Virgin Media has been fined £28 million as millions of calls from customers were "likely mishandled," according to Ofcom, leading to them being unable to cancel their contracts as they wished. Customers are said to have been prevented from switching to better broadband, landline, and pay-TV deals.
Via the BBC, Ofcom said that Virgin Media used tactics such as agents hanging up calls, and customers being put on hold for no reason. The penalty fine has been reduced by 30%, as Virgin Media admitted its failings, agreeing to settle. Virgin Media has also since apologised to the "small proportion who experienced an issue when contacting us to agree a new deal or cancel their service in the past."
It's the third-largest fine ever issued by Ofcom, and the largest it has ever issued under consumer protection rules. Ofcom's investigation covered millions of phone calls between January 2022 and September 2024, finding that Virgin rewarded call centre agents for delaying or preventing customers from switching to a competitor.
"Right at the beginning of this problem, a number of years ago in 2022, we tried to resolve this informally. There wasn't the will to do that," said Natalie Black, Ofcom's group director for infrastructure and connectivity. "The facts are clear. Virgin Media made it harder for customers to cancel their contracts and then did not fully cooperate with our investigation. As a result, we are levelling our largest ever fine under our consumer protection rules for direct harm to consumers."