Ofcom has fined Virgin Media £28 million for what the regulator described as “likely mishandling” millions of phone calls between January 2022 and autumn 2024, preventing broadband, landline and pay TV customers from cancelling their contracts.
Call-dropping and unnecessary transfers
An investigation by the UK telecoms watchdog uncovered evidence that Virgin Media employed call-dropping tactics, transferred calls unnecessarily and placed customers on hold for “no reason”. These practices made it difficult for customers to end their subscriptions.
According to Ofcom, the company’s conduct affected a significant number of callers over nearly three years. The fine is intended to penalise Virgin Media for what the regulator views as a serious breach of consumer protection rules.
Customer experiences sought
The Guardian is asking readers to share their own experiences of struggling to cancel contracts or subscriptions with Virgin Media or any other company. Contributions can be made anonymously via a secure online form, and the data will only be used for the purpose of the feature.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the times we fell short of the high standards we set ourselves and our customers rightly expect. We have already taken significant steps to improve our customer service and have invested in new systems and processes to ensure that our customers can easily manage their accounts.”
