VM Exit fee

D.Roberts · 28 Oct 2021 at 11:53

Hi all to cut a long story short

I have had VM for the last 13 years in the current address.
I was kicked out of the property 3 months ago to no fault of my own.
I continued to pay the VM bill though.

I have now found a new property BUT there is and will not be cables laid for VM services.
I rang VM they said there is no future plans to even lay the cables that would provide VM to that property.

So in short I can NOT carry on with my contract with VM there for I can only cancel it they want to charge me £240.
The contract runs out next year in June 2022.

I am at a loss I dont have that kind of money out right.

Any advice please

thank you

Caged · 28 Oct 2021 at 12:42

Have you told VM that you can't afford the ETFs? That would be my first step. If they aren't helpful then cancel over the phone, agree to the termination fee but cancel the direct debit so it sits around as a debt rather than coming out of your account. You can then phone them back and offer to pay it off as a small amount each month.

Given the choice between getting dinged on a credit report and paying out money that I can't afford for a service I can't use then I'd take the hit on the credit score.

Support for customers struggling to pay their phone or broadband bill during the pandemic - Ofcom

D.Roberts · 28 Oct 2021 at 12:51

Thank you for the reply.
Its not like I dont want to continue the contract they just dont have the cables to provide it.

Yep told them I can not afford it they did not care.
Loyal customer for 13 years never missed one payment they gave zero F`s.

Not sure what to do now..
New place only has openreach I think it is?.

Avalon · 28 Oct 2021 at 13:46

D.Roberts said:
Thank you for the reply.
Its not like I dont want to continue the contract they just dont have the cables to provide it.

Yep told them I can not afford it they did not care.
Loyal customer for 13 years never missed one payment they gave zero F`s.

Not sure what to do now..
New place only has openreach I think it is?.

OK, here’s what generally happens:

You were in a contract, they will hold you to the terms of that contract. That part won’t change.

If you follow the advice above then somewhere between 90-120 days it’ll get written off and sold to a DCA, they will trace you, add fees for doing so and begin the process of trying to collect the money, they didn’t normally push it to CCJ territory, but they would go as far as for knocking. My advice is if you follow the advice already given you respond to the first letter and agree a payment plan with them before it gets expensive or better yet advise them the debt is disputed and to refer to the client (VM). Obviously, things may have changed now.

Ideally before it gets to that stage what you should be doing is contacting the CEO office. From personal experience they give less than zero f’s about policy and procedure and general know less than FA about what can and can’t be done. Explain your situation (preferably in writing with contact details - yes, they will call you), depending on the view taken it’s likely the charge would be reduced or waived.

The other option before it ever gets to that stage is to arrange a Transfer of Responsibility (TOR) so that the account can become whoever is still living in the property, you sign them, the new account holder signs them, it stops being your problem, if you have explained what happened to whoever you spoke to, 99% sure this would have been mentioned as it means they can put you through to a different team and get on with something they are incentivised to do.

Oh and if it makes you feel any better, the last contract I cancelled with anyone cost me 144K… I was not popular, but my only regret is I didn’t do it much sooner.

Lord Alibaski · 3 Nov 2021 at 11:00

If your going to BT they can offer upto £300 towards termination fees, ask them they have offered me this 2 days ago.

Ergates · 7 Nov 2021 at 21:57

Read your contract closely. In the past I've been in a similar situation - moved to a new house that didn't have cable - and the contract said that under such circumstances they'd close it. Alternatively, say you don't want to end the contract but insist that they provide the service to your new address - then say that if they can't it's their problem.

Caged · 7 Nov 2021 at 22:17

The contract is very clear cut that if you move house then you pay early termination charges.

https://www.virginmedia.com/shop/th...nd-conditions-for-fibre-optic-services#moving

Avalon · 7 Nov 2021 at 23:27

Ergates said:
Read your contract closely. In the past I've been in a similar situation - moved to a new house that didn't have cable - and the contract said that under such circumstances they'd close it. Alternatively, say you don't want to end the contract but insist that they provide the service to your new address - then say that if they can't it's their problem.

As someone who dealt with the policy, enforcement and auditing of that enforcement in relation to the contract you are referring to, that simply is not the case in all the time VM have been VM.

the-evaluator · 8 Nov 2021 at 09:57

Ergates said:
Alternatively, say you don't want to end the contract but insist that they provide the service to your new address - then say that if they can't it's their problem.

LOL. No, it really isn't their problem.

Ergates · 8 Nov 2021 at 10:37

Avalon said:
As someone who dealt with the policy, enforcement and auditing of that enforcement in relation to the contract you are referring to, that simply is not the case in all the time VM have been VM.

Well that sucks - I think it was NTL (who were Virgin before they were Virgin), but it was a long time ago so I'm not sure.

Avalon · 8 Nov 2021 at 12:43

Ergates said:
Well that sucks - I think it was NTL (who were Virgin before they were Virgin), but it was a long time ago so I'm not sure.

Possible, the first thing that happened post merger was NTL said they couldn't make any changes to process/call scripts without a 6-8? week notice/briefing period. That was the first process to be reviewed and shortly after that NTL essentially migrated to follow many of TW's processes with a few re-writes/merges that mostly reverted once the CMS/billing systems migrated. Either way, not an option today unfortunately, it's 15+ years ago now, and I suddenly feel a lot older :eek:

Ergates · 10 Nov 2021 at 14:52

It's entirely possible it was a different company too. It was definitely a broadband provider though. And we were with NTL at one point (then moved to an area that wasn't cabled) but we've also moved since then too, so... who knows.

But anyway - VM have something in their T&Cs that explicitly states they don't do this - so yar boo sucks to them.

Avalon · 10 Nov 2021 at 16:54

Ergates said:
It's entirely possible it was a different company too. It was definitely a broadband provider though. And we were with NTL at one point (then moved to an area that wasn't cabled) but we've also moved since then too, so... who knows.

But anyway - VM have something in their T&Cs that explicitly states they don't do this - so yar boo sucks to them.

Please provide a direct quote of the relevant clause you think would apply, I am sure the op would find it really useful as unfortunately from what he has described, nothing seems to apply. It’s an uncalled area from his description.

Participant · 10 Nov 2021 at 18:18

I have exactly the same issue as you OP. Same amount to the £ as well.

I haven't got a plan yet but the BT contribution sounds like a very good bet.

Broken Hope · 10 Nov 2021 at 21:08

Surely you should be out of your minimum term contract if you've been with them 13 years? Or have you recently made a change that renewed your contract you for another 12 months? I don't understand how they can charge you if you're out of contract.

Participant · 10 Nov 2021 at 21:17

Broken Hope said:
Surely you should be out of your minimum term contract if you've been with them 13 years? Or have you recently made a change that renewed your contract you for another 12 months? I don't understand how they can charge you if you're out of contract.

I've been with NTL / Virgin Media since I was a student in 2001 but when you take on new prices / services they make you take on a new agreement.

Avalon · 10 Nov 2021 at 21:17

Broken Hope said:
Surely you should be out of your minimum term contract if you've been with them 13 years? Or have you recently made a change that renewed your contract you for another 12 months? I don't understand how they can charge you if you're out of contract.

If you renegotiate a preferential rate, or take a new service out, that comes with a contract commitment. If you want to be on a 30 day contract, you pay the retail price.

Ergates · 10 Nov 2021 at 22:34

Avalon said:
Please provide a direct quote of the relevant clause you think would apply, I am sure the op would find it really useful as unfortunately from what he has described, nothing seems to apply. It’s an uncalled area from his description.

This was a broadband supplier I had several years ago. I don't still have the paperwork.

Avalon · 11 Nov 2021 at 00:01

Ergates said:
It's entirely possible it was a different company too. It was definitely a broadband provider though. And we were with NTL at one point (then moved to an area that wasn't cabled) but we've also moved since then too, so... who knows.

But anyway - VM have something in their T&Cs that explicitly states they don't do this - so yar boo sucks to them.

Ergates said:
This was a broadband supplier I had several years ago. I don't still have the paperwork.

Then why make assertions about op’s current contract/situation that aren’t supported by the facts available? He is under a *current* contract, it’s been linked to, yes it has exclusions, but they don’t seem to apply to the op’s situation as described. I’d love to be wrong, nobody likes to see someone in the situation described, hence the advice offered on alternative solutions.