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Want to leave Virgin Media without paying cancellation fee - Advice required pls
Y0rkshirePudding
Posts: 2 Newbie
I really hope someone can help me...
We have a 24 month contract for tv, phone & fibre optic broadband package with Virgin Media and currently 12 months in. But we really want to leave as the service is appalling.
Since switching to Virgin the internet has regularly dropped off. It doesn't come back on until we ring them up after spending an age in phone queues. But just over the last 2 weeks it has become absolutely ridiculous. The internet is off more than its on. Each time we ring Virgin to report it, it miraculously comes back on after being given a array of reasons as to why its just suddenly come back on ranging from "I've boosted your signal" to "I've adjusted your settings" to "I've made some technical adjustments" blah blah blah. But within a matter of 24-48 hours its back off again and we have to repeat the process of ringing to complain again.
Over the last week the tv connection has also failed 3 times.
After about 7 days of this we asked for an engineer to come and look at the issue. One was promised by Virgin and we were given a timeslot. But within a few hours a text message was sent telling us the engineer had been cancelled as a technical issue had been identified in our area - Errr yeah we know! That's why we need and engineer!? No further explanations given. Another couple of phone calls are made to Virgin over the next few days for the service repeatedly failing so I yet again request an engineer. This time I politely ask that he turn up this time. The Virgin rep tells me "I'll put a note on saying 'please do not cancel this time"... few hours later we receive the same text message cancelling the appointment as they have identified technical issues in our area... YES WE KNOW - WE TOLD YOU!
In 2 weeks we have had to make 7 phone calls to complain - so literally every other day. Yesterday my partner got irate with them and said he wanted to leave. Customer Services put him through to their Cancellations dept where the woman he spoke with said he could not cancel without paying a £250 fee because we had apparently only complained twice about the internet going off and it has to be 5 times before they will allow a cancellation of the contract.
My partner argued it had been far more than twice! But the woman spouted some bulls**t about us only reporting the WIFI as not working, NOT the internet as a whole! Even though we clearly stated ALL devices connected to the modem either via a cable or wifi didn't work, so therefore it was the internet!
So he had to hang up and let it go on this stupid legal technicality which is obviously a load of cr*p! Then suddenly lo-and-behold the internet came back on...?!
Then today both the tv and internet goes off again. By now Im livid, as my partner and I rely on this for our work. We are both self employed and I work solely from home requiring the internet. So I call again and say the same - Im fed up with it, I want to leave. But this time Im told we can't leave without paying a £250 cancellation fee (for a service we only get 50% of the time!) because we have to have no service for an entire consecutive 28 days in a row!
Im so annoyed. £250 to cancel a contract that THEY are breaching by not providing the service WE are paying for. Contradictions as to why we can't cancel. Made up reasons as to why the internet suddenly comes back on when we ring them. And constant cancellations of the engineer coming out for no reason...
Can anyone tell me how we can get out of this contract with this appalling company?
We have a 24 month contract for tv, phone & fibre optic broadband package with Virgin Media and currently 12 months in. But we really want to leave as the service is appalling.
Since switching to Virgin the internet has regularly dropped off. It doesn't come back on until we ring them up after spending an age in phone queues. But just over the last 2 weeks it has become absolutely ridiculous. The internet is off more than its on. Each time we ring Virgin to report it, it miraculously comes back on after being given a array of reasons as to why its just suddenly come back on ranging from "I've boosted your signal" to "I've adjusted your settings" to "I've made some technical adjustments" blah blah blah. But within a matter of 24-48 hours its back off again and we have to repeat the process of ringing to complain again.
Over the last week the tv connection has also failed 3 times.
After about 7 days of this we asked for an engineer to come and look at the issue. One was promised by Virgin and we were given a timeslot. But within a few hours a text message was sent telling us the engineer had been cancelled as a technical issue had been identified in our area - Errr yeah we know! That's why we need and engineer!? No further explanations given. Another couple of phone calls are made to Virgin over the next few days for the service repeatedly failing so I yet again request an engineer. This time I politely ask that he turn up this time. The Virgin rep tells me "I'll put a note on saying 'please do not cancel this time"... few hours later we receive the same text message cancelling the appointment as they have identified technical issues in our area... YES WE KNOW - WE TOLD YOU!
In 2 weeks we have had to make 7 phone calls to complain - so literally every other day. Yesterday my partner got irate with them and said he wanted to leave. Customer Services put him through to their Cancellations dept where the woman he spoke with said he could not cancel without paying a £250 fee because we had apparently only complained twice about the internet going off and it has to be 5 times before they will allow a cancellation of the contract.
My partner argued it had been far more than twice! But the woman spouted some bulls**t about us only reporting the WIFI as not working, NOT the internet as a whole! Even though we clearly stated ALL devices connected to the modem either via a cable or wifi didn't work, so therefore it was the internet!
So he had to hang up and let it go on this stupid legal technicality which is obviously a load of cr*p! Then suddenly lo-and-behold the internet came back on...?!
Then today both the tv and internet goes off again. By now Im livid, as my partner and I rely on this for our work. We are both self employed and I work solely from home requiring the internet. So I call again and say the same - Im fed up with it, I want to leave. But this time Im told we can't leave without paying a £250 cancellation fee (for a service we only get 50% of the time!) because we have to have no service for an entire consecutive 28 days in a row!
Im so annoyed. £250 to cancel a contract that THEY are breaching by not providing the service WE are paying for. Contradictions as to why we can't cancel. Made up reasons as to why the internet suddenly comes back on when we ring them. And constant cancellations of the engineer coming out for no reason...
Can anyone tell me how we can get out of this contract with this appalling company?
0
Comments
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If I were you, I would follow Virgin Media's complaints procedure.
http://store.virginmedia.com/content/dam/eSales/Downloads/Consumer%20Complaint%20Code%20of%20Practice.pdf
Either e-mail or write a letter headed complaint (so you have a copy for yourself). Break it down into concise bullet points.
What is wrong?
How long has it been going on for?
How have you tried to solve this in the past?
What resolution would you like?
If you are still unhappy complain to the adjudicator.
Be calm and take it step by step.0 -
If you rely on the internet for income then you need a business contract with faster responses .0
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