Examples of Lies from Virgin Media's CEO's exec office and the worst customer service

MARKMAN_3

I have just had to endure nearly 2 weeks of the worst customer servce I have ever received from Virgin Media regarding my phone/broadband and and TV accounts. My complaint went all the way up to Neil Berkett (the CEO) who then passed me on to his Exec Team to deal with - who then respoonded with an out and out lie, and then tried to blame me for the lie.

It started off when I rang to renegotiate my contract, after seeing on this forum and others what other customers were being offered - essentially far more than what I was getting for less money. I was assured by the agent I was getting the best deal, but this soon became apparent and they couldn't explain that even with my "Loyalty Discount" why I was being charged more than a new customer - me being a customer for nearly 10 years. It would literally save me £150.00 if I was to let them disconnect the equipment and sign up a brand new contract to start on the same day.

As such I asked for an NPS form to be sent out to me (request number 1) and raised a complaint whilst proffering my cancellation at the same time. A lady from complaints rang back a few days later but couldn't offer any better deal or answer my questions regarding the loyalty discount. I asked for a callback from her manager and an NPS form (request 2), who tried once but I couldn't answer - so I rang back and was assured that he would ring me back. He didn't. I rang a further time and was told that the manager would definitely ring me back - he didn't. I rang a further time at 5.20 p.m and was told that the manager was down to ring me back between 12.00 and 6.00 p.m. and there was still 40 minutes left. Of course he didn't ring back.

I rang later that night and all the Manager were in a meeting. So I asked for the complaint to be escalated. 20 minutes later a manager from a different part of Virgin came on the line, she admitted that she couldn't help me but would get the manager to ring me back at 10.30 the next morning. I also asked again for an NPS form (request 3) and for the address of where I could apply to receive my notes from their system - this didn't happen.

That evening I wrote an email to Neil Berkett.

The next day I waited until approximately 2.00p.m. and still there wasn't a call from the day manager so I called Virgin Media again - this time the agent said that the managers were in another meeting and that he wouldn't go to get one from the meeting, refused to escalate the call and called me pedantic. Then the complaints manager miraculously appeared but refused to speak to me because he was busy, but promised to ring me back in 20 minutes - again I asked for an NPS form (request 4).

About this time I sent yet another email to Neil Berkett who responded to my original email - apologising and stating that it "wasn't a good read" and that he would pass it on to his exec team to sort out.

Eventually the Complaints manager did ring me back and tried to claim that he had tried to contact me on a number of occasions - however, I carry my mobile with me at all times and there weren't any missed calls. He offered me a better rate - something which all of the other people I had spoken to said would definitely not happen, however by this time I had done further research and noticed that the deal I was being offered was still very poor in comparison to what others were being offered. I informed the complaints manager that Neil Berkett's exec team were now looking into the matter - he said that if that was the case there was nothing more he could do. 'Again I asked for an NPS form (request 5)

Later that evening a member of Neil Berkett's exec team telephoned me, saying that he had spoken to the complaints manager and was now fully aware of my situation. He offered to look into the matter - first of all trying to tell me that the internet forums aren't to be relied upon because people lie - I acceded that this may be the case in a percentage of the posts on various forums, however, this couldn't be the case for all the posts - he agreed. The Exec Team complaints officer said that he would speak to the outbound retentions team and get me the best package they could offer.
When I mentioned that I would like to complain to the Ombudsman regarding unfair practices and poor customer services he mentioned that VM would investigate the claim, and that he would be the investigating officer. Again I asked for an NPS form (request 6).

That was on the Friday and the following Monday evening I received a call from the Exec Team Officer stating his prices for his absolute best package (xl BB, XL TV and L phone) at £37.24 for 6 months and then £59.24 for the remaining 12 months of the contract. I again refused the offer as this was tremendously more money than people on line were being offered. The Exec Team Officer claimed Virgin would not match online prices (which are surely their own) just competitors prices.

I asked him to confirm in email and also for an NPS form to be sent out (request 7). He did confirm in email (and confirm that an NPS survey would be sent to me - eventually) and then I checked on line for Virgin's prices and saw that if I upgraded my phone package so I was getting XLBB, XL TV and XL phone I would end up paying cheaper than what was offered to my - the supposed best package they could offer - totally unbelievable. When I queried this with the member of the Exec Team he inferred that it was my fault!! Not even an apology for lying to me and telling me that the package offered was the best that they could do, when clearly - it wasn't.

evoke

OP: You wanted an offer you read about on a forum and want to complain to Virgin because you didn't get it? LOL.

Why didn't you simply cancel and rejoin? Or move to Sky?

Vote with you feet. Virgin, or any other company, are not obliged to give you any offers other than the published tariffs.

MARKMAN_3

evoke wrote: »

OP: You wanted an offer you read about on a forum and want to complain to Virgin because you didn't get it? LOL.

Why didn't you simply cancel and rejoin? Or move to Sky?

Vote with you feet. Virgin, or any other company, are not obliged to give you any offers other than the published tariffs.

Thanks for the "Helpful" reply - brilliant that, insightful and thoughtful - I particularly liked the way you were of no use whatsoever.

Yes initially I wanted to be treated the same as other customers, what is so wrong with that? I'm well aware of a company's obligations - however this then became so much more than just the injustice of an unfair pricing structure.

This then became about the inadequacies of a major suppliers Customer Services team, downright untruths and incompetencies way up to the CEO's Exec Team.

I could indeed vote with my feet, however - Im not Ghandi and a silent protest of One person unfortunately doesn't resolve any issues.

evoke

Virgin aren't obliged to offer you anything other than the published tariffs. End of.

cmatt

MARKMAN wrote: »

It would literally save me £150.00 if I was to let them disconnect the equipment and sign up a brand new contract to start on the same day.

you were offered:

That was on the Friday and the following Monday evening I received a call from the Exec Team Officer stating his prices for his absolute best package (xl BB, XL TV and L phone) at £37.24 for 6 months and then £59.24 for the remaining 12 months of the contract.

Which IS the same as new customers, I just checked this on the virgin media website and got this:

£37.24 for first 6 months
£59.24 after that
One-off cost
£0.00
You save £40.00

So essentially they are giving you what new customers get. What is more fair than that?! I can see the annoyance if you were offered £59.24 flat for the 12 months but you are not.

kwikbreaks

Please don't feed the troll.

For anyone considering the leave and rejoin idea mentioned please note that VM won't take on a new customer who left within the preceding 6 months and there is normally an install charge too.

Rev

Sorry, I also don't get why you've created such an issue. You asked them to match an offer you saw online, posted in a forum which could, or could not have been made up. They said no, but then it's all of a sudden a customer service issue. Had they just offered you the deal, would you now be on here singing the praises of their CS team? They offer you the same as a new customer, you're still not happy?

You also took issue to them not telling you that upgrading so you had XLBB, XL TV and XL phone? Did you at any point ask if it would be cheaper to upgrade? Or did you just assume they'd run through every combo of their services and find the cheapest one for you?

You may not be ghandi, and no one person voting with their feet doesn't achieve anything, other than the knowledge that a company you're clearly not happy with doesn't get any more of your hard earned cash. Surely that's enough?

jamesy1986

this has been copied and pasted across a number of forums

DJ_Mike

So you refuse to vote with your feet and instead are happy to keep paying them money which isn't going to decrease because you failed to "convince" them with your poor argument.

You sound like the perfect customer to me - all huff, puff and guff but ultimately forking over money, a fraction of which goes to feed the mouths of the families of the employees whose entire job is to sit there and listen to you whinge.

And if all you do is whinge and don't act, then you're simply justifying the existence of Customer Complaints (to sit there and let people blow off steam but ultimately remain as paying customers).