Default - Virgin Media

[PocketTheDifference]

I wonder if somebody can help.

I was stupidly unaware we had a 18 month contract with Virgin Media...biggest regret of my life.

Jan 2014 I believe i took this out 8th of May 2014. By Jan of 2015 our agreement with the land lady came ot an end and she wanted to sell the property. as usual we agreed to moving within a month and found a new place.
We moved I cancelled the policy with Virgin to be told I had £250 cancellation charges as they were unable to provide me servies in my new move.

I therefore queried this amount, and the actual fact that they could not provide me services and i was being put into a situation i could not help.
I have never recieve a reply. However until April I was still getting bills. My final in April 2015 with still no reply from VM.

In May 2015 (so a month later) they defaulted my account. I never recall recieveing any notice of intention until I saw something from a DCA. I thought well while i wait i will pay this off. And Have done. Which was Settled as of November this year.
However as I query this with VM I get very little back.

"
Dear whom it may concern.

I write to you in Concern of my account having being defaulted.

Firstly so that all concerns are clear, what I would like to expect here is to have my default removed.

This is currently stopping me applying for a mortgage although I have found the house we wanted to buy and now have a delay in applying and of course we will probably lose this property. I have a new young family and newly married however this sad state of affairs on this small account are now effecting my family.

My Reasoning for this is due to the Query I raised with yourselves via letter. And the timescales given.
I think it very unreasonable to ask for the amount you had done within a month. I had received a bill on April for the amount of £250 and then In May you have defaulted my account.

I would like to make you aware that unreasonable reasoning was applied here and I should have received a reply to my query before being forced to pay £250 in cancellation charges. I also do not see the timescale given to be fair and just.

The other Point is that I was never ever served with a default notice which I believe to be unjust. If you had followed up to my letter I may have known your intentions and therefore paid while the query was on going. I was also NEVER offered to pay this in part payments, as mentioned above asking some normal human beings for that amount of money in a month from cancellation may be impossible.

I do want to point out, that I have paid this off due to the pressure being put on myself and I feel that having this as settled is not enough. This will affect me for 6 years when, in all accounts I was willing to pay this off once all queries and doubts. This I find fair and I am sure there is a certain way in which the system works when queries like this arise.

I would have taken your services to my new rented property however you were unable to offer the services in my area. This was a forced move as the owner of the property was needing to sell on due to a bereavement.

I urge you to consider removing this default in good faith, and in the knowledge that this account has been settled with the amounts you believe I owe for cancellation. The amount is such a small amount to consider and as a gesture of good will in good season, I would politely ask you to remove this and allow me to move on having had amounts settled.

This would in turn would also allow me not to rule out returning as a customer in the future as I did enjoy the services rendered.

Please consider my case in all respects of how I have moved on with my life and this account and want to progress and make a house purchase for myself and family, as I have also turned over a new leaf with my finances and have much more control.

Kindest Regards"

And have received this response.

"Thanks for getting in touch with the Virgin Media team about the entry we added to your credit file.We have taken a look at your account and conducted a full investigation.
We regret to inform you that we will not be making any amendments to your credit file as it shows a true reflection of your payment history and will remain as a satisfied default.
Whilst I appreciate that this may not be the answer you were looking for, I hope this answers your query and clarifies the situation for yourself.

J.Morgan
Consumer Underwriting Services"


I really do need this removing as I don't feel i have excessive time for my to be personally satisfied. and feel this is unfair £250 and a 6 year **ck up on my credit history!

I would really appreciate a little help with this matter as I truly am attempting to apply for a mortgage which I know have to explain to the family why i wont be able to purchase the home knowing VM have screwed me here.

[ostell]

Re: Default - Virgin Media

Good old VM, they really know how to get up people's noses. First of all get a copy of the agreement, it should be available on line, and see what it actually says about handling a move when they are unable to supply a service. Can then work from there.

When you need to escalate try contacting the CEO.

My daughter had a contract problem with VM. They were going to charge a substantial sum for a cancellation, even provided an incorrect link to the conditions. When the correct conditions were found they contradicted what the letters were saying and my daughter cancelled without charge..

[nemesis45]

Re: Default - Virgin Media

I agree, a Formal Complaint to the CEO is the way forward.

It is clear to my mind that VM should not charge because it could not
provide service to your new address.

nem

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: Default - Virgin Media

Okay Awesome I can go down that road. I sent that above letter to the CEO email address i believe. So I will try and find it online. All I could find was how much they would charge for a cancellation not the terms of moving homes. Ill have a peek and see if i can find it.

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: Default - Virgin Media

Hey Guys
True to Form VM are on Fire!

I have now had a reply.

"I am writing to you at the request of VM senior Management as ytou have now exhausted our internal complaints process. (Not true this is my first letter and they deny any others...) I understand our consumer underwriting team have given you a response you are unhappy with.

VM are legally obilged to acuratley report.....ETC ETC....

Since July 2014 you have made several part payments (i think it was 2 in 14 minths..)

I undersstand you are most agrivated by the final bill that was not paid in time. Please allow me to list a bried time line.

Bill Dated 4 Feb 2015 was for £xxx.xx as you had underpaid your Jan bill. On 6ht Frb we recieved your paykment of £102.52 (for Jan)

on 15th Frb your accoutn was disconnected, as per your request made on 6th Feb. You were made aware of our terms and Conditions regarding early disconnection. and contractual changes where applied and account balance. a Bill for the £250 disconnection was produced on the 16th.

Anothe rBill was produced on 4th of March and 8 April 2015, We Passed the Debt to a Collectopon Agency on the 4th May and you paid it off in installments between June and November.

With the debt paid your credit file was marked satisfied. We will not be removing the Default itself, as thjis is correct and accurate.

This is VM final Position on this matter.


First of all I actually cancelled it in the Jan not Feb. But still In my eyes While I was querying this rubbish they over 2 months defaulted didn;t reply and sent no default intention. Probably had the old address.,..Can anybody advise on this with any useful ideas on pushing VM I dont' believe they should have defaulted my, and not so soon. as soon as I chased VM up this is when i ewas advised on the default and with a DC agency.

Thanks as always.

[nemesis45]

Re: Default - Virgin Media

Hey Guys
True to Form VM are on Fire!

I have now had a reply.

"I am writing to you at the request of VM senior Management as ytou have now exhausted our internal complaints process. (Not true this is my first letter and they deny any others...) I understand our consumer underwriting team have given you a response you are unhappy with.

VM are legally obilged to acuratley report.....ETC ETC....

Since July 2014 you have made several part payments (i think it was 2 in 14 minths..)

I undersstand you are most agrivated by the final bill that was not paid in time. Please allow me to list a bried time line.

Bill Dated 4 Feb 2015 was for £xxx.xx as you had underpaid your Jan bill. On 6ht Frb we recieved your paykment of £102.52 (for Jan)

on 15th Frb your accoutn was disconnected, as per your request made on 6th Feb. You were made aware of our terms and Conditions regarding early disconnection. and contractual changes where applied and account balance. a Bill for the £250 disconnection was produced on the 16th.

Anothe rBill was produced on 4th of March and 8 April 2015, We Passed the Debt to a Collectopon Agency on the 4th May and you paid it off in installments between June and November.

With the debt paid your credit file was marked satisfied. We will not be removing the Default itself, as thjis is correct and accurate.

This is VM final Position on this matter.


First of all I actually cancelled it in the Jan not Feb. But still In my eyes While I was querying this rubbish they over 2 months defaulted didn;t reply and sent no default intention. Probably had the old address.,..Can anybody advise on this with any useful ideas on pushing VM I dont' believe they should have defaulted my, and not so soon. as soon as I chased VM up this is when i ewas advised on the default and with a DC agency.

Thanks as always.

The Information Commissioners Office requires that credit reference file must be maintained as accurate and up to date, showing a true picture
of the conduct of an account.

There is no obligation to send a default notice as this is not a credit account regulated by CCA 1974.

A " satisfied default" is a true reflection of the conduct of this account.

The view taken by VM is what one would expect, but I still believe a cancellation fee charged because
VM could not service the account is wrong.

Telecoms/financial Ombudsman service complaint next?

nem

[R0b]

Re: Default - Virgin Media

I agree that I don't believe the charges should be levied. Your argument here could be the term is unfair in that because you move home and they cannot supply you with the service then they are imposing a penalty on yourself by way of automatic termination incurring cancellation charges. What was your reason for moving home? Did you have to pay any installation fees for the lines to be installed or anything? If the line was already there and didn't require installing then I'm not sure where their estimate estimate of loss will come from and could be construed as a penalty.

Alternatively, and I'm not sure it would work but worth a shot, is that the contract has been "frustrated" in the sense that neither party is able to perform their obligations under the agreement due to the unavailability of the service at your new address and therefore both parties are discharged from the contract. However, the counter-argument is that VM have already made a provision for moving home and that only outcome is to cancel the service and so frustration cannot take place ( and therefore going back to my first point about being unfair).

One thing you could also point out (which may or may not work) is that the other 2 big broadband suppliers BT and Sky state in their terms that if the service is not available when you move home then the contract will be cancelled without penalty, maybe argue custom and practice that it is well established when one of the big providers change their terms which could affect the customer significantly then others usually follow suit e.g. prices. But i guess depend on what other suppliers T's & C's state too, probably the weaker of the arguments.


EDIT: Just realised re-reading your post, that the correspondence says you have already paid for the outstanding balance? If thats the case then things may change as its likely more difficult to get the money back. And as for the default, Nemesis is right, nothing can be done about that I'm afraid.

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: Default - Virgin Media

Thanks for your replys above.

I will be sending a letter off today. I will go for the Cancellation fees for the remaining contract as a point of call. ITs worth a shot, I have nothing to loose now, as I wont be getting a mortgage for the next 6 years now.

Failing this, who would be the appropriate bodies to file this with. I want to push this as much as possible.

thanks as always