How to compel Virgin to give access to my dads phone records

the_barretts

My father passed on 17th February following a short illness (pneumonia and sepsis) although he did have other health issues.

He reported to his landlord on the 21st of January that he had no heating and he told me they had sent someone out, the thermostat was not working, and that they were coming back to replace it.

On the 31st my sister called them and they came out straight away as it was still not working.

We complained to the landlord after he died as there were several things amiss with his house and they state that the first time they knew about the heating was the 31st.

We have spoken to Virgin about getting his in-coming and out-going phone records for January but as his account is now closed they have said (in 2 phone calls) that these logs would have now been deleted and that because of data protection they cannot give them to us. Emails to their bereavement team just tell us to speak to customer services.

We want to prove to the landlord he did ask for help (not asking them for liability) and that their recording and follow-up procedures are inadequate.

How can I get Virgin to give me these records?

CISAS need the account holder to sign the form but dad is dead, I am one of the executors of his will and wonder is there some other form of adjudicator we can use to get these records?

Markdavid1962

I believe you need to prove you are the executor, have a copy of the WILL and the Death certificate to prove legal identity, they will have a process to follow

Good Luck

Ayr_Rage

There seems to be a discrepancy, either the logs have been deleted OR they cannot give them to you due to data protection.

To save further grief you need to ascertain which is true and that may need legal involvement.

the_barretts

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81984847#Comment_81984847

This was from two different customer service reps, there does not seem to be the same answer so I am emailing them too. Will try another phone call as well.

lincroft1710

If the tenancy of the house has been surrendered, there is little point in complaining to the landlord about their inadequate procedures

elsien

You are asking for the records for what purpose? You say you want to prove something with no liability - what are you aiming to achieve?
Because sometimes the effort to prove a point causes morr stress than it’s actually worth.

OutdoorQueen

Just a thought….Have you tried looking at the phone handset?
Many phone handsets have a call history / call log function so that you can see past incoming and outgoing calls. Mobiles should do this and my landline handset shows the time and date, but not length of call.

silvercar

what are you trying to prove? If he did ask for help earlier and it took a few days to send someone round and then another few days to fix the problem, what difference does it now make?

Mands

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6666712/how-to-compel-virgin-to-give-access-to-my-dads-phone-records

What will you do if Virgin provide the data? You say, I think, that you don't want the landlord to admit liability so what do you want?

But, pivoting: you say your dad reported the issue on 21 January but nothing was done until your sister complained on 31 January. How do you know about the 21 January complaint? And what prompted your sister to call the landlords on 31 January?

Perhaps … your dad spoke to your sister on 31 January and said "I called them 10 days ago, nothing happened"?

In which case your complaint to the landlord is "our understanding is that on or around 21 January our father reported the issue, was told someone would be be to make a repair but on 31 he told his daughter nothing had been done". If the call did happen on 21 Jan Virgin's records will not tell you what was said, just that a call happened. So, you kick it back to the landlords.

But, again, what do you want if not an admission of liability?

Finally, two points, from recent personal experience.

When my father had pneumonia and sepsis (plus a collapsed lung and a huge empyema) his blood oxygen levels were low. He recovered but is still very confused about dates/times/people/events. He simply wasn't getting enough oxygen to be a reliable witness.

Secondly, when something so crushingly awful as you have experiences happens there is a very strong natural desire to control something. Anything. And injustice is a really strong hook. It is very easy to get caught up in fighting that injustice because it's one area where we feel we have agency when we have lost it everywhere else.

In my dad's case I got very, very angry about the junior doctors who forced a DNR on my dad at 3am when he'd had no sleep and and had no idea what was going on and had no one to explain it to him in layman's terms. The DNR was the right thing to do, the way it was handled was appalling, in a hospital which already had a reputation for poor DNR-implementation.

Finally: I'm very sorry for your loss. Go gently.

Jemma01

I'm really sorry for your loss; may his memory be a blessing

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81984899#Comment_81984899

I was thinking the same thing. I appreciate that you're grieving, and maybe knowing the answer alone would help you move on, but there's a good chance it will stress you out more.

The call log couldn't have been deleted that fast; I just checked their retention policy it says "Call Detail Records should be retained for no more than 12 months"

"Under Data Retention Regulations the Supplier must:

- Retain certain data that is generated and processed in connection with a fixed line/mobile telephonycommunication; and

- Make that data available to various authorities;

for a period of 12 months after the communication was made. "

Page 10

https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Telefonica-UK-Data-Retention-Schedule.pdf

Brie

As I understand it data protection doesn't apply as your father is dead. It only applies when the individual is alive.

Sorry for your loss, it's obviously a very distressing time.