My troubles started when my husband died ? now they have cut me off
I am a disabled widow who has been a Virgin Media customer since it was Telewest ? more than 30 years. My husband, who died suddenly on 18 July, dealt with all correspondence with Virgin. We recently switched to e-billing for a package that includes telephone, broadband and TV, with a couple of additional services such as Catch up on Demand, incurring a monthly charge of �46.50 plus phone charges.
As all our bank accounts were held jointly I arranged for the transfer into my sole name within days of my husband's death, and for all standing orders and direct debits to continue as before. Accordingly, the July payment was made in this way to Virgin Media. I informed Virgin of my husband's death within two weeks and stated that I would be the account holder from the date of his death. Virgin sent me a letter of condolence on 12 August, also stating that they had noted that I would now be the account holder and that all services had been transferred into my name, and thanking me for arranging for the direct debits to continue.
Since then my troubles have started. Virgin sent me three separate letters, each enclosing a "new user" contract for me to sign and return in which I was asked to fill in direct debit details with bank account number, name, telephone number etc. I informed them by telephone (on their 150 telephone number) that the matter had already been dealt with and followed it up with a copy of my husband's death certificate, and a copy of the letter stating that this was the case. Now I have received a bill for more than �190 from Virgin demanding that I pay by 22 September, a "late payment" fee of �10, a "reconnection" fee of �61, plus last month's bill (completely different from that already paid by direct debit), and next month's bill for �46.50. This letter also stated that I had been disconnected by Virgin without my knowledge from the moment they received my notification of death ? the telephone has been off for two weeks now and the TV and broadband off for a weekend. GM, Bristol
Virgin Media said that when your husband passed away its customer services team explained they would need to cancel the old contract in your late husband's name and generate a new one in your name. In order to do this you were issued with new user details and a new direct debit instruction. The balance of the old account was transferred to your new account and you were billed for two months in advance to prevent you going into arrears during the transition process. The firm said you didn't respond to the direct debit instruction and this meant your balance wasn't paid, which automatically generated a late payment charge on your account. It said at no point were your services terminated and you were not charged for reconnection.
The outcome of all this is that you do not owe any extra money other than your monthly bill, and Virgin Media has helped reduce this from �46.40 a month to �33.90 for the remaining 11 months of your contract. This will save you �137.50.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@guardian.co.uk or write to Brignall & King, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/sep/23/virgin-media-cut-me-off
Alastair Cook Spending review 2010 Financial crisis Paul Myners Fulham Twilight
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