Moving: Change of contract issue

[rallyestyle]

Hi all,

Im hoping somebody might be able to give me a little advice as after hours on the phone to Virgin and multiple emails sent im starting to think I am being taken for a ride and have become very disheartened

In a nutshell I moved house at the end of last year and Virgin cancelled my mates rate contract and signed me up to a new equivalent (without discount) contract without telling me this would happen and without my permission or agreement

This is how the story goes….

A friend of mine (no longer a Virgin employee) had set me up with a mates rate contract in my flat for around £35 a month, the package was pretty much the full works minus the sports and movies. The contract started in Feb 2011 and was for 18 months. I decided to move flat when my tenancy agreement ran out at the end of November 2011 but up until that point Virgin had been great so I was happy to stay with them until the end of my 18 month contract at least.

Knowing I was due to move house I phoned up the Virgin moving team and a helpful lady walked me through the process of moving over my Virgin services. The lady explained that everything would be switched over and that all I would need to do would be to arrange an installation date, she even said they would throw in a free Tivo box when I moved as the box I had was quite old. At no point in the conversation did she mention that a new account would be setup or that I would have to change my contract. With all this in mind I arranged an installation date for the 13th of December.

The 13th came about and I had moved into the new house. The installer arrived and set about the usual installation plugging everything up that was needed and sorting out all the connections. Once he had finished he gave me a few brief instructions on waiting for the machine to update and that was that. All sorted I thought, well done to Virgin, it couldn’t have gone any smoother, or so I thought….

2 days later (15th) I received a letter from Virgin (dated the 2nd December) with my new contract…. What the hell im thinking, I already have a contract with Virgin, why have they cancelled it and set me up with a new one, especially since they never told me or had my permission nor checked that I could actually afford this new contract! I was set to go to Australia for 3 weeks over Christmas on the 16th so I hurriedly made a few phone calls and eventually (after going back and forth to various vm departments) spoke to a nice lady from staff accounts. She understood my situation and checked my old account and the new one that had been created without my knowing. She said that she would talk to the relevant person and get the old contract transferred on to my new account while I was away. Phew I thought, a nice person has helped me out and everything will be ok, time to distress… perhaps not

So off I go to Oz for 3 weeks only to return and find out that nothing has been changed in my new Virgin account and that my bill is even higher with the addition of another £100 odd of charges It was at this point I got the feeling I was going to have a problem trying to resolve this. Anyhow I phoned up Virgin Customer services and spoke to a pleasant enough chap who just didn’t seem to understand what I was telling him and was more concerned about trying to reduce my bill. Right from the start I said that I wanted to be back on my orginal contract but he seemingly ignored me and proceeded to give me £35 credit and reduce my monthly bills to £65. Once he was done wasting his and my time I eventually got it through to him that I had to speak to somebody who could restore my original contract, his response was that I had to email myrates@virginmedia.co.uk and they would definitely sort the issue out for me with no problems. I explained that I would rather speak to someone and if that couldn’t be done he should put me through to cancellations. Eventually he put me through to cancellations and I explained my story again to which I was guaranteed an email to myrates@virginmedia.co.uk would sort everything out. Biting my tongue I agreed and sent the email expecting a reply within 48hours….

6 days later and no reply, I don’t know why I was shocked! I sent a reminder email… a reply was received informing me about the pointless credit added to my account that I was already aware of completely disregarding the information and questions raised in the email I had sent them. I sent a reply email explaining this but I now get the feeling I am just chasing the proverbial tail in circles with no real action happening in the background, the mounting bill is really starting to stress me out

Can anyone offer some advice that could help? I feel like Virgin have just jumped at an opportunity to get me off my mates rate contract and have held little regard for me as a customer and as a person

Apologies for the long post but I felt that the whole story needed to be told.

Thanks in advance

[BenMcr]

Just to point out a couple of things here

1) It is completely correct that you start a new contract when you move house. This is in the standard customer terms here http://shop.virginmedia.com/the-lega...ices.html#home

3.If we agree to provide the services to your new address, you may have to pay a service transfer charge (to be paid to Virgin Media Payments). Details of the service transfer charge are set out in the price guides. We will also send you a new contract for the services at your new address (which will include the contract for premium television services as applicable) and you will have to keep the services for the minimum period. The service start date for your new minimum period will be the date that the services are installed at your new address. You may not be able to keep your phone number if you move house.


2) You say the mate that set up on Mates Rate no longer works for Virgin Media. The mates rates terms (that your Mate should have advised you of as part of the sign up) state:

Leaving? In the event that you cease to be an Eligible Virgin Media Employee, or if your Mate transfers responsibility for the account to someone else then the discount will be removed, although Virgin Media may, at its sole discretion, give your Mate a grace period at the discounted rate before his/her account is charged at the prevailing rate for the services taken.

---------- Post added at 15:03 ---------- Previous post was at 15:00 ----------

However saying that, I would have thought that if even if your friend stopped working for VM, the package price might have remained the same until the end original 18 months, and then gone to the normal price for the services you have for the remainder of your new minimum term

[rallyestyle]

Thanks Ben, i am now aware of most of the above (apart from point 2, thanks) but feel aggrieved that non of it was highlighted to me when i moved. I phoned expecting exactly that kind of info and was simly told the move would be as simple as plugging up the machine in the new house, i wasnt even asked if i was aware of the t&c's . Also when i spoke to Virgin before going to Oz i would have cancelled the new contract had i known it would not have been sorted out (or been told about the terms and conditions of moving) and gone with a cheaper deal (as i do actually rate the Virgin service) but as Virgin have taken too long to sort it out i fear i am outside cancellation of the contract even though i havent signed anything. I think all of this can easily be sorted out even if it means switching to a cheaper non mates rate deal and recalculating the past 2 months but it just seems so hard to get anywhere with the customer service and its stressing me out that my bill just keeps on going up and up

---------- Post added at 15:49 ---------- Previous post was at 15:26 ----------

I have read this now and feel i have had my hand forced by the Virgin Media customer service/cancellation staff:

J Ending these agreements
1. For services other than premium television services, either Virgin Media Ltd or you may end these agreements at any time (including during or at the end of any minimum period) by giving the other 30 days' notice. You must pay any charges (including usage charges and line rental) up to the end of that 30-day notice period. You may also have to pay an early disconnection fee if your services end within the relevant minimum period as set out in paragraph J2.
2. If you end one or more services (other than premium television services) during the minimum period for such services (other than in the circumstances outlined in section K or paragraph J5), or if you break these agreements and Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments ends these agreements under section L (including for non-payment of charges) within the minimum period applicable to those services, you must immediately pay (to Virgin Media Payments) an early disconnection fee in respect of each cancelled service by way of compensation to us for ending those services early. You can find details of these charges on the Virgin Media Ltd website. The early disconnection fee will not be more than the charges you would have paid for your chosen services for the remainder of the minimum period less any costs we save, including the cost of no longer providing you with those services.
3. If Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments:
a. increase their respective charges under these agreements;
b. make significant changes to the services so the services you are entitled to receive in return for the charges you pay are significantly altered or reduced; or
c. make significant changes to the terms and conditions of these agreements (including the other legal stuff),

you may cancel those services affected without penalty by giving Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments (as applicable) at least 30 days' notice. Such notice must be given within 30 days of the increase in charges or changes to the services or this agreement being notified to you. If you were not notified of these changes in advance, you must give notice of cancellation of the services affected to Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments (as applicable) within 30 days of receipt of your first bill following such increase in charges. If you do not give notice of cancellation within the specified period, you will be deemed to have accepted the increase in charges and/or the changes to the services and these agreements. You will no longer be able to cancel your services under this paragraph. If you cancel any services in these circumstances, the increased charges will not apply to those services during the 30-day notice period and paragraph J2 will not apply if you cancel before the end of the minimum period.

I could have cancelled the contract when i got back from Oz under clause 3a but by the looks of things i have been stalled so that now im outside of my 30 day cancellation window. Why would they do such a thing, if they knew i had no hope of switching back to my mates rate contract they should have been 100% honest on the numerous occasions i spoke with the customer service team on the phone

[BenMcr]

3a applies if the price increases during your existing minimum term e.g. at a price change, not if it increases when you get a new contract

[rallyestyle]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

3a applies if the price increases during your existing minimum term e.g. at a price change, not if it increases when you get a new contract

Fair enough but i never asked for/agreed to a new contract, all i said was im moving and wanted to take my contract with me

I just think the whole thing is pretty poorly thought out. Im a good loyal customer but now i find myself stressed out and starting to loose sleep over an issue that really could have been avoided from the start. Worse of all when i try to resolve it amicably it feels like nobody at Virgin wants to know. Im in the system, they know they can hold the contract against me, i feel like they just want to take me for as much as they can get now