Charging for no service

ComplaintsTelecommunication ServicesVirgin Media

Complaint

0
Rosa
Country: United Kingdom
I January I applied to have NTL installed at my home. Virgin Media said they have no problems in the area and the cable will be installed quickly. I took a day off work to have the installation done. They could not do it in one day so I had to take another day off work. At the end of the day they told me they need more time to install because of some problems in the area.

This was unacceptable and I canceled the contract with them. In three weeks I started getting bills, and now it seems they are about to send my "canceled" account to collections.

When I call them, it rings for ages - someone may answer, probably in India, and I cannot understand what they are saying. They then transfer me to another department and I hold on an hour. Absolutely horrible!

Comments

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  • 0
    Greygoose
    Some weeks ago I applied and paid for the installation of a hardwire telephone line into my property - which shouldn't have been hard as it is already linked to several points inside my place (evident through blank wall boxes - and in a hall cupboard marked 'NTL/Virgin'). Having first messed up the initial installation date the second date and time was agreed - the so called engineers arrived three hours late witrhout first calling to explain their lateness - and informed me that the cable from the cupboard to the box, although in situ, was not connected therefore they were unable to complete a connection. Having moaned that they'de damaged a wool rug whilst there they left leaving me with a 'Managers' contact number, which turned out to be false. So three days later I rang to complain and was told that the engineeer had signed off the work as COMPLETED. I complained and was told a Manager would call, he didn't. So one week later I rang (waited 45 minutes on hold on my mobile phone to get through) and was told that a new internal complaint would be forwarded to a Manager who would call me back within 10 days. He didn't so I complained again - and was told a Manager would call me within 48 hours, guess what?, four days later and I am still waiting!
    So I am left wondering if Virgin really do have a Customer Care policy.

    Quite certainly they have taken my money without providing the agreed service; which is taking money by deception (the installation fee and one months service rental)I know about these things because I work for a Government law agency. And moreover they employ people who obviously lack integrity, because the engineer falsified the worksheet for my installation.

    I will call again to see what they are going to offer or say, but my next step is to write a letter of complaint to their 'Customer Loyalty Manager' in Manchester.
  • 0
    Nuchina Gbajumo
    May i start by saying how dissapointed we are at this point with services provide,in particular the telephone service.In may,our service was restricted for a month.I complained and the nearest available date was days later.Under agreement,you are suppose to attend such faults in 9hours.That was also not the case.This month of July,we experienced the same problem again.The engineer had confirmed that the fault was from outside and was your fault.You have still charged us line rental for that month and also this month.Your contractor keep ripping our line off outside because they are not well trained.Why should we bear the burden?Compensation has to be put in place.Also,i asked for the baby channel to be removed a month ago on the phone,the lady i spoke to said she had done it.Its till showing till date and i am being charged.I can understand the change over of management causing alot of choas,but i will have no alternative but to switch service provider if something is not done as a matter of urgency.
    Sincerely Yours
    MRS N GBAJUMO
    Note; if this is the wrong dept to send this mail,pls forward to approperate dept.Thanks
  • 0
    Simon
    I have had Virgin media for 7-months have endured 7-months worth of billing, internet and TV problems.  Each time I call i'm on hold for up to 1-hour, and then am moved from one to another to wait on hold once more.  This smacks of NTL.  After their latest failure to respond, I have tried to cancel the service based on the foregoing poor service levels - effectively im not going to pay for a service im not getting.  However, I am told that this cancellation means that I have to pay a charge fee equal to that of the remainder of the contract; therfore, again, paying for a service that I dont get.  Im sure thsi is illegal and have gone off to OFCOM, and referred Virgin to the CISAS the arbitration service for these matters along with a case against then.  Virgin have stuck their necks out on this and are, due to such dreadful service and poor assocaition, losing brand confidence. If you fly with crows you get shot with crows
  • 0
    ima virgin
    Virgin Media is far and away the world's worst customer service company. It is not surprising that the company is up for sale again.  Anyone mad enough to buy them can expect the worst. Whatever due diligence they have done on the company will not prepare them for what they find on the ground. My own experience was an install from hell.

    I should have known what to expect when the VIrgin Media account generated and ntworld email address.

    My partners name was spelled differently on different letters / contract etc. not the best start given the fact that email is not that flexible. The Install letter did not arrive until several days after the engineer called. I therefore did not have a PIN number. The install engineer was plain rude and gave me the wrong PIN number after using his laptop to receive it from HQ.

    The serial number was wrong. It turned out the there was an error in the Customer Service manual!

    I signed up for 4 Meg but was entered up as 2 Meg on their database. I was not given the £10 installation discount for joining online - they had me down as ordering by telephone. I was advised to ring support in 'India" and after a long time waiting they told me to ring 'England' who then told me to call 'India' ... India did not have access to all my details and so we had a completely impossible conversation. They asked me for my password. Two had been given by the Virgin Media sign up did not work. Later, much later, it transpired that he should have asked for a  'security word' - in-fact I had given that in desperation even though it was not a 'Password' but they would not accept it. It later transpired (from a supervisor) that the staff I had been talking too did not know about a 'security word' for security reasons!

    I was continually refused access to a Manager / Supervisor.

    During one of the many calls it was revealed they I had been put down as £25 per month when it should have been £17.

    I was then told that 'the best solution would be to go back online and go through the registration process again!' I was told I would get two bills, TV and telephone and just a Telephone. I had not ordered TV! In fact it the became clear that the £25 charge was for TV. So I 'may receive a £25 bill and a £25 credit'.

    At the end of all this I just kept insisting on a manager and finally, after god knows how many hours, I got one. Santosh was OK, he was doing his best to sort through all these mistakes. He was able to increase me to 4 meg pretty much immediately offered and I demanded better, compensation. He finally agreed to upgrade me to 20Meg for a £25 per month. I was told that he would not be able to do this himself and that it could take up to 24 hours but promised to call me back after 24 hours to check it had been done. I was impressed that, somewhere, there was someone at Virgin Media that understood that the customer is still king, I trusted him. I thanked him and we had a laugh.

    Some two hours later my 4 Meg died, I assumed that it was part of the 20 Meg upgrade. Sadly 24 hours later it was still dead. Santosh did not ring. Several days later I have nothing. I have a dead cable modem, a 4 port router I purchased to use with the service, and high blood pressure

    It has cost me a small fortune in phone calls and a redundant cable modem but I have had enough, I can't take any more of this. The only problem is how do I get out of it?

    Virgin Media are the biggest [***] on the planet. DOING BUSINESS WITH VIRGIN MEDIA can seriously damage your health.
  • 0
    Julio Sousa
    I was already at boiling point with Virgin and now after i read all the coments in this page i am EXPLODING.I have been with Telewest since 2004 and until recently i never had one single problem with them but since February 2007 since Virgin Media took over i have had nothing but problems,either is my internet connection that either craches or runs slow or with tv channels that disapear wich than i spend hours on the phone just to get an answer "I have XL" and when i get one its because this or that and the one thats making me very HUNGRY,is that now ,although i pay my bills on time i still get charged "£10 for a late payment"this of course "NOT CORRECT",so now i am paying £15 more every month wich is desgraceful and very much a DECEPTION.The funny thing is that when i tell them to stop my tv services i was told that they could not do that until i paid the £10 for late  payment, i ask, WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON? I have contacted OFCOM,WATCHDOG,TRADING STANDARST and i will keep looking for more i just hope that one of them will answer my letters and offer me some kind of guidance,something needs to be done we are being Robbed big time someone at Virgin is making a lot of money and yes i aggree with the previous writer VIRGIN MEDIA IS THE BIGGEST [***] AND THIEVES ON THIS PLANET.  Good luck to you all
  • 0
    Darous
    I was a customer with Ntl and cancelled my account last year in September. In June of this year I recieved a bill charging me for £106.78 which was all pay per view movies.I rang up and got put through to customer services and explained the situation. I had cancelled my account and my services had been turned off. The guy said that there must have been a fault with there system and I was charged by mistake. I was happy with that..but I held onto the letter. Today I recieved another letter from Virgin Media credit management. They were sorry I was cancelling my service with them I found out that it had been cancelled June of this year I explained to them That i havent been a customer for nearly a year and my account has been cancelled. This was ok and  I was given a number to ring and so the circus began. I rang found out it was no longer in use and ring the new number. I was rang this and was then told that I had to go to customer relations I have been on the phone for a bout 40 minutes. I then get through and low and behold after explaining everything I'm told I should speak to someone in customer care and I'll be transferred. I was transferred to Technical Support. I hit option one I had to try something got through to a operater she says im in the wrong department F**KIN' EH genius and I am told that they r sorry for the inconvience and I will be transferred to Customer care. I'm put on hold and the tune is played then a song starts to play..I really did think someone had turned there phone towards a radio..I was then cut off. tried to ring again but it was after 8pm when I tried had been on the phone to them since 7.15pm.

    Virgin Media a joke and truely a shower of useless sh**es.
    I'm gonna keep on at them and if I have to go further i will
  • 0
    pete
    i already had broadband for ages from ntl.
    then one day it changed over to virgin. and i got a call from then offering me the tv  for £2 extra on me bill.
    3 mobths up the line i am constantly ringing em to ask why they dont take  the payments...and have spent well over £80 trying to sort out a £2 bill.
    it gone from a good company to crap in one easy move.
    half the time you spend out to listen to realy naff music while your on hold.then if you do get through you talk to someone who cant understand english and end up no better than b4 you rang.

    its totol crap
  • 0
    Harry Lloyd
    I agree with you all!!
    About 3 months ago, I requested for the downgrading on my Internet service from 4mb to 2 mb, but when I received my bill, I noticed that I was charged the 4mb's price which is £25.

    I rang up the customer service right away 2 months ago to reconfirm, even have spoken to the manager about it. I was told that this matter would be sorted right away, and would have £15 refund, as I would get a £10/month deal for the 2mb internet service.

    Sadly, the bill in the following months I've been charged for £25 each month AGAIN! I called up every month to alter this mistake and requested the FULL refund, the Virgin Media is just giving me empty promises, and kept on dragging it...

    Yesterday (1st Aug 2007), I rang up again, and the customer service told me that the manager would keep in touch with me today. I have waited for whole day but negative...
    However I called up again, and spoken to 3 different customer services individual, now they give me a deal which is £10/ month for the next 6 months, and £20 refund (as they told me that this is the best they could do for me.)

    I am totally disagree with it! As I suppose to get this £10/month 3 months ago, but I was being charged £15 extra for 3 months, this is totally so WRONG! I should get my full refund which is £45 not £20!!!
    How can they take my money away and refused to give me back the full refund? BIG SCAM! Bet they do it to every customers!
  • 0
    robert
    I think I have a record. 57 phone calls, 49 talk hours, spoke to 112 people (know all of them already).
    I moved house and wanted to take the services with me. I had Telewest which was truly great. I moved to a so called NTL area. I called in May for the instalation. A guy came and told me that he can't install as the house is too high and that he needs to book a cherry picker haha. I thought this was unnacceptable so after around 5 complaints and arguments with incompetent [***] in the customer services I managed to talk to a manager in the install dept who sent me someone again. This guy has intalled the services with no problems, of course. The services were activated but the phone wasn't working. After around 10 phonecalls with the install dept I gave up. The broadband was also rubbish, I was getting 10% of what I was told I will get. Suddenly the services were deactivated. The customer services told me that they were deactivated because... my services ARE NOT INSTALLED and that I need to book an installation!!! I explai that they were installed months ago. Anyway, now I am in a situation where I try to re-actiuvate my services and no oine seems to have a clue, they send me from dept to dept and promise to call back although it doesn't happen. No one knows how to sort this out.
  • 0
    Shaun Thomas
    I've had so many problems with Virgin Media, ongoing since I first joined them in September 2006.

    My problems go on so long with them I ended up being so frustrated that I set up a website for other people to make there complaints about Virgin Media.

    The website address is www.myvirginmediahell.co.uk come along and tell us your stroies as well.

    I email Virgin Media on a regular basis to show them new stories and complaints that have been posted on the website.
  • 0
    Shaun Thomas
    Hi All,

    I've been reading the comments made here since I first posted my comments. And the flow seems to be the same that Virgin Media haven't made any improvements since the re-branding if anything they seem to be slipping back.


    Please will you all consider joining my website myvirginmediahell.co.uk and making your feelings felt there, this will help me bring the website to the closer attention of Virgin Media.

    The more attention I can bring to the myvirginmediahell.co.uk website the more chance I have of Virgin Media management taking it seriously and doing something about the damn right poor service customers are receiving.

    The website address again: myvirginmediahell.co.uk join our forums and make your comments at forum.myvirginmediahell.co.uk

    Don't put up with bad service exercise your right to compalin.

    I thank you all in advance for considering joining the site and making your feelings known.

    Shaun Thomas
    MyVirginMediaHell.co.uk
  • 0
    jt
    I had a lot of problems with virgin media so I setup a website as well ;)

    I have searched on internet and there are more than a few websites complaining about virgin media.

    http://VirginMediaComplaints.co.uk
  • 0
    Paula
    I can not believe how poor the service is that virginmedia provide!!!I cannot believe there are so many complaints about them.
  • 0
    Paula
    Well where do i begin?I signed up for virinmedia Oct 2007,the representative who came to sign us up was obviously in a rush to finish that day ,he came at 6 o clock on the evening(i was happy for him to come another time as he told me he didn't normally work that late on a friday)After giving us a brief description of what the contract included and i admit it sounded great and good value for money,i signed the contract and looked forward to having virgin media installed in 2 weeks time.I recieved letters confirming the date and a time slot in which the engineers would be arriving(2 nov between 8 and 1)On the day,the engineers arrived late with no explaination,then after a couple of hours messing with different things,they told me its not that straight forward,apparently the cable from my house that connects to the one under the ground at been cut some how,and so they explained another team would have to come out and sort it.But then thet said they could temporaraly install it by connecting it fro next door but one neighbours house and that they had already had a word with them and they said it was ok,and went on to say its what they do if if installation is not straight forward.I admit i was not sure about this and told them i didnt mind them coming out at another time to install it properly.They insisted they had spoken to the neighbours and that they were ok with it,so i let them go ahead.They finished off and told us we would get an appointment through for the team to install it all properly in another 2 weeks.Later that day the next door neighbours were at the door asking what the cable was doing running from their house to ours and they explained that none of the engineers had asked permission at all about installing the cable!As you can imagine i was frustrated with virgin media and i explained everything to the neighbours and thankfully they were very understanding.So after 2 weeks ,we had another visit from the virgin media team,and after a few minutes of looking arond outside,they explained to me that another team would have to come out as the pavement would have to be dug up!So i asked the engineer if he could remove the cable from the neighbours house,this meaning i wouldnt have any service from virginmedia.Icould not believe how much i had been messed around,i got on the phone and after ages of trying to get through,i spoke to someone and asked them if i could cancel my contract as i had not been with them for 30 days,and he told me that i could and my bill would only be up to the day in which a member of virgin media remove the equipment out of the house.So 3 days later the equipment was returned and a couple of weeks later a bill came.I was being charged for days after the equipment was returned and when i looked closly at it ,i was being charged for films i hadn't ordered,(how could i order films if i hadn't got a reciever?)So AGAIN i got on phone and explained this and after a while of me getting through and finally making her understand,she said i would have some money taken off the bill.I thought this is a good time to ring my bank and cancel the direct debit i had set up with virgin media.Another month went by and when i thought i had nothing to do with virginmedia anymore,i get another bill,again for services i no longer had.I phoned them again and asked what the bill was for they told mw its for the services i had used,i was really confused and angry at the fact they were ripping me off.Any way they told me to ignore the bill (which was for about 60 pounds and said i just needed to pay 16 pounds as like a cancellation fee,i was so tired i just agreed and the next day it got paid.If that wasn't enough,last week i recieved a letter saying the 16 pounds had not been paid and i had i week to pay it or it was going to be transferred to another department to deal with it.I phoned them up as i was worried,and explained it had been paid,they appologised and told me to ignore it.Then TODAY,i returned fom work to find VIRGIN MEDIA digging the pavement up.When i asked them what they was doing they said we have come to install virgin media for you,i told them thers a misunderstanding i am no longer with them.They said thats fine and he got on the fone to them.I am really angry with virgin media and i expect i am still going to hear from them,i thought i was finished with them,i wish i never bothered with them in the first place!!!!
  • 0
    omar
    I signed a contract with a sale rep representing virginmedia on basis of providing a package including broadband XL (20M), medium virgin TV, M talk (talk weekend) for £27 per month to be paid by direct debit, attached a copy of the contract. After checking my bank statement, I find out that virginrmedia charging my account by £37 per month which was not stated in my initial contract.
    I contacted the customer services many time regarding this problem, they informed me that my bill stated as £27/month and I have to contact the credit team by dialling 170 from my virgin phone.  I did so but I could not get connected to the credit team. I kept trying to contact the customer services many times to clarify the situation, at the end; I have been informed that 3 for £ 27 includes broadband M (2M), L virgin TV, M talk and I have to pay for the XL broadband. I tried to clarify that my signed contract with virgin media  includes XL broadband (20M), M virgin TV and M talk all for £ 27, but the customer service said they can not do anything for me and they advice me to send a copy of the contract and a written complaint to correct the situation.
    Taking extra money from customer did not convey with virgin media good reputation because it is considered a breach of the signed contract. Because of this fault I am facing to much psychological tension, I argue and request to return the extra money which was taken from my account back. Finally how can it possible all the bills I received stated £30, 26.09 still now but taking by direct debit £37 and £65.37 etc. Could you please explain me why harassing me in this way?
  • 0
    Tone
    Well i have just been charged £25 for a self install modem upgrade :| so much for it being free huh!
  • 0
    dave
    its supprising that virgin media have got any customers left the way they treat them i also have had load of bull s--t from them they tell us that they wil get some one to call back but they never do and ffs why do they have people in india who cant speak a word of english working for them and talk about late payment fees now thats another joke £10 every time you are late paying they think that every one should pay the day they send the bills to them i.e we were installed on the 1st of the month but we dont get our bills til the 15th of the month and then they keep phoneing up asking why havent you payed your bill you tell them you dont have a credit card and they continue to ask you can pay by debit or credit card ffs are they deff or what when it was diamond cable way back there was no problems and if there was it certainly wasnt as bad as they are now and at least then you could go to your local diamond cable office and pay your bills but now its either direct debit or at pay pal machines
  • 0
    Shane
    Totally a bunch of [***] Virgin media are. When i first got virgin media i had the broadband and phone line installed. No one ever uses the phone so I called up to have the service disconnected, I was told that it was done...a month later I get a bill through requesting me to pay a big £700 for the phone line, im confused as to why so i call them up and told them my situation and they told me the bill was for months that the phone was installed and i did not pay (WHICH I BLOODY WELL DID), i paid for every month, and then they tell me the phone line HAS NOT BEEN DISCONNECTED and im like what the hell? I've requested it to be disconnected.

    To keep the long story short, i kept asking for the phone line to be disconnected, I've even unplugged it at home and put the phone away so nobody uses it. Yet every month even to this date i've been getting bills through, £300 everytime. TODAY I've got another bill through after being told already that the phone line has been disconnected and i even paid for the disconnection fee!! Virgin Media is a scam and I do not recommend them to anyone, they have the poorest customer service in the world. Im going to call them about this bill and if they make me pay another pence I am taking action, because Im paying for a service I don't have access to use, and Im pretty sure i've paid well over a grand already just to discconect a bloody phone line. How hard is it to do one task properly Virgin Media? Bloody [***].
  • 0
    Nik
    Im another disgruntled ex-NTL now virgin broadband cable customer.
    I have phoned up about poor service so many times I lost count, the indian call centre ppl cannot understand what you say and you cant understand them. They appear to simply read a pre-written bullsh1t sheet about what to do if your having a problem, usually trying to blame your own PC etc, even if everyone in the street has the same problem like me. Promises that a manager will call me back always are complete lies, nobody has ever called me back, despite several times they promised they would. After an engineer called and installed a new modem telling me that was the problem, and as soon as his van was gone the problem was back !
    I really hate virgin media, NTL were bad but VM are even worse.
  • 0
    Nathan
    Virgin media are still currently billing me  for a service that i no longer have - they have agrred to a refund after shutting my internet down a month earlier than i asked then continue to bill me for it.  The refund is still waiting and they have again charged me again , even after agreeing they had made a mistake by shutting my internet off on the 25th july rather than august 25st- They are a cowboy outfit  - avoid at all costs.  Luckily i paid with credit card so i am making me credit card company refund me any losses i incurr.
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