Telewest Billing

[jan2002]

Hi

Quick question, just got off the phone with telewest/Virgin

For above 12 months I have had no bill from this company..just a reminder
queried this and they agreed to refund me all the penalties,which they have already done, Leaving me with a balance due by the 19th March

February a reminder again, with another £10 fee...I have just been told that because I have an outstanding balance carried forward most months , I won't recieve a bill, always a reminder. Is this right ? surely I should recieve an actual bill before the reminder ?

Telewest/Virgin Media are really stressing me out at the moment.

Thanks

jan2002

[buzby]

You need to get both, a bill for services, followed by a reminder if you don't pay. Every time a charge is added to your account then you should be billed monthly. I have heard of some firms (Three UK) who will NOT invoice you if there are no debits on your account, but there's something wrong here!

[jan2002]

Thanks Buzby

[buzby]

For info - Telewest have been changing billing systems in the run up to the Virgin rebranding, depending on which area you are in your billing system could be ICMS (sometimes referred to as SMS), ICOM and Harmony - which will be the default system across the Group. There is a chance that during this changeover your account suffered problems, so in any discussions do ask which billing system you were on originally, and if you've been switched - this could explain part of the problem.

[ASIIndustries]

Hi jan2002, there is another way you did not get an invoice, this is when you sign up to view your bills via the internet TW automatically cancel your paper bills, instead you get an email sent to your nominated account!
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ASI Industries

[musado]

Originally Posted by buzby

For info - Telewest have been changing billing systems in the run up to the Virgin rebranding, depending on which area you are in your billing system could be ICMS (sometimes referred to as SMS), ICOM and Harmony - which will be the default system across the Group.

ICMS and SMS are two totally different billing systems and are both ex NTL, Telewest had been using ICOMS for quite a while before the Ntl/Telewest merger. ICMS customers have now been migrated onto ICOMS, not sure about SMS yet though. Harmony customers should be migrated to ICOMS by the end of this year...then the bills WILL be messed up!

Harmony is extremely unreliable and unstable as a billing system (Iwas made redundant by NTL last November so know it well)

You can request to have a paper bill sent every month even if your account is in credit (as I have done as my staff discount has just finished)

Got my 1st bill as a paying customer yesterday, and surprise surprise I've been overbilled! Charged twice for broadband & line rental last month!

[jan2002]

Bumping this back up as I really am feeling stressed by vm
I still have an on going issue of not recieving bills.

for the past 18 months or so, i have recieved nothing... zilch...no bills whatsoever. I have been called a liar and one errr lady called me an idiot !!

The final straw tonight, I had a missed call from collections (same every month), so called cs to pay, expecting the tenner late payment fee to be deducted and pay my balance same as usual. Nope none of that, the lady said, if I am recieving no bills, seeing as they are showing printed and dispatched on her screen, I must take this up with royal mail as its not vm's problem...now pay up the outstanding balance or go away.

Right, problem is I already called royal mail and they confirm there are no problems with the post in my area...so i switch billing addresses with vm..they send it to my moms now, but, Still NO Bills..nothing recieved

I don't want to pay the late payment fee, i haven't got a bill to be a late payer on. I just want to pay what I owe, peferably before they restrict my services

I feel really let down and insulted with this so called company, I can't fix this problem, what o what do I do next ?????

Phew..thanks for listening, i feel better now LOL

jan2002

[Afrodite]

Try emailing neil.berkett@virginmedia. co.uk with a brief outline of your story. I found the staff in the executive offices extremely willing and able.

Good luck.

[buzby]

Switch to their online billing service? Incidentally, VM use a private firm (NOT Royal Mail - who only deliver the last mile or so), so go back and say RM say there is no problem, and you suggest they actually use RM for deliveries, not some cut-rate inferior competitor.

[jan2002]

Thanks everyone
Interesting info there buzby, thanks for that, they told me today that royal mail are causing this problem, now I know perhaps not uh

jan2002

[ASIIndustries]

Hi jan2002, firstly i am sorry to hear that this issue has not yet been resolved, as to their online billing system, it is not much better according to a few sources as some months you may not receive emails, this could be due to VM not sending or thier own anti-spam filter being too zealous or other ISPs blocking VM's domains as spam.

I too have a similar problem with HBOS & VM, at least i get mail eventually, HBOS cards seem to be a problem, a CC replacement took over 10 months to arrive only 2 days after its replacement & a DC took over 3 months 3 days before its replacement arrived.

As for VM see here.
Virgin Media Billing - The Consumer Forums