First Virgin Media Bill?

nmh1995

I recently started looking for a new Broadband provider after BT raised my bill to over £80 per month or a very basic internet/landline/TV package (no high speeds or additional channels etc.). I looked on the Compare the Market website prior to Black Friday, and was presented a number of different prices, but ultimately didn't go ahead with any of them - but did look into Virgin Media briefly. 

I then got a call from the Virgin Media sales team, and they offered me internet and landline (no TV) for £24.00 per month. They asked me about the Virgin Media connection in my property, but I raised concerns regarding this as I'd not had Virgin Media whilst living here, so they agreed to send out an Engineer on 25/11/2020 for free. This happened, the engineer was very helpful - however he provided me with a TV box and the connection wires for this, despite this not being what I agreed with the sales team when I spoke with them regarding a new contract. The engineer agreed to not connect the TV box, so it is currently just in my house and not being used. I did tell them I was happy for it to be removed from the property, or that I could return it, as I had no intention of using it.

I have received my first bill - it's £93.99 - I cannot afford this. I have to pay £80 for my final month of BT, Christmas is a couple of weeks away, and on-top of that I am having endless vets trips where I am being charged anywhere between £80 and £200 each time. I have called Virgin Media twice about this, and they are insisting the bill is correct and I am not getting anywhere with them, as they are also saying my agreed monthly price is £28.99 (as they are including the TV package that wasn't agreed in my original call) and not £24.00.

I don't know what to do, so some advice regarding this would be very much appreciated. 

Neil_Jones

Your first bill is almost certainly going to be to take it up to a month in advance, which is normal practice in this industry.

It should be documented on your bill how the £94 is broken down.  How is it made up?

Are you aware you have to phone BT and say you want the services (phone and internet) disconnected, otherwise it will carry on?

What were you paying £80 for in the first place with BT?

JJ_Egan

OP check with VM what you have actually bought .

As above unless you have cancelled BT you will still be charged monthly until contract ends or you cancel it .

I pay circa £40 pm for BB landline phone calls TV and BT Sport . you could tell us what you have on your BT bill as services .

pphillips

You appear to have valid grounds for complaint with VM in that the price and services provided are different to what was agreed. In my experience the VM complaint handlers are obstructive, they confuse the issues and tell you that you have no case, so be prepared to take it all the way to CISAS.

nmh1995

Neil_Jones said:

Your first bill is almost certainly going to be to take it up to a month in advance, which is normal practice in this industry.

It should be documented on your bill how the £94 is broken down.  How is it made up?

Are you aware you have to phone BT and say you want the services (phone and internet) disconnected, otherwise it will carry on?

What were you paying £80 for in the first place with BT?

They said it's the installation and activation fee on top of the £28.99 package fee. None of which is what I agreed with the original sales team during my call with them. 

BT isn't held in my name - I asked the account-holder to cancel it, and he was advised that it 'should be cancelled' by BT, but that I am likely to receive one remaining payment. 

The contract had expired, so every few months they just kept increasing the bill, but not actually providing anything extra. I had the lowest internet, and most-basic package for TV with BT, but the bill still kept increasing. 

nmh1995

JJ_Egan said:

OP check with VM what you have actually bought .

As above unless you have cancelled BT you will still be charged monthly until contract ends or you cancel it .

I pay circa £40 pm for BB landline phone calls TV and BT Sport . you could tell us what you have on your BT bill as services .

They are telling me I have bought the TV/landline/broadband package at £28.99 per month. This is showing on my account, so the original sales agent did not set up my account as per our telephone discussion which encouraged me to take up a contract with them in the first place. 

I believe BT has been cancelled, however, I was not the account-holder for the contract with BT. I am going from what the account-holder has told me. I did not have phone calls or additional channels/sport on the bill for BT. It was the lowest internet speed and most-basic TV package available.

nmh1995

pphillips said:

You appear to have valid grounds for complaint with VM in that the price and services provided are different to what was agreed. In my experience the VM complaint handlers are obstructive, they confuse the issues and tell you that you have no case, so be prepared to take it all the way to CISAS.

I have raised a complaint with them, and the third agent I spoke to confirmed that this has gone through, but will be looked at in 'due course' before I receive an outcome. So I will need to see what they do for me in regards to that, but it is all very frustrating as the original sales agent did not uphold their side of the deal, nor did they write any notes on my account to reflect the discussion we had.

JJ_Egan

(The contract had expired, so every few months they just kept increasing the bill, but not actually providing anything extra. I had the lowest internet, and most-basic package for TV with BT, but the bill still kept increasing.  )

That reads as you where on a standard monthly rollover at top price . As opposed to a normal 12 months / 24 months negotiated contract at a much lower price .Cannot blame BT for you or the account holder not choosing a better deal .

BT web site always has better deals than standard monthly price  .

I could get BT Sports + Sky Sports + BB for around £80 pm .

iniltous

Regardless of agreeing £24 or £29 ( presumably the difference is for basic TV , little more than Freeview ) how can the first bill be £94 ?, even if they billed you for a part month , and a full month in advance that should be less than £60.
Just re read your OP, when I had Virgin they put £50 installation fee on the first bill, when I agreed to VM the deal on offer was free installation,  I called and they did refund/credit the £50 , but if I hadn’t noticed they would charged me for something they said was free.
Although out of ‘contract’ prices with BT can be high, £80 for what you call basic broadband , phone and TV is way more than anyone should pay, I dare say you could have easily reduced that to £25-£35, by calling and re negotiating, but that ship has sailed.
When I was with VM, I had their lowest tier BB ( no phone or TV ) and that was £35.50 , that was around 3 years ago, I would think that whatever price you have with VM will be introductory and will probably go up after a while after the minimum term, just like  BT .

Kingz26

I had the same thing. Took 5 months to get my money back. I had to email them the copy of what I had signed up for before they would believe me. No compensation either. Worst customer service I have ever dealt with. 

george9071

Wouldn't touch virgin with a barge pole, they are overpriced for the service you get, i would never use them again. The best priced services i have had are TalkTalk, EE and Sky. As well as having them with virgin i got my mobile phone with them and the extra charges they decided to add were disgusting i would never use them again. Hope you get this sorted.