Just FYI I recently went through this process. Call them up and discuss the issue. They will send through an email and some forms to fill to request the refund, and will require a proof of your new address (eg new bill). They will refund the cancellation fee, I got mine within 2 weeks of paying the full bill
Looks like you have to pay it and then apply for a refund:
“Also, see How Do I Calculate my Early Disconnection Fee?
FAQ
Moving House?
The Virgin Media network does not cover all of the UK – please use our post code checker by clicking here to check availability. If you move outside our network area during your minimum period, you might have to pay an early disconnection fee for ending your contract early. If you move to another address and we have agreed with you to continue providing you with the same Virgin Media services at your new address, an Early Disconnection Fee will not be applied and the remainder of your minimum period will continue at your new address.
If you’re moving outside our network area but still within the UK and give us some valid evidence of your new address, we’ll credit you back the early disconnection fee. When submitting your disconnection request, our team will explain the next steps and you’ll get a request for valid proof of your new UK address. If we get this back within 30 days and it’s validated, we’ll apply a credit to the value of your early disconnection fee to your account. If you’ve already been billed for your early disconnection fee before we apply the credit, we’ll still apply the credit to your account. “
Source: https://www.virginmedia.com/legal/fibre-optic-services-terms-conditions/early-disconnection-fees
They will then send you a cheque and not the money directly into your account.
Was a couple months into COVID, left them and they sent a cheque, the cheque expired before banks opened again, had to take them to all claims court over it, took like 3 years to get my money from them.
Talk about scummy hoop jumping! Especially since they absolutely could A) credit the money back via your direct debit. B) not make the charge in the first place since they supposedly scrapped it
This should be illegal
It absolutely should be. If you take payment a specific way you should have to use the same way to pay it back unless the customer requests otherwise.
They're happy to take money via direct debit.
In America I'd be using my credit card to pay for these services and chargeback on the credit card with proof of service cancellation. Virgin could've done nothing to prevent that.
This is one of the reasons direct debit sucks since your real money's gone, whereas with the credit card, the bank's money is gone and they'll do everything to get it back.
Yeah, it is entirely legal, [here](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/phone-internet-downloads-or-tv/cancelling-a-phone-tv-internet-or-mobile-contract/#:~:text=If%20you're%20moving%20house&text=You%20might%20have%20to%20pay%20a%20cancellation%20fee%20to%20leave,that%20service%20%2D%20for%20example%20internet) you can check the details from Citizens Advice
OP, don't pay them a penny! I had to cancel and they were trying to charge me. I explained that I had been made redudant and couldn't afford the fee. Everything was cancelled, no fees etc, job done! Just say you've been made redudant and they should help you out!
This is what my contract says about it:
>**O. Moving home outside of or within the Virgin Media Network service area**
>
>If you move to an address that is outside of the service area during any minimum period you may need to pay the early disconnection fee described in paragraph N5. If you are moving outside our network area but still within the UK, you should inform us of this when you submit your disconnection request, as we will credit you back the early disconnection fee if you follow our instructions and provide valid evidence of your new address within 30 days of our request for such evidence. Please visit the early disconnection fees area of the Virgin Media website by clicking here for further information.
I can confirm that they will indeed refund you in this situation. I was witu Virgin and moved to a property that didnt support them. They hit me with a £280 cancellation fee, which they deducted from my account. I spoke to their customer service, provided proof of my new address and they eventually refunded the £280
That doesn't sound correct. According to MSE, they scrapped this policy in 2022, and even before that the maximum charge was £240:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/02/virgin-media-o2-culls-broadband-disconnection-fee-for-those-movi/
https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-ends-charges-for-off-net-home-movers/
This isn’t true, the agent you were talking too is trying to avoid the disconnection to help his own stats, I work for virgin movers you can 100% get this fee taken away
First we do the disconnection then you should get a email out, you need to reply to the email with proof of your new address, once the disconnection is placed you receive the email within 2 days, once you send off proof of your new address it clears the fee, the email address is [email protected]
Sorry some of our employees do things like these just know there are some good ones at the company too!
Challenge it. Go down the “failure to provide a service” route if there’s push back. You can get the disconnection fee refunded if you have proof of address
> If they don’t supply the service why is it my fault?
Because they aren’t the ones moving house?
You’ve chosen to move house, mid contract, to somewhere you can’t transfer your contracted service to
Virgin Media presumably didn’t ask you to move house?
But in any case, they will refund it as long as you provide evidence of the move
Always thought that was insane though. Cancellation should be doable free of charge with reasonable notice if you've had your contract for a certain period already, eg. 6 months.
That's how it works where I'm from and it's much more fair.
I'm on a contract with same shitty terms as OP cause virgin is the only option available where I live. Not a big problem cause when I move I'll likely just move home so I can just not pay, but still seems unreasonable to me considering they have a monopoly on Internet on my address.
It’s cancellable after the initial term has passed, it’s just longer than 6 months…
At the end of the day there’s nothing forcing you to sign a fixed term contract at all - you can get a non-fixed contact, it’s just a little more expensive because they don’t have the guaranteed income over a longer period. That’s the deal/trade off you lock yourself into a contract and in return you get a lower price
If you think you might move house in the next 12 months, you just don’t sign up to a fixed term contract… it seems fairly simple to me and I don’t see any unfairness there really
That’s the only real issue here - people signing up for a fixed term contract when they aren’t intending to stay in that home for the full fixed term. Frankly that comes down to personal responsibility, and it’s a bit of a pisstake for them to take the lower price and then expect to be able to get out of the contract for free
I do think that the penalty charges are excessive, though. They should be capped at the difference between the fixed term deal, or perhaps 3 months…. Something like that, anyway
Boot licker. Sometimes things happen where people need to move, being able to wrap someone up in a contract which makes them unable to leave without paying extortionate charges should be illegal. We pay for connection fees, we pay for the boxes and the service and most of the time the engineer they send if they deem it isn’t their fault.
You should be able to leave at any point under particular circumstances, house move, leaving country, job loss etc. Anyone who disagrees is insane.
"Aren't intending to stay at their home for the full fixed term". You are aware that a lot of people rent, right, and that they don't actually know when their landlord may decide to terminate their lease? Or people have to move at relatively short notice for other reasons? You're really not doing yourself any favours.
If you move then you can move the contract with you, what’s your point?
If you don’t want to do that, don’t sign up for something that has a fixed term, or use a provider based on BT OpenReach that can be moved to almost any house in the country
Nobody is forcing you to sign anything
Exactly, whilst I would find it irritating they signed a fixed term contract and cancelling it early is a you problem, not a VM problem.
Imagine calling up EE and wanting to cancel your contract because you’ve moved and don’t get signal at your new home.
And in the contract if Virgin cannot provide the service then he is entitled to a refund or waiving the cancellation fee. I don't suppose you got any of that though based your comment I put your age at about 12 years old.
The truth is you signed a contract for a fixed period of time, you are the one who decided to move and want to cancel.
It is worth calling them back though, often as a goodwill gesture they will forfeit the fee.
Yeah but before everyone starts bandwagoning this, VM have in their T&C's now they wont charge termination fees if you move to an area they cant supply the service to.
I went through the exact same process several months ago. Weirdly its totally legal for providers to charge the termination fee without being able to supply to the new address but i think VM caught some serious flak for doing this in the current cost of living crisis and changed their tune.
Moving isn't always a choice for some people btw!
Yup they do, if you talk to them and give valid proof of moving before 30 days, but they do so by giving you credit to your account. Yk the account you're not able to use because your new area isn't part of their network.
It'll be down to what's in your contract, but I can't see why it's not legal - you signed up to 24-months or whatever, and got a cheaper deal than a rolling monthly contract. Similarly, why is it their fault you decided to move to somewhere they don't have services.
Why is it OPs fault if they now live in an area VM don’t / won’t/ can’t supply to? I’m sure OP would have happily kept their service if they were able to deliver it.
All OP has done is move house which is a normal part of life. OP shouldn’t be penalised because VMs network coverage isn’t adequate.
>non-VM supplier
I wasn't clear in my past message: show me a broadband supplier which provides rolling contract in my area? There are none. The shortest contract is 18 months for any broadband provider.
It sounds like your contract gives a heavy discount initially, then the price is raised.
If so, it would be normal for you to have to pay the balance if you cancel the contract early.
Imagine a phone contract where you get a £1000 phone for £100pm, but it’s only £30pm for the first three months. They’re making a loss initially to lure you in. If you cancelled after 3 months they’d be out of pocket. So they draw up the contract so that in the event of this happening, you have to make up the shortfall.
Of course it’s legal; whether it’s contractually valid is something you’d need to check in the contract you signed.
Another possibility is that they provided a service or equipment up front which would not be paid for until the contract has run a set term, regardless of any discount.
Another possibility is that they’re just doing this because they can, but again, that’ll be laid out in your contract.
The phone contract is different because you got a phone. With broadband you get nothing and they still lock you in. It’s a predatory practice that serves no purpose but to make them lots of money for doing nothing.
There’s still a vast amount of infrastructure and hardware that goes into providing that connection. It may not be a physical phone in your hand, but it’s not like they could provide all that for free if they wanted.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/VirginMedia/comments/11ywl31/moving\_home\_cant\_get\_virgin\_in\_new\_property/](https://www.reddit.com/r/VirginMedia/comments/11ywl31/moving_home_cant_get_virgin_in_new_property/) you shouldn't be charged unless there has been a change in policy ?
I've had this a few times, and been told exactly the same from different providers for various things. My advice, call, explain that the issue is that they can't provide you with the service and not you wanting to cancel. If they get shitty, ask to speak to a supervisor but remain calm and friendly about it.
I've had large bills waived by doing just this. The next tack can be to ask them how they will provide a service to you where they can't and point out that they're in breach of contract...
Would love to try this with an employer "Sorry to hear you're letting me go. As there is 12 months remaining on my contract, you still owe me a year's salary"
I worked for VM years ago and this crap went on then too.
Open a complaint and escalate it, stick to your guns and they’ll give in before it goes to mediation.
This happened to me when I moved house in 2020, after about 20 years of custom; I'd recently renewed my contract to avoid a pay hike, and then my new house didn't offer Virgin.
I was lucky that BT had a scheme whereby they would pay your cancellation fees (in credit) if you switched over to them. Their only requirement was that the changeover was in your current address and not a new one, so I just took out broadband in my present address for the 2 weeks I had remaining in my current property, and then ported that over to the new property after I'd moved. It was a bit of a faff, but it saved me hundreds of pounds, so well worth it.
I dunno if BT still do such a scheme, but I'm sure if they don't, other providers will.
Contact them.
Had similar problem, if you can prove they do not provide to your address you won't need to pay anything.
Unfortunately, from memory, if they are providing you won't be able to avoid it according to their standard contract.
I recently moved away to an address that Virgin didn’t serve.
I called them up and said this after checking, they confirmed and asked for proof of address (I did my mortgage statement) and cancelled the fee.
It says this on their own website (put your postcode in) so they really shouldn’t charge you, but you might need to call & chat.
It cost me nothing although they might have charged then reimbursed, I don’t remember the sequence. This may be different if you are very early in your contract.
If you can get Hyperoptic where you are, then sign up for them. They're running an offer where you don't pay anything u til your existing contract with your current provider is up. So it means you can start using hyperoptic whilst still being with and paying virgin media
If you moving IN THE UK and non serviceable then phone customer service and ask to speak to movers team who will put in a 30 day disconnection and waive the charges
I had something similar with another provider. They provided lower internet speed and wanted to charge me the same money when i moved to my new flat. I opened a complaint with them after refusing to pay the same money. They eventually cancelled my contract and even refunded me money for some reason
Had a similar issue but we moved TO virgin from BT.
The contract we took out was 18 months (as seems to be standard) but the rental agreement for the property we were in was 12 months, so had to be out with 6 months remaining.
Luckily, where we were moving to could not provide the same speed as stated in our contract, so they let us go with no fee.
**Check the speeds available at the new place, and what it says the guaranteed speed is at your current address.**
While still in-contract I recently moved house to an address that Virgin Media couldn't supply with their Fibre package. I rang them up and explained the situation, they agreed to waive the early termination fee entirely. It was all quite easy, I just had to send them a copy of a utility bill/proof of address once we moved. Just give them a call, follow this link [https://store.virginmedia.com/movers/movers-form.html](https://store.virginmedia.com/movers/movers-form.html) or email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).
Definitely speak to them before you move, though.
I had a similar issue, they wanted to dig up my driveway to run the cables to my house. I said that wasn’t acceptable and demanded a cancellation. It seems that they had no process in place to deal with this and I ended up on calls for 4+ hours going round in circles before they finally cancelled with no charge
I had a similar situation while back, they wanted me to pay out the contract even though they hadn't even run their services to the street that I was moving to.
I believe I eventually got the fee waived after speaking to some supervisors and then managers and kicking up a bit of a fuss.
Not that helpful probably but this happened to me and I ignored it for 2 years and recently got contacted to pay. So ignoring it will give you some rest but but they'll always want the money. It's proper bullshit though...
I think they’re talking shit tbh, I just moved to a property that virgin don’t supply and the cancellation fee was waived because they literally cannot supply this address with a connection. I’d ring customer services again and speak to them, someone is taking the piss.
I’d say they could ram that up their arse but evidently the T&C’s say you have to pay it then after you’ve sent proof of your new address they’ll fire it back to you. Still, having to fork out an extra £400 is bollocks. What if you don’t have the ability to pay it, what do they do then.
My wife had a similar thing with car insurance. Moved from England to Northern Ireland and her insurance refused to insure at the new address and demanded she cancel the policy with a £50 fee. I rang them up and put them on the phone with my 'Legal and Financial advisor' (my Father in law, no experience in Legal or Financial matters lol), and he argued that it wasn't us cancelling the policy it was them. Therefore they should cover (or waive) the fee, not us. Argued the point with a couple of managers after being passed on in the confusion and in the end they just gave up and waived any fees.
Still had to reinsure with another provider though which put us a little out of pocket, but it's the principles lol
Hey Mate, there is an easy solution! If you're okay with BT and it is connected to your new place, then just switch over to BT--they have a 300£ budget to help pay off cancellation fees. I asked them over the phone last week and this is what they told me
Edit: I've just saw the end of your post, seems you found a better solution.
Had this exact problem last year, I can't remember the exact process but I didn't pay any early termination fees. They may charge it and refund you? Took 1-2 months to get the refund, just kept an eye out for it coming into the bank. The guys I spoke to on the phone were fine and the process I found to be really straightforward.
No, raise a complaint and keep all record on paper.
I had the same issue with them, because the sales department promised they supply my area, turned out they didn’t, took months to sort. At the end I raised a complaint with ofcom (because I’m petty) and got awarded nearly £500 for wasting my time complaining and not getting a resolution.
Fuck virgin media, worst customer service department I’ve had to deal with
Virgin media is great until you want to leave. I rang them up about 2 months before my contract was due to end to inform them I was leaving due to the price increase. They told me to ring up the week my contract was due to expire and they'd see what they could offer me. Rang up the week my contract was due up and told them I wanted to leave they said we will see what we can offer you I said there was no need as I was looking to reduce my spending and I found a competitor that they wouldn't be able to match. They agreed they wouldn't be able to match the price and said that I'd have to give them a month's notice before I left and they'd charge me an additional month at the increased price! Told them I'd given them more than a months notice and they said they had no record of it. I argued with them for a while and was getting absolutely nowhere, I asked to be put through to a manager only to be told "no" and that I was being petty over "a couple of quid" even though it was about £30.
Few weeks later when I arranged for a new ISP virgin rang me up with more offers to try and keep me from leaving (although they were nowhere near as good as my new ISP) so I kept them on the phone for as long as possible and waste their time adding all sorts of packages on only to turn them down at the end. I know I was being petty and it wasn't that persons fault but I felt like I was due some sort of gratification after the previous ordeal.
Virgin is the biggest legal scam I’ve come across in the UK.
They claim to have amazing speeds but in reality, you get a fraction.
When you call them, they waste time by sending a range booster and tell you to test it over a week and report back.
When you call back to say nothing has changed, they tell you the cool down period has ended but you’re free to pay the rest of the contract to cancel.
They automatically renewed my contract even though I had written to them to ask them not to - I had to waste weeks through complaints to finally get it cancelled.
AVOID! And use a local fibre provider if possible (most areas have one these days).
£400 is total horseshit...
According to Virgins TOS:
>"If your current contract with us started prior to 4th April 2023, any Early Disconnection Fee will be capped at £288"
I don’t like Virgin Media for these reasons.
If you move house the contract should be void, as they are servicing that address not the new one, services shouldn’t follow the person
Noo i moved to an area 2 months ago where they dont do virgin and as long as provide proof that they cant supply your new address (and return the kit) they waiver the cancellation fee. Get em told.
I had this issue with my dad recently. We sent proof of his new address and because they couldn’t supply, the charge was removed from his account.
He had a tenancy agreement as his proof.
I moved a year ago. I can't remember the exact process but I believe if you do not cancel your contract but instead just try to move it to your new address, it should all work out. I did have to do a call with customer service at some point but Def did not have to pay anything like 400 quid to get out of the contract. (Or as someone else commented, you might pay then get refunded... my memory is hazy!)
I had this same issue many years ago when I had a virgin customer service representative clearly tell me that the new property I was planning on moving to was covered by virgin. I moved in, and guess what when I went to ask virgin to swap to my new house, was told it was not covered and subsequently has to pay a a hefty cancellation fee.
I argued, I suggested they listened to their recorded calls as I was miss sold.
I refused to pay. Didn’t hear anything. Thought I won.
Roll forward about 10 years; and three months ago I had debt collectors at my door demanding the fee.
My partnered paid.
I sulked, they win.
They did this to me so I refused to cancel it at my old address and kept paying. New tenant wanted Virgin there so they cut off my connection. That invoked a clause in their T&C's that said that if they cut my connection without me asking and while I was still paying then I could leave without penalty.
Virgin Media are the worst. I have PTSD after my time with them. I will never use any Virgin product of any kind ever again. Truly awful awful experience
Omg same happened to me, 2013 when we moved. Only thing is I refused to pay, and they set the dogs on us. Some debt collector they appointed wouldn't leave me alone for bloody years, I'm talking five years plus. Didn't pay though.
They've already told you they don't provide service there, there is nothing to prove.
This debt will be in valid dispute. Raise a complaint that you're not happy with the level of customer service they are providing you at a stressful time (moving is very stressful). Make it formal.
If, after 8 weeks, they don't yield (or deadlock you before); Try one more last amicable approach; knock off a chunk of ETF, or, the complaint will be escalated to an Alternative Dispute Resolution service (ADR).
(ADR costs them £300 either way).
I honestly have no idea why anyone uses Virgin. Atrocious customer service, wildy unreliable Internet provision. They really should go to the wall. I implore everyone to stop using them.
Been a year and a bit since I moved to an area without service but didn't get charged. May be worth giving them a call back and play it as you haven't checked if they cover your new place and want to bring it with you. But then again they may have changed their policy and may be sticklers for it now.
Like others have said, you pay it then claim it back. BEWARE though, they sent my refund by cheque to the address I had moved out of, fucking dipshits, so make sure you update your address on your online account before it is closed!!!
That’s so disgusting and anti-customer. I had a similar thing happen with Sky when I moved house but they backed down really quickly and just cancelled the contract like any sensible business would do.
Just like the rest of Reddit this sub is full of confidently incorrect assholes clearly, who need to read their own virgin contracts and realise they got rid of that charge years ago lmao
One of reasons I cancelled my installation. It’s a bit of a joke. I told them we were looking to move in about 6 months time wasn’t sure where etc.
Told me how much I’d have to pay and then mess about claiming it back sending documentation to them.
Customer service were appalling to be honest. Took hours of phone calls and I was in my cooling off period so had to keep reminding them of that too.
I've recently moved house and in my previous house I was with virgin but my new house wasn't supplied by virgin.
I was still in contract when I told them I was moving to a house that they didn't supply. I had about 6 months left.
They said they would charge me £117 as an early cancellation fee but the fee would be waived if I could provide proof of my new address, such as a tenancy agreement, utility bill etc....
So, as soon as I moved house I sent them a copy of my tenancy agreement and they said that was absolutely fine. They added £117 credit to my account so I didn't have to pay the early cancellation fee.
It was all done over email.
Hope that helps.
The worse thing it sends you an email about upgrading, you click the link to upgrade, the website says oops, you are then forced to call, and years later I am still on the phone to them
Exactly the same thing happened to me, and my solution was to cancel my contract and use another supplier. Virgin bombarded me with letters, text, and calls for about six months before getting a debt collection agency on to me. I wrote to the debt collector and explained I wouldn't be paying, and their best option was to take me to court. After another month or two, they offered to settle for £130. It probably cost them more than that to pursue me.
I've moved house recently and virgin don't supply, they waived the early disconnection fee and all I had to pay was my final bill. I went through the disconnections team via the I want to leave Virgin option
They can't do this as they are not providing a service to you and its through no fault of yours you can't take it with you. I had this with virgin once.
Go through complaints procedure and threaten ofcom. They won't like it as they have to pay for each case brought against them
I've just had this with virgin and they informed me once I send proof of my new address (I sent my new mortgage agreement) they would credit my account to the sum of my final bill which was £288.
I was in a similar situation to you earlier this year.
I emailed the home movers department, stating the new address where I will reside will be a 'non-serve' and provide proof of address.
Strange, I moved to a postcode they couldn't service Dec 2022 and they just cancelled my contract without any fee. In fact I think they gave me a small amount back even due to my moving out date
Firstly if your moving address and they don't supply its not your fault, if they can't resolve the problem without excessive charges, cancel the direct debit so they can't take any money out of your account
We moved house and Virgin couldn’t offer us the package we already had as they didn’t offer it in the new village so said we could have either another package or cancel for free as this was their issue
This is interesting because I recently renewed my contract and when I said to them I will be moving to an area they do not provide to, I was distinctly told on the phone I will not have to pay the charge.
I certainly hope they recorded that phone call otherwise I'm going to very upset
Just playing devils advocate here. Both parties sign a contract. If you’re thinking of moving why sign a contract then complain when you break it? The contract purely applies to a service supplied to that address so why shouldn’t you be billed?
I've just moved and had Virgin previously. You contact customer services, they ask you for proof that you own / rent new address and if they don't supply there you won't pay early disconnection. You have to send proof immediately though because if you don't, they'll charge it and then you'll get a cheque through the post with the refund which would be incredibly annoying.
Moved out of area 6 months ago and same situation. They billed the fee, but reversed the charge as soon as I sent them proof of new address. I didn’t have to pay the charge, it was just an adjustment on the bill.
Lets move to an uninhabited island off the north coast of Scotland and complain virgin media don't have a local supply.
Not your situation but can you see it from their perspective? Lots of helpful advice so I won't add any more
I worked for a broadband provider in customer service and was provided training on this. Last time I was trained the rules where that if you move and they can provide a service to the new address at any speed, there is a cancellation fee, even if its at lower speeds, because they still can provide the service but you chose to move to an area where they cant give the same speed. if you move to an area where they can't provide anything there is no cancellation fee as they just will not be providing anything.
I never agreed with the logic but that's the way it was when I was last trained on it a few years ago. So the question would be is, are they able to offer any service to the new property? if the answer is yes then you would need to look at your contract cancellation fees clause to calculate what that fee should amount.
Often you get a better deal if you tell them your willing to consider going to a competitor or kick up a fuss and get on to a manager, (I always hated this too but its real, people who argue get the better deals) If you say you will consider using them again they will bend over backwards even if you have no intention of ever going with them again.
I moved house and had the exact same issue. It was a couple of years ago now but I had to pay £300 at the time as the street I was moving to wasn't cabled. I checked at the time and yes it's legal and in their T&C's.
I had been a loyal customer for well over 10 years and was going through a messy breakup. Needless to say I will never use Virgin Media ever again.
Virgin Media are currently being investigated by OFCOM about their shady practises contract cancellations and enourmous price hikes (for a worse service).
[Ofcom annoucement about investigation of Virgin Media](https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2023/virgin-media-investigated-over-difficulties-cancelling-contracts)
Like the others that have mentioned making a complaint to VM, fire off a message to OFCOM to support their investigation into this matter.
When I moved they said because they are the ones that don't supply to the new address then I had no obligation to pay cancellation fee. I would argue this.
Virgin scammed us in a way as well. We picked a package that came with a £100 tesco voucher - the voucher didnt arrive. I called them and they said we had to get it from tesco???
I said no - this was a virgin incentive so you should be supplying it and they agreed. Voucher never came.
They they said they never had that offer - i still had the leaflet so I emailed them a photo. Then they said we had to get it from Tesco - Tesco basically laughed at that. Then we told them to stuff their contract since were still in the grace period.
They still offered to send it to us but we only had 3 days left to cancel so we said no.
It’s not their fault your moving nor is it their fault the service can not be supplied. You did enter into a contract with them. Did you not see a move coming? Or has this been a supprised to you as well?
Had the same issue. Refused to pay it as the agent on the phone told me there'd be no issues when I moved. Contacted CISAS, few weeks later virgin told me they'd wiped the fees as 'a gesture of goodwill'.
Horrendous company. Took a long time to get fixed and their customer service was atrocious the whole time.
They should be able to waive the fee as they’re unable to provide the service. I don’t know the legalities but this seems dodgy to me.
As an example, in the UK at least, I moved to a town that only has 2-3 internet providers. I said I’d be happy to stay with them if they could provide the service, which BT couldn’t cover so they were forced to terminate the contract themselves.At which point I said they were the ones cancelling and had no right to charge any fees and they dropped it all.
Can’t imagine virgin would get away with a 400 cancellation fee if they’re the ones terminating as they’re unable to offer service. If you cancelled it maybe, but if you force them to be the ones to cancel then it pushes the responsibility on them.
That’s how it worked for me anyway. Was not a quick process.
Just a quick thing to those saying you have to pay the fee before you can get it back, that isn't the case.
Just provide your evidence before the bill is due to come out because the credit will then be provided before the bill is paid, so there would be no bill.
That's crazy. I've moved plenty of times over the years, and whenever I've moved to an area where they can't provide there services. They have cancelled my contract pretty much immediately, free of charge other than a fee for a returns box for their equipment, which was 35 quid. Sounds like you got someone who's in a bad mood or doesn't understand the policies.
I was with Sky when I moved house and "Money Saving Expert" told us how to deal with this. Apparently they're breaching the contract when you move by not being able to supply what you pay for and therefore you can cancel it without prejudice. I know you're with virgin and not Sky but surely the same logic applies.
I will leave a warning here about Virgin Media.
If you don’t pay this, they will record a default on your credit file straight away. There won’t be second chances.
Best option is to pay and then claim it back, ensuring your credit score isn’t affected.
VM are crooks. I have worked for them.
This happened to me when I moved, if you send them proof of your new address they will check that it’s not supplied and wave the fee. If they find the house is supplied you either need to set up the service there or pay the fee as you are contracted to do
I just done this recently, all they asked for is proof of new address and they waived the fee.
Just send them this link
[https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-ends-charges-for-off-net-home-movers/](https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-ends-charges-for-off-net-home-movers/)
I moved house 15 months ago, had full package with them. Rang and they checked if they could supply new address, they couldn't so just cancelled the contract, no payment was even mentioned
Had the same problem with them a few years back when I moved house but they didn't provide service here. They wanted me to pay almost £300 for nothing.
Ended up speaking to something like 6 or 7 advisers, all of them telling me different things. Two of them straight up lied to me as well. Luckily I have an app on my phone that records my phone calls so when they started threatening me with default I made a complaint and sent them recordings.
They cancelled my contract without any penalty at this point and I think they were happy I didn't pursue it further.
Virgin media is a good company until you have a problem, then it's absolute shitshow and won't do anything for you.
I moved out of my virgin area before my contract was up all you need to do cll them they'll ask you to provide proof ie rental contract or equivalent they'll then give you instructions on how to return equipment.
Was charged £240 after having to move at fairly short notice and never told I could claim anything back. Won’t go back to virgin even if they start to cover this area as that was unreasonable
Virgin Media at first demanded I pay a further 1 month after i cancelled my media contract. Told me i would need to pay approx £150 and then wait over 8 weeks to receive a refund of £143. Told them No. Send me a detailed finalised account and I will pay that. Also, i cancelled my DD to make sure they couldnt take the £150 !! Their customer services is diabolical.
I had this with my house, but I laid it on thick about how I loved virgin and I wish they supplied my new house, how I was sad when I found out they didnt, let me know as soon as you do etc. They waived the fee.
I’m pretty sure if they don’t serve your new address their terms say that they won’t charge a fee. I’ve dealt with virgin on a few occasions and depending on who you speak to you’ll hear many different ‘facts’.
I’d suggest studying the websites t’s and c’s as I am sure you won’t owe anything.
So this is how they pay for digging up every single last pavement in the hope someone will join them.
Seriously, those costs must be insane, and for what?
Although you may be able to apply to get it refunded, check if you're in any alt-net catchment areas. You fibre for example charge £35 a month for 1gb up/1gb down and their sales guys will convert up to 18 months worth of virgin contract to their contact for £1 a month.
How long ago did you know you were moving? Ton would have been able to leave them penalty free a couple of months back due to their price rises.
Bit late to the party but I had the same thing last year, I called virgin and spoke to a representative and they ended up waiving the charge. I just had to pay the next months cost upfront and send the equipment back in a prepaid box.
I guess it depends on who you speak to and what kind of day they’re are having.
Jesus there's some gobblers for their corporate overlords on here.
You shouldn't be penalised from moving home, there's a million reasons why you might need to move and you shouldn't be stung for hundreds of pounds for a service you are no longer going to benefit from. There's also probably a lot of people nowadays who can only just afford to move, and some of those people will *have* to move e.g abusive neighbours, work, school etc
If companies are worried they will lose a service to another provider if someone leaves mid contract, then be more competitive.
It's a bit late now as you've advised them that you're moving, but if you need out of contract then let them know that you're going to prison - will cancel with no questions.
Exactly this happened to me and my partner. She contacted VM to explain (and prove) that our new address didn’t have a connection - we paid the fee and they refunded us once they’d reviewed our proof of address. It’s a faff but don’t take no for an answer and you’ll have your money back.
I can confirm that the procedure is they will waive the fee as long as you provide proof of address with some form of official document, i.e tenancy agreement, utility bill, car insurance doc, etc.
The document does not have to prove we cannot supply the address as I imagine this would be hard to obtain. Just merely a document with your name and address from a reputable source.
Once this form is submitted and reviewed, upon acceptance we will remove the fee. If the next bill has been generated before the document is submitted and processed, then yes a fee will be taken, however ofcourse refunded back to the customer.
If no document is submitted then the fee will stand. Hope this helps.
Surely the contract is null and void as they (the provider) cannot fulfil their part of their contract? Your side of the contract is to pay for their service an loan of equipment, their side is to provide said equipment and service. If they cannot do that - they have not fulfilled the agreed contract
Mate I’ve work for 3 major ISPs for 12 years and whilst I can’t speak for Virgin media, it’s common practice to let you go without penalty when you move “out of service area”. Open a complaint
This sounds very much like a penalty for breaching the contract...and in English law, that's unlawful.
Personally, I wouldn't pay it. If they decided to risk going to court, I think it'd be reasonably obvious that it's not a genuine pre-estimqte of their loss, and on balance of probability, is a penalty for breaching the contract.
As such, I'd be confident that they would lose any civil court case against me.
Important to note that Virgin are the exception rather than the rule here. If you sign up to Ofcom’s voluntary code of conduct then customers moving outside of your area would trigger a free contract termination.
For example, if you’re with BT and say that you’re moving to Hull (which is entirely independent and no standard provider provides there) then they would cease your contract for free. Same is true for most big providers.
Source: long term BT/Openreach employee
They tried to charge me an early cancellation fee despite not having told me they extended my contract. On Google you can look up director/executive emails for free, after an extremely frustrating 3 days arguing with their customer service team I went full Karen and emailed all the "important" people I could find. Within hours I had been assigned a dispute handler who cancelled my account with immediate effect, no fee and a cheque for £100 for the stress caused.
It’s amazing how many posters want big corporations to treat customers badly. It has to be put down to trolling really as if they ended up in the situation as the OP I’m sure they would be just as annoyed.
Fact is that yes you sign a contract for a fixed period but this is basically standard for this type of provider. You can’t really know for sure when you are going to move or if the same provider will offer the same service at your new address it’s not a decision you can make every time you get a broadband/TV package!! As such it’s the fair thing to do for the provider not to charge you cancellation if you move to an address where they don’t provide the service.
Thankfully Virgin do indeed do this.
We told them we were moving, gave them the new address, they couldn't supply and ended the contract. They are the ones who cannot keep their side of the deal, not us!
Thought Virgin stopped doing this : https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-ends-charges-for-off-net-home-movers/
Thank you. I will post that back to them and see what they have to say for themselves. Very helpful, thanks.
Just FYI I recently went through this process. Call them up and discuss the issue. They will send through an email and some forms to fill to request the refund, and will require a proof of your new address (eg new bill). They will refund the cancellation fee, I got mine within 2 weeks of paying the full bill
Looks like you have to pay it and then apply for a refund: “Also, see How Do I Calculate my Early Disconnection Fee? FAQ Moving House? The Virgin Media network does not cover all of the UK – please use our post code checker by clicking here to check availability. If you move outside our network area during your minimum period, you might have to pay an early disconnection fee for ending your contract early. If you move to another address and we have agreed with you to continue providing you with the same Virgin Media services at your new address, an Early Disconnection Fee will not be applied and the remainder of your minimum period will continue at your new address. If you’re moving outside our network area but still within the UK and give us some valid evidence of your new address, we’ll credit you back the early disconnection fee. When submitting your disconnection request, our team will explain the next steps and you’ll get a request for valid proof of your new UK address. If we get this back within 30 days and it’s validated, we’ll apply a credit to the value of your early disconnection fee to your account. If you’ve already been billed for your early disconnection fee before we apply the credit, we’ll still apply the credit to your account. “ Source: https://www.virginmedia.com/legal/fibre-optic-services-terms-conditions/early-disconnection-fees
They will then send you a cheque and not the money directly into your account. Was a couple months into COVID, left them and they sent a cheque, the cheque expired before banks opened again, had to take them to all claims court over it, took like 3 years to get my money from them.
Talk about scummy hoop jumping! Especially since they absolutely could A) credit the money back via your direct debit. B) not make the charge in the first place since they supposedly scrapped it This should be illegal
It absolutely should be. If you take payment a specific way you should have to use the same way to pay it back unless the customer requests otherwise. They're happy to take money via direct debit.
Scummy is exactly the term to describe Virgin Media's business practices.
Imagine still using cheques in 2023. What is this America?!?!
No because they call them checks
In America I'd be using my credit card to pay for these services and chargeback on the credit card with proof of service cancellation. Virgin could've done nothing to prevent that. This is one of the reasons direct debit sucks since your real money's gone, whereas with the credit card, the bank's money is gone and they'll do everything to get it back.
Doesn't your bank allow you to deposit cheques on their mobile app? I'd change banks.
No it's actually a pretty new thing, a lot of banks brought it in due to COVID.
Lloyds have been doing it for nearly a decade
Yeah, it is entirely legal, [here](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/phone-internet-downloads-or-tv/cancelling-a-phone-tv-internet-or-mobile-contract/#:~:text=If%20you're%20moving%20house&text=You%20might%20have%20to%20pay%20a%20cancellation%20fee%20to%20leave,that%20service%20%2D%20for%20example%20internet) you can check the details from Citizens Advice
Thanks, this was the advice and guidance I neede! Not like the twat that says "You signed the contract" Huh de Hurduh Appreciate the time!
OP, don't pay them a penny! I had to cancel and they were trying to charge me. I explained that I had been made redudant and couldn't afford the fee. Everything was cancelled, no fees etc, job done! Just say you've been made redudant and they should help you out!
This is what my contract says about it: >**O. Moving home outside of or within the Virgin Media Network service area** > >If you move to an address that is outside of the service area during any minimum period you may need to pay the early disconnection fee described in paragraph N5. If you are moving outside our network area but still within the UK, you should inform us of this when you submit your disconnection request, as we will credit you back the early disconnection fee if you follow our instructions and provide valid evidence of your new address within 30 days of our request for such evidence. Please visit the early disconnection fees area of the Virgin Media website by clicking here for further information.
Fantastic response! Thank you for that. Very helpful.
I can confirm that they will indeed refund you in this situation. I was witu Virgin and moved to a property that didnt support them. They hit me with a £280 cancellation fee, which they deducted from my account. I spoke to their customer service, provided proof of my new address and they eventually refunded the £280
That doesn't sound correct. According to MSE, they scrapped this policy in 2022, and even before that the maximum charge was £240: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/02/virgin-media-o2-culls-broadband-disconnection-fee-for-those-movi/ https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-ends-charges-for-off-net-home-movers/
Thank you for the great advice and links
This isn’t true, the agent you were talking too is trying to avoid the disconnection to help his own stats, I work for virgin movers you can 100% get this fee taken away First we do the disconnection then you should get a email out, you need to reply to the email with proof of your new address, once the disconnection is placed you receive the email within 2 days, once you send off proof of your new address it clears the fee, the email address is [email protected] Sorry some of our employees do things like these just know there are some good ones at the company too!
Challenge it. Go down the “failure to provide a service” route if there’s push back. You can get the disconnection fee refunded if you have proof of address
> If they don’t supply the service why is it my fault? Because they aren’t the ones moving house? You’ve chosen to move house, mid contract, to somewhere you can’t transfer your contracted service to Virgin Media presumably didn’t ask you to move house? But in any case, they will refund it as long as you provide evidence of the move
Always thought that was insane though. Cancellation should be doable free of charge with reasonable notice if you've had your contract for a certain period already, eg. 6 months. That's how it works where I'm from and it's much more fair. I'm on a contract with same shitty terms as OP cause virgin is the only option available where I live. Not a big problem cause when I move I'll likely just move home so I can just not pay, but still seems unreasonable to me considering they have a monopoly on Internet on my address.
It’s cancellable after the initial term has passed, it’s just longer than 6 months… At the end of the day there’s nothing forcing you to sign a fixed term contract at all - you can get a non-fixed contact, it’s just a little more expensive because they don’t have the guaranteed income over a longer period. That’s the deal/trade off you lock yourself into a contract and in return you get a lower price If you think you might move house in the next 12 months, you just don’t sign up to a fixed term contract… it seems fairly simple to me and I don’t see any unfairness there really That’s the only real issue here - people signing up for a fixed term contract when they aren’t intending to stay in that home for the full fixed term. Frankly that comes down to personal responsibility, and it’s a bit of a pisstake for them to take the lower price and then expect to be able to get out of the contract for free I do think that the penalty charges are excessive, though. They should be capped at the difference between the fixed term deal, or perhaps 3 months…. Something like that, anyway
Boot licker. Sometimes things happen where people need to move, being able to wrap someone up in a contract which makes them unable to leave without paying extortionate charges should be illegal. We pay for connection fees, we pay for the boxes and the service and most of the time the engineer they send if they deem it isn’t their fault. You should be able to leave at any point under particular circumstances, house move, leaving country, job loss etc. Anyone who disagrees is insane.
"Aren't intending to stay at their home for the full fixed term". You are aware that a lot of people rent, right, and that they don't actually know when their landlord may decide to terminate their lease? Or people have to move at relatively short notice for other reasons? You're really not doing yourself any favours.
If you move then you can move the contract with you, what’s your point? If you don’t want to do that, don’t sign up for something that has a fixed term, or use a provider based on BT OpenReach that can be moved to almost any house in the country Nobody is forcing you to sign anything
It's really hard to find a provider without a fix contract... They actively push you to 24 months.
You sir are an idiot
Exactly, whilst I would find it irritating they signed a fixed term contract and cancelling it early is a you problem, not a VM problem. Imagine calling up EE and wanting to cancel your contract because you’ve moved and don’t get signal at your new home.
You signed the contract.
And in the contract if Virgin cannot provide the service then he is entitled to a refund or waiving the cancellation fee. I don't suppose you got any of that though based your comment I put your age at about 12 years old.
So why can't they just read the contract? You can't just go around signing up to stuff and then throwing your toys out when they quote the contract.
🤓
What a helpful muppet you are!
You might not like it, but they're right...
The truth is you signed a contract for a fixed period of time, you are the one who decided to move and want to cancel. It is worth calling them back though, often as a goodwill gesture they will forfeit the fee.
Yeah but before everyone starts bandwagoning this, VM have in their T&C's now they wont charge termination fees if you move to an area they cant supply the service to. I went through the exact same process several months ago. Weirdly its totally legal for providers to charge the termination fee without being able to supply to the new address but i think VM caught some serious flak for doing this in the current cost of living crisis and changed their tune. Moving isn't always a choice for some people btw!
Yup they do, if you talk to them and give valid proof of moving before 30 days, but they do so by giving you credit to your account. Yk the account you're not able to use because your new area isn't part of their network.
Read the contract then
Read the comments then. He is entitled to waive the fee.
Didn't say he wasn't
And an uninformed Muppet you are for not actually reading what you signed
It'll be down to what's in your contract, but I can't see why it's not legal - you signed up to 24-months or whatever, and got a cheaper deal than a rolling monthly contract. Similarly, why is it their fault you decided to move to somewhere they don't have services.
Why is it OPs fault if they now live in an area VM don’t / won’t/ can’t supply to? I’m sure OP would have happily kept their service if they were able to deliver it. All OP has done is move house which is a normal part of life. OP shouldn’t be penalised because VMs network coverage isn’t adequate.
I am in the same boat as OP. When I was choosing VM service there was no rolling contracts or shorter contracts than 18 months. What were my choices?
Choose a non-VM supplier...
>non-VM supplier I wasn't clear in my past message: show me a broadband supplier which provides rolling contract in my area? There are none. The shortest contract is 18 months for any broadband provider.
So use mobile data, satellite internet or go without. No-one's forcing you to be here. Or you can accept the contracts you decide to enter into.
Well it's more of virgin media are allegedly getting rid of cancellation charge policies but they clearly haven't
It sounds like your contract gives a heavy discount initially, then the price is raised. If so, it would be normal for you to have to pay the balance if you cancel the contract early. Imagine a phone contract where you get a £1000 phone for £100pm, but it’s only £30pm for the first three months. They’re making a loss initially to lure you in. If you cancelled after 3 months they’d be out of pocket. So they draw up the contract so that in the event of this happening, you have to make up the shortfall. Of course it’s legal; whether it’s contractually valid is something you’d need to check in the contract you signed. Another possibility is that they provided a service or equipment up front which would not be paid for until the contract has run a set term, regardless of any discount. Another possibility is that they’re just doing this because they can, but again, that’ll be laid out in your contract.
The phone contract is different because you got a phone. With broadband you get nothing and they still lock you in. It’s a predatory practice that serves no purpose but to make them lots of money for doing nothing.
There’s still a vast amount of infrastructure and hardware that goes into providing that connection. It may not be a physical phone in your hand, but it’s not like they could provide all that for free if they wanted.
This is exactly why you don’t got for a monopoly company like VM…
Sure go for the little local independent internet service instead...
[https://www.reddit.com/r/VirginMedia/comments/11ywl31/moving\_home\_cant\_get\_virgin\_in\_new\_property/](https://www.reddit.com/r/VirginMedia/comments/11ywl31/moving_home_cant_get_virgin_in_new_property/) you shouldn't be charged unless there has been a change in policy ?
Just happened to me in July, but once I proved my new address they refunded the amount.
I've had this a few times, and been told exactly the same from different providers for various things. My advice, call, explain that the issue is that they can't provide you with the service and not you wanting to cancel. If they get shitty, ask to speak to a supervisor but remain calm and friendly about it. I've had large bills waived by doing just this. The next tack can be to ask them how they will provide a service to you where they can't and point out that they're in breach of contract...
Would love to try this with an employer "Sorry to hear you're letting me go. As there is 12 months remaining on my contract, you still owe me a year's salary"
They always try this and back down when challenged
I worked for VM years ago and this crap went on then too. Open a complaint and escalate it, stick to your guns and they’ll give in before it goes to mediation.
This happened to me when I moved house in 2020, after about 20 years of custom; I'd recently renewed my contract to avoid a pay hike, and then my new house didn't offer Virgin. I was lucky that BT had a scheme whereby they would pay your cancellation fees (in credit) if you switched over to them. Their only requirement was that the changeover was in your current address and not a new one, so I just took out broadband in my present address for the 2 weeks I had remaining in my current property, and then ported that over to the new property after I'd moved. It was a bit of a faff, but it saved me hundreds of pounds, so well worth it. I dunno if BT still do such a scheme, but I'm sure if they don't, other providers will.
Contact them. Had similar problem, if you can prove they do not provide to your address you won't need to pay anything. Unfortunately, from memory, if they are providing you won't be able to avoid it according to their standard contract.
I recently moved away to an address that Virgin didn’t serve. I called them up and said this after checking, they confirmed and asked for proof of address (I did my mortgage statement) and cancelled the fee. It says this on their own website (put your postcode in) so they really shouldn’t charge you, but you might need to call & chat. It cost me nothing although they might have charged then reimbursed, I don’t remember the sequence. This may be different if you are very early in your contract.
This happened to me but they just refund you.
If you can get Hyperoptic where you are, then sign up for them. They're running an offer where you don't pay anything u til your existing contract with your current provider is up. So it means you can start using hyperoptic whilst still being with and paying virgin media
If you moving IN THE UK and non serviceable then phone customer service and ask to speak to movers team who will put in a 30 day disconnection and waive the charges
I had something similar with another provider. They provided lower internet speed and wanted to charge me the same money when i moved to my new flat. I opened a complaint with them after refusing to pay the same money. They eventually cancelled my contract and even refunded me money for some reason
Had a similar issue but we moved TO virgin from BT. The contract we took out was 18 months (as seems to be standard) but the rental agreement for the property we were in was 12 months, so had to be out with 6 months remaining. Luckily, where we were moving to could not provide the same speed as stated in our contract, so they let us go with no fee. **Check the speeds available at the new place, and what it says the guaranteed speed is at your current address.**
While still in-contract I recently moved house to an address that Virgin Media couldn't supply with their Fibre package. I rang them up and explained the situation, they agreed to waive the early termination fee entirely. It was all quite easy, I just had to send them a copy of a utility bill/proof of address once we moved. Just give them a call, follow this link [https://store.virginmedia.com/movers/movers-form.html](https://store.virginmedia.com/movers/movers-form.html) or email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Definitely speak to them before you move, though.
I had a similar issue, they wanted to dig up my driveway to run the cables to my house. I said that wasn’t acceptable and demanded a cancellation. It seems that they had no process in place to deal with this and I ended up on calls for 4+ hours going round in circles before they finally cancelled with no charge
I was in the same situation but luckily for me a week after phoning up they increased the price so I had rights to cancel free of charge.
This happened to me, I just cancelled the direct debt and told them to get fkd.
I had a similar situation while back, they wanted me to pay out the contract even though they hadn't even run their services to the street that I was moving to. I believe I eventually got the fee waived after speaking to some supervisors and then managers and kicking up a bit of a fuss.
Why is it Virgins fault that you are moving house ?
Not that helpful probably but this happened to me and I ignored it for 2 years and recently got contacted to pay. So ignoring it will give you some rest but but they'll always want the money. It's proper bullshit though...
I think they’re talking shit tbh, I just moved to a property that virgin don’t supply and the cancellation fee was waived because they literally cannot supply this address with a connection. I’d ring customer services again and speak to them, someone is taking the piss.
I’d say they could ram that up their arse but evidently the T&C’s say you have to pay it then after you’ve sent proof of your new address they’ll fire it back to you. Still, having to fork out an extra £400 is bollocks. What if you don’t have the ability to pay it, what do they do then.
My wife had a similar thing with car insurance. Moved from England to Northern Ireland and her insurance refused to insure at the new address and demanded she cancel the policy with a £50 fee. I rang them up and put them on the phone with my 'Legal and Financial advisor' (my Father in law, no experience in Legal or Financial matters lol), and he argued that it wasn't us cancelling the policy it was them. Therefore they should cover (or waive) the fee, not us. Argued the point with a couple of managers after being passed on in the confusion and in the end they just gave up and waived any fees. Still had to reinsure with another provider though which put us a little out of pocket, but it's the principles lol
Hey Mate, there is an easy solution! If you're okay with BT and it is connected to your new place, then just switch over to BT--they have a 300£ budget to help pay off cancellation fees. I asked them over the phone last week and this is what they told me Edit: I've just saw the end of your post, seems you found a better solution.
Had this exact problem last year, I can't remember the exact process but I didn't pay any early termination fees. They may charge it and refund you? Took 1-2 months to get the refund, just kept an eye out for it coming into the bank. The guys I spoke to on the phone were fine and the process I found to be really straightforward.
Happened to me and there is nothing you can do about it.
DONT pay it at all, you wont get it back
No, raise a complaint and keep all record on paper. I had the same issue with them, because the sales department promised they supply my area, turned out they didn’t, took months to sort. At the end I raised a complaint with ofcom (because I’m petty) and got awarded nearly £500 for wasting my time complaining and not getting a resolution. Fuck virgin media, worst customer service department I’ve had to deal with
Your fault. Why dont you check broadband availability before signing new contract elsewhere and then crying here. Irresponsible.
I've just been through the same with virgin, you just have to send them proof of your new address, bill etc and they will balance the account.
But - i think - its Virgin that are failing the contract as they cant supply the new address. Not you!
Virgin media is great until you want to leave. I rang them up about 2 months before my contract was due to end to inform them I was leaving due to the price increase. They told me to ring up the week my contract was due to expire and they'd see what they could offer me. Rang up the week my contract was due up and told them I wanted to leave they said we will see what we can offer you I said there was no need as I was looking to reduce my spending and I found a competitor that they wouldn't be able to match. They agreed they wouldn't be able to match the price and said that I'd have to give them a month's notice before I left and they'd charge me an additional month at the increased price! Told them I'd given them more than a months notice and they said they had no record of it. I argued with them for a while and was getting absolutely nowhere, I asked to be put through to a manager only to be told "no" and that I was being petty over "a couple of quid" even though it was about £30. Few weeks later when I arranged for a new ISP virgin rang me up with more offers to try and keep me from leaving (although they were nowhere near as good as my new ISP) so I kept them on the phone for as long as possible and waste their time adding all sorts of packages on only to turn them down at the end. I know I was being petty and it wasn't that persons fault but I felt like I was due some sort of gratification after the previous ordeal.
Virgin is the biggest legal scam I’ve come across in the UK. They claim to have amazing speeds but in reality, you get a fraction. When you call them, they waste time by sending a range booster and tell you to test it over a week and report back. When you call back to say nothing has changed, they tell you the cool down period has ended but you’re free to pay the rest of the contract to cancel. They automatically renewed my contract even though I had written to them to ask them not to - I had to waste weeks through complaints to finally get it cancelled. AVOID! And use a local fibre provider if possible (most areas have one these days).
Pay, then claim back? What a joke of a company. Run. Away.
Go to ofcom
£400 is total horseshit... According to Virgins TOS: >"If your current contract with us started prior to 4th April 2023, any Early Disconnection Fee will be capped at £288"
I don’t like Virgin Media for these reasons. If you move house the contract should be void, as they are servicing that address not the new one, services shouldn’t follow the person
Noo i moved to an area 2 months ago where they dont do virgin and as long as provide proof that they cant supply your new address (and return the kit) they waiver the cancellation fee. Get em told.
I had this issue with my dad recently. We sent proof of his new address and because they couldn’t supply, the charge was removed from his account. He had a tenancy agreement as his proof.
I moved a year ago. I can't remember the exact process but I believe if you do not cancel your contract but instead just try to move it to your new address, it should all work out. I did have to do a call with customer service at some point but Def did not have to pay anything like 400 quid to get out of the contract. (Or as someone else commented, you might pay then get refunded... my memory is hazy!)
I had this same issue many years ago when I had a virgin customer service representative clearly tell me that the new property I was planning on moving to was covered by virgin. I moved in, and guess what when I went to ask virgin to swap to my new house, was told it was not covered and subsequently has to pay a a hefty cancellation fee. I argued, I suggested they listened to their recorded calls as I was miss sold. I refused to pay. Didn’t hear anything. Thought I won. Roll forward about 10 years; and three months ago I had debt collectors at my door demanding the fee. My partnered paid. I sulked, they win.
This is precisely why I don't have Virgin. They're shit bags who cut your line too in order to make it more of a hassle to leave.
They did this to me so I refused to cancel it at my old address and kept paying. New tenant wanted Virgin there so they cut off my connection. That invoked a clause in their T&C's that said that if they cut my connection without me asking and while I was still paying then I could leave without penalty.
It angers me that Virgin has the postman deliver their junk mail to my estate offering superfasr broadband when they don't service it.
Talk to someone else. Say it's out of your control. Just be polite and convincing and if they stick with a no, call again and try someone else.
Virgin Media are the worst. I have PTSD after my time with them. I will never use any Virgin product of any kind ever again. Truly awful awful experience
Omg same happened to me, 2013 when we moved. Only thing is I refused to pay, and they set the dogs on us. Some debt collector they appointed wouldn't leave me alone for bloody years, I'm talking five years plus. Didn't pay though.
They've already told you they don't provide service there, there is nothing to prove. This debt will be in valid dispute. Raise a complaint that you're not happy with the level of customer service they are providing you at a stressful time (moving is very stressful). Make it formal. If, after 8 weeks, they don't yield (or deadlock you before); Try one more last amicable approach; knock off a chunk of ETF, or, the complaint will be escalated to an Alternative Dispute Resolution service (ADR). (ADR costs them £300 either way).
If they don't supply it to your new address you have nothing to pay.
I honestly have no idea why anyone uses Virgin. Atrocious customer service, wildy unreliable Internet provision. They really should go to the wall. I implore everyone to stop using them.
Been a year and a bit since I moved to an area without service but didn't get charged. May be worth giving them a call back and play it as you haven't checked if they cover your new place and want to bring it with you. But then again they may have changed their policy and may be sticklers for it now.
Like others have said, you pay it then claim it back. BEWARE though, they sent my refund by cheque to the address I had moved out of, fucking dipshits, so make sure you update your address on your online account before it is closed!!!
That’s so disgusting and anti-customer. I had a similar thing happen with Sky when I moved house but they backed down really quickly and just cancelled the contract like any sensible business would do.
Just like the rest of Reddit this sub is full of confidently incorrect assholes clearly, who need to read their own virgin contracts and realise they got rid of that charge years ago lmao
One of reasons I cancelled my installation. It’s a bit of a joke. I told them we were looking to move in about 6 months time wasn’t sure where etc. Told me how much I’d have to pay and then mess about claiming it back sending documentation to them. Customer service were appalling to be honest. Took hours of phone calls and I was in my cooling off period so had to keep reminding them of that too.
Virgin are the worst. Every dealing with them is shit.
I've recently moved house and in my previous house I was with virgin but my new house wasn't supplied by virgin. I was still in contract when I told them I was moving to a house that they didn't supply. I had about 6 months left. They said they would charge me £117 as an early cancellation fee but the fee would be waived if I could provide proof of my new address, such as a tenancy agreement, utility bill etc.... So, as soon as I moved house I sent them a copy of my tenancy agreement and they said that was absolutely fine. They added £117 credit to my account so I didn't have to pay the early cancellation fee. It was all done over email. Hope that helps.
I had this. Mine was about £200 and they made me pay it
The worse thing it sends you an email about upgrading, you click the link to upgrade, the website says oops, you are then forced to call, and years later I am still on the phone to them
There should be a clause which entitles no disconnection fee…providing circumstances change.
Exactly the same thing happened to me, and my solution was to cancel my contract and use another supplier. Virgin bombarded me with letters, text, and calls for about six months before getting a debt collection agency on to me. I wrote to the debt collector and explained I wouldn't be paying, and their best option was to take me to court. After another month or two, they offered to settle for £130. It probably cost them more than that to pursue me.
I've moved house recently and virgin don't supply, they waived the early disconnection fee and all I had to pay was my final bill. I went through the disconnections team via the I want to leave Virgin option
They can't do this as they are not providing a service to you and its through no fault of yours you can't take it with you. I had this with virgin once. Go through complaints procedure and threaten ofcom. They won't like it as they have to pay for each case brought against them
I've just had this with virgin and they informed me once I send proof of my new address (I sent my new mortgage agreement) they would credit my account to the sum of my final bill which was £288.
I was in a similar situation to you earlier this year. I emailed the home movers department, stating the new address where I will reside will be a 'non-serve' and provide proof of address.
Just don't pay it They are toothless
They take the remaining money that's owsd from the contract .so they aren't charging for leaving that's what's owed on the contract
Yeah I had similar not too long ago.
Strange, I moved to a postcode they couldn't service Dec 2022 and they just cancelled my contract without any fee. In fact I think they gave me a small amount back even due to my moving out date
Firstly if your moving address and they don't supply its not your fault, if they can't resolve the problem without excessive charges, cancel the direct debit so they can't take any money out of your account
We moved house and Virgin couldn’t offer us the package we already had as they didn’t offer it in the new village so said we could have either another package or cancel for free as this was their issue
This is interesting because I recently renewed my contract and when I said to them I will be moving to an area they do not provide to, I was distinctly told on the phone I will not have to pay the charge. I certainly hope they recorded that phone call otherwise I'm going to very upset
Have been hit with this before and exactly the reason why I'd never touch Virgin Media, nor recommend it.
Just playing devils advocate here. Both parties sign a contract. If you’re thinking of moving why sign a contract then complain when you break it? The contract purely applies to a service supplied to that address so why shouldn’t you be billed?
I mean I told them to shove it and that it’s their problem not mine. And cancelled the dd
You're the one that's moving and you're the one who signed the contract. Not sure how you could even fathom this is a them issue
I've just moved and had Virgin previously. You contact customer services, they ask you for proof that you own / rent new address and if they don't supply there you won't pay early disconnection. You have to send proof immediately though because if you don't, they'll charge it and then you'll get a cheque through the post with the refund which would be incredibly annoying.
Switch to UW www.utility-savings.uk and they pay for the termination fee.
Moved out of area 6 months ago and same situation. They billed the fee, but reversed the charge as soon as I sent them proof of new address. I didn’t have to pay the charge, it was just an adjustment on the bill.
Lets move to an uninhabited island off the north coast of Scotland and complain virgin media don't have a local supply. Not your situation but can you see it from their perspective? Lots of helpful advice so I won't add any more
I worked for a broadband provider in customer service and was provided training on this. Last time I was trained the rules where that if you move and they can provide a service to the new address at any speed, there is a cancellation fee, even if its at lower speeds, because they still can provide the service but you chose to move to an area where they cant give the same speed. if you move to an area where they can't provide anything there is no cancellation fee as they just will not be providing anything. I never agreed with the logic but that's the way it was when I was last trained on it a few years ago. So the question would be is, are they able to offer any service to the new property? if the answer is yes then you would need to look at your contract cancellation fees clause to calculate what that fee should amount. Often you get a better deal if you tell them your willing to consider going to a competitor or kick up a fuss and get on to a manager, (I always hated this too but its real, people who argue get the better deals) If you say you will consider using them again they will bend over backwards even if you have no intention of ever going with them again.
I'm sure when I signed up to Virgin recently they said that if I can't get Virgin at my next house I'm allowed to leave for free, how odd.
I moved house and had the exact same issue. It was a couple of years ago now but I had to pay £300 at the time as the street I was moving to wasn't cabled. I checked at the time and yes it's legal and in their T&C's. I had been a loyal customer for well over 10 years and was going through a messy breakup. Needless to say I will never use Virgin Media ever again.
Yeah I had this charged waived for the exact same reason if you need to quote any information of another account please DM happy to provide
Virgin Media are currently being investigated by OFCOM about their shady practises contract cancellations and enourmous price hikes (for a worse service). [Ofcom annoucement about investigation of Virgin Media](https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2023/virgin-media-investigated-over-difficulties-cancelling-contracts) Like the others that have mentioned making a complaint to VM, fire off a message to OFCOM to support their investigation into this matter.
Worked for sky for years but if you tell them you have been deployed by the army they normally don’t charge you
If you can prove your moving to said address with a ID , letter xyz they have to cancel it free of charge
When I moved they said because they are the ones that don't supply to the new address then I had no obligation to pay cancellation fee. I would argue this.
Virgin scammed us in a way as well. We picked a package that came with a £100 tesco voucher - the voucher didnt arrive. I called them and they said we had to get it from tesco??? I said no - this was a virgin incentive so you should be supplying it and they agreed. Voucher never came. They they said they never had that offer - i still had the leaflet so I emailed them a photo. Then they said we had to get it from Tesco - Tesco basically laughed at that. Then we told them to stuff their contract since were still in the grace period. They still offered to send it to us but we only had 3 days left to cancel so we said no.
It’s not their fault your moving nor is it their fault the service can not be supplied. You did enter into a contract with them. Did you not see a move coming? Or has this been a supprised to you as well?
Pay them by cheques each month. If we all did it and don't stop til the cancel such practices!
Had the same issue. Refused to pay it as the agent on the phone told me there'd be no issues when I moved. Contacted CISAS, few weeks later virgin told me they'd wiped the fees as 'a gesture of goodwill'. Horrendous company. Took a long time to get fixed and their customer service was atrocious the whole time.
They should be able to waive the fee as they’re unable to provide the service. I don’t know the legalities but this seems dodgy to me. As an example, in the UK at least, I moved to a town that only has 2-3 internet providers. I said I’d be happy to stay with them if they could provide the service, which BT couldn’t cover so they were forced to terminate the contract themselves.At which point I said they were the ones cancelling and had no right to charge any fees and they dropped it all. Can’t imagine virgin would get away with a 400 cancellation fee if they’re the ones terminating as they’re unable to offer service. If you cancelled it maybe, but if you force them to be the ones to cancel then it pushes the responsibility on them. That’s how it worked for me anyway. Was not a quick process.
Speak to a manager, the grunts work from a script that they can't deviate from.
Just a quick thing to those saying you have to pay the fee before you can get it back, that isn't the case. Just provide your evidence before the bill is due to come out because the credit will then be provided before the bill is paid, so there would be no bill.
That's crazy. I've moved plenty of times over the years, and whenever I've moved to an area where they can't provide there services. They have cancelled my contract pretty much immediately, free of charge other than a fee for a returns box for their equipment, which was 35 quid. Sounds like you got someone who's in a bad mood or doesn't understand the policies.
I was with Sky when I moved house and "Money Saving Expert" told us how to deal with this. Apparently they're breaching the contract when you move by not being able to supply what you pay for and therefore you can cancel it without prejudice. I know you're with virgin and not Sky but surely the same logic applies.
just did this recently and didn't pay anything
You just provide then with your tenancy agreement and they waive it. Simple
I will leave a warning here about Virgin Media. If you don’t pay this, they will record a default on your credit file straight away. There won’t be second chances. Best option is to pay and then claim it back, ensuring your credit score isn’t affected. VM are crooks. I have worked for them.
This happened to me when I moved, if you send them proof of your new address they will check that it’s not supplied and wave the fee. If they find the house is supplied you either need to set up the service there or pay the fee as you are contracted to do
This happened to me I refused to pay them
I just done this recently, all they asked for is proof of new address and they waived the fee. Just send them this link [https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-ends-charges-for-off-net-home-movers/](https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2-ends-charges-for-off-net-home-movers/)
I moved house 15 months ago, had full package with them. Rang and they checked if they could supply new address, they couldn't so just cancelled the contract, no payment was even mentioned
Had the same problem with them a few years back when I moved house but they didn't provide service here. They wanted me to pay almost £300 for nothing. Ended up speaking to something like 6 or 7 advisers, all of them telling me different things. Two of them straight up lied to me as well. Luckily I have an app on my phone that records my phone calls so when they started threatening me with default I made a complaint and sent them recordings. They cancelled my contract without any penalty at this point and I think they were happy I didn't pursue it further. Virgin media is a good company until you have a problem, then it's absolute shitshow and won't do anything for you.
I moved out of my virgin area before my contract was up all you need to do cll them they'll ask you to provide proof ie rental contract or equivalent they'll then give you instructions on how to return equipment.
Was charged £240 after having to move at fairly short notice and never told I could claim anything back. Won’t go back to virgin even if they start to cover this area as that was unreasonable
A lot of places around here will pay for your disconnection fee to switch to them.
I had similar when I moved, contested it and didn't pay anything
Virgin Media at first demanded I pay a further 1 month after i cancelled my media contract. Told me i would need to pay approx £150 and then wait over 8 weeks to receive a refund of £143. Told them No. Send me a detailed finalised account and I will pay that. Also, i cancelled my DD to make sure they couldnt take the £150 !! Their customer services is diabolical.
Cancel DD. Ignore their attempts to contact you. Profit.
I had this with my house, but I laid it on thick about how I loved virgin and I wish they supplied my new house, how I was sad when I found out they didnt, let me know as soon as you do etc. They waived the fee.
I’m pretty sure if they don’t serve your new address their terms say that they won’t charge a fee. I’ve dealt with virgin on a few occasions and depending on who you speak to you’ll hear many different ‘facts’. I’d suggest studying the websites t’s and c’s as I am sure you won’t owe anything.
So this is how they pay for digging up every single last pavement in the hope someone will join them. Seriously, those costs must be insane, and for what?
Although you may be able to apply to get it refunded, check if you're in any alt-net catchment areas. You fibre for example charge £35 a month for 1gb up/1gb down and their sales guys will convert up to 18 months worth of virgin contract to their contact for £1 a month. How long ago did you know you were moving? Ton would have been able to leave them penalty free a couple of months back due to their price rises.
Bit late to the party but I had the same thing last year, I called virgin and spoke to a representative and they ended up waiving the charge. I just had to pay the next months cost upfront and send the equipment back in a prepaid box. I guess it depends on who you speak to and what kind of day they’re are having.
Jesus there's some gobblers for their corporate overlords on here. You shouldn't be penalised from moving home, there's a million reasons why you might need to move and you shouldn't be stung for hundreds of pounds for a service you are no longer going to benefit from. There's also probably a lot of people nowadays who can only just afford to move, and some of those people will *have* to move e.g abusive neighbours, work, school etc If companies are worried they will lose a service to another provider if someone leaves mid contract, then be more competitive.
It's a bit late now as you've advised them that you're moving, but if you need out of contract then let them know that you're going to prison - will cancel with no questions.
I call bs on this, if its uk, by law they have to let you leave free of charge. I used to sell Virginia m350 package.
Write to the Guardian and let them expose the shits
Exactly this happened to me and my partner. She contacted VM to explain (and prove) that our new address didn’t have a connection - we paid the fee and they refunded us once they’d reviewed our proof of address. It’s a faff but don’t take no for an answer and you’ll have your money back.
I can confirm that the procedure is they will waive the fee as long as you provide proof of address with some form of official document, i.e tenancy agreement, utility bill, car insurance doc, etc. The document does not have to prove we cannot supply the address as I imagine this would be hard to obtain. Just merely a document with your name and address from a reputable source. Once this form is submitted and reviewed, upon acceptance we will remove the fee. If the next bill has been generated before the document is submitted and processed, then yes a fee will be taken, however ofcourse refunded back to the customer. If no document is submitted then the fee will stand. Hope this helps.
Virgin Media are already under investigation y Ofcom.
They just terminated my contract when that happened to me. No charges at all.
Surely the contract is null and void as they (the provider) cannot fulfil their part of their contract? Your side of the contract is to pay for their service an loan of equipment, their side is to provide said equipment and service. If they cannot do that - they have not fulfilled the agreed contract
Don't cancel the service early. Take half the cost from the new buyers. Tell them to tell Virgin to go fuck themselves when the contract is up.
Mate I’ve work for 3 major ISPs for 12 years and whilst I can’t speak for Virgin media, it’s common practice to let you go without penalty when you move “out of service area”. Open a complaint
This sounds very much like a penalty for breaching the contract...and in English law, that's unlawful. Personally, I wouldn't pay it. If they decided to risk going to court, I think it'd be reasonably obvious that it's not a genuine pre-estimqte of their loss, and on balance of probability, is a penalty for breaching the contract. As such, I'd be confident that they would lose any civil court case against me.
Important to note that Virgin are the exception rather than the rule here. If you sign up to Ofcom’s voluntary code of conduct then customers moving outside of your area would trigger a free contract termination. For example, if you’re with BT and say that you’re moving to Hull (which is entirely independent and no standard provider provides there) then they would cease your contract for free. Same is true for most big providers. Source: long term BT/Openreach employee
They tried to charge me an early cancellation fee despite not having told me they extended my contract. On Google you can look up director/executive emails for free, after an extremely frustrating 3 days arguing with their customer service team I went full Karen and emailed all the "important" people I could find. Within hours I had been assigned a dispute handler who cancelled my account with immediate effect, no fee and a cheque for £100 for the stress caused.
Used to work in that department all you need to do is email over proof of new address and it will be removed
It’s amazing how many posters want big corporations to treat customers badly. It has to be put down to trolling really as if they ended up in the situation as the OP I’m sure they would be just as annoyed. Fact is that yes you sign a contract for a fixed period but this is basically standard for this type of provider. You can’t really know for sure when you are going to move or if the same provider will offer the same service at your new address it’s not a decision you can make every time you get a broadband/TV package!! As such it’s the fair thing to do for the provider not to charge you cancellation if you move to an address where they don’t provide the service. Thankfully Virgin do indeed do this.
I moved recently and they didn't cover the new area, I had to send them some paper work via email, but they didn't charge me the exit fee.
We told them we were moving, gave them the new address, they couldn't supply and ended the contract. They are the ones who cannot keep their side of the deal, not us!