Virgin Media fined record £28m for stopping millions of customers from switching

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Virgin Media has been fined a record £28 million after regulator Ofcom found the firm stopped or delayed millions of customers from switching to different providers by “widespread” and often deliberate mishandling of calls.

The telecoms regulator said it had levied its largest-ever consumer protection fine against the telecoms firm after Virgin Media had, over a near three-year period from January 2022 to September 2024, caused customers on millions of calls “unreasonable effort, hassle or undue difficulty” when trying to cancel.

This included attempts to pressure customers to stay, unnecessary call transfers to other departments, keeping callers on hold, deliberately dropping calls and failing to process cancellations on the system.

It said Virgin Media – which was previously fined in 2018 for breaching the same rule – also repeatedly failed to comply with Ofcom’s information-gathering process in the investigation.

Natalie Black, Ofcom’s group director, infrastructure and connectivity, said: “The facts are clear. Virgin Media made it harder for customers to cancel their contracts and then did not fully co-operate with our investigation.

“As a result, we are levelling our largest-ever fine under our consumer protection rules for direct harm to consumers.

“Today, we are sending a clear message that any provider who wilfully acts against the interests of their customers will pay a heavy price.”