The Observer - 11.08.2019

• The Observer
  58 11.08.19 Cash

Anna Tims

Your

problems

Last month Virgin Media noti-
fi ed me that my monthly bill would
increase yet again, this time by
£3.50. This is a 9% rise, which
meant I could cancel my contract
without incurring an early termina-
tion fee. When I tried, I was told by
several customer service advisers
that it was not possible. Eventually,
someone admitted it was, and
guaranteed that my service would
remain for 30 days, giving me time
to fi nd a cheaper provider.
Two days later, my internet failed.
Virgin claimed I had requested
immediate disconnection and told
me I had to pay a £79 fee. After an
hour on the phone it admitted an
error and assured me it would be

fi xed within the hour. It was still

down a day later, and, in another

hour-long call, customer services

again blamed me before admitting

a mistake and promising reconnec-

tion within 24 hours. Nothing hap-

pened except that I was billed for

the termination fee.

Reconnection was then promised

within 72 hours. Nothing happened.

This time I was told the reconnec-

tion had not been requested and

I’d have to wait another 72 hours.

By the eighth day, there was still

no service and I was still being

informed that neither my reconnec-

tion request nor my formal com-

plaint had gone through and that

I’d have to wait 72 hours for the for-

mer to be resolved and seven days

for the latter. It seems a coinci-

dence I never had any trouble until I

requested to leave.

WG, Stockport

Under rules set by the telecoms reg-

ulator Ofcom, customers can cancel

their contract without penalty with 30

days’ notice if price rises cause “mate-

rial detriment”. This is generally inter-

preted as price rises exceeding the

retail price index, which is around

3%. Virgin’s latest increases, the sec-

ond in 12 months, come into effect in

September and October and increase

bills of some customers by 11%.

Last November the company was

fi ned £7m by Ofcom for its extor-

tionate termination fees. It was

found to have overcharged almost

82,000 of those who ended their

contracts early by nearly £2.8m.

The impasse in which you fi nd

yourself was fi nally broken by a call

to the press offi ce, which confi rmed

that the 30-day notice period should

have applied and that you are not

liable for a termination charge.

With the prospect of a headline

looming, the company managed to

reconnect you within 24 hours and

it agreed to waive charges for the

20 days of service still remaining.

“We sincerely apologise for the

inconvenience and poor service he

has experienced and are pleased to

have resolved the matter to his satis-

faction,” it says.

Expedia plays the

hotel blame game

We booked two hotel rooms in

Amsterdam on the Expedia web-

site. When the confi rmation arrived

it showed the wrong dates. We had

double-checked that we’d submit-

ted them correctly and my part-

ner rang within fi ve minutes of the

booking to get it rectifi ed. Customer

services said there may have been

a computer “glitch”, but concluded

the hotel would have taken the pay-

ment and there was nothing it

could do.

The hotel said it had not yet

received notifi cation of our book-

ing and that Expedia could stop the

payment. It didn’t. The £689.72 was

taken from my account three days

later. Expedia said this was because

the payment was non-refundable

under the hotel’s terms and condi-

tions and relied on a screenshot of

the booking confi rmation rather

than the original form to claim the

fault was ours.

It’s incredible that a company

as huge as Expedia does not allow

amendments within, say, the fi rst

two hours. I do wonder how much

money is made from such mistakes.

AP, Norwich

Under the Consumer Contracts

Regulations , you have 14 days to

cancel a service ordered online but

the rules, unfortunately, do not

apply to hotel or airline bookings. If

the online giant did make the mis-

take it’s not admitting it.

Nor does it explain why it insisted

the hotel’s non-refundable policy

applied when the hotel had yet to

receive the reservation. Instead, it

passed the buck to the hotel, insist-

ing it should make any refund

despite the fact it did not receive the

money until three days later.

And it wouldn’t be drawn on why

it does not insist all its providers

allow a small window for amend-

ments, merely stating that it knows

customers “appreciate fl exibility”.

“We know plans change and we

do our best to work with custom-

ers to fi nd a resolution,” it says.

“However, cancellation policies are

set by hotel partners, including non-

refundable room rates. For non-

refundable rooms, should you wish

to change or cancel a room for any

reason, the hotel may not refund

your original payment. This is out-

lined in the booking process.”

However, happily for you,

it decided to refund you as a

goodwill gesture.

If you need help email Anna Tims at

[email protected] or

write to Your Problems, The Observer,

Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1

9GU. Include an address and phone

number. Publication are subject to our

terms and conditions

Trouble started when I

tried to cancel Virgin deal

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