Overview
- Ofcom announced on Wednesday that it has fined Virgin Media £28 million after finding the company made it unreasonably hard for customers to cancel or switch providers between January 2022 and September 11, 2024.
- The watchdog said agents used deliberate tactics including call‑dropping, excessive transfers, long holds and pressure to stay, and that a two‑tier retention system forced over a million callers to repeat cancellation requests.
- Ofcom found Virgin’s commission scheme financially encouraged retention behaviour and said the company repeatedly failed to fully cooperate with information requests during the probe.
- The penalty was reduced by 30% because Virgin admitted the failings and settled; the fine must be paid to the Treasury within about two months and the company must verify that every affected complainant receives redress within six months.
- Virgin has apologised and says it has redesigned customer service, while Ofcom says its action and industry measures such as One Touch Switch are meant to deter similar deliberate practices and protect switching for consumers.