Whether it’s offering ultrafast gigabit broadband right across our national network, rewarding our customers with exclusive access and perks through Priority, or delivering innovative mobile offers like inclusive EU roaming, our customers rightly have high expectations of us.

£5 million daily investment

We invest more than £5 million every day to improve, maintain and expand our services and ensure we give customers what they expect. Most customers benefit from this, receive excellent value and are satisfied with their services.

But we also know that when it comes to how we serve our customers and how we support them when they need help, we have more work to do in some areas.

Complaints data published by the regulator Ofcom over recent months and years, and indeed our own data, has shown that some customers don’t always get the fast and efficient support they expect. We know that needs to change and we are on the path to doing that.

While I’m pleased that the vast majority of our customers are satisfied with the service they receive, we are committed to doing better. Our goal, which we’re already backing with increased investment, is to provide consistently exceptional service and give all our customers greater confidence that if an issue does arise, they will be able to contact us easily and we’ll be able to provide a speedy resolution. Basically, if there’s a problem we’ll fix it quickly, simply and with no hassle.

That is why, last year, we drew a line in the sand and implemented a comprehensive strategy to transform customer service. It’s focused on four main areas:

1) Targeted investment: We are nearly doubling investment in customer service and targeting it to the areas that will make the biggest difference. We’ve boosted the number of care agents to over 9,000 today, including recruiting into specialist teams that handle the most complex queries, and we’re investing in new IT tools so that agents can more easily access the information they need to help resolve issues first time.

2) Simplifying systems and processes: We’re creating a single customer services function that will see agents able to support all Virgin Media and O2 customers. Today, too often customers are passed between teams so we’re going to simplify so that our agents can better support customers with whatever they need help with. This will take some time, but in future, customers will dial a single number and wait in one queue to get help with their broadband, TV, landline or mobile.

3) Upskilling customer agents: We’re providing additional training to our 9,000 agents, meaning the vast majority of customer queries – from service issues to billing enquiries, broadband sales to mobile upgrades – can be resolved first-time by our multi-skilled agents. In-store teams will also receive additional training so they can take greater ownership of customer issues and resolve things there and then. We’ll also roll out new AI tools – not to replace our human agents, but to help them be the best they can be – and allow them to spend more time helping customers.

4) Removing persistent pain points: We’ve carried out forensic analysis of thousands of historic complaints to identify the root cause of customer issues so we can tackle things that consistently frustrate our customers. These changes can be small things like changing how we handle fraud issues or ensuring that our field techs have boosters to hand when installing new customers so any blackspots can be resolved there and then. But they can be big things, too, like the investment we’ve made in Smart Support technology that will help identify, diagnose and resolve broadband issues before a customer even reports a fault to us.

There isn’t a simple overnight fix. It will take time to get to where we want to be, and there may be bumps on the road, but we’re already seeing some real tangible progress.

In the past three months, 92% of complaints raised were resolved within 24 hours, and by the end of last year we reduced the number of Ofcom complaints by 48% compared with the average monthly run rate in 2023, surpassing the ambitious 40% target we set ourselves. In December, complaints relating to Virgin Media were at the lowest levels since 2017, while complaints about O2 hadn’t been lower for two years. We expect these latest improvements to be reflected in future Ofcom statistical releases.

Away from complaints data, we’ve reduced call transfers for both Virgin Media and O2 customers by 18% and 12% respectively since the start of 2024, while average call waiting times reduced from two minutes in 2023 to 44 seconds in the past three months, and just 20 seconds in January alone.

These green shoots give me confidence that we have the right plan in place to transform customer service and will get to where we want to be.

For all the millions of pounds we invest in our networks, for the success of our fibre rollout, for the great value we offer through Priority and inclusive EU roaming, I know that ultimately what matters most to customers is the service they get from us. We remain laser-focused on living up to our customers’ expectations and we are on track to get this right for good

Uist is a group of six islands that are part of the Outer Hebridean Archipelago, which is part of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. North Uist and South Uist are two of the islands and are linked by causeways running via the isles of Benbecula and Grimsay.

The upgrades will cover a partial not-spot and provide residents, businesses, and visitors with faster and more reliable mobile connectivity. The new 4G masts were flown in by helicopter during the May bank holiday weekend.

Currently, over 20 percent of the area lacks 4G coverage from all four mobile network operators, with signal blackspots.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, said, “Many rural parts of Scotland are already benefiting from our rollout of new and upgraded masts, and we are delighted to bring enhanced mobile connectivity to Uist.”

Operators will invest £532m to eliminate most ‘partial not-spots’ – areas which receive coverage from at least one, but not all, operators. The UK Government will provide a further £500m to build new masts to eliminate ‘total not-spots.’

The initiative uses Hiya’s Adaptive AI technology to flag suspected spam calls or and block fraudulent ones, by preempting potential fraud before it reaches the end user.

The technology will be rolled out for free to consumer customers on the network including to MVNOs in the coming months, aiming to reduce the likelihood of customers falling victim to scams where fraudsters pose as banks, mobile phone operators, HMRC or delivery companies to gain personal information or access online accounts

Hiya Connect can identify callers by company name, logo, call purpose, and location,

Virgin Media O2 will deploy caller ID system Hiya Connect which can identify callers by company name, logo, call purpose, and location, This is expected to boost customer confidence in answering calls and give businesses more effective call response rates,.

Virgin Media O2 says its existing AI-powered spam text technology has intercepted over 89 million fraudulent text messages in 2023.

Murray Mackenzie, Virgin Media O2’s Director of Fraud, highlighted the significance of the Hiya partnership in enhancing Virgin Media O2’s fraud prevention capabilities and providing customers with added layers of protection against spam and fraud.

Kush Parikh, President of Hiyav acknowledged the global challenge carriers face in combating phone spam and scam.

Hiya says  that 28 per cent of unknown calls in the UK are from spammers, with nearly 10 per cent identified as fraud. Virgin Media O2 is urging customers report suspicious texts to 7726, enabling the company to refine its blocking services and more effectively counter emerging scam trends.

Vodafone complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that the ad, which ran in July, was misleading and could be not be substantiated. The ASA agreed and ordered Virgin Media to pull the ad and ensure that “they did not imply that they guaranteed the fastest WiFi service of all major broadband providers if that was not the case”.

“The ad contravened the rule over comparisons with identifiable competitors” – ASA

The ad on, www.virginmedia.com featured the headline text that stated “Our WiFi Guarantee”. Smaller text underneath stated “Get the fastest WiFi Guarantee of any major provider”. A box § underneath invited users to input their postcode and click to “Check availability”.

Text on the page stated “Virgin Fibre areas only. WiFi Guarantee available with M50 broadband or faster. £8p/m extra or included with Gig1 or Volt. At least 30Mbps download speeds in every room or £100 one-off credit. Up to 3 WiFi Pods if needed. Exclusions & legal stuff apply. Fastest WiFi guarantee of major UK ISPs. See virginmedia.com/legal/wifi.”

Under the heading “Our WiFi guarantee with WiFi Max”, text stated “With WiFi Max, we want to make sure you’ll enjoy download speeds of at least 30Mbps in every room – if you don’t, we’ll send you one of our signal boosting mesh WiFi Pods. If that doesn’t do the job, we’ll send you up to a total of 3. We’re so confident in this technology that we’ve launched our WiFi guarantee. This means if you don’t get download speeds of at least 30Mbps in every room, and our WiFi Pods don’t do the trick, we’ll pop £100 credit onto your next bill”.

Virgin Media’s defence was that a large number of major broadband providers promoted WiFi guarantees to consumers. These guarantees provided reassurance to customers that a certain minimum level of WiFi service would be received in each room of the customer’s home, and if that minimum level was not met they would receive an entitlement. Their WiFi Guarantee promised customers at least 30Mbps download speeds in every room, backed up by up to 3 mesh WiFi pods (which provided a signal boost if required), and if the minimum speed was still not met they would receive a one-off £100 credit. This minimum speed threshold was three times that of Vodafone’s WiFi guarantee, and the highest of any major provider, therefore making it “the fastest WiFi Guarantee of any major provider”.

Qualifying text underneath the claim explained the terms of their guarantee and included a link to verify the comparison. They were not making a broad performance claim that they provided the fastest WiFi. They believed that consumers would have read the claim “Get the fastest WiFi Guarantee of any major provider” as they intended, and would not have ignored the reference to “guarantee” in the claim, nor the qualifying explanation about the scope of the guarantee, and therefore would not have been misled.

The details provided on the verification page were extensive and allowed the consumer to understand fully the scope of Virgin Media and their competitors’ guarantees.

The ASA considered consumers would understand the claim “Get the fastest WiFi Guarantee of any major provider” to mean that Virgin Media guaranteed they offered the fastest WiFi service of any major broadband provider.

Virgin Media explained that, rather than being a claim that they offered the fastest WiFi, the claim related to their “Wifi Guarantee”. This meant that customers with WiFi Max would be sent up to three signal boosting WiFi pods if they did not obtain download speeds of at least 30 Mbps in every room. If that was unsuccessful, they would receive a one off credit of £100. Other broadband providers also offered similar Wifi guarantees, but they related to speeds of less than 30 Mbps. Virgin Media therefore considered the claim was not misleading. On that basis, they did not provide comparative evidence about the speed of their WiFi and that of the other major providers.

“We considered that the headline claim should have been more clearly worded” – ASA

The ASA added:

“We considered that while some consumers may have been aware of WiFi guarantees, many would not. The difference between guaranteeing the highest speed and offering a guarantee which promised action by the advertiser if a minimum speed was not met was a subtle one and required clear explanation to ensure that consumers were not misled about what was being offered.

“We did not consider that the headline claim “Get the fastest WiFi Guarantee of any major provider” would have been understood as Virgin Media intended by consumers, and that, as set out above, a significant proportion would understand it to mean that Virgin Media guaranteed they offered the fastest WiFi service of any major broadband provider.

“We acknowledged that the ad included further information about the WiFi guarantee which sought to provide more detail on what they were guaranteeing and how the guarantee worked. However, we considered that this was insufficient to override the impression from the claim that Virgin Media offered the fastest WiFi of the major providers.

“We also noted that a box immediately underneath the headline claim “Get the fastest WiFi Guarantee of any major provider” at the top of the page invited users to input their postcode and click to “Check availability”, and that consumers were therefore encouraged to take action on the basis of the claim, notwithstanding that qualifying information appeared underneath.

“We considered that the headline claim should have been more clearly worded and immediately qualified to ensure that consumers understood the nature of the guarantee. Therefore, because the claim had not been substantiated as it would be understood by consumers, we concluded that the ad was misleading”.

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/virgin-media-ordered-pull-wi-fi-ad-vodafone-complaint/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/virgin-media-o2-3g-shut-starts-2025/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/virgin-media-o2-3g-shut-starts-2025/#respond Thu, 07 Sep 2023 09:53:21 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/virgin-media-o2-3g-shut-starts-2025/ Virgin Media O2 will start a phased 3G shutdown in 2025 in line with Government and industry edicts that all networks have to shut down 3G by 2033.

Virgin Media O2 will start a phased 3G shutdown in 2025 in line with Government and industry edicts that all networks have to shut down 3G by 2033. 3G accounted for under four per cent of all data used on the network last year but used 11 per cent of Virgin Media O2’s total energy consumption.

“Most customers won’t need to take any action. Virgin Media O2 is committed to helping those who may need additional support, such as those who still use older devices. We will be contacting customers well in advance to ensure they are aware of these changes and will clearly outline the steps they need to take and their options, with support pages and trained agents on hand to help customers with this change”, a statement said.

Virgin Media O2 has also pledged to work closely with consumer groups and charities, including the Good Things Foundation to manage the transition.

“3G was once an exciting new development that brought new opportunities for customers. But it is clear that switching off 3G and focusing on more efficient 4G and 5G services is the right thing to do. As this switchover takes place, we will continue to invest in expanding our 4G and 5G to ensure we’re providing the connectivity customers depend on.” said Virgin Media O2 Chief Technology Officer Jeanie York.

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From next April Virgin Media plans to introduce inflation-based price rises that will increase broadband prices each year.

Which? says Virgin Media’s inflation-based annual mid-contract price rises also allow for prices to be increased at any time and it has asked Ofcom to proceed urgently with an investigation into Virgin Media “so that action can be taken to prevent millions of customers from facing unfair inflation-linked mid-contract price increases in April 2024”.

Ofcom could demand that Virgin Media drop its unfair terms or ask a court to declare them unlawful and unenforceable and prohibit further unfair pricing practices. A court could also order Virgin Media to refund money to consumers who signed up for contracts.

“We have raised this with Ofcom as it’s the most egregious example of unacceptable price hiking practice across the broadband industry.

As Which? said: “As well as applying aggressive inflation-linked annual mid-contract price rises, it’s also maintaining the right to hike bills further at any time. That discretionary price rise clause has been part of Virgin Media contracts for some time. But the new terms also allow for annual price rises based on the retail price index rate of inflation plus an additional 3.9 per cent while removing the right for customers to cancel without paying substantial exit fees.

“These clauses amount to unfair contract terms and could be in breach of the Consumer Rights Act by creating a ‘significant imbalance’ between the rights Virgin Media has granted itself and those of its customers,” said Which?.

“Guidance on unfair contract terms from the Competition and Markets Authority states that ‘any purely discretionary right to set or vary a price after the consumer has become bound to pay is obviously objectionable’. This is particularly because these terms can make it impossible for consumers to predict how much they’ll end up paying for broadband services when they sign a contract with Virgin Media”

Ofcom said;

“Being able to switch provider easily is an important part of a competitive market. Telecoms customers can choose from a wide range of providers, services and packages, and can often save hundreds of pounds by switching to a new deal. This ability for customers to shop around, switch and save is particularly important given the current cost-of-living crisis facing UK households. Our rules – known as General Conditions – are clear that the conditions or procedures telecoms providers have in place must not act as a disincentive for customers who wish to cancel their contract.

“Being able to switch provider easily is an important part of a competitive market”

Virgin Media said: “Complaint rates relating to ‘difficulties leaving’ have halved over the past year, showing the progress we’re making, and we will keep working with Ofcom throughout its investigation, while making further improvements in how we handle customer complaints to provide a better overall experience.”

Ofcom says it is concerned about the number of complaints it has received from Virgin Media customers who have tried to leave, but said the company had made it difficult.

‘Some struggled to get through to an agent on the phone. Some found their call was dropped mid-way through or they were put on hold for long periods. And many said they had to make lengthy and repeated requests to cancel, as their initial instruction was not actioned’

As well as probing whether Virgin Media has complied with Ofcom’s contract termination rules, its investigation will also look at whether the network has met its requirements on complaints handling. This will include whether customers were appropriately informed of their right to escalate their complaint to an independent ombudsman

“We will gather further information and provide updates as our investigation progresses. If we find that Virgin Media has breached our rules, we have the power to issue a fine and direct the company to take remedial action or change its procedures, where appropriate”.

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/ofcom-investigate-virgin-media-contract-cancellation-procedures-customer-complaints/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/virgin-media-o2s-50th-shared-rural-network-site-brings-4g-coverage-highlands-village/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/virgin-media-o2s-50th-shared-rural-network-site-brings-4g-coverage-highlands-village/#respond Mon, 15 May 2023 10:51:15 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/virgin-media-o2s-50th-shared-rural-network-site-brings-4g-coverage-highlands-village/ Virgin Media O2 has commissioned its 50th site as part of the £1 billion  Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme.

Virgin Media O2 has commissioned its 50th site as part of the £1 billion  Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme.

The SRN is a joint initiative between mobile network operators and the UK Government to extend 4G connectivity to 95 per cent of the UK’s landmass by the end of 2025.

The Shared Rural Network means 84 per cent of the UK will get 4G coverage from all four mobile network operators, with 95 per cent having 4G connectivity provided by at least one operator.

Scottish Highlands village Helmsdale is the 50^th site to get 4G connectivity after Virgin Media O2 upgraded an existing mast in the area.

Of the 50 rural sites that have been built or upgraded so far, 39 are in remote parts of Scotland. This includes 10 in the Argyll and Bute region. Another 11 are in rural parts of Yorkshire, Suffolk and Kent.

Virgin Media O2 has got planning consent for works at a further 100 sites, and work will start “in the near future”.

“Many rural communities are unable to access the same level of connectivity as urban areas so we’re committed to delivering improvements through the Shared Rural Network programme said Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2,

“We’ll continue building new masts and upgrading existing ones across various remote UK locations to tackle the urban-rural digital divide.”

Rural parts of Scotland have had 39 Virgin Media O2 masts either installed or upgraded. Around a quarter of these are in Argyll and Bute, while further connectivity improvements have been delivered in Aberdeenshire, the Scottish Borders, the Hebrides, the Highlands, Stirling, Fife, Dumfries, East Lothian and Perth and Kinross.

EE last month expanded its mobile network to  4G connectivity to a further 1,500 remote countryside communities across the UK, including Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. (See story HERE).

 

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This follows VMO2’s announcement today that claims consumers are overpaying for handsets by more than £500m each year

Virgin Media O2 has launched a new campaign on what it calls the “smartphone swindle” and demands other mobile operators introduce changes that “would stop millions of consumers overpaying for their mobile phones, as new analysis reveals that handset overpayments are costing consumers £530 million each year.

.It says EE, Three and Vodafone “have millions of customers on traditional phone contracts that bundle together airtime costs for minutes, texts and data with the cost of the handset”.

Gareth Turpin, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “We’re calling time on this half a billion-pound problem and urging the industry to step up for consumers and put an end to the smartphone swindle. “As the only operator to have offered split contracts for over a decade; automatically roll down our direct customers once their device is paid for; and ensure customers receive clear handset payment information at the end of their contract, we want others to ensure consumers don’t overpay for their smartphones. During a cost-of-living crisis, and with older and low-income households most at risk, I’m asking the other operators to do the right thing.”

But rival networks have slated VMO2’s claims.

Vodafone says the accusations and assumptions are incorrect.

“We’re disappointed to see VM02 confusing consumers with incorrect information and sensationalist headlines at a time when as an industry, we all need to be providing consumers with greater clarity to enable them to make the best choices for their needs” said a Vodafone spokesperson

“It is a regulatory requirement for us all to be transparent with our customers, to provide end-of-contract notifications and Annual Best Tariff recommendations based on a customers’ needs, a requirement we take extremely seriously at Vodafone. ‘

“Like VM02, Vodafone customers on split contracts with Vodafone EVO will not see any further handset charges once their 0% finance deal ends and will therefore never overpay for a phone.

“All handset customers on legacy contracts are contacted repeatedly when their contract comes to an end, and after three months – if they haven’t moved onto a new contract already – we automatically apply a monthly £5 discount. We believe in offering our customers choices and always encourage them to make sure they are on the best deal for their needs.Vodafone was the first MNO to have both mobile and fixed social tariffs – Voxi for Now and Vodafone Essentials

BT said the Virgin Media O2 claims were “misleading and unnecessary” “ They are designed to chase headlines, at a time when consumers need confidence that the industry is clear and straightforward. This also comes at a time when VMO2 themselves increase broadband customer’s prices by as much as 50 per cent when going out of contract.

“Like VMO2 we offer spilt contracts with EE Flexpay, while providing all customers with clear end-of-contract notifications, including the best offer for them based on their usage. With EE Flexpay, once the handset is paid off no further charges are applied. We don’t position this as a discount because it isn’t – the handset is owned by the customer.

“Along with providing customers with great value, we are also doing all we can to support our financially vulnerable customers with our market-leading social tariffs. We currently have 80% of all social tariffs customers in the UK, another area where VMO2 could focus more attention.” 

Three also disputed the VM02 accusations saying; “Three already offers split contracts where customers can take out a loan to pay for their device, which is separate to their monthly airtime payments. The customer owns their device from when they purchase it and once their device loan is paid off, the customer isn’t required to make any further payments towards the cost of their device. We contact customers with offers which are as good as or, in some instances, better than those we offer new customers. O2 also sell linked contracts themselves through third parties such as Great O2 Mobile Phone Deals & Upgrades | Mobile Phones Direct

Virgin Meda O2 said it based its overpayment analysis on a survey by Strand Partners “using survey data on a number of people by operator reporting to have taken a device and be out-of-contract; average reported spend by operator; scaled in line with Ofcom pay monthly total connections data and Citizen’s Advice research on proportion of mobile bills attributable to handsets”.

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/networks-furious-virgin-media-o2-misleading-confusing-accusations-customers-overpaying/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/virgin-media-o2-give-free-mobile-data-big-issue-vendors/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/virgin-media-o2-give-free-mobile-data-big-issue-vendors/#respond Mon, 28 Nov 2022 16:16:52 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/virgin-media-o2-give-free-mobile-data-big-issue-vendors/ Working with Big Issue Group is part of Virgin Media O2’s wider commitment to tackle data poverty, along with partnering with Good Things Foundation to create the National Databank