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Virgin Mobile Problems - what to do?
Just after a bit of advice on behalf of my partner.
In June of this year my partners 18month contract came to end - as the handset was still in excellent condition (and because we rarely used the phone) we didn't see the need to 'upgrade' so we called Virgin Mobile and asked about one of their sim only packages. We were offered 500mins and 2000 texts for £10.40 per month on a month by month rolling contract. As we were saving £6+ per month off his old contract and were getting more for our money we were happy.
About 6wks after the new contract was set up we were called by Virgin asking if we would like even more minutes for even less money - obviously we jumped at the chance - only downside was the fact that we would be bound by a 12month contract - however as we would now be getting 800 mins 3000 texts for £6.42 per month we thought it was worth it - and this is where the problems started
According to Virgin Mobile the package is supposed to cost £15.42 per month, they sai=d not to be alarmed by this amount as they have added a discount to the package, so each month £9.00 credit is added and then the remaining £6.42 is debited from our bank.
For the last 5 months they have continued to debit £15.42 from our account - on two occassions we';ve had to call the bank and re-call the direct debit, and then contact Virgin to pay via debit card.
As the bank account is rarely used, we only put in what is due to come out - in this case we only leave £8-£10 in the account each month as this is the only direct debit. Obviously because Virgin continually take more than they are supposed to this keeps putting my partner in to an un-planned overdraft - so far the bank have been very understanding.
After being promised 4 times now that this mistake will not happen again, i contacted them this morning to ask them to cancel my contract - obviously i got no where since i was told the following:
- continually debiting the wrong amount from our bank account is not a breach of contract as each time this has happened they have re-credited the account the following month. Any bank charges associated with them debiting the wrong amount will be paid back within 30 days of a written letter sent to them along with a statyement proving the charges associated with their mistake
- If i cancel the direct debit and pay each month using a debit account my phone will be suspended. According to them my phone contract specifically requires a direct debit to be attached, if it is cancelled them my phone will be blocked and i will still be liable.
I know im bound by a 12month contract, but surely i have some rights?
I signed up for a £6.42 per month contract and not one that costs £15.42......
In June of this year my partners 18month contract came to end - as the handset was still in excellent condition (and because we rarely used the phone) we didn't see the need to 'upgrade' so we called Virgin Mobile and asked about one of their sim only packages. We were offered 500mins and 2000 texts for £10.40 per month on a month by month rolling contract. As we were saving £6+ per month off his old contract and were getting more for our money we were happy.
About 6wks after the new contract was set up we were called by Virgin asking if we would like even more minutes for even less money - obviously we jumped at the chance - only downside was the fact that we would be bound by a 12month contract - however as we would now be getting 800 mins 3000 texts for £6.42 per month we thought it was worth it - and this is where the problems started
According to Virgin Mobile the package is supposed to cost £15.42 per month, they sai=d not to be alarmed by this amount as they have added a discount to the package, so each month £9.00 credit is added and then the remaining £6.42 is debited from our bank.
For the last 5 months they have continued to debit £15.42 from our account - on two occassions we';ve had to call the bank and re-call the direct debit, and then contact Virgin to pay via debit card.
As the bank account is rarely used, we only put in what is due to come out - in this case we only leave £8-£10 in the account each month as this is the only direct debit. Obviously because Virgin continually take more than they are supposed to this keeps putting my partner in to an un-planned overdraft - so far the bank have been very understanding.
After being promised 4 times now that this mistake will not happen again, i contacted them this morning to ask them to cancel my contract - obviously i got no where since i was told the following:
- continually debiting the wrong amount from our bank account is not a breach of contract as each time this has happened they have re-credited the account the following month. Any bank charges associated with them debiting the wrong amount will be paid back within 30 days of a written letter sent to them along with a statyement proving the charges associated with their mistake
- If i cancel the direct debit and pay each month using a debit account my phone will be suspended. According to them my phone contract specifically requires a direct debit to be attached, if it is cancelled them my phone will be blocked and i will still be liable.
I know im bound by a 12month contract, but surely i have some rights?
I signed up for a £6.42 per month contract and not one that costs £15.42......
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Comments
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I had the same problem with VM, I kept on at them and made sure I did not get put through to a foreign call centre, I take it you got an email or letter confirming your new agreement?
if you did they are in breech of contract and they must refund you if not threaten to leave and give 30 days notice.
it worked for me as eventually had to leave after getting all my refunds and a PAC code, I am now with giffgaff
good luck0 -
I had to email the CEO office when I had an issue and they were fantastic sorting all my issues within 1 hour!0
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I had the same problem with VM, I kept on at them and made sure I did not get put through to a foreign call centre, I take it you got an email or letter confirming your new agreement?
if you did they are in breech of contract and they must refund you if not threaten to leave and give 30 days notice.
it worked for me as eventually had to leave after getting all my refunds and a PAC code, I am now with giffgaff
good luck
Nope - i don't have a letter/email confirming the new agreement as it was setup over the phone (all i have is the text messages to tell us of the monthly allowance changes). Virgin Mobile have never disputed the credit that is supposed to take place every month - as soon as i tell them they've made a mistake again, they agree the 'discount' hasn't been taken off correctly.
I went through to the contract cancellation department and they said they will not cancel the contract under any circumstances as according to them they have not broken the terms of the contract.
i told them that we were happy to pay the agreed amount of £6.42 per month as this is what we signed up to. We did not agree to a £15.42 per month contract and as that's what they've been taking they are not following the terms we agreed to.
Their excuse is that they do refund the amount back in to our account eventually so they are actually sticking to the agreed monthly price.
After 4 times of them cancelling the current discount and re-setting it back up and assuring us this will not happen again, we are getting a bit fed up now - im not sure my partners bank will be too impressed if this goes on for another 7months.
Im sure based upon the fact that they have continually made the same mistake is grounds for me to cancel the contract - we can';t have our bank account messed about with over a £6.42 a month mobile phone contract....
We shouldn't have to keep paying for phonecalls to them and the bank to sort out the problem they've created.
Any advice on what i can say to them to help in cancelling the contract is greatly appreciated..0 -
I had to email the CEO office when I had an issue and they were fantastic sorting all my issues within 1 hour!
Do you have the email address? Worth a try i guess....I know it's in Virgin Mobile's interest to keep customers - but the way in which they do it is very under-hand, they make it so you feel you've no option but to stay and pay!!!
I myself had problems with them last year when my handset became faulty within a few months of me having it - each time i was fobbed off until eventually i was passed the 12month warranty period - i was then left with 6 month remaining on my contract and no working handset - again i was told i cannot cancel my contract as even though i didn't have a working handset they were carrying out their end of the contract in providing me with the services i paid for - the fact i couldn't use those services was beyond their control!!!!!0 -
Whilst this wont solve the billing error that Virgin are making, the pragmatic thing to do would be to fund your account with an extra few pounds each month so that it wont go overdrawn each time Virgin take the wrong amount. You will still get your overpayment refunded, you won’t incur the displeasure of your bank or be the subject of additional bank charges. You should, of course, still pursue Virgin to have this error put right and even ask them for compensation for the grief they're putting you through.0
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Whilst this wont solve the billing error that Virgin are making, the pragmatic thing to do would be to fund your account with an extra few pounds each month so that it wont go overdrawn each time Virgin take the wrong amount. You will still get your overpayment refunded, you won’t incur the displeasure of your bank or be the subject of additional bank charges. You should, of course, still pursue Virgin to have this error put right and even ask them for compensation for the grief they're putting you through.
thanks for the reply
The problem with putting a few extra pounds in the account is the fact that the amount they take each month varies.
The first time it was £12.42, then £16.42, £9.42, £14.42 and today £15.42 - it's difficult to judge exactly how much extra we should leave in - personally, we check his account online and everything on there suggests the correct amounts will be debited - this has not been the case....
Like i said this bank account is only active for the purpose of the Virgin Mobile direct debit - thankfully his bank have yet to impose any 'bank charges' due to this - so he's been lucky... but that's not the point really...0 -
thanks for the reply
The problem with putting a few extra pounds in the account is the fact that the amount they take each month varies.
The first time it was £12.42, then £16.42, £9.42, £14.42 and today £15.42 - it's difficult to judge exactly how much extra we should leave in - personally, we check his account online and everything on there suggests the correct amounts will be debited - this has not been the case....
Like i said this bank account is only active for the purpose of the Virgin Mobile direct debit - thankfully his bank have yet to impose any 'bank charges' due to this - so he's been lucky... but that's not the point really...
The bills showing the refunds will be enough to prove the correct charges, as another poster says an email to the CEO would be the best answer, also ofcom would be an idea as you are being treated very poorly indeed!
edit i found this contact via google
neil.berkett@virginmedia.co.uk0 -
I too have one of these deals with VM. They don't seem to apply the discount at the same time every month. Therefore one month I can have a bill for £9 and the next it can be £18, sometimes there is only a bill of a few pence, I don't see this as a problem, because you can check your bill a few days before it's due and put the money in to cover it.
This month it's £7.80
Oct was 8.16
Sept was 13.40
No extra calls or anything on these, it works itself out in the end if you see what I mean. I just check each bill and make sure the discount has been applied. Might be better checking your bill every month to see if the discount is being applied and is usually listed under "Other Charges"4 Stones and 0 pounds or 25.4kg lighter :j0 -
The bills showing the refunds will be enough to prove the correct charges, as another poster says an email to the CEO would be the best answer, also ofcom would be an idea as you are being treated very poorly indeed!
edit i found this contact via google
neil.berkett@virginmedia.co.uk
This is exactly what the cancellations department said - their exact wording was - yes we've made numerous mistakes, but these mistakes have been rectified each month - never mind the inconvenience of having to wait 14 working days for the refund to go back in to the bank account!!!
Lucky my partner's bank have yet to charge him for going in to an unplanned overdraft every month - god knows how much he'd owe if they did charge....
Ive sent an email to the address you provided - let's hope they sort something out (fingers crossed).
On a side note i received 3 test messages from Virgin Mobile earlier
1st one said my monthly tariff has been cancelled
2nd one said they have added my monthly allowances
3rd one said they have cancelled my monthly tariff
Ive just checked my allowances via 789 and it states ive got 800 mins and 3000 texts - so im slightly confused by the text messages? I hope by cancelling the tariff then restarting it they haven't restarted my contract.....0 -
I too have one of these deals with VM. They don't seem to apply the discount at the same time every month. Therefore one month I can have a bill for £9 and the next it can be £18, sometimes there is only a bill of a few pence, I don't see this as a problem, because you can check your bill a few days before it's due and put the money in to cover it.
This month it's £7.80
Oct was 8.16
Sept was 13.40
No extra calls or anything on these, it works itself out in the end if you see what I mean. I just check each bill and make sure the discount has been applied. Might be better checking your bill every month to see if the discount is being applied and is usually listed under "Other Charges"
I see it as a big problem - ok they are refunding the 'over-charge' eventually, but for the 14 working days it's taking them to put the money back in my partners account we are seriously inconvenienced. Money is being spent on ringing the bank to 'sort' out the problem Virgin Mobile have created - i think it's very poor service if you have credit an account with 3 x the amount 'just to be on the safe side'
In terms of checking the bill each month - we do, however all this shows is the tariff amount of £15.42 - we were told when the contract was updated that this amount will be displayed, but for us not to be alarmed, we will only ever be charged £6.42 per month - so checking the account is doing nothing - Virgin Mobile are taking whatever amounts they feel each month!!!!
The discount applying problem (or lack of) is only bought up when i contact them - it's only when i ask them to look in to the account do they realize what's happened - if i were not to contact them would they be so quick to refund? What would happen to all the 'extra' money they've taken?
Letting them sort it out and ignoring the problem is just the same as me going out tomorrow and just randomly giving a complete stranger a £10 note - and continually doing so each month... You would think i was mad if that's what i did each month....
If i sign up for a £6.50 a month phone contract then unless i go 'outside' my tariff terms then i should be charged £6.50 per month - no more and no less..., I don't see what's so wrong in me expecting to pay the amount i signed up for and agreed to? If i go over my monthly allowances or have made a call/text i know wont be covered by my monthly allowance then i make provisions for this - i cannot however mind-read and tell how much Virgin Mobile feel they want to debit each month!!0
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