Virgin Media has been fined £23.8m after it disconnected vulnerable customers during a phone line migration.
Regulator, Ofcom, ruled the telecoms company had placed thousands of people “at direct risk of harm”.
The watchdog said users of Telecare – an emergency alarm and monitoring service – were disconnected if they failed to engage with a process, in late 2023, which switched old analogue lines to a digital alternative.
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Ofcom said that Virgin Media had disclosed its own failures under consumer protection rules and its full cooperation was taken into account when determining the size of the penalty.
Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom’s director of enforcement, said: “It’s unacceptable that vulnerable customers were put at direct risk of harm and left without appropriate support by Virgin Media, during what should have been a safe and straightforward upgrade to their landline services.
“Today’s fine makes clear to companies that, if they fail to protect their vulnerable customers, they can expect to face similar enforcement action.”
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Ofcom found that Virgin Media failed properly to identify and record the status of telecare customers, resulting in significant gaps in the screening process.
“This meant that those affected did not receive the appropriate level of tailored support through the migration process”, it said.
It also criticised Virgin Media’s approach to disconnecting Telecare customers who did not engage in the migration process, “despite being aware of the risks posed”.
The watchdog said it had put thousands of vulnerable customers “at a direct risk of harm and prevented their devices from connecting to alarm monitoring centres while the disconnection was in place”.
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The money from the fine goes to the Treasury.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “As traditional analogue landlines become less reliable and difficult to maintain, it’s essential we move our customers to digital services.
“While historically the majority of migrations were completed without issue, we recognise that we didn’t get everything right and have since addressed the migration issues identified by Ofcom.
“Our customers’ safety is always our top priority and, following an end-to-end review which began in 2023, we have already introduced a comprehensive package of improvements and enhanced support for vulnerable customers including improved communications, additional in-home support and extensive post-migration checks, as well as working with the industry and Government on a joint national awareness campaign.
“We’ve been working closely with Ofcom, telecare providers and local authorities to identify customers requiring additional support and are confident that the processes, policies and procedures we now have in place allow us to safely move customers to digital landlines.”
