restriction
 

To Whom It may concern,
I have a huge issue with Virgin Media , due to a change in my circumstances regarding funding, i am late with my monthly payment and restrictions are due to be enforced on the 24th of the month. I am a single disabled lady and have a life line linked to my telephone as when ill i cannot dial 999 . I rely heavily on this life line, and have been told today by Virgin Media representatives that it does not matter . My bill needs to be up to date before they will consider extending my service. I waited for a mnager to contact before 8 pm , i am still waiting. The bill will be paid 8 days late which apparently is no good . I spoke to 4 different people today who just passed me around and did not help . All i have asked for is help but it seems Virgin media do not help people . I have been very stressed and upset by this action today I now hope of some solace to this problem, and i warn anyone with health issue and a lifeline do not use Virgin media until they show some slight consideration for people whom have difficulties.

Re: restriction
 

Although I can appreciate your situation, at the same time Virgin do not restrict services for late payment until around 5/6 weeks after a bill has been generated and certainly not before the next bill has been sent out which in itself is 4/5 weeks later

So for Virgin to be looking to restrict your services on the 24th of August, I would guess you are actually are talking about a bill that was generated mid-July and that should have been paid by the first/second week of August.

For them to wait a further 10-14 days or so before restricting the services seems reasonable to me

Also Virgin can extend a restriction if it is the first time a payment is late - but even then only by a maximum of 7 days. Again they will only do this if there are no late payments ever showing on the account (and/or any previous restrictions for late payment)

Re: restriction
 

Dear Ben,
Thankyou for your input , and i understand what you are saying completely, but my circumstances mean i Cannot communicate when i am ill , i cannot swllow or talk, I do not think that lying on a floor because i cannot get up on my own and Virgin Media cutting my life line off really helps me . If i died it would be a different matter . I am unable to use the phone myself and rely on that life line . I have to use it 3 to 8 times a month . i appreciate your comment but my life is worth slightly more than a slight delay in payment which has never happened before , to boost virgins profits . I do not normally complain but htis has caused the most upset and distress to me today as i was teated like an undesired object by asking them for help not hinderance

Re: restriction
 

Again, I am sorry you feel you have been victimised.

As I have already said, Virgin build plenty of leeway into their billing system for any payment issues to be resolved amicably before a restriction is placed onto the account.

I must repeat that the restriction goes on a lot later that you have made out.

I am sorry to sound callous here but managing payments is something we all have to do in life. If it was me, and I knew that the landline was that important, I would have created an emergency fund or buffer so that I always knew that I have enough money to cover the costs.

Re: restriction
 

With Ben on this on. They are normally very helpfull, plus the 24th is only 5 /6 days away

Re: restriction
 

And again as I said - they can push the restriction forward by 7 days. But there is very strict criteria for doing this. And they will only ever do it once

Re: restriction
 

The way I see it, VM is a business - if people can't organise their money, then meh.

Why? If you phone line is as important as you say, then you should have a backup - I have health issues and have a cheap pay as you go for emergencies

Whilst I understand, that you are reliant in your landline for your health issues - Virgin is a business. You wouldn't expect to pay for your groceries "late" and still get them, so why should this be different. Personally and this is personally speaking, seems to me, you have other ways around this. You can buy a cheap pay as you go, just for a "999" call for about £10.00

Something like this: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/buy...00-VRW10-WEB10 £4.95 for the phone £10.00 for credit - free shipping.

IDEA: Can a family member or freind not pay this for you? and you give them the cash?

Re: restriction
 

Dear Ben
Am very sorry dear , but i disagree to take disregard for for someones health is dispicable ,maybe one day something may happen to someone you love or yourself and you find yourself in my situation, and it happens to you , you will feel differently. until then enjoy sticking up for Virgin Media because they will not do the same for you. You are a nobody in their eyes a nothing , pehaps when you see life through different glasses you may understand. Thankyou for making a disabled lady feel even more upset and hurt by your negative comments , I hope you are pleased with your self

Re: restriction
 

Seriously lady, i have disabilities, if you can;t handle the truth then don't post, simple as. My suggestions above, will resolve it oh believe me when I say, I understand your situation but being such a martre on a public forum, is it really necessary, simple answer to resolve this, pay on time or get your services "suspended" it's not hard now is it?

Well, to be honest, no one is "sticking" up for Virgin Media, just I can see both sides. Maybe, if Virgin would "care" a little more, they'd be bankrupt. My example, goes above, you wouldn't expect to get your groceries and pay later. I'm sorry that your upset and hurt, but maybe you should just grow a set and "women-up" a bit. Granted, your disabled and your probably feeling a little "alone" right now - I WILL say it again, pay your bill on time then. Simple as.

Re: restriction
 

I have now lost all sympathy for you.

I had not insulted you in any way but yet you decided to wish ill will on me and my loved ones which is a extremely hurtful and spitful comment.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. What has having a disability got to do with not having enough monitary sense to make sure your lifeline is paid on time or having a contingency plan in case there is hiccup in finances?

I do understand, but what it I get from your comments is that because you are disabled than the normal rules shouldn't apply to you. I am sorry but that is just a non starter in my eyes.

I was actually trying to be constructive and explain what had happened and the options you have avaliable. However, I now can see that what you were expecting is a outpouring of 'aren't Virgin Media evil' rather than any actual help

Re: restriction
 

Good job dude - I'm with you on this. She seems to simply want everyone to go, awww your disabled, lets jump when you click your fingers - to the OP as i said, being disabled aint that bad - women-up a bit and or grow a set.

And to wish hurt / pain of any kind on anyone, no matter whom - must mean, you are a very nasty person. Clearly, your wrapped in anger from VM - so take a minute to read why you have typed.

Re: restriction
 

When my mum was living she had the alarm system that relied on the telephone.
After having it installed her first priority was always paying the phone bill because she knew her life literally depended on it.
IMO the only priority you should get as a disabled customer is to have immediate tech visits when you have issues with your services.
My husband's disability isn't life threatening in any way, but due to his disability he very rarely leaves the house and because of this he spends a lot of time on his computer and the internet, that makes a working, paid for broadband service and an up to date high spec computer my priority for him.
Being disabled you gets priority for some things but paying your bills is something you need to take responsibility for and make it your priority.

Re: restriction
 

Point proven

Re: restriction
 

You only need to pay the arrears by Friday to prevent a restriction, not the total amount payable on the bill.

The rest (plus a £10 late payment fee) can be made later, preferably before the next months bill is generated to prevent another late payment fee being added

Re: restriction
 

A landline isnt 100% reliable. I would get a cheap pay and go mobile as a backup - even use it as your main emergency link as you dont even need credit to phone emergency numbers.

Re: restriction
 

In all honesty rajeffery, if the above response is indicative of your dealings with VM I'm not at all surprised you are not happy with the outcome.
I imagine that most people who read your first post had a certain amount of sympathy for your situation, I certainly did/do, but the underlying hostility in your response to Ben makes any empathy for you quickly disappear.
I'm sorry for any disabilities you may suffer from, but that doesn't entitle you to "special" treatment,:shrug:

Re: restriction
 

Pay your bill and all will be fine, don't pay your bill and the phone is cut,

Its that simple really.

This happens to us all if we don't pay our bills why should it be any different for you.

Re: restriction
 

Can I ask people to stick with the facts of this case, and that is that the OP has gone into arrears and needs the phone for emergency purposes

Question for one of the techies, when a BT phone is in this situation you can still dail 999, is this the case with VM phones? If so then the emergency connection is still there and the only problem here the late payment as VM or BT are not responsible for lifeline equipment. Surely as well with lifeline paying the bill should be an absolute priority...

---------- Post added at 09:43 ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 ----------

For other users info LIFELINE is a system that alerts a 24hr remote monitoring station via a telephone line when a panic button is pressed. It is also a private company and not part of the emergency services

Re: restriction
 

If the phone's there for emergency purposes, would a BT Basic landline not be more suitable? Cheaper at about £13 every 3 months.

Re: restriction
 

I suppose that depends if they have a BT line there, isn't install 120ukp?

Re: restriction
 

Yep over £100 for install now and as far as I know if it's listed as redcare then the line is not cut off unless it's very necessary and when restrictions are in place you can still dial certain emergency numbers.

Re: restriction
 

Hi everyone.I think the point is this lady is so disabled by her condition at times that she is unable to deal with the contingencies of life..It might also be nice if we also wonder how she was spoken to by which operative of VM that makes her feel this way?After all despite most of my good experiences of dealing with CS I've been spoken to quite rudely by a couple of them.

Yes she was rude to Ben but it might just be that she is just finding more of the behaviour she has experienced from VM CS in some of the remarks made here.Especially as I've noted a complete absence of the smileys we usually employ to cover the lack of body signals..

Agreed the VM staff who give their time here are of a very high calibre BUT not every VM employee is.

Can we please cut this lady some slack and see if we can help her? This is a help site for those who have no where else to turn to and WE are usually big enough to rise above it.

Re: restriction
 

:clap: Well said Maggy :clap:

Re: restriction
 

Yes 999 can always be dialled from a VM line during a temporary restriction.

If however the bill remained unpaid and a full disconnection took place (usually at least a month or two later) then obviously that would no longer be the case

---------- Post added at 10:18 ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 ----------

I did say the end of my first post

which to be honest is the only help anyone working for Virgin CAN give. That is the only option, and if Virgin have already said no to that then there IS nothing else.

The restrictions are all completely automatic, and the payment extentions will only be granted if the account meets the criteria.

---------- Post added at 10:22 ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 ----------

Also, and I am sorry to go on about this, but a payment 8 days late -as the OP says it is - would not be late enough to restrict the services!

Re: restriction
 

Agreed,which means there is more to this than meets the eye BUT it still doesn't mean we can't find a way surely?

Also my post wasn't directed specifically to you Ben because I know you are one of us who goes more than the proverbial mile to help others.It was at some of the somewhat unsympathetic comments in the thread as a whole.:) :hugs:

Re: restriction
 

I don't know to be honest - it certainly isn't anything Customer Services or Credit Services would be able to do, above and beyond the payment extention. The system would just not allow it, nor would the policy - because of the buffering already inbuilt in the normal billing cycles (and not because VM don't care)

Even the 'high level contacts' might struggle in doing anything, as even they are bound by the accounting rules for late payment as far as I'm aware.

If there was something definate, I would have mentioned it ;)

Re: restriction
 

People have attempted to help her, with a somewhat negative response. Im afraid I get the impression posted earlier that she seems more interested in classing VM as evil simply because they will not make her a special case.

IMO, if she has the ability to sign up to a web forum and post then she has the ability to pay her bill (even using online billing).

Re: restriction
 

I do agree with that, I think your pretty much on the money..

Re: restriction
 

OK fair enough.

---------- Post added at 12:37 ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 ----------

Depends just how disabled she is..but there I've asked and been told why no one can help..:)

Re: restriction
 

if the landline has been restricted to incoming only, then yes the OP can still dial 999

Well, she can't be "that" disabled as she can type and use a mouse, etc..

Re: restriction
 

I think the OP's made it quite clear that they suffer from bouts when using a normal telephone is impossible, hence the need for lifeline's emergency button. Just becasue someone is disabled or ill doesn;t mean to say it effects them 100% of the time and just a 0.1% could be problematic for some

Re: restriction
 

I have serious problems getting my mum ( A VM Customer as it happens) to keep her mobile switched on and charged. Despite encouragement from the family she doggedly seems to think she will wear it out somehow by leaving it on, we are slowly making progress;:) buying a second charger helped so that she could have one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen. If you are going to have a mobile as a backup you must ensure that it is available when needed.

When considering things like emergency lines we must not loose sight of the fact that many users, especially older users who are more likely to have issues with eyesight, use of small keyboards and limited contrast small LCD screens, my mum included, are intimidated by technology and don't engage with mobiles with the quite the same vigour as younger generations. We don't know the circumstances when the emergency function is needed, for this user a mobile might simply be too difficult to use due to the small size and fine motor skills needed.

I don't know the circumstances of the OP and don't want to comment on why the account is in arrears but is it so difficult to keep a line open for emergency calls, even if it is to a designated contact number rather than 999.

Re: restriction
 

When it comes to non-payment yes.

Virgin have to treat all customers that don't pay the same - so the phone restrictions for all customers are the same. This means they can phone Virgin and 999. That's it.

Otherwise you would have ever single customer going 'oh can you just leave this number on cos I really really need it'

If it is a fault then Virgin do prioritise phone fault fixing for those that need it - and will usually get phone issues fixed within 4 hours of it being reported.

But restrictions due to non-payment ARE avoidable for everyone

Re: restriction
 

Ok lets take that as the default position, and I agree VM are business and need to take a firm line with customers regarding non-payment.

By way of comparison does anyone know how other utility suppliers operate under similar circumstances when it comes to special needs customers? I think these could be defined by specific medical criteria to avoid the freeloaders simply trying it on?

Re: restriction
 

Sorry but I dont agree here - why should VM treat this person any different, isn't that why the OP got so horrible or nasty towards Ben / VM?

Re: restriction
 

You can't compare the two. There is a whole different regulatory framework for 'essential' utilities than for Telco/BBI/TV providers

Although as far as I know it is only Water than currently can never be disconnected. For Gas and Electric the courts would first force pre-payment meters to be installed - including ordering right of entry (which both have an emergency buffer IIRC), and then if those were not paid the customer would be cut off with no override

Re: restriction
 

I suppose it's like classifying a service as essential, hence they can't turn off the water (though they can restrict it to a trickle (enough to refill a toilet or fill a kettle). Telehone lines are not counted this way but perhaps for some they should be. It's not VM's fault that 99.9% of the country see a telephne in this way and perhaps the 0.1% (perhaps even lower) should put thier point across to ofcom regarding the need for a telephne to be an essential service for not only 999 cals but also lifeline or some other emergency method.

Re: restriction
 

Granted, I understand why the OP needs the line, hell what would VM do if hyperthetically, something did happen to these people, with no line?

I don't think, they should get special treatment, however, that said, if somebody is "taking care" of the OP - or somebody is getting care allowance, they should be helping the OP look after her bills and deal with this sorta stuff..

Re: restriction
 

There's a reason BT offer BT Basic. They are supposed to provide a landline telephone service to every available property and every person who wants one. Whether the occupant takes that up and uses it is their choice. If the owner can't pay Virgin Media for their phone bill, she should strongly consider BT Basic for this, as it's unlikely BT would disconnect for non-payment if it was to be used in emergency situations. BT are after all the national tekecoms provider. :)

Re: restriction
 

Yeah but that is a company decision and not a goverment guideline in accordance to essential public services and they can simply cut off the phone if they so wish..

Re: restriction
 

Yes BT may have to provide the phone for anyone that asks - but they are still allowed to restrict it if people don't pay for it

Re: restriction
 

BT offer BT Basic as a loss-making service. They make no profit from it whatsoever. Somebody not paying their bill and realising that their phone is an entirely necessary bit of kit should I agree take measures to ensure it's paid for. Why not get family to front the bill?

Re: restriction
 

Seems the OP is not coming back lol

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Not everyone has family ;)

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To quote south park - I really learnt something today :)

I did not know that BT HAVE to provide a phone line.

Re: restriction
 

Actually they don't but do take a comapny line that if the customer can provide a decent credit report or a down payment then they'll suplly a line

Re: restriction
 

MMMmmm can't argue with that.

I had to pay £130 and £50 to get my line installed here because of my bad credit.

Re: restriction
 

I thought BT did as they and Kingston are designated 'Universal Service Providers'

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archi...03/uso0703.pdf

Re: restriction
 

But Ofcom are toothless (trust me I have 3 different licences issued by them)... Unlike the goverment bill that specified water/gas/electricity os public services BT has ofcom...

Re: restriction
 

I can't remember where I read it and how long ago it was, but BT by law have to provide a fixed telephone service to the areas they service in the UK; in Hull they're exempt because Kingston has the monopoly there. Any other company can possibly provide you a phone line in this country, but BT have to be able to install the line and provide the service in the first place. All new properties built have this provision, most old ones do too. It's not always from a telegraph pole either, there are places in town around the exchange where there are no telegraph poles, but a lot of BT ducting covers.

Re: restriction
 

Actually they have to provide the option of a service, but they don't have to give anyone an account.. Otherwise their "deposit for bad credit risks" would be irrrelavant

Re: restriction
 

I thought it was only water that cannot be disconnected for non payment. :confused:

Re: restriction
 

No it cannot. Thats why they tend to have large debt collecting departments which work with customers to make payments or take people to court.

This usually depends if the customer falls into the can't pay or won't pay categories. Won't pays get sent to court after being given plenty of opps to pay. Can't pays usually get dealt with by way of a payment plan.

Water companies cannot mess about with the pressure to restrict usage either, well in the uk, in Australia they do.

P.S. I work for Yorkshire Water.

Re: restriction
 

A mobile phone wouldn't work in this situation unfortunately, as life line is a emergency pull switch or remote activated via a pendant or floor sensor the person doesnt have to pick up the phone as they could be paralaysed or be having a fit or any other number of issues that could prevent them from retriving a phone to make a call, or they are physically unable to make a call at all.

Now although I tend to agree with the other responders their are alternatives for life line you could go to an independant company who will take care of the situation for you however they also expect to be paid regulary for the service they provide, however should your phone line be cut off the service will still function through a BT line only I believe.

I had this system in my home before I could afford a land line(the physical phone line had to be there however) and just had a pay as you go mobile phone for all general calls the system worked through something called telecare which was provided by my local council now although I didnt have a pendant, the service if I remember correct was apprx £25 however as this was a council service and I am clearly disabled I didnt have to pay.

IMO emergency calls are free and with some mobile providers even if you havent paid your bill you are still permitted to make emergency calls, An emergency is and emergency after all... Sometimes I feel a simple full call baring apart from emergency calls is all that is required.

However I will say from experience with Virgin media they can be extremely hasty to cut off a line when a bill isnt paid, and even when speaking to them prior to the issue that can sometimes just hurry the process of being disconnected up :(

Re: restriction
 

No they can't.

As I have previously said restrictions due to non-payment are automatic and there are very strict rules and timings as to when a restriction happens.

The ONLY time there is any form of manual restriction is if there is out of pattern usage e.g significant Premium phone calls or lots of PPV events - and that is done for customers protection as much as it is done to protect payment for the account

Re: restriction
 

I must have been unlucky and stand corrected ;)

Re: restriction
 

Maybe this will help the lady, also my next door neighbour has the lifeline system and she said that if the phone is cut off ( bt ), 999 and the lifeline will work as said by the city council here's a link for a free bt line install

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/dea...e-installation