Virgin Media harrassment

SimpsonSadly

I am eighty years old and trying to cope with grieving my late husband and am at my wits end with Virgin Media harassing me over an unpaid but cancelled bill I am at breaking point with worry.

Can Martin help me PLEASE !!

I had Virgin Media threatening me. My late husband had Virgin on the tele..I wasn't interested.  When he died they changed the contract in to my name. I had nothing to do with it.  They have been threatening me every week since he died. They are saying I have to pay nearly £400.this has been going on since he died as he had the VMedia. They have been hounding me for so long. It was cancelled when he died. They are saying that I have to.pay all that money as it is my debt. I had a large bill this has gone on since my husband died that they want paying from me. I get threats for not paying. It's horrendous they never stop. My son and my stepson tried to cancel.it but it goes on and on. I just broke down . It just doesn't go away. Because it was a contract  they hadn't cancelled it. It goe on and on with them . Gone on 4 months with them putting pressure on. Bill.after bill.coming..I just had enough can't cope with it all. I am being hounded by them. I just cracked ! Just can't get them to stop. I don't know how to get it stopped. They just think I will.pay for something that wasn't mine.  I cried I was so upset it's relentless. The contract cancelled when my husband died but then they put my name on.I feel so upset about it can't cope. It's relentless. They won't understand that it was cancelled. They should be investigated with what they are doing.  It's just making me ill. I.have enough problems.

oldernonethewiser

SimpsonSadly said:

I am eighty years old and trying to cope with grieving my late husband and am at my wits end with Virgin Media harassing me over an unpaid but cancelled bill I am at breaking point with worry.

Can Martin help me PLEASE !!

I had Virgin Media threatening me. My late husband had Virgin on the tele..I wasn't interested.  When he died they changed the contract in to my name. I had nothing to do with it.  They have been threatening me every week since he died. They are saying I have to pay nearly £400.this has been going on since he died as he had the VMedia. They have been hounding me for so long. It was cancelled when he died. They are saying that I have to.pay all that money as it is my debt. I had a large bill this has gone on since my husband died that they want paying from me. I get threats for not paying. It's horrendous they never stop. My son and my stepson tried to cancel.it but it goes on and on. I just broke down . It just doesn't go away. Because it was a contract  they hadn't cancelled it. It goe on and on with them . Gone on 4 months with them putting pressure on. Bill.after bill.coming..I just had enough can't cope with it all. I am being hounded by them. I just cracked ! Just can't get them to stop. I don't know how to get it stopped. They just think I will.pay for something that wasn't mine.  I cried I was so upset it's relentless. The contract cancelled when my husband died but then they put my name on.I feel so upset about it can't cope. It's relentless. They won't understand that it was cancelled. They should be investigated with what they are doing.  It's just making me ill. I.have enough problems.

Who cancelled it and do you have a record of that?

p00hsticks

Welcome to the forum.
I'm sorry for your loss and what you are going through.
Martin sold this site many years ago and this is very unlikely to reach him.  

It sounds as if Virgin do not acknowledge that their service has been cancelled. 
Who contacted Virgin to explain that the account holder had died ?
Why was it transferred into your name rather than just cancelled ?
Do you have anything in writing from them confirming that it has been cancelled ?

If the contract had only been going for a few months, could it be that your late husband agreed to a contract that has not yet expired and needs to be paid up to the end of the term, regardless of whether the service continued to be used or not ?

Are you sure they were just providing a TV service and not also broadband and telephone which is continuing (and will still need to be paid for) ?   
Has the TIVO box been returned to them ?

SimpsonSadly

The will administrator says he cancelled it but I haven’t seen any confirmation. As for the phone etc that may have been included as I can no longer dial out on the landline. I haven’t seen any no idea why the contract was put in my name but I did not ask Virgin to do this I was not interested. I don’t know if the TiVo has been returned. I would like someone with a bit of clout to help me get rid of Virgin and let me get on with my life !!!

oldernonethewiser

SimpsonSadly said:

The will administrator says he cancelled it but I haven’t seen any confirmation. As for the phone etc that may have been included as I can no longer dial out on the landline. I haven’t seen any no idea why the contract was put in my name but I did not ask Virgin to do this I was not interested. I don’t know if the TiVo has been returned. I would like someone with a bit of clout to help me get rid of Virgin and let me get on with my life !!!

Start with this person and confirm it has been cancelled.  If it was cancelled then there should be no transfer of name.  If the TIVO box is still near the TV then it hasn't been returned or perhaps the person dealing with the will has removed it and sent it back.

What paperwork regarding the contract have you had from Virgin?

SimpsonSadly

Will follow that up. 

As far as paperwork for the contract is concerned I don’t have any from them.

oldernonethewiser

There must be something that shows a transfer of name on the contract.  Again maybe the person dealing with the Will has this information.

SimpsonSadly

Will check it out but the admins do not communicate very well. Is it not illegal for Virgin to transfer the contract to me without my knowledge or approval?.

p00hsticks

SimpsonSadly said:

Will check it out but the admins do not communicate very well. Is it not illegal for Virgin to transfer the contract to me without my knowledge or approval?.

It depends on what authority the person who contacted them had (or said they had) to deal with things on your late fathers / your behalf. 

When my father died I dealt with most of the utility companies to switch the household bills into her name as I had PoA for her and was executor of my fathers estate....

SimpsonSadly

The admins just assumed control of husbands estate and I am unaware of any PoA. But even if they did have PoA for me should they still have asked for my permission to accept the transfer of the contract. 

p00hsticks

SimpsonSadly said:

The admins just assumed control of husbands estate and I am unaware of any PoA. But even if they did have PoA for me should they still have asked for my permission to accept the transfer of the contract. 

I agree. But I think it's those 'admins' you need to be pushing against to try to get things sorted. It may be that the wrongly assumed that you wanted the service to continue as before but in your name. Did they do the same for things like the gas and electricity, water etc and if so did they ask you first or just assume it needed  to be changed ?

When you talk about 'admins' are you referring to the executors of your husbands will or some other party (you mention a son and stepson) ?

I don't believe executors would necessarily get involved in transferring household utilities from one name to another, that;s not part of their duties,. 

One issue you may face if they have mistakenly moved the Virgin contract into your name rather than cancelling it, there may well be a minimum term contract involved. 

Have you actually attempted to speak to Virgin Media yourself ?
If they are billing you then presumably you have contact details and references that you can quote to them and establish what they believe has happened and give oyur side of the story.