Virgin Media - Entered me into 12 month Contract without asking (Transfer of Accounts)

MMD1

Ill keep this brief,
Been having huge issues with service and due to housemate leaving I had to transfer the account into my name to get it fixed. This was in Feb and took 5 months to do, with us constantly asking virgin on the status but with not reply whilst dealing with the terrible speeds, wifi ect...

After another email 3 weeks ago they transferred it over, but cut off all service to the house and I could not get through to Customer Service because my requested password would not work, not even online, had this sent out again by post, still didnt work or my email & their website page to request a new one is down for maintenance!

I had enough and decided to cancel only to be told I have 12 months contract with a £200 cancel fee because of the transfer form which states "you accept to enter into a minimum contract period" but it didnt say 12 months and their own T&R say this is to be agreed beforehand.

So I am looking to fight this as I haven't signed up to direct debit or anything.
They just posted me the contract of 12 months but says I have 14 days to cancel yet customer care say a completely different story so any advice would be great.

Also if the form I sent (no signatures, just names) is binding, then surely the new contract is from then, 5 months ago?

Thanks in advance.

theonlywayisup

You aren't clear.

Was the contract taken out in February or before? If "it" took you 5 months "to do" from "Feb" that would be July? This year, last year? It's only June now.....

These type of contracts are usually 12 months or longer....how long was your contact for?

Ectophile

If you asked to start the service back in February, then your 14 day period ran out months ago.


Contracts don't have to be signed. They don't even have to be in writing. Just agreeing to something over the phone is enough. And companies that do agreements over the phone always record the call so that they know what was agreed to.

MMD1

First thanks for replies, I do appreciate any help on this as pretty new to this.

Its a odd one to say the least,
I asked for the transfer of accounts to my name back in February and it took from then until 2 weeks ago before they finished it, they are saying that when I returned the form in Feb, thats when I agreed to a new contract, however they sent me a paper contract in post last week after I rang them which states that it starts (12 months) from when I return the paper contract.

Bear in mind I was expecting to be consulted to what contract I wanted as per their t&c "Typically, the minimum period will be 6, 9, 12, 18 or 24 months, but we will have agreed with you your minimum period before the start of your service(s)", this didnt happen.

Im not sure what to make of it all, like I want to cancel but they are saying no, as I have fees to pay to close as I agreed it in Feb but the contract they sent out in post tells me I have 14 days to cancel from this.
Not sure what to do or how I go about cancelling?
Im wondering if I meet them half way and try to agree a smaller contract and then run, or can I just cancel within this 14 days and be done?

Again thanks for any and all advice.

Manxman_in_exile

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I plead ignorance (I don't have any service contracts like this).


Are you saying that you asked Virgin to transfer an existing contract from your house mate's name to your name, (I'd be surprised if this could be done) or have you taken out an entirely new contract?


And it took them four months to supply a copy of the contract?

JJ_Egan

As above and when did the housemate stop paying the contract .

MMD1

It was a transfer of account request, so you fill a form and they basically just transfer the name across and the new account number is simply the same bar last digit.
The link below to the transfer form and choose transfer account to see form.

virginmedia. c0m/help/virgin-media-account-change-name

But yeah took them 4, nearly 5 months to do this and only now am I getting the first paper contract.
So yeah my former housemate agreed to pay, as long as we paid him but we all thought that this would be a week or 2 at most!

So they said Feb is when we signed up to a contract but they apologise for the time it took, but that the 12 month contract will start from when I post back the paper contract they sent!

Thanks again for replies, much appreciated

Ectophile

Get back to them. Tell them you want to make a formal complaint. Ask them to provide evidence that you agreed to a 12 month contract.

MMD1

Thanks for advice,

Yeah rang back and got to a different person who immediately stated that I was not under any contract and wasnt sure what his other colleagues were talking about & apologized for how long the transfer of accounts took.
As per the contract send out by post, I have the 14 day grace period so I cancelled everything!

It seems the best thing to do regarding virgin media is to ring up every day as youll get a different person each time who either help you or not bother, so keep ringing until you get someone really helpful.

Again thanks for all help.