[Ignitionnet]

For better or worse it's much easier to get a huge bill on a cell phone contract than on cable, especially when you are paying the vast majority of the costs, the monthly fee, in advance rather than arrears while on the cell contract all is in arrears.

Miss a bill on the cable payment you are just starting to clock up arrears, they can remind you then take further action, miss a cell phone payment you're already a full month of unpaid usage in and rising.

In addition with a cell phone contract there's the matter of the hundreds of pounds worth of phone they provide as well - cable doesn't have this either as they continue to own virtually all hardware they provide so no big outlay at the start of the contract.

I have no idea why Virgin Media customers should be exempt from credit checks with Virgin Mobile, taking one or a subset of services paid for in advance shouldn't have any bearing on a service like the Mobile side of the operations any more than having a prepay phone and making the minimum top-up for your inclusive package each month would.

Appreciate I'm being harsh but being cold and calculating about things that's pretty much the way I see it. VMob give you an expensive phone, bill you in arrears, VMed give you virtually nothing and mostly bill you in advance. Quite different risk levels.