Can anyone help?

LolitaLove

Asking this on behalf of a relative that is disabled, and a little vulnerable.

My relative changed to BT (on my advice, I feel guilty now!) from Virgin media. The package for a basic phone line, large tv and broadband was £65 a month, and kept going up. Once phone calls had been factored in my relative was spending around £90 per month on the bills. I thought that was too much, so I called Virgin asking for a better deal. I was basically told where to go, so when BT called offering a switch, I advised my relative to accept.

BT arranged for the phone line to be switched, and BT said that they would inform Virgin of the change and cancel the services. Just before the BT line went live the Virgin services stopped so my relative assumed they'd been cut off.

A few weeks later my relative rang Virgin to ask them to pick up the tv box and modem, and was informed that she had not cancelled the services. She asked why the services had been cut off, and they informed her that it was because she hadn't paid the bill. Although by this point she had not had Virgin services for almost three months, Virgin have still been charging for the services, and refuse to stop the services until 30 days after the bill has been paid - but even though the services have been cut off my relative is still being charged for them.

The bill now stands at over £270. No-one can figure out why it's this high. My relative has tried calling Virgin media and they didn't know why either and gave my relative a different figure over the phone.

My relative will struggle to pay the £270 as she's disabled and on a low income, but this will keep mounting as they charge for services not received.....is there anything she can do, any advice I can give her?

Any advice really appreciated x

Tixy

Suggest she writes to ask for a full breakdown of the amount owed. State that she believed the contract had been cancelled by BT in x month but that anyway she wants to contract cancelled with immediate effect(assuming she is not in a tied in period). They cannot refuse to cancel the contract until payment is made.

I'd send the letter recorded.

If it was cut off for non-payment before the switch took place - can she check her bank statements/payment records to check that she had paid the previous bill?

LolitaLove

Tixy wrote: »

Suggest she writes to ask for a full breakdown of the amount owed. State that she believed the contract had been cancelled by BT in x month but that anyway she wants to contract cancelled with immediate effect(assuming she is not in a tied in period). They cannot refuse to cancel the contract until payment is made.

I'd send the letter recorded.

If it was cut off for non-payment before the switch took place - can she check her bank statements/payment records to check that she had paid the previous bill?

After looking into this, my relative was cut off at the same time the BT services went live, not for non payment, but for exceeding her credit limit. Virgin had given her a credit limit of £120. The bill, of around £95, was a standard bill, and was due to come out of my relative's bank account by direct debit. However, the direct debit was not due till around the 24th of the month, and the next months bill had been factored into the current balance, with the charges for the next months bill she'd exceeded the credit limit despite being on time to pay the bill. This hadn't happened before as when my relative took out the services it was only £30 per month. It just kept rising until it was £65 a month from an original £30, with a few letters saying virgin had to increase the price in your area. When it reached £65, and was £90-odd per month with phone calls, I stepped in as I pay £10 per month for basic line rental and internet and £90 seemed extraordinary.

Does anyone know if there's anywhere my relative can go to get legal advice for this? I don't think it's right that she's expected to pay £300 for services she has not received.

Tixy

Has she written to them yet? I'm not sure she needs legal advice yet, she needs to go through the usual channels with the company first.

Is she in a position to pay off the amount she agrees is outstanding - which is presumably the £95 bill you mention and possibly a portion of the next month's bill (depending on the actual switch over date).

I would suggest she writes to them and details that the switch over occurred on x date and that she believes she is only liable up to that date and that on receipt of a letter from them to confirm that is the only amount due she will make payment of the outstanding amount.

She might want to call BT first to check what date the switch happened and confirm that they did inform Virgin.