Virgin media want to charge me for a service they can't provide :/

JonF1860

So the title says it all. I am moving to a property that VM do not supply. I still want their service but they say there is no way they can help. I have asked do they do some kind of SIM deal which I could switch over to, there is not. I have tried to get them to continue to supply my internet but they have said they can't. 
What makes this an odd situation is they want to charge me for a service they can't provide. I am quite confused by this. To clarify, I am not cancelling my contract. The fault lies with them in that they can't provide me with what I am paying for. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thank you in advance.    

TadleyBaggie

Conversely it's not their fault you are moving to a location they cannot serve, you agreed a contract which they are entitled to charge you for. How long is left on the contract?

theoretica

I take it you signed up to a contract in your current place, and it isn't finished yet?  So they are saying you signed up to a year, or whatever, and holding you to that.  I'm afraid I have heard of that before - you agreed to a year (or whatever) and they did not agree to accommodate your changes to any other location.

pbartlett

I assume you signed a contract with VM to supply internet at '11 Acacia Avenue' or wherever. 

This they will continue to do.

Now, if you had signed a contract stating VM will supply internet at 'any property I choose to move to anywhere in the country' then you might have a case - but you didn't.

prowla

Wow - people on MSE vociferously supporting Virgin Media!

pinkshoes

prowla said:

Wow - people on MSE vociferously supporting Virgin Media!

Not really... you get cheaper deals for signing up for 12m or 18m. If you move house then this contract still continues, and it is not VMs fault that the OP is moving somewhere with no service.

I moved house and we can't get VM at our new house so we just had to pay the remainder of the contract for a couple of months.

The OP could have moved to another property that had VM.

Sympathy will depend on whether the OP moved my choice (so needs to factor this in as a moving cost) or forced to move by a LL selling up etc... 

Sandtree

JonF1860 said:

What makes this an odd situation is they want to charge me for a service they can't provide. I am quite confused by this. To clarify, I am not cancelling my contract. The fault lies with them in that they can't provide me with what I am paying for. Does anyone have any experience with this?

A rather disingenuous presentation of the situation. You entered into a fixed term contract with at a property and now, before the end of that contract, you wish to move house. VM can continue to provide the service you agreed to at the old property but you've decided on a property that they cannot service. Therefore you want to cancel the contract as you dont fancy paying for the service for the new occupants of your old property.

In my past experience with Sky and such they are sympathetic to the situation and have as a guesture of goodwill waived a month or two's fees when I've moved and they cannot provide (namely because of going into a block of flats prewired for VM instead) but its not been a requirement for them to do so.

As a rule of thumb, dont sign up to a long contract if you think you'll need to cancel mid term (or at least check the cancellation terms before agreeing if you think there is a chance that you will)

JHW1942

prowla said:

Wow - people on MSE vociferously supporting Virgin Media!

If by "supporting", you mean "pointing out OP's contractual obligations", then yes, I suppose people are.  

mattyprice4004

They didn't ask you to move, so it's not their fault. They were quite happy to supply the service at your current address. 
I've worked in this industry for around half my working life, and that's what counts - you chose to move, they didn't make you. Sorry! 

mattyprice4004

prowla said:

Wow - people on MSE vociferously supporting Virgin Media!

They're supporting common sense more than anything else. 
If I move to the moon, shall I expect them to provide the service there too? 

sparrow857

Happened to me a few years back. Was with VM and then we moved to an area that VM don’t supply. I’ll be honest and say that I never even thought of it as being their problem. I only had 2 months left on my contract, however my understanding is it was me breaching the contract and so fees were payable. As it was, they only charged me for 1 month as a gesture. Probably because I wasn’t rude about it.