken to would be referring to as the proof you're looking for.

[jamesofmerton]

what they want is proof that someone has not watched any tv shows. ie someone at virgin can see that 1. the box was not connected and or 2. that no tv shows were being viewed during the period in question.

i've not seen anything like that being asked in my 12 or so years on here. the difficulty may be that if a tv service was being paid for it would be hard to argue if any tv was being watched. 

would virgins software be able to show that a customer's box was not connected during a period of time, i would guess yes. but not that no tv shows were viewed if the box was connected. i may be wrong on the latter....a puzzler.  

[nodrogd]

VM do not, & indeed would be in breach of current privacy legislation if they were constantly monitoring your daily usage of channels. Viewing habits are monitored  by some marketing companies, but this on the proviso that it is not traceable back to an individual customer. Indeed, Sony ended up in court for doing this with new connected TVs a while ago & were forced by a court order to disable the facility. This is only possible with pay-per-view services where you pay for individual programmes, & then only for billing purposes. As per the posts above, VM cannot prove use or non- use of an individual customers TV connection.

CS staff were not misleading you. They simply misunderstood your question.

[adelphiaUK]

Are you saying nobody lived at that address for the last X days or weeks and therefore the entire service was not used? Or are you saying someone was there but your sister was unable to watch TV due to her disability?

Here are two scenarios:

Scenario 1: More than one person occupancy

If someone else is living at the property then if you have a TV, PC, Laptop, smartphone or tablet or any other device that is capable of receiving either live or recorded (including catchup) BBC broadcasting whether used or not you are required, by law, to have a colour TV License.

As of August 1st 2020, TV licences were no longer free to the over 75s unless anyone in the household were receiving Pension Credit. This does not have to be the same person.

Scenario 2: Single person occupancy

If someone lives in a dwelling by themselves but then has to move for any reason, they can request a hold on their service for a period of time.

However, if the person is still living at the dwelling but is just unable to use said service then it is, unfortunately, their responsibility (or that of a relative to act on their behalf, a Limited or Full Power of Attorney) to ensure services are either suspended or terminated at cost according to the contract.

Conclusion:

Scenario 2 sounds more like your sister's issue here but I would say getting a TV Licence refund, or partial refund, seems to me to be the least of your concerns,  I would be more interested in getting my services with Virgin, Sky or whoever at a priority as this will cost you far more than a TV License refund.

Just a word of advice, pay your TV License monthly by Direct Debit. It's less hassle but costs no more than buying quarterly,  6 monthly or annually. If you can't afford to do it m9nthly then set up a payment plan for biweekly payments, again, at no extra cost.

[Roger_Gooner]

The lesson from this is that if you do not need a licence you should submit a No licence needed declaration form. I've done a few of these for a friend who is abroad for several months at a time, and it's up to TV Licensing to decide whether they should check on the truth of your submission.