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We heard from Virgin Media customers, including Ashley who lost his internet, due to a broken fibre, meaning he was without internet for 170 days. And Paul, who had problems when he tried to switch to Virgin Media last year. We also heard from finally 93 year year old Edward, whose phone line went down last October and claims that an engineer fail to turn up.

In response to this, Virgin Media told us that it has robust and well-established processes in place to ensure customers receive compensation automatically if things go wrong.
It said that two of the three cases we featured weren’t eligible for automatic compensation. It has, however, contacted Ashley directly to apologise for errors in handling his case, and has provided compensation for the loss of service as per the automatic scheme.
Virgin Media insists that it fully complies with Ofcom’s Automatic compensation scheme, and that under the scheme, consumers will receive compensation for issues automatically. It said that regardless of whether or not they’re aware of the scheme, a consumer who experiences a delayed repair, missed appointment or delayed install will receive compensation if they are eligible.
It said that the Which? survey that we referenced had no relation to the Ofcom Automatic Compensation Scheme, and that official Ofcom data shows that complaints about Virgin Media were at their lowest levels since 2017 at the end of last year, while 92% of complaints raised in the past three months were resolved within 24 hours. It said that these green shoots are a more accurate reflection of the improvements it’s making than Which?’s survey, which represents just 0.01% of its customer base.
It investigated the case studies and found that Ashley was owed compensation for the loss of service he experienced. It discovered that construction work was required to clear a blockage in the duct that connects Ashley’s property to its network but unfortunately, due to an error, this was not logged correctly, hence he received repeated cancelled appointments. It apologised to him for his experience and provided £1,659.20 in compensation in line with the Automatic Compensation Scheme. Additionally it promised £250 in goodwill for the poor customer experience.
In Paul’s case, Virgin Media reviewed his account and concluded that he isn’t owed compensation. It said that Paul’s install required an engineer visit to confirm whether additional construction works would be needed. As a result, Paul was offered a provisional install date of 27th September 2024. We were told that after visiting the property, engineers established further construction works would be required and a confirmed install date was rescheduled for the 7th October 2024. It said that when Virgin Media identifies additional works may be needed, it will provide a provisional date for install and its team does everything possible to meet that date. We were told that until engineers visit the property, it’s impossible for Virgin Media to know if further construction work will be required, after which it can then provide a confirmed install date. Virgin Media told us that on 27th September 2024 Paul phoned the company to enquire about the rescheduled install and requested it be brought forward, and that its agent explained this wouldn’t be possible this due to the construction works required. Virgin Media claims that during this call Paul was offered £29.99 as a gesture of goodwill for the rescheduled appointment, which he declined, before cancelling the install request on the 30th September 2024. It went on to say that on 2nd October 2024 Paul raised a new order with an install date of 16th October 2024, which was completed successfully.
Virgin Media found notes on Edward’s account to show that an issue was raised on 11th November 2024, and that an engineer attended the next day to resolve the problem. We were told that the issue then looks to have reoccurred, and an appointment was scheduled as a priority for an engineer to visit the property again, going on to say that notes on the account say the customer wasn’t home when the engineer visited and there was no answer on the mobile number provided.
Whilst Virgin Media found no evidence of any missed appointment and therefore no reason why Edward would be due automatic compensation, given his account of events differs, it says it has spoken with him directly to refund him the missed appointment charge and offer a gesture of goodwill for the issue impacting his landline.
Virgin Media insists that Paul and Edward’s cases do not support the suggestion that Virgin Media is not issuing automatic compensation correctly.

You can watch the full VT on iPlayer for 28 days - /iplayer/episode/m0029t04/the-one-show-09042025?seriesId=unsliced