VirginMedia Is the Late Charge of £10 Legal?

[Oh Boy!]

Virgin have charged me £10 because the bill was late in being paid, (post strike) is this legal, can someone shed some light please.

[davethorp]

Nah it's not. Claim using the same process as the bank charges but ammend your letters to suit

[Oh Boy!]

Under what section would i be claiming!

[MARTIN3030]

I won my first ever claim against Telewest and boy was it a long haul..but I got it in the end.
After VM took over I still got some late payment charges but to date have paid none.
I am not on their DD scheme..and am storing up those fivers for a rainy day to launch a claim.
All I do is this......when I call them to make my payment by debit card....I just knock off the late payment charge.
Whilst they will not openly admit to it...my guess is that the customer advisors/agents etc are under instructions that if the late payments are disputed to simply knock it off....I am assuming this because I have had 5 consecutive ones and not paid any.
Of course with DD its a bit more easier for them to take it....one of the reasons ppl dont like it.
I suggest you call them ...speak to accounts and tell them you want the tenner credited back.
Taking them to court for a tenner to be honest is not worth the hassle when you can get this back by just using some tact.

[Oh Boy!]

Thanks marty.

Hate VirginMed.

[MARTIN3030]

Keep us posted

[davethorp]

I'm not the only one saving the fivers up then. Got 2 so far and accumulating

[MARTIN3030]

Actually Dave in my Telewest claim they started from £2.00 then went to £3.00
VM upped this to £4...and of course then £5
Maybe in the new year it will go to £6
Seems a fiver is the going rate...I think since the much publicised British Gas tried to argue it was reasonable.
Still as we know its not acceptable until they can provide actual figures which prove the fiver is a true reflection.
In one of my early communications with the then C.E.O of Telewest she actually stated in her letter that it cost more to process than they actually charged.
In my reply I asked her if her shareholders were aware of this and said it was an extraordinary scenario.....as you probably guessed she had no answer to it.

[davethorp]

I don't suppose she provided a full breakdown of how the charge is calculated to make the costs more than what they actually charge.

Didn't think so

[Yyates]

I don't know if this makes a difference to claiming late charges back but VM is back on the market for sale.

[buzby]

Watch for the late payment fee going up to £25 then. Money for old rope!

[magilla_guerilla]

VM will drop any charges as soon as a dispute kicks off. In most cases they don't want to lose your custom and avoid the extra work that this adds ! (trust me I know....)

Stick to your guns and take it all the way to the top ! Ask for the managing directors office address - you'll get heard and hopefully get this sorted.

Write to them at the following address as well :

Virgin Media,
PO Box 333,
Matrix Court,
Swansea.
SA7 9ZJ

Good Luck !

[indebtstudent]

Good call, I wish I had thought to save the fivers up, its a great help for those who don't save the conventional way