Virgin Media has been fined a record £28 million by regulator Ofcom.
The penalty comes after communications regulator Ofcom uncovered a ‘widespread’ and ‘often deliberate’ pattern of call-handling failures that made it difficult for customers to cancel their services between January 2022 and September 2024.
Virgin Media customers were subjected to prolonged hold times, repeated call transfers, dropped calls and failure to process cancellation requests.
Virgin Media also pressured customers to reconsider leaving and did not fully co-operate with Ofcom’s investigation, marking a repeat offence after a similar fine in 2018.
🚨 We have fined Virgin Media £28 million after finding systematic failings in its contract cancellation process.
Millions of customer calls were deliberately mishandled, creating unnecessary barriers to switching or cancelling.
🔗https://t.co/NlIycHVu9c pic.twitter.com/YQ5WftzL86
— Ofcom (@Ofcom) July 8, 2026
Natalie Black, Ofcom’s group director, infrastructure and connectivity, said: “The facts are clear.
“Virgin Media made it harder for customers to cancel their contracts and then did not fully co-operate with our investigation.
“As a result, we are levelling our largest-ever fine under our consumer protection rules for direct harm to consumers.”
Ofcom said the fine should serve as a warning to telecoms companies.
Ms Black said: “Today, we are sending a clear message that any provider who wilfully acts against the interests of their customers will pay a heavy price.”
Ofcom said it launched its probe after receiving nearly 2,000 call complaints from Virgin Media broadband, landline and pay-TV customers reporting difficulties in cancelling their contracts.
It found Virgin Media – which merged with mobile giant O2 in 2021 to form Virgin Media O2 – split its retention team into two “tiers” of agents, with only those in the second tier able to process cancellations, which meant customers had to repeat their request to at least one further agent.
Some frustrated customers resorted to cancelling their direct debits, which then impacted their credit score.
Ofcom said Virgin Media encouraged staff to put customers off from cancelling by rewarding them through its commission scheme.
The fine, which must be made within the next two months, will be passed on to the Treasury.
All affected customers must also have received compensation or the remedy they are entitled to within six months.
Virgin Media has since overhauled its customer services operation, including improving its commission scheme, training and quality assurance and monitoring.
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.
“Our customer service turnaround strategy, underpinned by significant investment, has been transformational. Ofcom’s latest data shows that Virgin Media is now the least-complained-about broadband provider with complaints at record lows, and complaints specifically relating to ‘difficulties leaving’ were 89% lower last year than in 2023.
“With One Touch Switch now in operation across the industry, and a wide range of competitive deals and services available, it’s never been easier for customers to choose the right package for them.”