Virgin Media promised bill credit on phone call and won't honour it

canadian_turtle

I'm moving house soon and this morning took out a new contract for internet with Virgin Media. I found a deal online for £85 bill credit for new customers, discussed it with the sales person and he said that while he couldn't have offered it to me upfront he would honour it as I brought it up myself. I asked about this multiple times and he explicitly said it was "guaranteed". And he even said this means my first actual charge wouldn't be until May when the credit had run out. 

When the draft contract came through, the bill credit wasn't listed but there also wasn't really any place for a special offer to be included. I did mention this and he again guaranteed me it would be applied 100% and I would see it in my account once I set up a new account online. I did and lo and behold no credit. I called back and am now being told by someone else that I cannot get bill credit because the monthly charge for the Internet I was offered is lower than that for someone who takes out the offer with bill credit online. 

My question: How can I get what I was promised? I actually have a recording of the first phone call if it makes any difference. Thanks. 

Aylesbury_Duck

You could cancel the contract.  They might then offer the credit.  

ArbitraryRandom

What you need to do is make a formal complaint: https://www.virginmedia.com/help/complaints 

You need to follow the process all the way through then, if it's not resolved in 8 weeks, you escalate to the ombudsman: https://www.commsombudsman.org/ 

At all stages, you need to be clear that the reason you signed the contract was because of the guarantee you were given and be specific about what resolution you actually want - they might offer you the credit, or they might offer to end your contract, refund you what you've paid to date (and possibly move you onto the more expensive contract with the credit applied). 

As a side note, why do you have a recording of the first call but not the later calls? You could request all call recordings/the notes made on your account via a subject access request - most companies keep recordings for around 120 days.  DataSubjectRights@virginmedia.co.uk 

canadian_turtle

Aylesbury_Duck said:

You could cancel the contract.  They might then offer the credit.  

Thanks, from the way the second person talked about it it's "impossible" for them to apply two offers, and apparently the monthly price I was given is already an offer. I'm just so frustrated that they can make promises (multiple times as I kept double checking) and then not honour them? The problem is that I will still need Internet so even if I cancel I'd have to go through it all again as they seem the best option for my area >.< 

canadian_turtle

ArbitraryRandom said:

What you need to do is make a formal complaint: https://www.virginmedia.com/help/complaints 

You need to follow the process all the way through then, if it's not resolved in 8 weeks, you escalate to the ombudsman: https://www.commsombudsman.org/ 

At all stages, you need to be clear that the reason you signed the contract was because of the guarantee you were given and be specific about what resolution you actually want - they might offer you the credit, or they might offer to end your contract, refund you what you've paid to date (and possibly move you onto the more expensive contract with the credit applied). 

As a side note, why do you have a recording of the first call but not the later calls? You could request all call recordings/the notes made on your account via a subject access request - most companies keep recordings for around 120 days.  DataSubjectRights@virginmedia.co.uk 

Thank you! I will look at the formal complaints process although I'm worried about your suggestion that maybe it'll end up becoming more expensive or they cancel my contract (I work from home so I need it). It seems mental to me that they can get away with it. 

I do have a recording of the second call too, I just didn't think it was relevant in my original post as it's the first one (where the guarantee was made) I needed to prove.

ArbitraryRandom

If you were explicitly told you could have that monthly rate and the credit in a call and you have proof of that call then you have a very good case for the ombudsman ordering VM to give it to you... but you do need to go through the full complaints process first. 

Aylesbury_Duck

canadian_turtle said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

You could cancel the contract.  They might then offer the credit.  

Thanks, from the way the second person talked about it it's "impossible" for them to apply two offers, and apparently the monthly price I was given is already an offer. I'm just so frustrated that they can make promises (multiple times as I kept double checking) and then not honour them? The problem is that I will still need Internet so even if I cancel I'd have to go through it all again as they seem the best option for my area >.< 

And that's why they have a terrible reputation for things like this.  I'm with them, and have to go through the charade of cancelling every 18 months if I want to get a reasonable rate.  On balance though, I think I've had four days of downtime in 21 years with Virgin (and NTL before they took them over).

Alderbank

Since it is essential for your job a consumer package may not be right for you. VM also offer business contracts which are more expensive but are more robust and include service level guarantees.

In fact, if you press a formal complaint they might dismiss on the grounds that you are not really a 'consumer'.

canadian_turtle

Alderbank said:

Since it is essential for your job a consumer package may not be right for you. VM also offer business contracts which are more expensive but are more robust and include service level guarantees.

In fact, if you press a formal complaint they might dismiss on the grounds that you are not really a 'consumer'.

I'm not running a business, so I think I am a consumer. I just work from home so need to be able to do emails and have the occasional video conference call. But it is just a remote office job

canadian_turtle

Aylesbury_Duck said:

canadian_turtle said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

You could cancel the contract.  They might then offer the credit.  

Thanks, from the way the second person talked about it it's "impossible" for them to apply two offers, and apparently the monthly price I was given is already an offer. I'm just so frustrated that they can make promises (multiple times as I kept double checking) and then not honour them? The problem is that I will still need Internet so even if I cancel I'd have to go through it all again as they seem the best option for my area >.< 

And that's why they have a terrible reputation for things like this.  I'm with them, and have to go through the charade of cancelling every 18 months if I want to get a reasonable rate.  On balance though, I think I've had four days of downtime in 21 years with Virgin (and NTL before they took them over).

Thanks, the limited downtime is encouraging at least!

canadian_turtle

ArbitraryRandom said:

If you were explicitly told you could have that monthly rate and the credit in a call and you have proof of that call then you have a very good case for the ombudsman ordering VM to give it to you... but you do need to go through the full complaints process first. 

Thank you, I will look into this now!