Virgin on the ridiculous...

I'm ashamed to admit I've been 'ad.

Further to my last attempt in January, last month I rang Virgin Media to check what special offers they had running as I've been itching for an excuse to upgrade to 10MB broadband but (quite typically) wanted to pay as little as possible for it. The best they could offer at the time was an upgrade to 10MB, keep my existing TV package and switch phone package to include free evening and weekend calls, all for the princely additional monthly sum of 45p. In a moment of uncharacteristic extravagance I agreed to accept the deal there and then.

Now it wasn't the end of the world, but I was a bit irritated that a couple of days later I received both email and a leaflet in the post explaining that as a valued customer, they were upgrading my broadband to 10MB for free. I figured this was just unfortunate timing on my part but rang them anyway just to clarify what was going on and sure enough, my upgrade and their offer had crossed somewhere along the line so I would still have to pay the additional 45p. Irritiating sure, but not exactly going to keep me awake at night, then my bill arrived today with a couple of unexpected surprises.

Firstly, despite a month's notice they had not updated my bank details and as a result had not taken my direct debit payment last month. In fact they were so annoyed that they had neglected to take my money, they decided to charge me a late payment fee of a tenner for good measure.

Secondly, my monthly charge had actually increased by £2.45; again not exactly the end of the world but this coupled with their absurd late payment charge led me to think that perhaps it was time we had another little chat.

Fair play, they accepted that their late payment charge was unreasonable and refunded it. As for the new bundle fee she couldn't understand why I had only been quoted 45p extra - twice actually, I reminded her. Not only are they unable to keep to the quoted price (which unfortunately I only ever had verbally), but I couldn't even revert to my previous package because the phone deal it included was an old one that is no longer available, so I'm stuck with it.

I realise we aren't talking enormous sums of money here, but with a few pence here, a couple of quid there and the occasional charge that many people may feel too uncomfortable to challenge, it's little wonder they are making money...