Good morning everyone,

This is my first post to a forum like this and I am looking for some advice.

I have signed up to a 12-month Virgin Media contract in November 2016, due to expire in November 2017.

Since I signed the paperwork in the shop, I have had a number of issues and conflicting accounts according to the service agents I speak to.

1) I signed a contract in a local high street store outlet. The sales agent was the store manager.

I asked explicit questions about billing and the charges, several times, to make I understood. I got confirmation of the maximum amount I could expect to be billed in any given month was the price quoted and circled on my agreement statement.

I only wanted Broadband, but for some promotion at the time, it made it cheaper to take Phone and TV too: 12-month promotional discount for the package of all three services, making my overall charges cheaper than Broadband alone.

Satisfied I was given clear information and adding all services I needed, ex-directory, etc (to avoid nuisance calls), at the time I took the contract, I was happy.

I also asked them about their Refer a Friend scheme before I signed the contract. I was advised, I need to wait for my first bill, after a Month, and then call Customer Services, provide my details, and my friend's details, and we both get an effective discount. - Minor issue, but discrepancy number 1.

I made an initial upfront payment instore for something, and left the store.

When I was contacted given all the details of my contract and installation dates, etc, most of my services could be set up the next week, but one of them would take up to a Month (the broadband I think). Given the Broadband was the whole reason I needed the service, this wasn't ideal.

I called up a few times and this date got moved forwards.

Following the installation, the service took some time to get activated. The installation engineer even called up himself a few times to see why: changed the router, left to install another job and then returned.

The service eventually worked.

When I got my first bill email, it was a LOT more than the package price I was expecting to pay.

I was advised in-store, the first bill is twice the monthly charge, so that was expected.

In my case, my first bill was nearly 4 times the charge and then some.

When I called the Customer Service number to query this, it was looked into. The excess charges were because payment had not been taken initially instore apparently, and the rest was incorrect package price details: discount had not been applied.

I assured them I had paid instore, to the Manager and had a receipt to that effect.

I emailed a picture of the receipt of the payment taken instore along with the agreement I signed: package details and price.

The store payment was then credited to my account and the excess charges added as a 'credit'. No chance of a refund. Bearing in mind they have charged me for 3 months in Advance.

I was told the excess would be credited to my account and I would not be billed until the credit had expired.

Since this was my first bill, I also decided to ask about the 'Refer a Friend' to credit myself and my friend with £50.

I was told that the referral should have been made at the time the agreement was taken out instore. This is in direct contradiction to what I was told by the Local Branch Manager at the time I was taking out the contract.

On another occasion, I went to the store again and was told again, for referrals, you must still wait for the first bill before calling Customer Services. This has always been the case.

Since the credit has expired on my account, I am now being billed again.

At no time has the billing amount been as agreed or expected. My bill is expected to be around £30/month.

My most recent payment was nearly £60.

My next bill is nearly £80.

I do not understand why I am being billed so much, with such variation. As such, I have recently written to the Executive Office and by post, to inform them I have cancelled the Direct Debit. I want to make manual payments in future, so that I know how much I am being charged.

My question: Can pay the remaining difference for my next bill or do I need to pay the bill in full: I was charged £58 for a £30 bill last month. Can I pay £2 for this month, and then £30 manually every month after, or do I need to pay the £80 stated on my my Bill statement for this month? I don't understand why it is £80...

Further information: my Virgin Media Direct Debit was listed as a Variable Amount. I have a phone contract. The payment type and amount for my phone are listed as 'Fixed amount, £xx.xx". Why is Virgin Media a Variable Payment amount? Should it not have been set up as a Fixed charge?

I need advice because I do not want this to affect my Credit file.

not a lot we can do really

you've just gotta nail down VM tight as a drum with no wriggle room.

why not threaten to cancel the whole lot.

might kick their but into gear...

if you have all the written evidence to back up your claim then they don't have a leg to standon

esp if you have evidence of failures within 14 days

as CRA is your friend no matter where you signed the contract.

dx

You do realise this is not a short story competition !

You simply needed to state what contract you signed up to originally and then the details from your bills. All of these bills are available to be viewed and printed off on your VM online account.

I am a VM customer and the billing is fairly straightforward. You have a bundle price which is guaranteed for x number of months. Sometimes there is a discount for the first 6 months and then they increase the price. This is written into the contract signed. Then on top of the bundle price, you will have the charges you have made which are chargeable.

If you don't pay by DD, they add a payment service charge of £5 a month. You normally have about 21 days from the bill date to make the payment due.

Should have read phone calls charges are on top of bundle price

Having signed up with Virgin media myself last month my first bill payment is due tomorrow and check my Bill online

Have Broadband but as the telephone and TV Package was thrown in for `12 months took that as well at £32.00 a month

My first bill is £64 which includes a month in advance

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your responses.

I will see what happens and keep this updated, I just needed to know something about my options.

@unclebulgaria67: I had signed up to a 12-month contract, with a 12-month promotional discount. I'll send them the contract agreement (which they should also have on record) and hopefully that can clear things up. I don't want to have a long-drawn out dispute with them if I can help it. I just want to be billed what I signed on for.

I did pay by DD to avoid the extra fee, but since it seems to be variable, I don't have faith in it at the moment: I don't want to get Bank fines for larger transactions than expected. It gets expensive!

Also, I have the phone line, and note your comment about Phone charges being extra. The thing is: I don't use the phone. I don't even know the number. Nor does anyone else know it to call me on either, hence I am really surprised and confused why I keep getting charged such variable amounts.

@obiter dictum: I signed onto a similar promotion. It was going well and supposed to be hassle-free. I'm hoping it's a mistake on their end.

I've written to them and am waiting for a response, but I wanted some advice.

@dx100uk: I am pretty sure I have enough evidence of the timeline. I logged the dates/times of my communications before I started having to do it in writing. I hope it can be sorted easily, but otherwise, I'll bear CRA in mind. Thanks.

Have you had a response from the exec office yet?

I know a few people at VM including in the exec office, keep us posted with what they respond with.

Sounds like your account has not been set up correctly. If you have a bundle price and have no phone call charges, then you should pay the same each month.

VM billing is very simple: They consistently overcharge you and give you the runaround.

If you can, cancel the contract and go somewhere else.

VM billing is very simple: They consistently overcharge you and give you the runaround.

If you can, cancel the contract and go somewhere else.

Also heard horor stories with overcharging and poor service on internet blogs.

Nothing like personal recommendations so i went around the estate I live and asked. People stated more than satisfied with Virgin Media and any problems sorted quickly

So the lesson being believe nothing you see and hear on social media and refrain from spreading erroneous gossip

Hi @martin2006: I haven't had a response yet, I'll hopefully have something tomorrow.

@unclebulgaria67: I think there was problems setting up my account. They got details wrong a few times before. It was usually minor, and fixable, but this one could cost me more: credit risk as well as being overcharged. This is why I am looking for advice, to make sure I do this properly, and can get it sorted quickly.

@king12345: Hopefully they can tell me what's going on. It's so much easier not to move, but I am prepared to if I have to.

@obiter dictum: I asked people for their recommendations too. I got mixed responses, as with anything and decided to try my luck. The outcome of this will determine if I can recommend them myself now. I want to be fair and honest if people ask, so I am willing to discuss the issue with them, before just spreading erroneous gossip. I hope it goes well.

Every month i can log into the Virgin Media site to check my bills. It lists what you are paying for the package and how much for phone calls.

Are you going online to check your bills and if so what are you being charged that differs from what contract you signed up to ?

Dont forget there will be installation fees and telephone line rental in your bill also

The installation fees are a one off and paid in advance before the bill is generated and the line rental is included in the package price.

The exec office team usually respond quickly, they also have teams dedicated to monitoring social media sites.

Hi,

@unclebulgaria67: I had trouble signing into the online account recently, so couldn't view the bills. I wasn't checking them so much before as there wasn't a problem and worked as expected. I will try to log in again during the week.

@Andyorch: I paid some fee upfront in the store, and thought the installation fee was only in the first bill. Line rental should be part of the package I signed up for all-inclusive, and not more (I don't use the phone).

@martin2006: I sent a letter in writing and via email. They have responded so now I am discussing things via email and will see what happens.

I will double check the billing agreement differences this week, but on the phone, my services were the same. Not sure how this has happened.