Ex-Customer email address

[Qtx]

Does anyone know if the following email from Virgin is automated by no activity on an email account for an amount of time, or if they are doing a blanket cleanup at this moment in time?

Hello,

We've been checking through our records and it looks like you've got a Virgin Media email account, though you don't have our Virgin Broadband service any more. Usually, when we disconnect a customer's broadband service, we leave it 90 days before we cancel our Virgin Media email service, so there is time to set up a new email address.

It looks like we haven't disconnected your email account yet. So, to help us make sure our records are up to date, please let us know which one of the following applies to you:
That you've still got Virgin Broadband
If you're still a Virgin Broadband customer, all you need to do is call us on
0800 519 ****, quoting the reference *****, within 30 days of the date of this email. Then we can make sure your Virgin Media email address is properly linked to your account and won't be deleted.

You'd like to reactivate your Virgin Broadband account
If you'd like to be a Virgin Broadband customer again and keep this email address, just give us a call on 0800 519 ****, quoting reference *****, and we'll simply reactivate your broadband account.

Don't forget to set up an email address
If you're not with Virgin Media and you're happy with your broadband company, we'll delete your email address (above), emails and contacts 30 days after the date of this email. It's a good idea to set up your new email account as soon as you can, so you can transfer your contacts and old emails across, without losing a thing.


Kind Regards,

The Virgin Media team

It's only gone to the virginmedia.com address's and not the Blueyonder one which I guess is on another system. Would be good to know if sending a few emails will keep them active. Currently have an email account that collects emails sent to all my previous email addys so they are all in one place, so pop3 logins to the accounts has been happening.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by Qtx

or if they are doing a blanket cleanup at this moment in time?

This - the email address has to be tied to an active broadband account to remain active

For one reason and another, email addresses that should have closed 90 days after the associated broadband account was stopped, weren't. This is now being corrected.

Obviously if you DO still have an active broadband account with Virgin Media, then they will be able to tie the email address into the account, meaning that the email address will remain active.

It's only gone to the virginmedia.com address's and not the Blueyonder one which I guess is on another system.

They are all on the same system, but it's being done as a managed process, so if the blueyonder.co.uk address isn't on active account, it will also get a similar email at some point soon.

[Qtx]

Thanks for the info, even if its not what I wanted to hear. Still have a couple of services where the Blueyonder email is the backup email for security reasons, so a pain in the backside due to the setup where I can't change them.

Sky give an email for life so even after you leave them you can keep using it. Not sure what the other providers do though. Would have thought it would cost next to nothing to keep the emails going forever though.

[Qtx]

Thinking about this after a good nights sleep, it's obvious that VM are just using this as another avenue to try and get old customers back.

I don't actually think they will cut off the old email address's as it wouldn't be good for them. People telling their friends that VM cut off their email address when they left isn't good PR, probably part of the reason the emails have been allowed to continue. Definitely a conscious decision to keep the emails going rather than a blunder the emails are across multiple systems.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by Qtx

Thinking about this after a good nights sleep, it's obvious that VM are just using this as another avenue to try and get old customers back.

Nope it's not that at all. There has been multiple clean ups of old email addresses over the last year, this is just the next stage.

I don't actually think they will cut off the old email address's as it wouldn't be good for them.

Yes they will, and have been doing so.

People telling their friends that VM cut off their email address when they left isn't good PR,

It's in the terms and conditions that that will happen.

probably part of the reason the emails have been allowed to continue. Definitely a conscious decision to keep the emails going rather than a blunder the emails are across multiple systems.

Normally there is an automated system that runs to disconnect email addresses after an account is closed. However this was disabled as part of the migration to Google to allow a managed mailbox clean up work to be performed - otherwise it would have automatically closed millions of unassociated and old accounts.

So now Virgin Media are getting around to those accounts that should have been closed as part of an account closure but haven't. Once the cleanup is complete, then the automated disconnection system will be reactivated

[Qtx]

Oh, I was aware it was in the terms and conditions, so know they are perfectly entitled to do it. A cleanup makes sense, especially if the accounts have no incoming/outgoing. Just don't know anyone personally who has lost an active VM or Blueyonder email address that they have continued to use after leaving.

Good to know anyway, can advise people not to use VM for email for the above reasons.

Thanks again for the info.