Virgin Media has been fined a record £28 million after regulator Ofcom found the firm stopped or delayed customers from switching to different providers by “widespread” and often deliberate mishandling of calls.
This included attempts to pressure customers to stay, unnecessary call transfers to other departments, keeping callers on hold, deliberately dropping calls and failing to process cancellations on the system, according to Ofcom.
Natalie Black, Ofcom’s group director, infrastructure and connectivity, said: “The facts are clear. Virgin Media made it harder for customers to cancel their contracts and then did not fully co-operate with our investigation.
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“As a result, we are levelling our largest-ever fine under our consumer protection rules for direct harm to consumers.”
Consumer group Which? branded the findings “shocking”, saying Virgin Media’s actions came at a time when households were struggling at the height of the cost-of-living crisis.
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It found Virgin Media – which merged with mobile giant O2 in 2021 to form Virgin Media O2 – split its retention team into two “tiers” of agents, with only those in the second tier able to process cancellations, which meant customers had to repeat their request to at least one further agent.
Some frustrated customers resorted to cancelling their direct debits, which then impacted their credit score. Ofcom said Virgin Media encouraged staff to put customers off from cancelling by rewarding them through its commission scheme.
A Virgin Media Spokesperson said: ”We’re committed to giving all our customers great service and apologise to the small proportion who experienced an issue when contacting us to agree a new deal or cancel their service in the past
The fine, which must be made within the next two months, will be passed on to the Treasury.All affected customers must also have received compensation or the remedy they are entitled to within six months.
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