virgin media payment handling charges

juby_2002

hi,
im just after a bit of advice about the virgin media payment handling charges.

after looking at other sites it has been mentioned that some virgin media customers have had these charges re-inbursed, or reduced to £1.50 instead of £5.00.

i am just wondering if this is true as i have been a virgin media customer for over 4 years and have been paying this charge on a monthly basis. also i have noticed a £1.25 `paper billing` charge appear on my bill as well as the payment handling charge.

are these charges refundable? is it really possible to lower them to £1.25?

if so, how do i go about doing this,,

thank you so much in advance.

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

You set up a DD and get electronic billing.

Charges gone.

juby_2002

so how does it seem right that i should be charged for paying my bill reguardless of how i pay it,,,,,,,

as long as i pay it on time etc then i shouldnt be charged.

and, how does your answer inform me about other virgin customers who have had it refunded,,,, oopppps, it doesnt, so i would appreciate it if you kept your smarmy comments to yourself.

sporedude

If they have a complaints dept ya could try that, See what they say.

juby_2002

thank you, i have intentions of doing that but first i thought i would come on here for a bit of advice on what to say if they tried fobbing me off.

thanks.

staffie1

sporedude wrote: »

If they have a complaints dept ya could try that, See what they say.

You could. But if they treat OP same as they treated me when I complained, they won't take a blind bit of notice. They ignored me completely, despite several letters, so I had them disconnect the service in the end and I went elsewhere. Charges also gone.

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

juby_2002 wrote: »

so how does it seem right that i should be charged for paying my bill reguardless of how i pay it,,,,,,,

as long as i pay it on time etc then i shouldnt be charged.

and, how does your answer inform me about other virgin customers who have had it refunded,,,, oopppps, it doesnt, so i would appreciate it if you kept your smarmy comments to yourself.

1) There are increased costs incurred through non DD payment as well as higher instances of poor payment.

2) It doesnt but then I doubt anyone has. They may have different contracts but yours states the charges you incur. Either accept them or move.

Why should everyone else pay more so some jakes unwilling to pay by dd - so they can bump the bills - get virgin?

Jimjams00_2

I am myself a Virgin Media customer. And i am also furious at their charges. I agree with you juby_2002 that it should not matter how you pay your bill just as long you pay them on time. I don't know about reducing the £5 charge. The only way i know how to remove that charge is by having DD. As for the charge for a paper bill once again the only way to stop the charge is if you change to ebilling which you do via their website. Remember to keep any old phone bills as you will need the bar code to use at a shop that has Paypoint.

Jimjams00_2

LinasPilibaitisisbatman wrote: »

1) There are increased costs incurred through non DD payment as well as higher instances of poor payment.

2) It doesnt but then I doubt anyone has. They may have different contracts but yours states the charges you incur. Either accept them or move.

Why should everyone else pay more so some jakes unwilling to pay by dd - so they can bump the bills - get virgin?

I pay a few bills at a Paypoint facility including Littlewoods catalogue. I incur a 50p charge for the use of this facility, which i am willing to pay. So how can Virgin justify £5. I would be willing to pay a small fee for a non DD payment but £5 is just highway robbery.

As for the the charge for a paper statement, Virgin could save money by reducing the pieces of paper it sends out. For a bill of just £30-40 i have, in the past, been issued with a paper statement numbering 4 pages, not even itemised. This is a total waste of paper, Nationwide Building Society did not have to threaten me with a charge I chose to have paperless statements but i have access to a computer and the internet. But what about those who do not?

Virgin should look at ways of cutting costs and waste rather than coming up with these ridiculous charges.

staffie1

Jimjams00 wrote: »

I pay a few bills at a Paypoint facility including Littlewoods catalogue. I incur a 50p charge for the use of this facility, which i am willing to pay. So how can Virgin justify £5. I would be willing to pay a small fee for a non DD payment but £5 is just highway robbery.

As for the the charge for a paper statement, Virgin could save money by reducing the pieces of paper it sends out. For a bill of just £30-40 i have, in the past, been issued with a paper statement numbering 4 pages, not even itemised. This is a total waste of paper, Nationwide Building Society did not have to threaten me with a charge I chose to have paperless statements but i have access to a computer and the internet. But what about those who do not?

Virgin should look at ways of cutting costs and waste rather than coming up with these ridiculous charges.

You are quite right there. However VM is a money-making machine. Virgin don't give a toss about doing any of these things to save money - why go to all that effort when they can slap an arbitrary fee on people's accounts and they just pay it? Nice and easy and a nice little earner. They know full well that there will always be an element of their customer base who can't or won't pay by DD or use paperless billing.

clayts

LinasPilibaitisisbatman wrote: »

Why should everyone else pay more so some jakes unwilling to pay by dd - so they can bump the bills - get virgin?

For those of us who switched from monthly paid employment to being in receipt of fornightly or 4-weekly benefits, it is absolutely impossible to budget to make a monthly payment to Virgin without making mistakes and ending up not only being charged £10 by Virgin for 'Failed Payments', but also being charged £10 for a late payment, and an additional £5 for not paying by Direct Debit. Oh and being charged £30 by the bank for a failed direct debit too.

I resent being called a 'jake' simply because my financial situation is less than ideal