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When am I eligible for Virgin Media’s automatic compensation scheme?
On 25th March 2020, we paused our automatic compensation scheme because of Covid-19. The good news is it’ll be back from 1st June 2020.
This means we’ll be paying credits according to the scheme for:
- An unresolved total loss of home phone or broadband service reported on or after 1st June 2020
- A delayed activation (installation) of home phone or broadband service with an original scheduled date on or after 1st June 2020
- A missed technician appointment for home phone or broadband service booked on or after 1st June 2020
We’ll also continue to adhere to all government guidance to make sure we’re keeping our people and customers safe at all times. Please note that there are two circumstances where credits won’t be paid under the scheme based on safety concerns related to Covid-19:
- If we can’t attend a customer’s home because they’re self-isolating or shielding
- If a technician can’t attend an appointment because they’re required to self-isolate and a replacement technician can’t be arranged at short notice
It’s our top priority to keep providing our customers with the best possible service, while also keeping our people and customers safe. We’re doing our best to resolve faults and keep our services going so our customers can stay connected. We also recognise the social challenges our customers may face, so we’ve made sure we’re providing further support. For more details please go to virginmedia.com/coronavirus
We’re proud of our award winning service, including our free service and repairs.
But, we know that sometimes things can go wrong, so it’s only right that we make amends.
We’ve worked with both other broadband providers and Ofcom, to make sure that our automatic compensation scheme offers fair and consistent compensation for our customers who experience a qualifying service issue.
We’ll automatically credit your bill for fixed phone line and broadband issues, no matter if you’re a new or existing customer. Here’s how much we’ll credit you for the following service issues:
- £8 per day for a total loss of service after 2 full working days from registering the loss of service to us
- £5 per day if we don’t install your services on the promised day until installation’s completed
- £25 if we don’t turn up on the promised day of an appointment
What do you need to do? Actually, very little!
Other than reporting a total loss of service to us if this is your issue, you won’t need to lift a finger to report either delayed installs or a missed appointment.
Find out more about when you may be eligible and how to register for our automatic compensation scheme.
Total loss of broadband or phone service
Your broadband or fixed phone line aren’t working at all?
Check to see if there’s an outage in your area on our handy service checker. You can report the issue to us by registering it online or alternatively, calling us. If we haven’t fixed the fault within 48 hours from the end of that day, you will be entitled to £8 credit per day until it’s sorted.
Once you’ve reported the issue to us and service has been fully restored, any credit owed will be automatically calculated and applied to your bill – so there’s no need to call us to credit you.
Installation date is delayed
For any delayed installation, we’ll automatically calculate what you’re owed and apply it to your bill, without you having to do a thing!
1. If you’ve arranged a self-install via our QuickStart service, we’ll treat delivery of your kit as the installation date. If for any reason you experience you can’t get any service once you’ve received the kit, chat to us online or give our friendly team a call on 150 from your Virgin Media home phone or mobile, or on 0345 454 1111 * from any phone to register a loss of service issue.
As with any total loss of service, if we’re not able to resolve the problem within 2 full working days from you contacting us, we’ll start to automatically credit your first bill at £8 per day until it’s fixed.
2. If you require an engineer installation, we’ll arrange the most convenient date. If at the point of placing your order, we’re aware of any additional engineering work required in order to provide the service – such as the premises to our network, it may require third party permissions or permits outside of our control. In which case, we’ll provide a provisional activation date, but we may need to contact you to let you know if we need to confirm a different install date. If we have to change a provisional activation date, this will not trigger a credit under the scheme.
If we don’t install on any confirmed date we’ll automatically credit your first bill by £5 per day until you’re up and running, providing you’re eligible.
*For details about how much it costs to call our team from a Virgin Media home phone, visit virginmedia.com/callcosts. Call costs from other networks and mobiles vary.
We’ve missed your appointment
If we promised to be with you on a particular day and we don’t turn up that day, or cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice, we’ll automatically apply a £25 credit to your bill.
Worth remembering, we also try to give you an idea of the time our engineer will visit. We try our best to meet our appointment times, but these are for guidance, although we’ll always try to get in touch if something unforeseeable stops us. If we arrive outside of these guidance times, this will not trigger compensation if we do arrive during that day.
We also need someone over 18 to be in. Naturally there are a few exceptions and rules around these scenarios. For more details and information on what you’re entitled to, visit our Terms and Conditions page.
What Virgin Media services are covered under our automatic compensation scheme? What Virgin Media services are covered under our automatic compensation scheme?
Only our Broadband and Home Phone services fall under our automatic compensation scheme.
How is my bill credit calculated? How is my bill credit calculated?
Credit is calculated automatically, which means that any credit will automatically appear on your bill – so you won’t need to do anything!
- £8 per day for a total loss of service after 2 full working days* from registering the loss of service to us
- £5 per day if we don’t install your services on the promised day until installation’s completed
- £25 if we don’t turn up on the promised day of an appointment
Credit may be less if you don’t accept the earliest appointment offered to you or if you have rescheduled an appointment to a later time.
* For example, if you reported a total loss of service on Monday, we will have until the end of Wednesday to fix it. You will receive a bill credit for each day after Wednesday if it’s not fixed.
What is considered as a total loss of service? What is considered as a total loss of service?
Total loss of Phone service is when you are unable to make or receive any calls, or you just get a dial tone. Total loss of broadband is when you are unable to connect to the internet using a wired connection. Any broadband issues relating to intermittent issues, slow speeds or a degraded service aren’t considered a total service loss.
Want to find out more about our broadband speeds? Visit our Help Page.
What happens if I don’t notify Virgin Media that I am affected by a service outage? What happens if I don’t notify Virgin Media that I am affected by a service outage?
In order to be eligible for any credit, you need to go online or call us to register that you’re affected by an outage. Registering means we can record the start of the time you’ve been affected. Check to see if there’s an outage in your area on our handy service checker. If there is, just register and we’ll let you know if you are eligible for a credit. If you do not register that you are affected by an outage, you will not receive a bill credit. You can report if you’re affected by a service outage online or give our friendly team a call on 150 from your Virgin Media home phone or mobile, or on 0345 454 1111 * from any phone.
Our vulnerable customers need to contact us when affected by an outage, however, the calculation of their bill credit will start from the day of the outage and not from the day we are notified.
*For details about how much it costs to call our team from a Virgin Media home phone, visit virginmedia.com/callcosts. Call costs from other networks and mobiles vary.
What happens if I experience a total loss of service for both my phone and broadband? What happens if I experience a total loss of service for both my phone and broadband?
If you experience a total loss of service for Phone and Broadband, you’ll only receive credit for one total loss at the rate of £8 per calendar day.
What happens if I disagree with the timescales that the service was inactive and the amount of bill credit that was applied? What happens if I disagree with the timescales that the service was inactive and the amount of bill credit that was applied?
Bill credit is automatically calculated based on the time your fault was reported to Virgin Media and the time it is resolved. Some periods may not count towards calculating the bill credit. If for example you didn’t take the first available appointment or you asked for your appointment to be moved to another day.
For example if we offered to fix your fault on a Wednesday, but you wanted to book an engineer appointment on a Friday, you will not receive a bill credit for those two days.
Credit is also automatically calculated based on whether Virgin Media is at fault for the delay or service issue. These calculations are in-line with the communication providers voluntary code of practice agreed with Ofcom. Head over to our ‘legal stuff’ page for details of exceptions and eligibility. If you still think that we’ve made a mistake, chat to us online or give our friendly team a call on 150 from your Virgin Media home phone or mobile, or on 0345 454 1111 * from any phone. If our team can’t resolve the issue there and then, we will follow our complaints process to try to find a resolution.
*For details about how much it costs to call our team from a Virgin Media home phone, visit virginmedia.com/callcosts. Call costs from other networks and mobiles vary.
Will the bill credit be added separately per day for Outage or Loss of service, or grouped as one amount once the service has been fully restored? Will the bill credit be added separately per day for Outage or Loss of service, or grouped as one amount once the service has been fully restored?
Any bill credit will be grouped as one amount once the issue is resolved. But, if you receive credit for more than one issue, e.g. total loss of service and a missed appointment then these will appear as separate line items.
This will appear on your bill.
What happens if I reported a loss of service, booked an Engineer appointment or installation before 1 April 2019? What happens if I reported a loss of service, booked an Engineer appointment or installation before 1 April 2019?
The scheme only applies to fault reports or installation requests made from 1 April 2019, Unfortunately you won’t be eligible to receive a bill credit under this scheme, even if an Engineer is booked to visit after 1 April 2019.
What happens if the engineer visits but nobody (or nobody over the age of 18) is in? What happens if the engineer visits but nobody (or nobody over the age of 18) is in?
Unfortunately, the appointment won’t be able to go ahead and will need to be rescheduled. In this case Virgin Media will not pay any credits for the time between the first appointment and any rescheduled appointment
Will I still receive credit if I let your team know about my loss of service through Twitter/Facebook? Will I still receive credit if I let your team know about my loss of service through Twitter/Facebook?
You can report a loss of service or outage online, or give our friendly team a call on 150 from your Virgin Media home phone or mobile, or on 0345 454 1111 * from any phone. Unfortunately, if you don’t report your fault online or using this number, you won’t be able to receive a bill credit, as we need your customer account details. Reports made via Facebook, Twitter and Forums will not count.
*For details about how much it costs to call our team from a Virgin Media home phone, visit virginmedia.com/callcosts. Call costs from other networks and mobiles vary.
Other ways to get help
Service status
- Run tests on your services
- Check for network outages
- Book an engineer