Compensation for overly expensive helpdesk

thebennyboy

Basically i got a call from Virgin Media which i missed, as such a they left a voicemail. It said something about moving account to another address, which immediately made me panic. I gave them a call back and they said there was nothing of the sort on my account. The number that called me was a Virgin Media number so i knew it was genuine, it was one of their outgoing numbers.

I'm seriously worried how they are calling me about an account not in my name, i believe the previous person who lived here was person they wanted. So why did they ring me? Their indian help desk was no help at all. They only offer an 0845 to call them, the call cost me £7.52 in total. Can i claim this back from them? and is there someone else i can talk to IN THE UK. Why call me about someone else account? I think they have mixed up 2 accounts.

If this is in the wrong section i apologise.

marliepanda

As they called you about an incorrect account I would definitely say crediting that amount to your account wouldnt be uncalled for. I would definitely email them and ask. it would be goodwill, as you chose to call, but I would imagine they would grant it...
For future ref, for different numbers for companies, usually a free one, try this site:
http://www.saynoto0870.com/companysearch.php

thebennyboy

marliepanda wrote: »

As they called you about an incorrect account I would definitely say crediting that amount to your account wouldnt be uncalled for. I would definitely email them and ask. it would be goodwill, as you chose to call, but I would imagine they would grant it...
For future ref, for different numbers for companies, usually a free one, try this site:

I did try that before calling and the number now seems to go to BT's SMS setup line. I was forced into having to ring the 0845 number. The number they called me from was an outgoing only, so i couldn't ring back on that.

marliepanda

Thats annoying. I would definitely send them an email and just state you are not happy you've spent £7.52 to call them regarding a voicemail left which was not about your account.

thebennyboy

Managed to get through on their 0800 status line using 0800buster after several attempts. They said they will only refund me £5 "as a goodwill gesture". So needless to say i am not happy at all. Does calling me about someone else's account come under a data protection breach? I will be making a complaint about it in the morning when hopefully i can get through to someone in the UK.

marliepanda

thebennyboy wrote: »

Managed to get through on their 0800 status line using 0800buster after several attempts. They said they will only refund me £5 "as a goodwill gesture". So needless to say i am not happy at all. Does calling me about someone else's account come under a data protection breach? I will be making a complaint about it in the morning when hopefully i can get through to someone in the UK.

Thats a bit annoying. I dont think it breaches the data protection act though, as I assume you were not given any details of the other account holder.

thebennyboy

marliepanda wrote: »

Thats a bit annoying. I dont think it breaches the data protection act though, as I assume you were not given any details of the other account holder.

Apart from their name, no. I want to know why i was called about someone else's account though.

marliepanda

Chances are you may have a similar phone number, digit reversed etc.

But for them to tell you that may be a breach of the data protection act :P

thebennyboy

It's seems impossible to get hold of someone in the UK. I might tweet them in the morning, they must have a UK based complaints team.

browneyedbazzi

You might be happy to hear that from 13th of June companies will be required to provide a geographical (01,02, 03) or 0800 telephone number for complaints, and they'll have to advertise it at least as prominently as their premium rate numbers so consumers can find it easily. This is the result of new regulations being brought in thanks to companies like Virgin taking the P with charges on their help lines.

Helix

They do have people in the UK but its luck mainly if you get them or India. Best time to call is at 8am when the call centre first opens you are more likely to get through to the UK them.

I'm sure if you actually took the call they would have made you go through security before telling you more information. So it wouldn't be a data protection issue.

Not sure why you are getting so worked up about this.