Help/Advice requested for Virgin refer a friend

SirSnortsalot

Hi there,

A quick background. I am a student and I currently have an account with Virgin for broadband and live in a house with 5 other students. I am moving out at the end of this month, and so one of the other housemates volunteered to take over the service.

Initially I just changed all of the online details to his, but when he phoned up to see if he could upgrade, it was still my name and password associated with the main account itself, so they wouldn't let him do anything to it. They said changing the online details is different from changing the main account details. I called them and they said I could pay £20 to change it to his name, and that would start them on a new 12 month contract.

As they are students, I thought it was better if I cancelled the account, and they could sign up for a new 9 month account. I called again to give my 30 days notice, and the guy there asked me about the situation. I told him that I was moving out and someone else would be taking over, and he asked if I wanted to refer them. He said that £50 would be credited to my account, and they would get free installation. I explicitly asked him if I would still get the £50 as I wasn't taking the account with me to my new address and so it would be closed, and he said yes. He said that as soon as the new housemate paid his first bill, I could call customer services and get a cheque for £50. Swell! So I went ahead with the referal. I recorded the date, time and name of the person I spoke to.

I then called customer services to confirm this arrangement with them, and they denied this was a possibility. They said that unfortunately my account would be closed before my housemate paid the first bill on his new account. They suggested that I phone again when my final bill came through, and see if I could arrange something then. I pointed out that I was explicitly told conflicting information before making my referral, but the CS rep said sorry, that's wrong.

My last bill came through a couple of days ago (£21), so I phoned customer services again today. They gave me the same line, which was that it wouldn't be possible as my account would be closed before the first bill was paid. I then asked if I could delay my payment and keep my account open so that it was open long enough for the £50 to come through and pay off the last bill. The CS rep said he could cancel my direct debit if I wanted, and then the Collections Department would call me when the payment was due to leave my account to chase up the amount. He said I could then take it up with them but didn't know if they would agree. I agreed and he cancelled the direct debit.

I'm now just wondering what I should do. I'm a little worried that Collections will try and lump additional fees on top for late payment or refuse to let me pay off my final bill with the £50 credit. Is it worth waiting for them to contact me, or should I take this somewhere else? I'm especially miffed as the first guy who I spoke to, who convinced me to refer my housemate, explicitly assured me that I would get the £50, when he was fully aware of my situation. It feels like he gave me wrong information to get me to make a referral / obtain commission for a referral.

Thank you for any replies and advice!

Buzby

The offer could not work in the situation you explain, for the reasons that became obvious later - as you cannot benefit be referring your existing connection to facilitate a reactivation at the same address. The tidy way is to ensure the new contract is signed, removing your liability, and you pay the final bill. Anything else will reflect on your credit file. and you don't need this if it all goes sour.