Mobile SIM complaint

[Johstuff123]

When i complained about the increased price of my package in September 23 I was offered an upgrade in broadband speed and reduction in price. I accepted, my contract was changed and after going through the pain of the changeover to a new router (anprox 2 weeks with no broadband) everything settled.

A few months later my credit file showed a drop and an unpaid bill to O2. After much investigation I got confirmation from Virgin and from O2 that virgin had migrated an unused free sim that was part of my original Virgin package to O2.

At no time did anyone at Virgin explain the details of this and there was no mention of a transfer to O2.

O2 did not contact me and I didnt receive a bill for services.

Since December last year I have been in contact with both companies multiple times. Virgin refuse to take any responsibility at all saying that they would have texted the number (it was never even live) to explain all this to me, and it’s all O2 to blame. O2 agreed there should never have been a bill raised so cancelled the account and said they’d write to the credit agencies removing the bad debt. They didnt write. At this point in time my credit rating has been decimated showing 5 missed payments and an account default. Both companies now say they cant even see that the account existed and therefore cant help my predicament, although the customer services operatives that can be bothered to listen to the story do agree that I’ve been treated terribly.

This evening after receiving another Virgin lies and false resolutions letter I’ve spent 2 hours (system said 15 minutes wait time) awaiting a live chat. 

Given both companies are in partnership you’d think someone could take the time to sort this **bleep**storm out

I want my credit rating sorted and I want compensated for the huge amount of my time wasted

[Megan_L]

Hi Johstuff123, 

Thanks for your post and welcome to our Community Forums, I am truly sorry you've had to deal with this massive issue spanning both us and O2 😥

It seems the issue started back when the migration happened - We sent text messages to the numbers in question explaining the change - But seen as you didn't use the SIM you didn't know it was about to happen. 

It is true that we don't have access to your number anymore & we also don't have access to O2's system, but I am more than happy to send you a PM now to explore what options we have together.

Speak to you soon!

Meg

[Johstuff123]

Let’s start with you Virgin taking ownership of creating the problem. It starts with the person who talked me out of leaving not explaining the negatives. It continued with your incompetent way of informing me of the migration. It then went on and on and on with you palming me off to O2 your partner company. With you lying about trying to speak to me and sending out ridiculous dispute resolution letters which dont even recognise the facts never mind resolve the issue. This is not an O2 issue! I’m a Virgin customer!

[Martin_N]

Thank you for your response Johnstuff132.

I can see my colleague has PM'd you to help with this. If you can respond to them they can work to help you with this. 

^Martin

[Johstuff123]

Hi Meg

So what are the options?

[Martin_N]

You need to respond to the PM you have been sent. If you click on the envolope a the top of the screen you will be able to view this and respond. 

^Martin

[Johstuff123]

Bringing this back to the public forum as I’m dumbfounded by their conclusion

Re: Disgusting service

No problem John. 

I've reviewed this with my manager as it's quite a complex case and we've come across multiple pieces of evidence that show we were not at fault for the issues you've encountered.

As you knowingly signed up to a Oomph bundle and knew that it came with a SIM it would have been your responsibility to keep the SIM card in operation in order to receive updates about the mobile account. As you've admitted to never using the SIM card we wouldn't take responsibility as we would have sent notification to you - It's not our responsibility to make sure you keep your SIM card active and in good working order.

Furthermore, as your SIM was part of an Oomph bundle, it meant it was connected to the Media side of your services, thus we would have used the contact details to notify you that your Media bundle was changing. In essence, Oomph customers would have been told about their SIM migration via email, text or letter.

As you did not take responsibility to keep the SIM active and ready for updates, we conclude that the events are of a direct consequence of your decision not to use the SIM.

I understand this is not the outcome you would have been hoping for, but we believe this to be a true reflection of what happened. This means the credit defaults from the O2 account would still be valid and we wouldn't be able to ask O2 to amend them.

If you feel like we've come to the right conclusion after reading our breakdown then we can get your complaint closed down as resolved.

If you do not agree with our resolution then please let us know and see our Complaints Code of Practice to learn about what happens next if you want to escalate.

Thanks,

Meg

Johstuff123

a moment ago

No problem Meg

What a horrible way to come back to me

You’ve made a load of statements there but provided no evidence. Yes you should’ve, could’ve, would,ve told me about these things but the FACT is you DIDNT!

To state that I must use a free issue simcard is absolutely ludicrous! I signed up for virgin broadband and tv and didnt need or want a simcard!!! 

Also see below where your colleague has confirmed that any charge should’ve been refunded.

So the question here is. Who’s talking **bleep**e….you or him? 

[Johstuff123]

Did anyone know that your legally obliged to use a free simcard? See below the “conclusion” I received today. Absolutely laughable

No problem John. 

I've reviewed this with my manager as it's quite a complex case and we've come across multiple pieces of evidence that show we were not at fault for the issues you've encountered.

As you knowingly signed up to a Oomph bundle and knew that it came with a SIM it would have been your responsibility to keep the SIM card in operation in order to receive updates about the mobile account. As you've admitted to never using the SIM card we wouldn't take responsibility as we would have sent notification to you - It's not our responsibility to make sure you keep your SIM card active and in good working order.

Furthermore, as your SIM was part of an Oomph bundle, it meant it was connected to the Media side of your services, thus we would have used the contact details to notify you that your Media bundle was changing. In essence, Oomph customers would have been told about their SIM migration via email, text or letter.

As you did not take responsibility to keep the SIM active and ready for updates, we conclude that the events are of a direct consequence of your decision not to use the SIM.

I understand this is not the outcome you would have been hoping for, but we believe this to be a true reflection of what happened. This means the credit defaults from the O2 account would still be valid and we wouldn't be able to ask O2 to amend them.

If you feel like we've come to the right conclusion after reading our breakdown then we can get your complaint closed down as resolved.

If you do not agree with our resolution then please let us know and see our Complaints Code of Practice to learn about what happens next if you want to escalate.

Thanks,

[cje85]

The screenshot doesn't mention refunds, but rather bill credits to balance out the O2 payment. For example if your Virgin bill was supposed to be £50/month and O2 was £15/month, £15 credit would be added to your Virgin bill in order to make the O2 service effectively free. You would need to look at bill breakdowns from the time to see what credit (if any) was added in your case.

[Johstuff123]

I am aware

I never received a credit. I also never received a bill tho. All I received was notification of missed payments for an account I didnt know I had nor use.

Are you aware that people are obligated to use free SIM cards?