Ofcom Fines Virgin Media £28 Million Over Cancellation Failings
Ofcom said Virgin Media’s call-handling failures affected millions of customers and ordered the company to review compensation for complainants within six months.
- Regulator Ofcom fined Virgin Media £28 million today for "systemic and repeated" failings in contract termination procedures, addressing consumer harm caused between January 2022 and September 2024.
- Millions of customer calls were likely mishandled "in order to delay or prevent customers from cancelling and switching to a competitor," as Virgin's commission scheme "effectively encouraged" deliberate call-dropping and excessive hold times.
- The company split its retention team into two tiers, forcing over a million callers to repeat requests to different agents while failing to maintain proper oversight of third-party call centres or quality monitoring.
- Natalie Black, Ofcom's Group Director for Infrastructure and Connectivity, stated, "The facts are clear. Virgin Media made it harder for customers to cancel their contracts," though the penalty was reduced by 30 per cent after the company admitted failings.
- Virgin must ensure affected customers receive entitled compensation within six months, while the provider will combine Commercial and Data and Operations functions into a new Consumer unit led by Lyssa McGowan OBE.
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55 Articles
UK cellular carrier fined $28m for hanging up on people calling to cancel
Virgin Media was fined $28m by telecom regulators in the U.K. over its tactics to prevent customers canceling their service. The method was not especially sophisticated: its agents would simply hang up on customers or put them on hold until they hung up themselves. — Read the rest The post UK's Virgin Media fined $28m for hanging up on people calling to cancel appeared first on Boing Boing.
Clingy Virgin Media fined £28M for refusing to take the hint
UK comms regulator Ofcom has fined Virgin Media £28 million for repeatedly obstructing customers seeking to switch broadband, pay TV, and landline providers, or to cancel their contract with the company. The watchdog says it uncovered deliberate stalling tactics by Virgin Media agents, including dropping calls, repeatedly putting customers on hold for no reason, and excessive and unnecessary call transfers between agents. Millions of calls made …
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