Virgin Media has been fined \u00a328 million by Ofcom after the regulator found that millions of customers faced unnecessary barriers when trying to cancel their contracts between 2022 and 2024. The penalty is the largest ever issued under Ofcom’s consumer protection rules for direct harm to consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation concluded that customers experienced repeated delays and obstacles when attempting to switch to another provider. According to Ofcom, some of the practices uncovered included unnecessary call transfers, lengthy periods on hold and deliberately dropped calls, all of which made the cancellation process <\/strong>significantly more difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The case centres on Virgin Media’s handling of customer contacts over a period spanning from 1 January 2022 to 11 September 2024. According to the regulator, millions of calls were likely to have been mishandled by agents with the aim of delaying or preventing customers from leaving the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fine was reduced by 30% after Virgin Media admitted its failings and agreed to settle the investigation. Ofcom also stated that the company failed to fully cooperate during parts of its inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Ofcom, Virgin Media operated a two-tier retention system<\/strong> in which only second-tier agents were able to process cancellations. As a result, more than one million customers had to repeat their request to at least one additional agent before their cancellation could proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The regulator said customers were subjected to repeated attempts to persuade them to remain with the company, unnecessary transfers between departments, excessive periods on hold and, in some cases, deliberately terminated calls. It also found that some cancellation requests were not processed despite customers clearly stating they wished to end their contracts<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ofcom further concluded that Virgin Media’s commission scheme effectively encouraged these behaviours by financially rewarding agents<\/strong> for retaining customers. The regulator also found shortcomings in staff training, quality assurance and oversight of third-party call centres, allowing these practices to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOfcom Identifies Systemic Barriers to Cancelling Contracts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n