Virgin media problems, please help.

straytoaster

I recently moved house after completing a 12 month contract with virgin media for a combined broadband+phone+tv package. I wasn't really happy with the service I was getting, and was hoping to change provider at the new address. I had the virgin contract moved over to the new address, believing that since I had completed 12 months I would be free to cancel at any time. I soon realised my mistake when the installation guy told me my new phone number. When my welcome pack arrived, it seemed like I was being treated as a new customer. I then read the T+Cs and realised that I had started a new 12 month contract at my new address.

Fortunately for me (or so I thought) included in the welcome pack was an A4 page entitled Your right to cancel. It informed me that I had 7 working days to cancel my service and;

" However, in addition to your statutory rights, you can cancel within 28 days of the date on your contract. We call this our 'Happiness Guarantee' "

Today the 28 days elapsed, I phoned the number to cancel my services and was told that the Happiness Guarantee was only for new customers and not new contracts. I spoke to the Duty Manager and he told me the same thing. Both of the people I spoke to agreed that if I cancelled today I would have to pay for the remaining time on my contracts.

Can Virgin really have it both ways? Can they treat me as a new customer to get the extra 12 months out of me without affording me the same rights as a new customer. I have scoured the T+Cs and see no mention of the Happiness Guarantee, and there seems to be no differentiation between a new customer and a new contract.

So do I have a leg to stand on?

Dando83

You make a great point about VM having it both ways.

I too got stung after "moving" my VM service to my new address and then realising too late that I was effectively on a new contract.

In reading the forums, I understand VM will also consider you have a new contract if you add a service, like HD, which I am now considering.

This does not sit well with me at all.

Shame that there are as many horror stories about Sky and there technology is inferior.

benoitlep

The same just happened to me, but I'm decided to fight it to the end: i'm not paying the termination charges and i'm not staying with them. I was never told that existing customer would not benefit from the 28 days period, quite the opposite actually. I explicitly asked the operator on the phone when requesting the move, as I was first expecting not to have a new contract whatsoever, but she said "don't worry, you still have 28 days to cancel". Then, I also received this letter with my new contract saying again I had 28 days to cancel under their "happiness guarantee". If they had told me, I could have put my girlfriend on the new contract, I could have done differently.
After having decided to switched to Orange, I then phone the customer service to cancel my contract, he said him and even his manager would have to apply the termination charges, and my only option now is to write to the legal team, which discuss anything on the phone. I feel tricked and mislead. Let's see what happened when i'll send my letter, maybe this could have an happy ending ... but somehow I doubt it.