Virgin Media find £28 million for blocking customers from cancelling

Ofcom has fined Virgin Media £28 million after finding the company deliberately made it difficult for customers to cancel their contracts over a period of almost three years.

The regulator said millions of calls were likely mishandled between 1 January 2022 and 11 September 2024, delaying or preventing customers from switching to rival providers.

It is Ofcom’s largest ever fine under its consumer protection rules for direct harm to consumers.

The investigation was launched after Ofcom received 1,881 complaints from customers who reported difficulties cancelling, and after engagement with Virgin Media failed to resolve the issue.

Ofcom’s rules state that a provider’s conditions and procedures must not act as a disincentive for customers who wish to cancel their contracts.

What Ofcom found

The investigation uncovered systemic and repeated failings in Virgin Media’s contract termination procedures.

Virgin Media split its retention team into two tiers of agents, with only second-tier agents able to process cancellations. Ofcom said this forced over a million callers to repeat their cancellation request to at least one further agent to stand any chance of it being processed.

Some customers made multiple attempts to cancel across repeated calls and other contact channels. In some cases, they resorted to cancelling their direct debits, leading to missed payments that damaged their credit scores.

Ofcom also uncovered widespread and, in many cases, deliberate mishandling of calls by retention agents.

Tactics included repeated pressure on customers to stay after they had made clear they wanted to cancel, unnecessary or excessive call transfers, repeatedly keeping customers on hold for no reason, deliberately dropping calls, and failing to process cancellations on the system.

The regulator found that Virgin Media’s commission scheme effectively encouraged and financially rewarded agents for these behaviours.

Training and guidance failed to prevent the conduct, while inadequate quality assurance meant it was often overlooked. Virgin Media also lacked proper oversight of its third-party call centres.

Massive fine

Ofcom said it considered the significant harm to affected customers, Virgin Media’s repeated failure to identify and prevent that harm, and the financial gain the company was likely to have made.

It also took into account Virgin Media’s repeated failure to comply with Ofcom’s information gathering process during the investigation, and a previous fine for breaching the same rule in 2018.

The £28 million penalty includes a 30% reduction because Virgin Media admitted its failings and agreed to settle the case. The company must pay within two months, and the money will be passed to HM Treasury.

“The facts are clear. Virgin Media made it harder for customers to cancel their contracts and then did not fully cooperate with our investigation,” said Natalie Black, Ofcom’s group director for infrastructure and connectivity.

“Today, we are sending a clear message that any provider who wilfully acts against the interests of their customers will pay a heavy price.”

What happens next

Virgin Media has made changes to its commission scheme, training, quality assurance and monitoring.

Ofcom is also requiring the company to check that every affected customer who complained has received the compensation or other remedies they were entitled to. Virgin Media has six months to complete this.

The conduct predates Ofcom’s One Touch Switch process, which came into effect on 12 September 2024. Under that system, customers no longer need to contact their existing provider to switch and only have to contact their new provider.

Black said the One Touch Switch process puts further safeguards in place to prevent similar conduct from happening again.

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