People who get their internet through Virgin Media have been warned they could face a new £25 fine if they fail to answer the door. The measure sees those who fail to answer their door to an engineer on a home visit hit by the charge.
The so-called 'doorbell tax' is added to the normal monthly broadband charge, which went up in March as the UK continues to feel the cost-of-living crisis. It has angered customers who have criticised the company's "worst customer service". Birmingham Live reported that customers were warned of the new fine — imposed when assistance has been requested by the customer but the engineer cannot gain access to the property — by text message. It read: “A £25 charge will be added to your next bill if you miss this visit.”
Emma Robinson, 42, from Surrey hit out at the announcement as she spoke to The Mirror. She said: “I have two young children and it’s not unusual for me to fail to hear the doorbell ring if I am upstairs giving my baby a bath. Now Virgin want to fine me for not answering my door when they rarely pick up the phone themselves and offer some of the worst customer service on the market. Unbelievable.”
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Martyn James, of complaints handling group resolver.co.uk, said: “Anyone who has spent ages trying to get an appointment for a fault – or has waited at home till the evening with no knock on the door – will be outraged that a missed appointment could result in a charge. The broadband industry has a pretty terrible reputation for missed appointments, service and sorting complaints. Until the sector has its house in order, it shouldn’t be charging extra for anything – including missed appointments and exit fees.”
Virgin, which has 3.2 million UK users, was criticised by the regulator Ofcom last year for poor service. It found customers waited an average of seven minutes and 40 seconds to speak to call-centre staff – the worst in the industry.
Under current rules, internet providers are obliged to pay customers £25 for each appointment the company fails to fulfil, or for appointments it cancels with less than 24 hours’ notice.
Virgin Media – formerly owned by tycoon Sir Richard Branson – merged with O2 last year in a £31bn deal and is part of telecoms giant Liberty Global. As well as the huge salary, boss Mike Fries has 120 hours a year personal use of the company’s jet. A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “Unlike many other providers, all our customers benefit from service and repairs at no extra cost – even if we need to send out an engineer. Charges for missed appointments are common across the industry to ensure we best serve all customers and we’re proud that our charges are amongst the lowest in the market.”
