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Virgin Media has been fined £۲۸m by the UK telecoms watchdog for repeatedly preventing customers from cancelling their contracts over a near-three-year period.
Ofcom discovered that Virgin Media “likely mishandled” millions of phone calls between the start of ۲۰۲۲ and autumn ۲۰۲۴, with deliberate call-dropping tactics, unnecessary call transfers and putting customers on hold for “no reason”.
The watchdog investigated the company after it received almost ۲,۰۰۰ complaints from Virgin Media broadband, landline and pay TV customers who struggled to cancel their contracts.
The £۲۸m fine, which was reduced by ۳۰% as Virgin Media admitted to its failing and agreed to settle the case, is Ofcom’s biggest ever under the regulator’s consumer protection rules.
The Ofcom investigation found that millions of calls made by customers between January ۲۰۲۲ and September ۲۰۲۴ were probably mishandled by call agents “in order to delay or prevent customers from cancelling and switching to a competitor”. Customers can save hundreds of pounds by switching to a new deal.
It also uncovered evidence of “deliberate mishandling of calls by retention team agents”, with a commission scheme that “effectively encouraged” and financially rewarded agents for “behaving in this way”.
Natalie Black, a director at Ofcom, said Virgin Media initially “did not fully cooperate with our investigation. As a result, we are levelling our largest ever fine under our consumer protection rules for direct harm to consumers.”
“Today, we are sending a clear message that any provider who wilfully acts against the interests of their customers will pay a heavy price,” she added.
The regulator said Virgin Media had since made a number of important changes, including improvements in its commission scheme, training and quality assurance, and monitoring.
Ofcom has ordered Virgin Media to check that every affected customer who complained has received the compensation or other remedies to which they may be entitled within the next six months.
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A spokesperson for Virgin Media 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.
“We have completely redesigned our customer services in recent years, addressing the historic shortfalls identified by Ofcom through a number of improvements, and have resolved all formal customer complaints from this period providing redress where appropriate.”
The company said Ofcom’s latest data showed Virgin Media now had the fewest complaints among broadband providers.
The penalty announced on Wednesday followed a separate £۲۳.۸m fine Ofcom issued last December after it found the company had put thousands of vulnerable people “at risk of harm” when switching them from an analogue to a digital landline.
