virgin media/upc

Burges

hi guys looking for the heads up out there....I was with upc about 3 years ago and I got everything in t.v,broadband and home phone. During my 1st week of having upc I realised it wasn't for me , didn't like the set up etc ....so I rang them up and said I want the contract to be cancelled as it was my understanding that I can give the whole lot back without being stuck in a 12 month contract ,within the 1st week of having their products,so I pulled the plug on all their products. I now want to get broadband with virgin media...without actually mentioning upc, virgin media are saying I owe the €500. I also like to state I have a distribution box on the external walls of my house which belong to virgin media and to my knowledge don't have permission. can anyone give me advice, cheers

colm_mcm

When you say "pulled the plug" do you mean you cancelled your direct debit, and they kept sending you bills, or do you mean you cancelled, they took their equipment back and that was that?

Is there a possibility that you owe them money from a different account?

Generally speaking they will have gotten permission for having the cabling on the house years and years ago when it was cable tv. They would usually have made an agreement with the home owner back then which would carry over to any subsequent owners, a bit like a right of way.

ED E

Burges wrote: »

...so I pulled the plug on all their products..

Did they send you a courier to recall the equipment? Did they send you a final bill? Sounds like no.

That being the case, you never actually cancelled, and are liable for the service you signed up for. Made your bed, time to lie in it and pay up.


I wouldnt try getting the node removed unless you want the entire street to hate your guts.

colm_mcm

Not 100% certain, but I don't think the law about distance selling 14 day cooling off existed 3 days ago?

Burges

colm_mcm wrote: »

When you say "pulled the plug" do you mean you cancelled your direct debit, and they kept sending you bills, or do you mean you cancelled, they took their equipment back and that was that?

Is there a possibility that you owe them money from a different account?

hi colm....What I mean by pulled the plug is I cancelled my direct debit because It was my understanding that I could give the whole lot back without been charged , but they were going to still bill me for services I no longer used after day 5 of my 1st and only week of having upc.

colm_mcm

And did you not get any phone calls/bills/reminder letters/phone calls/text messages/emails/debt collectors? You had no idea that the boxes you had were still working beyond the few days?

Virgin media is just upc rebranded, so it's not a new company, fresh slate type thing

A lot of the €500 could be charges for unreturned boxes, so if you return them it might take away a good chunk of it. Can't imagine how a €500 bill would rack up otherwise.

Burges

E D E

during the 1st and only week of having the products...I rang them up wanting to cancel
because I knew once I went over that 1st week of was in a 12 month contract, so I did. I
cancelled my direct debit also yes, but was still
getting post with the amount I owed without having the t.v , broadband and home phone on. Also like so state, after a certain time I have no longer received bills from upc to my address.

Burges

colm_mcm wrote: »

And did you not get any phone calls/bills/reminder letters/phone calls/text messages/emails/debt collectors? You had no idea that the boxes you had were still working beyond the few days?

Virgin media is just upc rebranded, so it's not a new company, fresh slate type thing

A lot of the €500 could be charges for unreturned boxes, so if you return them it might take away a good chunk of it. Can't imagine how a €500 bill would rack up otherwise.

I got some post/bills to the house yeah that was all,no phone calls nothing of what you have mentioned. no I honestly don't know if the boxes were still working and I didn't want to try because I thought if they can see on their system I'm still using them,then I would understand I'd be in a contract and have to pay up.

Burges

ED E wrote: »

Did they send you a courier to recall the equipment? Did they send you a final bill? Sounds like no.

That being the case, you never actually cancelled, and are liable for the service you signed up for. Made your bed, time to lie in it and pay up.


I wouldnt try getting the node removed unless you want the entire street to hate your guts.

during the 1st and only week of having the products...I rang them up wanting to cancel
because I knew once I went over that 1st week of was in a 12 month contract, so I did. I
cancelled my direct debit also yes, but was still
getting post with the amount I owed without having the t.v , broadband and home phone on. Also like so state, after a certain time I have no longer received bills from upc to my address.

ED E

If you have ordered the services online, by telephone or from an agent attending at your home you have a statutory right to cancel an order for the services within 14 days (the cooling off period) from the latest of (i) the day after the delivery of the equipment (ii) the service start date, and (iii) the day on which you received a copy of these terms and conditions in printed or PDF format.
We may choose to offer an enhanced cooling off period from time to time, and will inform you of this at the time of your purchase if this is the case.
Any cancellation of the services in the cooling off period must be in accordance with this paragraph. You can cancel your order by:
Dialing 0345 234 0751 from any phone (for information on how much this call will cost from a Virgin Media home phone visit http://www.virginmedia.com/callcosts. Call costs from other networks and mobiles vary);
Writing to Virgin Media Sales Operation Support, Unit 5 Nimbus Park, Porz Avenue, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, LU5 5FR; or
Completing the cancellation form you will have been given as part of your welcome pack and returning this to us at the address specified on the form.
If you cancel the services during the cooling off period, we will refund to you all payments received from you, including the costs of any delivery for any equipment you ordered, however if you requested a service to begin during the cooling off period we may require you to pay us an amount proportionate to any services with which we have provided you up until the cancellation date. We will not refund any one-off fee for activation or installation of the services if you cancel the services after installation or activation. If you cancel an order for equipment, we will automatically cancel your order for the services unless you inform us otherwise.
If you cancel under the cooling off period you must return any equipment with which you have been provided promptly, using the returns method provided with the equipment or otherwise notified by us to you. You will be responsible for the costs of returning the equipment to us and we may charge you our direct return costs (including by offsetting this against any money we owe you).

Assuming the terms havent changed since you signed up (can only grab the current terms now) this is what you agreed to. Equipment never went back to the them so legally you still had the service. Doesnt matter didly squat if you use it or. Same goes for eircom, if the lines active its active, doesnt matter if you make 0 calls in 5 years unless formally cancelled you're billed, like any service.

Try talking to VM loyalty, negotiate a deal and get them down to €250 if you can.

colm_mcm

Owing money shouldn't have been surprise if you got bills.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest you knew well but thought virgin media wouldn't have been looking for the money.