Virgin Media using bereavement as a gouging opportunity

ic

I know how bad VM can be, as a customer that has to renegotiate my broadband every year.  My father-in-law died a couple of weeks ago, and I advised my mother-in-law to call the VM bereavement line to discuss adopting the services and reducing the package, as what they were on was unaffordable to her given the loss of his income.

She left the call believing all was sorted - however a week later the paperwork has arrived.  They've moved the same package across into her name, cancelled the monthly £80 discount so what was unaffordable at £95 is now £174 a month. 

Deaf ears from VM who refuse to offer her a new customer deal as they don't consider her a new customer (after all she's been on their books for a week now...).  The best they could offer was £65 after a lot of pushing (they kept ignoring requests initially to remove the premium parts of the package like sky sports and cinema).

The 30 day notice is in (four times telling before it was accepted), and we await a call with a real deal.

What upsets me is that at what is a difficult, chaotic time (with shady solicitors, funeral arrangements, and of course the massive upset of what has happened) that Virgin Media see this is an opportunity to gouge grieving customers in this way - they could easily give my MIL the new customer deal and we'd be happy, and they'd retain a long-standing home without any installation costs.  Instead we have to go through the same dance as though everything is hunky-dory and we have the time for the "let me see what deal I can do" ad-infinitum conversations.

By comparison, British Gas, the local council, TV license, gas & electric, water have all been very easy to deal with quickly adjusting accounts (or in the case of BG Homecare just closing the account and refunding an overpayment) there and then on the phone.

steven141

I'm sorry to hear of your loss.

That's terrible. It may be worth seeing if Sky or EE TV can do a better deal for your mother-in-law. I found that Virgin Media O2 customer service have gradually got worse over the years which is a shame as they used to be really good.