A friend, who has special needs and lives with his mother on a low income, was approached outside his house by a sales rep from Virgin Media who told him that if he left his current provider he would get the first two months free, inclusive calls and no installation fee.
Six weeks later he noticed that, contrary to its sales spin, Virgin Media had tried to take payments for the first month, plus £95 for supposedly inclusive calls and an installation fee. There were insufficient funds in his account and the request was declined by the bank. He was then disconnected.
Customer service agreed a payment plan to start when his next benefit payment came through. The calls were removed from the bill and his service reinstated. He was disconnected again the next day.
This happened three more times. Virgin now says he can’t be reconnected until the payment plan starts, but I believe he was mis-sold this plan and should be allowed to get out of it. PR, Wrexham
This sorry story echoes the experience of the pensioner who claimed a Virgin Media salesman misled him into transferring his contract in June. Cold callers acting on behalf of the company are, it seems, willing to tweak facts and figures to hook new custom. Virgin told the Observer it apologised for “any confusion”. It said it has already refunded the £95 charge and, following press intervention, it agreed to cancel the account without a termination fee.
Mis-selling on the part of telecoms companies should be reported to Ofcom which will take action if a significant number of complaints are received about a company. Customers should also elevate unresolved issues to the relevant ombudsman scheme.
RM of London has also been left incommunicado by Virgin Media. He has had no phone line for over five months after reporting a fault. Three repair attempts failed and four subsequent appointments cancelled. But it has still been helping itself to monthly payments.
Only when the Observer intervened did it provide a temporary phone line and refund payments for the months RM has been without a line. It will add compensation once it has obtained local authority permission to replace cables to his house.
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