Virgin media are just terrible! - This is long!

[indebtstudent]

Looking for a little advice here as I am aware Virgin's customer service is less than stellar (and that's putting it politely!). Anyway the situation is detailed below and I'm just looking for suggestions really from you guys re what I should do next.

 

Approx one month ago I cancelled my direct debit with Virgin Media as, when they were NTL, two bills were icorrect by large amounts (£30 is a lot when it's the rental for your whole package!). Twice I contacted them and was assued that it would not happen again.

 

The second time it appears they were telling the truth and indeed it did not happen again. I have had minior probs like services being suspended for noa pparent reason and when the tech guy came out he was so annoyed he gave me an upgraded box as he said the prob could've easily been sorted by the people on the telephone.

 

Anyway since Virgin Media have taken over I am totally underwhelmed. first they insist on charging when people don't pay by Direct Debit, a charge I did not agree to and also believe other people have had refunded. They also do not automatically put you on the 3 for £30 package, althouhg if you phone up they do (way to look after existing customers there).

 

I cannot understand the online banking details given on thier bill (which is strange given that I work for a building society!) and so cannot pay by my chosen method. When I complained about the service I had recieved, and the fact they were basically not offering me the best value, they upgraded my TV package for free. They would not budge on the non dd amin fee even though the guy did have a clue how it was calculated.

 

He promised me a copy of thier T & C's (I was just being difficult here) and an explaination of how the charge is arrived at. Neither have bene forthcoming. I have e-mailed and sent a letter only to recieve an automated answer to both stating they will reply within ten working days. That was about three weeks ago.

 

I have also recieved, out of the blue, a note saying I must pay £12 immediately with no explanation whatsoever. I haven't made a payment and no services have been suspended.

 

I realize I'm probably going to have to phone them again but how can I make it not sound like a rant? My preferred route would be writing and I did consider popping something recorded address to the director.

 

My main point in the letter I did sent was that I was a happy ucstomer of NTL and hand't considered moving (slight exageration), but my difficulty is that, if I do leave I don't have a BT line and I believ emost other broadband providers need a BT line present. Last time I checked it would cost £65 for BT to install a line.

 

I'm thinking of sending one more letter spelling out exactly how non existent thier customer service is and hoping for a decent response because, truth be told, I really really don't want to have to shop around for different providers. I'm not going to tell them this of course but it does make me a little hesitant to play the I'm leaving gambit.

 

Thoughts/ suggestions welcome.

[indebtstudent]

Argh That's it! The last straw, I don't care what else is available I'm not dealing with this bunch of fools anymore. My bill came today, along with the £5 non dd fee and the £10 late payment fee (which was only there because I couldn't understand their online payment instructions). They have now put the aco**** number I need under the relevent section of the bill. This is the only positive thing they have done today.

 

So... my bill. I confess I can't make head nor tail of it, there are discounts and corrections all over the shop. Some are clearly duplicates as they cover the same period. Impressive. In total the service charges come to £68, strange considering I just switched to the 3 for £30 package. Indeed before that my total service charge was £35.50, and the idiots wonder why I refuse to deal with them by direct debit? If I had been away they would've whipped this out without me being able to do anything until I get back (that's assuming they actually have some staff to answer the phone).

 

They've outdone themselves this time, I was going to ring and query the billing department just for a laugh but I'm just going to hang on for 'retentions' (if they can retain me they are skilled indeed). Why am I not surprised there is a long wait on this option also?

 

I really don't understand thism what's the point of spending money trying to woo new customer then having terrible service? A waste of time on so many levels.

[indebtstudent]

Right I'm sick of holding so here's my letter, I know it's too sarcastic and chatty but I really don't care. Certainly the most fun letter I have written

 

 

I note you have completely ignored my previous correspondence therefore I have enclosed a copy for your reference. I did receive an automated response to my e-mail, and a letter saying you would reply within ten working days. Said letter was dated April 19th and I have heard nothing further from your organisation.

 

Most of the issues I highlighted in my earlier letter have still not been resolved; although I must give credit where it is due - you have finally come up with the revolutionary idea of providing customers with the full details they need to make a payment online. Please accept my thanks for this information as it allowed me to make a payment for the amount that I believe I actually owe your organisation.

 

As per earlier communication I do not believe your non-direct debit charge is fair or lawful and am still awaiting the breakdown promised by one of your representatives. I have already pointed out that I do not wish to pay by direct debit, as I do not believe your billing system is accurate. My most recent bill is truly a work of art and underlines my point beautifully. I cannot understand the billing section. My understanding is that I am currently on the 3 for £30 tariff and therefore I cannot quite believe the bill dated 30th April which claims a total of £68.33 for rental.

 

I also notice you levy a late payment charge and yet another no direct debit charge. Unless and until you provide some proof that it costs you £60 per year to accept payment from a customer I will not pay this fee. If I do not receive a satisfactory response to this letter I will proceed to claim this amount back in court.

 

I have discussed the most recent bill with a member of your team who did seem to know what he was doing. Unfortunately the problem is more complex than he anticipated and had to be passed to technology, although I can sleep easy knowing that they should sort the matter out within two weeks.

 

Frankly I do not see why I should make do with an adjustment to my next bill, as per previous letter NTL twice billed me incorrectly, the current bill makes no sense, and the individual I spoke to today confirmed the same system is in place. Accordingly I have paid the amount of [edit], which is made up of the spurious amount on the most recent bill (less the £30 which should never have been charged) along with the deduction of the three non direct debit fees, late fee and the difference between the £35.50 I was charged initially when 3 for £30 was on offer to all.

 

If you do not agree to the above then I regret to inform you that you must take this as my thirty days notice of cancellation as you are unable to competently bill me for the services you provide. I am sure your records will confirm that I am a profitable customer, but as a result of your frankly appalling customer service and levying of unreasonable charges to which I never consented, I shall have to look elsewhere for my services.

 

Ordinarily I would only discuss such matters in writing but in order to improve the way you treat other customer’s in future I would be prepared to accept a telephone call on my home telephone number on an evening. I refuse to spend anymore time waiting to speak to your staff and trust that the above clarifies my position. In light of the above you should not be surprised that I was unable to get through to the disconnections department. As previously suggested you are wasting time and money advertising to recruit new customers where your existing provision for customer service is inadequate.

[indebtstudent]

O c'mon someobdy must've been amused by my letter?

[indebtstudent]

I today recieved a letter!

 

Unfortunately it was the standard rubbish saying ten days to reply... My notice better start from the day they recived it (sent recorded so should not be a problem).

 

If they don't sort this out I'm going to fire another one off to the director, whoever that is, as this is not acceptable.

[indebtstudent]

Don't worry about it, at first nobody was watching so feel free to vent your frustrations.

 

I had to laugh today when I bought a local paper guess who's recruiting...

 

They're paying nearly 19,000 for Customer Relations Executives (and I quote) who can keep people happy. Who's going to train them I wonder?

[indebtstudent]

Send the e-mail got this reply at nine thirty the next day

 

Steve Stewart has received your email and has asked me to contact you to discuss your concerns. I am so sorry that you have had such a poor customer experience with us. I do assure you that you are a valued customer and I am most concerned that you feel you have been treated with contempt.

I would very much like to discuss the issues you have raised and would appreciate your contacting me on 0845 234 0752, extension 6184. If you are using a mobile phone please advise me immediately I will call you back.

I feel that I have resolved your billing issue but need to discuss this with you. I am working from 0845-1700 hours this week; I will also be working overtime on Sunday so if you feel this would be a more convenient day, please also advise me.

[indebtstudent]

I've also just got a letter telling me thier £5 charge is fair basically because they say so. Apparently it costs them lots to accept my payments (I couldn't care less). Also other companies levy such charges, I refer you to my previous answer.

 

I thought about sending another letter but what's the point, they just ignore it anyway?

 

First I'll give this lady hell on the phone, then I'll write na even better letter, they will not win it will only happen to some other poor bugger.

[indebtstudent]

To the naysayers I say ha ha!

 

Got my balance wiped out, after a rather friendly chat. The lady mentioned that other companies charged, I said , with all due respect, I'm not concerned with other companies. I even stuck in a little dig about banks charges which made her chuckle.

 

She said that a transfer from my account still needs somebody to 'apply it to the aco****' yep that must take about four seconds.

 

But sersiouly she did state that a study had been done on the costs and that it actually costs them MORE than the £5 to process payments not made by DD. I let this point go, as the thing is they have to show it in court, or even to me before I concur.

 

I told her I knew people who had had the charge waived, she didn't like that.

 

I'm awaiting my bill which will have the balance set to zero (forget the actualy amount, I think that was just for late payment fee and non dd charges around £20).

 

I'm going to have a look at the bill and if it's all good I'll give them a second chance. She agreed that the service is not good enough when customers are trying to get through, I pointed out it feels like they just want your money but if you actually want something doing then it appears they don't care.

 

I like the offer Sky have on at the moment anyway so if they continue to mess up then I'll have a bit of that.

[indebtstudent]

She did remain non-committal for a very long time, there's nothing you can really do if someone is in that sort of bad mood.

 

Best thing you can do is go the court route.

 

Interesting though that she said that a study had been done, the thing is unless they show it to us or aoucrt it means bugger all.

[indebtstudent]

I've had enough anyway I'm going to give them ym 30 days notice, I am careful with my money but I would rather pay a little more and get (hopefully) a better service.

[indebtstudent]

It was quite amusing really that, when I mentioned that I was not able to speak to a supervisor. The genius I was speaking to said I could speak to a colleage so Ia sked would your colleage have the same understanding as you? The answer was yes. Classic!

 

I pointed this out to the nice lady and she started bemoaning the situaion. Whoa whoa whoa there I'm the customer here!!! I only suggested callbacks as an example. I even had to say AS A CUSTOMER whatever problems the company has are not my concern. I only mentioned a call back as an example of good customer service.

[indebtstudent]

Hey its all good info, actually I'm going to go over the e-mails and letters again to check if they have anything dodgy. One woman did in fact tell me that it costs them MORE than £5 to process no DD payments.

 

Wonder if I could make more of this, I've got some other director to write to but even the helpful Penny said the letter might still find its way to customer concern.

 

I'm going to be a little less reasonable too as A) It's fun and B) I'm leaving them anyway.

[indebtstudent]

Exactly if I own a shop I price the goods with my overheads in mind. It's like saying oh you're pying by cheque well in that cash the price is a if you pay by card it is b or cash is c.

 

Side issue here aren't companies that have stopped accepting cheques doing just that in a roundabout way?

 

Buzby is spot on and I have a point to make I think you will like. A letter recently in a paper (Mail I believe but might've been a local one, I read a lot). If they charge us for processing our payment then we should charge them for the effort of sending it, shoe leather if we walk to the bank or post office, costs of a cheque (knowing what they cost the banks and therefore lead to lower rates for us). I might even put a claim in for time spent researching the legality of thier charge.

 

Only kidding but it just goes to show how absurd thier argument is, is there anything I can do? Is there any point complaining to the regulator?

[indebtstudent]

I've jsut sent a letter to the CEO marked private and confidential BUT the only lady at Virgin I spoke to with any intelligence said that it might find its way to us (meaning customer concern or whatever thier title is).

 

I've put some charges in, quite modest but the point stands. This is my last attempt, I relaly can't be bothered to change suppliers but if he doesn't respond or doesn't care then its decision made.

 

I've said in no uncertain terms that I will sue them.

[indebtstudent]

Update trading standards slammed BT's charge, Virgin's is higher!!!

[indebtstudent]

No reply from the CEO but I did get my charges waived again...

 

See below

 

I do understand and appreicate what you are saying. However both BT and Virgin Media have advised that in fact it costs more than what we charge for administrating payments not made by direct debit. BT charge £4.50 per quarter, Sky charge £4 per month and we charge £5 per month. Some companies reduce their charges if you pay by direct debit but it works out the same. Please also note that you are receiving a 'loyalty' discount of £19.50 per month which more than covers this charge. As you are a valued customer, I have cleared the £15 which is outstanding as you have not paid the handling charge for the last three months, in order to avoid a late payment charge. However, our procedure (along with most companies now) is that if you do not pay by direct debit, we will charge you a handling charge. As mentioned, I think the £19.50 discount you receive each month, and which will last indefinitely, covers this charge and you should consider paying the full bill in future. My main point here is that if you do cancel your services with us and go to another provider, you will be in the same situation if you do not pay by direct debit. As you say, I do think we have exhausted this subject; however, please be assure that you are a valued customer and I have been working hard to keep you !

[indebtstudent]

Any suggestions for points I should make?

 

For now I've said we'll have to agree to disagree but there are two issues. the charge is one the customer service is another. They are forcing this charge on people and yet the billing system is astonishingly bad. I chucked in the line about accessing my bank account pointing out that I do not trust them.

 

I also said that the fact they refunded the charge after syaing that they could not suggests a dishonest approach. Also they only refund the charge to people who make a fuss suggesting a lack of respect for other customers.

 

I also said that some of the bad feeling relating to these charges, IMO, comes from the lack of choice customers feel of late and feelings of being pwoerless in the face of large organisations.

 

Consider for a moment many companies now not accepting cheques and these ridiculous non DD charges. Yet I see everyday the people who are most in contorl of thier finances seem to be the older generation who deal only in cash or cheques. One person said that, thought she may benefit from the facilities a current account offered (and I quote), " I wouldn't know where I was. I don't make mistakes this way".

[indebtstudent]

Extract from my E-mail, I wrote to this guy and got the charge refunded as a 'goodwill' gesture (although he didn't contact me himself). Stick to the facts, point out that thier terminoligy means nothing to the customer. The situation is madness, I'm leaving for Sky (even thought I don't want to) because of Virgin's terrible customer service, billing system and ridiculous charge. I know sky have a less than stellar reputation but I know of friends and family who are happy with them and at least I'll just have to fight them on the charge.

 

As soon as I get a BT line in I'm, might keep the Virgin broadband though as it is rather good (and less diifuclt, I hope, to cock the billing up.

[indebtstudent]

Whoops I've missed the info out

 

"If you like you could write to Neil Berkett, the COO at Virgin Media, Bartley Wood Business Park, Hook RG27 9UP but it is possible your letter would be passed to us anyway for action. "

 

I also marked mine private and confidential to try to head off the customer concern people. It was partially successful (I got my refund BUT it got done by the person Iw as already dealing with).

[indebtstudent]

Hello again my eager readers...

 

Got a letter today from the CEo saying they could not refund the £5 charge BUT this comes AFTER I got an e-mail from the person I had been dealing with saying that the accumulated £5 charges had been removed to prevent a late fee.

 

So I shall be ringing the CEO to make all the points covered here before telling them to switch it off. He claims he cannot refund the £5 - he's the flipping CEO!!!

 

No wonder VM are haemorraging customer. Damn my spelling but hey I'm tired.

[indebtstudent]

I'm also thinking of going to the press, this rubbish has got to stop now (and I need something else to think about until this OFt thing is resolved...)

[indebtstudent]

"Your letter claims that you are a "profitable customer".

Unfortunately going off their most recent financial report, Virgin Media don't have any such customers!!!"

 

My point was that I should be profitable in as much as It ake all my products from them (thus tkaing that business away from thier suppliers) and I happily paid my bill without any fuss until they started messing it u[ and introduced this ridiculous charge.

[indebtstudent]

Surely the Sale of Goods Act is worth a look? I've never looked at it in detail but I'm sure companies have a duty to provide products that are as decribed. I doubt they described what you expereienced...

[indebtstudent]

This really is getting out of hand, is there nothing we can do in terms of the media? If nothing else it could make a splendid strange but true sort of article...

 

Or a live naming and shaming, that I would pay to see!