Jane Willis, 79, has spent more than ￡4,000 on broadband and television in the past four years, despite being elderly, disabled and not owning a laptop.
Her daughter, Sharon Larman, only realised how much she’d been paying after her mother’s television and landline connections were cut off and Virgin Media demanded ￡421 last year.
It transpired that Ms Willis, from Hertfordshire, had, between 2019 and 2023, been paying ￡97 to ￡131 each month for Virgin Media broadband and television, after signing up to an initially discounted ￡60 a month contract.
Ms Larman, who has now managed to secure a cheaper price, said: “My mother did not have a way of checking her online banking, so never realised what was going on. When she agreed an initial ￡60 package with Virgin, she thought that was all it would cost.
“My mum is on a tight budget - all she gets is the state pension, and pension credit.
“I had to spend hours and hours on the phone to them to sort it out, and they demanded I fork out ￡421 in back-payments just to have her reconnected.”
Virgin Media raised her mother’s tariff when her discount ended in August 2019, and, like many pensioners, she did not contact them afterwards by phone to negotiate a continued discount.
The fact that you phone up and sit on hold for ages to renegotiate a lower price is unfair on pensioners, who may not be able to do so. Even I struggled to get anywhere on my mum’s behalf,” Ms Larman said.
As well as paying twice as much the initial amount, Ms Willis had signed up to a package that for the most part, she had no desire or use for.
“We found out that my mother had been paying for kids’ channels, movies, and broadband. She doesn’t even use the internet,” Ms Larman said. Eventually, she managed to haggle a new package down to ￡60.
Virgin Media said that it had been “clear” and “transparent” in its pricing and that customers can also go online to negotiate new deals. But Ms Willis’s experience points to a wider issue.
Ofcom, the industry regulator, states broadband and TV companies must treat vulnerable customers “fairly”. However, companies are under no obligation to find out whether their customers are vulnerable, which means people who are struggling or are not fully aware of what they are signing up for may fall through the cracks.
‘My mum is in palliative care – BT charged her ￡117 a month for being out of contract’
Janette Wales, 74, from Biggar, Scotland, has been a BT customer for 50 years. When her son John, 36, received power of attorney after she entered palliative care, he discovered that in 2017, her contract had expired and she had been moved onto a significantly more expensive tariff than she initially signed up for.
The monthly tariff rose each year in line with inflation, and had reached ￡117 by the time John became aware of it. From the point at which her contract ended, Janette was completely unaware that she had been paying this much. BT informed her in 2021 and 2023 by email.
“Older people don’t read their emails as much – my mum doesn’t trust things that are digital. She’s terrified of online banking,” said Mr Wales.
“BT didn’t try to call her, or send her a letter, which she would’ve trusted. These companies need to be more proactive, and look after their elderly customers. Her loyalty as a customer should’ve been rewarded, not punished.”
Like Jane Willis, Ms Wales was paying for expensive add-ons she had no need for, including TNT Sports.
“She had no idea whatsoever that she had signed up to this,” said John, who is currently in the process of moving his mother onto a cheaper tariff costing around ￡40 per month.”
‘These companies need to be more proactive and look after their elderly customers’
Consumer rights expert, Scott Dixon, who runs the complaints website Resolver, said elderly people are rarely going to admit or disclose any vulnerabilities they may have, particularly with the risk of being scammed.
“Broadband providers ought to carry out further checks to determine whether their elderly customers are vulnerable or receiving means-tested benefits such as pension credits, checking things like age and key signs they may show on the phone, such as being confused,” he said.
“Asking and framing the right questions and reviewing their systems and procedures would stop too many pensioners and those on low incomes being mis-sold packages and products that they don’t need and are not suitable for their needs.
“Virgin Media this year scored as the worst provider on customer service. Ofcom published a Treating vulnerable customers fairly guide in July 2020 so there is no excuse for this.”
Mr Dixon added: “The package needs to meet a consumer’s needs and requirements. For example, does an elderly person require superfast broadband? Will the ordinary broadband service suffice? Do they need or use streaming services?”
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, added: “All businesses in the telecoms sector and beyond should ensure they treat all their customers fairly and put excellent customer service at the heart of everything they do.
“Selling people inappropriate products and tying them to long contracts might be good for the bottom line but is completely unacceptable and ultimately will diminish public trust.”
Colette Isaaks, director of the Older People’s Advocacy Alliance (OPAAL), charity said older people should be required to “opt in” to any price increases in digital services.
Ms Isaaks said: “Subscription-based services can be particularly dangerous “traps” for older adults. Automatic renewals are often buried in the fine print, making it easy for older adults to overlook.
“Safeguards must be put in place to ensure that older adults are not left paying heavy prices, month after month for services that they never use. Regulations must include an ‘opt in’ system at the end of any agreed subscription term. This removes the “automatic renewal” element of any contract for an older person.”
Morgan Vine of charity Independent Age said: “We know that awareness of social tariffs – which give people who are financially vulnerable a discounted rate on utilities including broadband – is low. Last year, our survey found that, of those aged over 65 on a low household income of less than ￡15,000, over half were unaware of broadband social tariffs.
“We would like to see broadband providers doing more to make sure everyone who is eligible can access this type of support.”
A Virgin Media spokesman said: “Throughout Ms Willis’s nine years as a Virgin Media customer, we have always clearly and transparently explained the products and services she is taking from us and the associated costs of those packages – at the point of sale, in her contract information, in the monthly bills she receives via post, and in a letter sent at the end of her contract. On several occasions Ms Willis or her daughter have contacted us to agree to a new contract.”
The company added that it has a “range of measures in place to identify and support vulnerable customers, including a range of low-cost social tariffs which Ms Willis was informed about”.
A BT spokesman said: “Ms. Wales’s contract expired in 2017. The current package includes a TNT Sports subscription in addition to broadband and phone. The out of contract notifications were sent by email in 2023 and two in 2021. As soon as we were made aware of the change in circumstances we spoke with him to resolve his complaint and put a new plan in place for Ms Wales.”
