Virgin Media has been ordered to pay £23.8 million by Ofcom after its landline upgrade left vulnerable telecare users at direct risk of harm. The penalty, equivalent to around $31 million, follows an investigation into how the provider managed its programme to switch customers from analogue to digital landline services.
Ofcom found that the migration, carried out between August 2022 and December 2023, led to serious failures in identifying and protecting people who depended on telecare alarms, including elderly and disabled customers. Some telecare users were disconnected entirely if they did not respond to the upgrade communications, leaving alarm equipment unable to connect to monitoring centres. The regulator concluded that this exposed those customers to a direct risk of harm and breached key consumer protection rules.
The watchdog’s investigation found that Virgin Media did not keep accurate records of which households relied on telecare and failed to put adequate safeguards in place before switching off analogue lines. As a result, vulnerable customers were left without the emergency connectivity they believed remained active, at a time when they might have needed support most.
Virgin Media acknowledged shortcomings in the way the migration was handled and cooperated with Ofcom’s inquiry, which contributed to a reduction in the fine. The company has apologised and said it is investing in improved systems and processes to ensure vulnerable customers are properly identified and protected during future technical changes.
In Case You Missed It:
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We’re committed to giving all our customers great service and apologise to the small proportion who experienced an issue when contacting us to agree a new deal or cancel their service in the past.
“We have completely redesigned our customer services in recent years, addressing the historic shortfalls identified by Ofcom through a number of improvements, and have resolved all formal customer complaints from this period providing redress where appropriate.”
Advocates for older and disabled people have repeatedly warned that the UK’s move away from analogue phone lines could put telecare users at risk if telecoms firms do not manage the transition carefully. Ofcom’s action against Virgin Media signals a tougher stance on providers that fail to safeguard vulnerable customers and is likely to shape how other operators approach upcoming digital switchover plans.
