Dodgy lack of complaint registration? Recommendation: escalate to Ombudsman
I tried to raise a complaint in September and didn't receive any acknowledgement and no way of tracking the complaint. They also didn't email me my live chat transcripts. I just tried to raise another complaint and had the same problem on the web form - tracking number ****, and 'there's nothing to see here' when you click 'track your complaint'. I've noticed other people mentioning the same thing - seems very suspicious that they've been aware of this issue for so long and there's still no resolution. After 8 weeks since my first complaint I plan on escalating to the Ombudsman, I have proof of the issue and it's totally unacceptable to have no escalation route. All I've been trying to do is change my direct debit bank details - the bills page on my account just asks me to 'clear outstanding charges' endlessly before I can change my direct debit details, but then after making the payment you still can't change it. So you're essentially paying multiple times for the same terrible service just for them to ask you for the bill again a few weeks later. Just posting here to recommend that anyone else facing the same issue makes a complaint to the Comms Ombudsman. Even if you don't have proof of your initial complaint try to get in touch with them after 8 weeks have passed, just to see if you can get them to take it up. I think they need to be aware that VM aren't following their own process.
BPO Debt Letter
Hi, Making this post on behalf of the affected. They received a package from Virgin Media containing a router that they did not order a couple of months ago. The postcode and name were correct - but they have never had an account with Virgin Media. They got in contact with support via the phone, were not required to provide an account number or anything, and were told they could return it to a store or dispose of it. A month later they have received a debt collection letter from BPO. I cannot understand how they've accrued a debt for an account thet didn't make, for an item they didn't ask for. Phoning VM has not gotten anywhere and I'm thinking it easier to go to the ombudsman at this point.Contract closed a month ago, VM requesting payment even though I returned broadband kit
Half considering directly contacting the Financial Ombudsman at this point because this is becoming a nightmare. Contacted VM months ago in regards of closing the contract early as we were moving in a place where there was no coverage. I got a suspicious payment from VM about some time later, which was then resolved after I managed to contact someone here on the forum. In the meantime I completed all disconnection practices, returned the broadband kit (and I have proof via email) April rolls in and I still get a direct debit from VM, which I cancel. And now they emailed from a no reply email stating I owe money? Which was already waived? Has anyone else had a situation like this?Virgin Media Customer Service Points Game: Score Your Frustration
Dealing with Virgin Media’s customer service can be an exasperating experience. To add a touch of humor to the ordeal, we’ve devised a points-based game that lets you score each infuriating encounter. Keep track of your points during your next interaction and see just how “valued” you truly are. How to Play Keep a tally of each occurrence during your interaction with Virgin Media. Add up your points based on the values assigned below. Share your score with fellow sufferers to see who has endured the most. Points Breakdown 5 Points: Being transferred to another department. Hearing the phrase, “We appreciate your patience.” Experiencing hold music for over 5 minutes. Receiving an email or text with incorrect information. 10 Points: Repeating your account details to multiple representatives. Being told, “There’s an issue in your area.” Receiving a bill higher than the agreed-upon amount. Waiting more than 48 hours for a promised callback that never comes. Delays blamed on Virgin Media's own third party contractor (e.g. Avonline) Delays incorrectly blamed on local authority (e.g. not permitted to dig up the road, even though you've seen teams digging). 20 Points: An engineer failing to show up during the scheduled appointment window. Being charged for services you never agreed to or requested. Experiencing a service outage without prior notification. Receiving a disconnection notice despite being up-to-date on payments. 30 Points: Having your complaint closed without resolution. Having your complaint ignored until you go to the OFCOM ombudsman. Being promised a refund or credit that never materializes. Spending over an hour on a single customer service call. Being told contradictory information by different representatives. Being denied compensation which is legally yours. Bonus Points 5000 Points: Successfully navigating the labyrinth and achieving a satisfactory resolution. Receiving an apology that feels genuine and not scripted. Receiving the correct amount of compensation. Share Your Score Tally up your points and share your score with others who’ve braved the Virgin Media customer service maze. Remember, while this game adds a layer of humor, your frustrations are valid. Don’t hesitate to escalate your concerns through the appropriate channels. Disclaimer: This game is for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual customer service experiences is purely coincidental… or is it?Vulnerable customer appalling service
It has come to light that my 81-year-old grandmother is paying £94 a month to virgin media for the entertainment channels and sky cinema. A landline which she doesn't use and no internet. Virgin are selling this package including internet and Netflix for £45 to new customers. My grandmother has been out of contact 8 yrs and not once has there been any attempt to source her a new deal. She's a proud woman pays her bills on time and this came up with family by chance. She's also £550 in credit to virgin which they are happy to keep taking! I rang Sunday 16th March (total of 3 calls equating to 66 minutes) to complain about this and how vulnerable customers are being taken advantage of. I queried do virgin not have teams to help such people and elderly. I asked for her price to be looked at but all the girl could do was reduce her package. She said she would raise a complaint and someone would ring me back within 24 hours. No call received so I rang 2 days later on the 18th March (2 calls equating to 19 mins) , spoke to a girl i believe her name was Nicola. She was lovely but said I was told wrong it would take 72 hours for a call back. Again she tried to look at package but I believe it was still £70 for just the tv and landline so I said I would wait on a call back, which again never came. I rang again on 23rd march (44 mins this time) and was told that they had no idea why i would be getting a call-back that's not what happens? I am extremely frustrated by now 3 calls of different information. I explained my mum rang this week and got a call back within a day for her account yet my 81 year old grandmother is getting no grace whatsoever, yet he told me no call back was needed even though he could see on notes I had been told i was getting one. . I was told different advisors at different times of day can agree different price. Basically virgin trying to cover their backs at all costs. The guy agreed a price of £57 increasing to approx. £62 with years inflation. It was for the same package and he told me he had noted the file that I could ring back anytime up to end of month once I had spoke to my grandmother. I rang today to proceed with this quote, the 1st advisor could see the price and quoted me 2 figures one with broadband and one without, she passed me to customer relations and to get it set up and I was then told no can do, the girl didn't listen at all and said couldn't give me the price as rates change and that also physically can't buy a package without internet. Yet the 3 previous calls and 4 including the 1st advisor on this call has offered me a price on this basis. The call on 23rd I believe his name was Mark not 100% sure clarified I could call back to avail of this price and he was noting the file. How is any of this fare on an 81 year old woman paying over the odds and with call recording to back up absolutely everything I say here. As I said she's been out of contract since 2017. Could have left virgin media 3/4 times over and came back with new customer rates but being ripped off has got her nowhere! I was quoted a price 23.03.25 rang to proceed 26.03.25 and again getting mucked about. I am following proper channels for a complaint and will escalate to ombudsman also. I will be sharing on socials and any media outlet that will listen. Virgin are disgraceful , The service of the advisors is shocking and the information differs on every call. Do you not train staff? Also on the 1st call i wasn't provided with a complaints reference? I note when i log in to my granny's online account it shows she has internet yet has never had this installed , I have took screen recording of same. Also took screen recording of the fact your complaints pages purposely isn't working and I have had to search every where to find an email address. Took another screen recording of the fact your forum won't let me post as yet another error coming up. Come on virgin how is it right to treat customers this way. Where is the treating customers fairly in any of this? Maybe this will help in me actually getting a response!Virgin O2 Volt Cancellation issue
In November 2021, I entered into an agreement with Virgin Media for a broadband connection, which included an O2 phone contract at a reduced cost. Unfortunately, due to complications during the broadband installation, the service had to be canceled. Regrettably, the cancellation process did not extend to the associated O2 phone contract, leading to me incurring charges beyond the initially agreed amount of £3 extra a month on my broadband and instead having to pay £15 a month which subsequently was raised to £19.64 for unknown reasons. Despite numerous attempts to resolve this issue over the past two years, the O2 phone contract remained active. This has resulted in me paying more than initially agreed upon, a situation that has negatively impacted my credit history due to a failed payment when I first attempted to cancel the service. My concern is no query I have took up with o2 in the recent or distant past has ever been addressed. This includes someone using my details for over 4 years and the numerous attempts I’ve made in order to get this contract cancelled. When contacting o2 I get told it’s a virgin problems and when contacting virgin I get told it’s an o2 problem. My last call I was told it was an o2 360 problem yet I was still unable to get anything resolved. To top this off I called to cancel my contract on the 18th of January and this wasn’t actioned which resulted in me having late payments on my account. I attempted via chat 3/4 times and was again told this was done before eventually managing to cancel through Twitter or X as it’s currently known. This has negatively impacted my credit rating. To clarify, I have never used or even activated this sim! I want to emphasize the urgency and severity of this matter. Not only have I been financially burdened, but the consequences extend to a negative impact on my credit history which has affected credit applications and hindered me since. I have no escalated this to the ombudsman and if that fails I will go down the small claims court route which I’m reluctant to because I don’t believe any refund I will get via small claim can compensate for the time and stress this has caused me. I am also owed money by virgin that they will not release even though they have stipulated that this is owed to me. Has anyone had this experience or does anyone have any advice that can help?Fraud in its finest
I spend from 14:30pm til 18:22 on the 19/08/24 trying to find out why I am being over charged for package upgrade I have not asked for or received, I have had my account suspended due to failed payment despite paying the £50:50p I was initially charged on the 16/08/24 I have been on this contract since December 23 and only today have I received a copy of my bill via email including my account number and area code. usually I have to wait to be cut off and receive a text message before I can pay on a dodgy automated payment line,the text asked for the telephone number they have contacted me on to proceed instead of my home telephone number that i am also unaware of,when I call the line my mobile flags it up as spam call and it asks me to proceed with the payment . Within 10 mins as promised services are resumed only to be cut off withing 10 days demanding more payments today I managed to speak to a very rude manager who claimed I had added and removed certain things from my package leaving me in credit of £102 but owing £160 (confused) and had not paid my bill since April 24 as I was on the phone the bill jumped from me owing £42 extra to £122 to a further £282 whilst my email I received today claims I'm in credit of £102 and have added £160 to my existing package when I explained I have paid the £50:50p requested I was informed the payment could be seen but I hadn't paid since July Also £7:50 late fees have been added each time upon speaking to the bank all payments have been met bar one in May they couldn't see (paid of my partners card ) and always the same amount £50:50p when explaining this to the manager she was very disconcerned and extremely rude challenging me and refusing to check my authorisation codes I cleverly noted down after each payment the phone call ended with me threatening ombudsman and her threatening me with cancellation fees and when I refused to pay it, she became very unprofessional saying it will be me with the bailiffs at my door ... my name on the account isn't even my correct name (error made by virgin) and when I quoted this the manager was willing to change this error as the contract would be null and void I obviously declined due to all the conflab to which she accused ME of commiting fraud, can anyone help me with this situation I am extremely reluctant to pay anything else, the staff all seem argumentative and never willing to help I have been with virgin media for nearly 9 years and I have never had an experience like it I'm very disappointed and will be canceling without cancellation fees also escalating this to the ombudsman as well as disputing fraud on every payment I have made since December 23 with my bank accountOmbudsman ruled in my favour
Hi, I took my claim for unpaid automatic compensation to the ombudsman several months ago and won. They ruled that VM should pay me £900 in compensation, however they still haven’t contacted me or paid me a penny. Has anyone won their ombudsman claim and actually been paid? Do I need to contact them? Thanks!Frustrated beyond belief and ready to go ombudsman
Dear community. Help please. Long story short : Broadband service transferred away in Jan. Official request to cancelled received by Virgin 3 Feb 2024. All information provided confirmed by Virgin home movers team. currently today 24 June 2024 I am still receiving bills chasing for debt for each month. Home mover advised they needed to get a manager to approve refund due to the large value. This was over a month ago. Promised to call back . Ha. Should have known better! Its been over a month now since that last call. Can’t email. Can’t access online account. And still no refund or confirmation of account cancellation. I have had their debt centre chasing me and they can’t or are not willing to help. I’m ready to go ombudsman now to report this. Any email address I can try one final time for Virgin Media before I go Ombudsman route?