Virgin Media/NTL

sparksoft

Hi All

I have been appalled by the customer service I have recieved from Virgin Media ... I was totally gobsmacked when my wife and I did an Internet search, by just how abysmal Virgin's service was! I had always regarded Richard Branson and his companies as a cut above the sneering, contemptuous companies we have sadly become use to ... How wrong I was!
There is a link to a new website I am setting up at the end of this post; But here is my own story ...

We recently moved house and as part of the move, I arranged for VirginMedia to move our telephone and broadband services to the new address.
All seemed to go well until I checked my bank account last week to find that Virgin had taken £207.26 from my current account via direct debit!

I telephoned Virgin and they simply told me "this sometimes happens, you were just unlucky" !!! Apparently, they generate a penalty payment which is normally stopped as you havent actually terminated, but simply moved! This penalty is normally stopped but in this case found its way onto my account. Also they hadnt bothered to take a payment for June and July so wanted all the three payments in one month. This together with the bogus penalty came to the £207.26.

They then told me they were very sorry for the mistake, but they were unable to refund the over-payment to my account; apparently, Virgin Media systems have no facility to make payments back to customers account. (I find it very strange that a large company encompassing telecomms, Internet ISP services and banking, doesn't have the facility to make payments to its customers, when I can make a payment to them in seconds!)

I was told the quickest way of getting my money back was to call my bank and to ask them to raise an Indemnity Claim to recall the overpayment. This I did, but my bank told me they could not raise such a claim just for the overpayment, all they could do was to recall the whole amount, £207.26 which is what they did.

Now, obviously, this left Virgin out of pocket so I telephoned them today to make a payment of the amount I really owed them; as I see it, they really should have been thinking about paying me, after all, all this was their co*k-up and I was having to sort it out through my bank! But regardless I tried to telephone to make a payment. This is when the fun started.

I spent half an hour in a Virgin Media queue and gave up. I tried again later and got the same ... endless queues, but I persisted. I finally got to speak to someone and they put me through to another number, so I ended up back in another queue. To cut an already very long story short, I was on the phone, from 5:30 until 7:40. At one point I explained my problem and was unceremoniously cut-off!

Finally, I spoke to another support person who asked me all the same security questions as the previous people before telling me that I owed Virgin £207.26!!

I asked to speak to a supervisor ... as he lef the phone I heard a comment to his colleagues "ooooh life is soooo sh*t ..."; he should have put himself in my place!

After another delay, the same person came back to the phone and said that he needed to pass the problem back to someone more senior and promised they would call me back by 9pm.

Now, I was silly to accept this, as I realised as 9pm rolled past that he had simply got me off the phone until his shift finished ...

Undaunted, I tried every Virgin Media number I could find (and I managed to find a few useful ones on the excellent website "saynoto0870.com") and finally I was talking with an Indian-sounding gentleman who spelt out his name as "Prem". Unfortunately, I was apparently a "non-cable customer" and he was therefore unable to help me ... and, sadly, he couldnt put me through through to the correct number, as, VirginMedia do not have the facility (there's a bit of a pattern emerging here!) to be able to put customers through to other departments; But not to worry - he had the number I needed to go straight through to the right department!

"Youre not going to give me a number that puts me back in a queue are you?" I asked him.
"No Sir, this is the number you want!" he assured me.
"OK, give me the number", I said.
"0845 454 2222" he read it out slowly.
"Thats the number I have been sitting in queues with since 5:30", I told him, trying to remain composed ...
"Its the only number I have sir".
So I asked him, "Is there actually anyone there now, as they all seemed to finish at 9pm?"
"Oh yes sir, they work til midnight"
I phoned the number, I went through all the menus before the girl on their message cheerfully informed me that "The office is now closed"!!

So I am no further forward than I was last week.

They still think I owe them £207.26 and I fully expect that they will either cut off my service, or they will take the £207.26 again and the whole process will begin over again.

I am losing the will to live!

As I speak, my wife is doing searches on the net regarding Virgin problems and she is reporting page after page of forums in Google endless complaints about Virgin from 2006 up to the present day!

There was a time when comnpanies made good for the stress, cost (I have probably spent £15 - £20 in calls to tem and the bank etc., mainly spent sat in queues etc. But now companies just do not care anymore. We see them everyday on consumer programmes, rattling out the pro-forma, meaningless statement such as "We are very sorry that our service fell short of our normally very high standard ... blah blah" but no one actually does anything anymore! After this lot, I should get free Internet access and phone calls for life!!

Mistakes I can understand and can forgive. Incompetence, treating customers with contempt, rudeness and indifference I cannot.

I have started a website to concentrate on the awful customer service provided by Virgin Media. Martin does a fantastic job on this site for saving us all money; but its asking too much to ask for the site to cover customer service as well ... and complaints against companies like this get a bit lost in the bowels of the site! Hence my own site ...

Perhaps, instead of wasting money on "space planes" for the rich, Mr Branson should concentrate on the appalling service provided by his companies back on earth - or is he trying to escape from the crap he has created?

Anyway, the website address is:

http://www.snowmane.net/virginmedia

To begin with, there is just an email link for you to send me your stories, which I will happily post on the site. Shortly, there will be a page where you can type your problems straight into the site. So keep going back to the site. I intend to develop the site to cover other companies that manage to reach Virgin's dizzy heights of appalling service!

To be fair, if Virgin feedback information showing they have sorted a customer's problems and compensated them for the aggro caused, I will post that too.

I look forward to hearing from you all!

Best Regards

The Avenger!

DonnaDoop

Hi again Im hoping someone can offer advice on legal issues that I think I may have with Virgin Media please?

When we moved into the house almost 6 yrs ago, we got TeleWest broadband only at £9.99 per month, £1 paper bill, cash over the counter charge = £10.99. Never had any probs.

Virgin took over and we got a nice leaflet thru the door to say so, but no mention that the price of the service was going up, although I DO remember small print saying that non-DD payments would cost £5.

I recieved an email one day saying if I opted for e-billing, I would save £1, and obviously help save on paper waste so I opted in. NOW...this is where I have issues over the legalities! I get an E-bill notification on the 2nd Tuesday of each month..I pay the bill by the Thursday of the same week and ALWAYS get charged a late payment fee of £10, ( this has been going on for over 2 years now. My bill is never less that £34 (for what started as a £10.99 service!) Obviously same as most people we have had to tighten our belts a lot recently, so I was determined to avoid the late payment fee, and went on to the e-bill I got this month - it clearly states the amount due etc, BUT there is nothing in the 'due by' box?!? so basically I don't know when I should have it paid to avoid late payment charge!! I flicked through older bills and they are the same, the due by dates are blank!! So...sorry this is so long winded, can anyone offer any advice on this? my thinking is that if I am not told when a bill is due by, how can they charge me for being late?? Any help / advice would be very much appreciated!

BexTech

DonnaDoop wrote: »

Virgin took over and we got a nice leaflet thru the door to say so, but no mention that the price of the service was going up, although I DO remember small print saying that non-DD payments would cost £5.

Virgin didn't take over.

Before the Virgin re-brand Telewest were charging £4 non-DD fee.

NTL merged with Telewest to create NTL : Telewest.

NTL : Telewest bought Virgin Mobile, Richard Branson became a 10.5% shareholder.

NTT : Telewest pay Virgin an annual fee to use the Virgin name.

Virgin Media is not a Virgin company, nor is Virgin Mobile now.

Same as Virgin Radio hadn't been anything to do with Virgin for years as with Virgin Records.

So it is still NTL : Telewest running the business, they just pay to be called Virgin Media.

BexTech

I can only advise calling up and speaking to someone.

Might be best to call in and select the options to leave as you get UK staff then, tell them you aren't happy and tell them what's been going on, they should sort it out, tell you when you should be paying and also get you a better offer.

If you paid by direct debit however you wouldn't get the problem of late payment.

justfin

Hey everyone;

I always find it kind of frustrating when people are being over charged but don't use the current systems in place to protect them.

Big companies spend time (and money) making sure their policies and rights are enforceable i wish the every day person would do this.

So here are a few ideas you can use with many companies, not just Virgin to save you grieve.

The moment there is a mistake on your bill contact the company and allow them a chance to respond, if they do not offer an immediate refund and you are paying by Direct Debit go to your bank and ask for a Direct Debit indemnity on any payments that have been taken that are incorrect.

The indemnity pulls the money back out of Virgins account. There is no time limit for when you can ask for an indemnity.

Once you have all your money back in respect of bills that have been calculated incorrectly contact Virgin, explain you have taken back funds they have illegally remove from your account and you wish to make a payment of the amount you have calculated you owe.

Do not offer to discuss the matter, confirm you have given them the opportunity to correct this and they have failed and to expect a letter from you shortly.

If possible record this call, call from a mobile with a record feature, or at least from a line were you can get an itemized bill to show you have called. Record everything that has been said, who when where they are in a book.

Send the company a letter stating you fully dispute the debt, explain where their error is, inform them any decelerations made to a credit agency stating your account has defaulted or received late payment will have to be removed at their expense and if they are unable prove you owe the outstanding amount in the form of a contract you have signed or copy of a phone call were you expressly permitted the additional charge then you expect a letter of apology, a payment to cover the cost of the phone call to there department, the postage cost of your letter and a gesture of good will for the time you have had to spend sorting this out.

Hopefully that will be it done and you will have a nice deal or a bit of cash in your pocket for there mistake.

Chances are the company won't be used to playing ball with people who know there rights and they will refer you to a debt collection agency.

At this point simply send the agency a copy of your letter to the company with a cover letter stating any contact made other than post will be treated as harassment and they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Hopefully the debt collection agency will have the common sense to advice the company you are having trouble with to pay up for your costs and issue an apology for implying you have a debt which you clearly don't.

The worse case scenario is you have to go to court. If you know your right you have already won and this is just racking up their costs.

After this case has been settled or prior going to court have a credit check done and see if they have marked anything against you, look at your options to have the incorrect record removed, normally costs a small fee, and request this from the company in question, or demand it in court.

Be sure to log all the time you spend on this, any loses due to dealing with this matter. For example parking costs to go to the post office, petrol, phone costs. and make a reasonable allowance for you time at an hourly rate and send them the bill.

Any reasonable amount of compensation would be upheld in court.

PS Once you have got them to admit the error, if they have been withholding services you now have a get out clause on any contract as they have breached it. So get what you deserve and move elsewhere.

I hope this will be of use to some people

Thanks

Fin

lisa_247

I have been with Virgin Media since it first became virgin media. In the terms of the contract it says that you are bound to the contract for 1 year and then after that you can cancel at any time. A few weeks ago I rang VM regarding removing sky sports, and was offered a better TV package for a lower monthly charge. Obviously I agreed and was put on the new tariff. Recently, myself and my partner have bought a nice, rather expensive, LCD HD ready TV, with the intention of subscribing to HD channels. I rang VM to enquire about upgrading to HD channels and (after being given the wrong information in the first instance), was told that in order to subscribe to HD channel (yes - VM only has ONE HD channel!) I would need to buy a HD box. I didnt think this would be worth it just for 1 channel so I asked if I could cancel VM as Sky are doing an excellent HD package at the moment. I was then told that I had antered a new 12 month contract on agreeing to the cheaper deal a few weeks ago! So basically im stuck with VM for another 11 months and will only have 1 HD channel if i buy a HD box AND pay another 7 pounds per month! It was not made clear that I was entering a new contract and I was not sent out any paperwork, even though VM claimed that they had sent me a letter informing me of my new 12 month contract. I have had countless problems with VM and am devastated that im stuck with them for another 11 months. Im sure there must be lots more people out there who are in the same position as me.

I have e-mailed the above story to [EMAIL="watchdog@bbc.co.uk"]watchdog@bbc.co.uk[/EMAIL] - can i recommend that everyone who is unhappy about virgin medias cr*p services do the same - if they get enough complaints they might have the power to do something about it.

Cheers, Lisa

gcn504

I see a lot of these types of complaints and normally the T&Cs back up the vendor. However, in this case, although a very brief look, its debatable.

So these are extracts from VM's T&C

'minimum period' the minimum period that you must keep a service, starting from the service start date. For example, unless you are told otherwise by us, you must keep the phone service, the television service and the broadband service for 12 months from the service start date in each case and, in the case of other services, for at least 30 days. We may change the minimum period for any service but this will not affect you if you have already subscribed to that service.

'service start date' the first date on which each service is available for you to use or, where no installation is required, the earlier of the date your service is activated or seven days from the order date.

So when you first took VM you were tied for 12 months: that is obvious.

However, it may be considered that when you 'upgraded' (took package at better price) you had a new service start date. You could interpret that as a new Service Start Date for TV 'where no installation is required' and you have once again entered into a new 12 month contract.

That being said I think these companies should definitely point out you are entering into a new contract (or service start date).

Salma_2

Virgin Media have treated me bad so much so that I can't wait for the useless contract to finish. I am sick and tired of the company. The staff are bad at customer service, they have an art of passing you around one another like a wembley ball. And they sure know how to cut the line when they know you are getting their trick. Virgin staff owed me a cheque from my old address and I have taken almost 3 months now chasing the cheque. The staff say different things anytime you call them and you wonder what records they leave on your account when you are discussing with them. One tells me the cheque had been sent in January. Another told me the cheque is going to be sent and the amount varies with each speaker. The last funny (though not really funny) bit was that the second cheque was sent to my old address in another town. And the staff I was speaking to at that time asked me whether I left my forwarding address. I asked him if I didn't leave my forwarding address, how did virgin staff got my new address and came to fix their gadgets? So they have claimed twice now to send cheques to my old address which they knew I had left. And what about the troubles I had before. I called Virgin staff on the 17th of December that I was leaving. I was told by one staff that the account wasn't closed until January 12. So that my deposit would run out!. I asked her who bears the brunt, she responded you can just continue to talk, it won't change anything. I AM !!!!ED OFF WITH VIRGIN MEDIA!!!

MartinH74

Yes Virgin Media really are unbelievably bad. I have started a facebook group. Please join up and share my disatisfaction with these idiots. Search for 'Virgin Media are !!!!S' on facebook

thanks
M

PETERSWITZER

flutenpicc wrote: »

Has anyone ever received a formal copy of Virgin Media's complaint procedure? I have written to them x2 and just spent a frustrating 40 minutes on the phone trying to establish what it is as I have had 2 complaints now ignored but to no avail.

I came home today to find my broadband was down again for the second time in 4 days,

i called 150 and got put though to a asian gentleman who after some searching came back and said there has been work in my area in Preston and he will need to send a signal to re-set my modem,

i a disabled man with both my legs amputated below the knees got up off my chair and had to reach behind my tv to get to the socket to switch it all off,

i restarted it after 60 seconds and then the man tried again, he said to me that the signal was not going through but will sort the problem out today to get me back on line, he put me on hold for 3 minutes then came back and said my bill was over due,

i asked him what is he talking about i got a bill last week which was not due to be paid until the 1st April 2010, he then said he will need to pass me to another department to get this problem solved,

i was transferred but this man didn't even know why i had been put through to him, i started getting angry at the messing about and he wanted me to re-do the security questions, i asked him why? has he not just been told about what is going on? he didn't listen just asked me what are my security details, like a idiot i repeated the questions and answered them, he then started looking at my account and said there is a bill over due,

i told him there is not and i have the proof as i pay the bill on-line, he argued with me like i was a piece of dirt, i reminded him that i was a customer and i hope the conversations are being recorded, he said he appreciates i am a customer but he doesn't like the way i am talking to him, i told this man that virgin has broken my contract and they are not bothered i pay my bill before time and they cut it off, he then put me on hold and then came back to say have i had any services turned off,

i replied that 3 months ago i asked virgin to stop HD tv, he asked me have i returned the box, i said they posted out a empty box to me and i returned it to them by post office and have a receipt, he then said well i need to call customer service tomorrow and will need to send the receipt as proof before my service can be turned on,

well i told him i am not happy and he gave me some address in Swansea, so now i need my internet and phone but can not have some thing i have paid for because of some !!!! up, virgin media is named by a man who prides him self on customer service, well this cable company he has put his name to is not got the same ideas he had for his customers and think it is a complete joke,

if i didn't need my internet so much i would tell them to stick it up there rear end, but because i do i have to just go through the stupid process and let virgin media wipe there dog muck dirty shoes over me

to add insult to injury they had switched the broadband off about 4 days ago before this time and when i called it was turned back on no mention of why it was turned off just said there was a fault.

Thanks for caring for your customers Mr Branston :T