Virgin Media over charging me

AprilKid

Hello everyone,
Following my father's death at the close of 2022, I spoke to the Virgin Media bereavement team regarding his Landline+Broadband package with them. I explained that I wanted to retain his landline number (so that those wishing to make contact, could do so easily). I was issued with a new (one digit different) billing account number and DD was arranged.

Recently, following a £5 price hike, I looked online at the VM site and to my shock discovered that the same bundle is available to new customers at half the price. I doubled checked this figure with their sales team and they confirmed that too.
I've since found out that VM merely transferred the account into my name and did not treat/bill me as a new customer, therefore I've been paying double the rate all along. By my calculation I've been over-charged atleast £550.

A week ago I phoned VM and was told a complaints manager would investigate and then contact me. After hearing nothing from them, I phoned yesterday and was told the complaint had been settled with the customer's consent !.
Eventually, I was put through to a "complaints manager" who proceeded to tell me that since they don't have a phone recording of my original 2022 contact, they can only go by what's on "record", that they did as instructed, and that in any case back then they couldn't have transferred the old number to me if I'd become a new customer, (but they can do that now!!). 
He was polite, but didn't seem to care about either my complaint or wish to leave VM altogether. I certainly wasn't satisfied with his explanations and he said he'd send me a form for the Ombudsmen. 

The crux of my complaint is that, at the onset I should have been treated as a new customer and billed accordingly. I was issued with a new account billing number, so how can I not be a new customer? And that I should be refunded for the amount I've been over charged. 

Does anyone have experience of dealing with VM and how should I proceed with this please?

Thank you and apologies for the long post. 

April

Danthenoble

April,

All I can say is welcome to the "Dissatisfied Virgin media Customer Club" there are many many members! I currently pay £86  month for tv that is basically freeview and broadband that drops out 15 - 40 times day.

I advise that you try reporting them to ofcom, (after exhausting Virgins complaint procedure). Alternatively, wait for your contact to end and leave.

I am doing the latter, as talking to their customer services is unbelievably bad, it always starts with "switch it off and on again". I think the plan is they drive you mad going around in circles on the phone in the hope you will prefer to keep the broken service in preference to the pain of talking to them.

PS Ironically I've had to wait to post this because the internet, yup, you guessed it - it dropped off again while I was complaining about it.

littleboo

Are you sure that a transfer of service in this scenario makes you a new customer? It might well be correct that by wanting to keep the service active and retain the number, you inherit the existing contact pricing and terms

FreeBear

AprilKid said: Eventually, I was put through to a "complaints manager" who proceeded to tell me that since they don't have a phone recording of my original 2022 contact, they can only go by what's on "record", that they did as instructed,

Does anyone have experience of dealing with VM and how should I proceed with this please?

Have experienced the "we have no record of that conversation" excuse myself. Now I will only use email to communicate with them. Have to use the email address for the complaints team as they don't have one for general billing/wotever queries.