Help appreciated guys! VIRGIN CHARGING £150 FOR BOX

misspixie_2

Hi

Just looking for some advice, recently moved in with my partner who already has a huge range of services with Virgin so I had to cancel my contract with them. They charged me £40 for cancelling my contract early even though I have no choice as I have moved somewhere with existing services. But the worst thing is, during the move in which lots of family members were involved moving bits and pieces I have 'lost' my Virgin box. I have now discovered this is a disaster as I had the card through the letterbox to say they came to collect the old box when i was out at work and if i don't produce it they want £250... eeek!!
I am obviously desperately thinking of ways to get out of paying this charge.
All I can think of is threatening them in return by saying if they insist on the payment we will cancel our contract for which we pay an average of £80 a month and change to Sky. This won't benefit us though as Sky will cost us more!
Another thought I have had is that I don't think i ever signed my Virgin contract and sent it back, i wonder if they can enforce a contract which has not been signed? or would the fact that i have received services and paid for them mean I have agreed to the terms of the contract anyway?

Well i guess this will teach me in future to look after equipment which isn't mine. The funny thing is I had a Virgin box from my earlier address in 2006 and when i moved from there, they installed a new box and never came to collect the old box ever.

Thanks for your help.

nordtraveller

Give Virgin your Partners Virgin Box, then get Sky installed?

macman

The T&C's require you to return their equipment at the end of the contract. Whether you signed the contract or not is irrelevant, you accepted the contract by taking the services in return for your payment.
If you cancel your current contract then you will just have to pay a further early termination charge.

spike7451

macman wrote: »

The T&C's require you to return their equipment at the end of the contract. Whether you signed the contract or not is irrelevant, you accepted the contract by taking the services in return for your payment.
If you cancel your current contract then you will just have to pay a further early termination charge.

What Mac said is correct.You cang get round it because the's a label stating the box remains VM's property on the bottom of the box.(or the was when I worked for them)
The colelctions are/were done by external representatives of VM & if the box is'nt recovered,it'll be passed on to a debt collection agency very quickly.

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/legal/oncable/terms.html

E Using our equipment

1. Where we hire equipment to you it will be our property at all times and we may need to alter or replace it from time to time. For us to do this, we will need reasonable access to your home .
2. You are responsible for making sure that our equipment is safe and used properly at all times. To do this, you agree to do the following:
   1. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and any other instructions we have given you;
   2. Keep the equipment under your control (for example, you may not sell it, lend it or hire it out to anyone else, put it up as security for a loan or mortgage, or allow it to be seized under any legal process against you). You must not move our equipment from your home without our permission;
   3. Insure any of our equipment against any loss, theft or damage for the full replacement value;
   4. Not remove, tamper with or cross out any words or labels on our equipment ;
   5. Take proper care at all times to prevent the loss or theft of our equipment .
3. You agree to tell us immediately about any loss or damage to any part of our equipment . You should do this by phoning, emailing or writing to our Customer Care team. You agree that you are responsible for any loss of or damage to the equipment , regardless of how it happens. We will charge you for any loss of or damage to the equipment .
4. If we or you end these agreements , or you decide to disconnect from some of our services , you must return our equipment to us (or let us collect it from you if we choose to do this). You must return equipment or make it available for collection in a reasonable condition, allowing for fair wear and tear. If you fail to return or make available the equipment for collection for any reason, we are entitled to charge you for the replacement cost of the equipment . If we hold any money we may use that money towards the cost of the equipment . If we have supplied you with any additional equipment , we'd encourage you to dispose of it responsibly if you're no longer using it so please contact us for further information about disposing of your additional equipment .
5. Any equipment which you own and which you connect to the system (for example, phones, fax machines, PCs) must meet with all relevant laws and regulations. We reserve the right to disconnect any equipment that does not meet these laws and regulations. You may use your own equipment together with our equipment , but we do not guarantee that our equipment will work with your equipment.
6. We will not be liable in any way for any loss or damage which is caused to your own equipment arising as a result of its use with our equipment . We will not be liable for any loss of or damage to any additional equipment . We have the right to charge you for any replacement additional equipment .

misspixie_2

Thanks for replys guys.

Won't have to pay an early termination fee on my partner's contract as he is over the 12 month period. My only card to play is asking if they will waive the £250 charge if we keep our other contract. If they insist on taking the charg, we will leave them for Sky.

In the meantime, desperate hunt in parent's garage for the box just incase!

macman

I would keep looking. These boxes don't just evaporate into thin air...

spike7451

nordtraveller wrote: »

Give Virgin your Partners Virgin Box, then get Sky installed?

WOW! What a bright idea!! Give VM the partners box to replace the one the op has lost! Brilliant Idea!:rolleyes:

Until the partner get's a bill from VM to replace the one the OP gave to VM...
So then the OP,or rather her partner is,back to square one!

Tommyh

I'm also with Virgin and your problem really doesn't surprise me. If everything else fails however, email their CEO Neil Berkett on [EMAIL="neil.berkett@ntl.com"]neil.berkett@ntl.com[/EMAIL].
I had a problem with a Sky installation and when I tried to claim my money back they where Uming and Ahing, as soon as I email their CEO I miraculously got my money back the next day.
Make sure you are polite but firm, don't swear or throw insults etc. He'll be more interested in you not emailing him directly and get it sorted out asap.
Let me know the outcome tho, would be interesting to see if it works again.
Cheers
T

macman

I'm curious as to why the CEO would be happy to let the OP have £250 of his company's kit FOC?
If Virgin didn't have this T&C, then everyone would be signing up for a minimum term, then flogging the boxes off on eBay for a nice profit.

MORPH3US

Buy a box from fleabay and then give them that back.

Tommyh

I agree that he might not but it's different if she's lost the box. It happens and if she had it wouldn't she give it back? Why would anyone want the box just lying around?