Virgin Media fined £24m for leaving vulnerable customers ‘at risk of harm’

Virgin Media has been fined £23.8 million for leaving thousands of customers without access to life-saving telecare alerts during the digital switch.

Communications watchdog Ofcom fined the telecoms giant after ruling it failed to protect vulnerable users of devices, particularly the elderly and disabled, during the transition from analogue to digital.

The industry is currently converting landline services from analogue to digital; Ofcom describes the copper-based network as “beyond its intended lifespan and increasingly unreliable”.

Virgin Media added that all was not well during the transition but that it had launched a “comprehensive package of improvements” for customers.

ofcom expressed concerns It warned about telecare users being disconnected while in transit that “any interruption in their device’s connectivity could have significant impacts on their security.”

Telecare systems typically work by having an emergency button that automatically calls emergency services or caregivers when pressed over the user’s landline.

The regulator’s investigation found that during the digital transition Virgin Media failed to correctly identify telecare customers, leaving those affected without appropriate support.

The company’s approach meant that thousands of people were left with devices that were not connected to alarm monitoring centres.

It also found that the firm’s approach to telecare customers, which disconnected users who did not participate in the switch, left thousands of vulnerable customers “at direct risk of harm”.

The firm reported itself to Ofcom over a series of serious incidents during the transition of telecare customers in November and December 2023.

Ofcom said the £23.8m penalty reflected the vulnerability of affected customers, the length of time they were at risk, the seriousness of the breach and the seriousness of the potential harm caused.

Ian Strawhorne, executive director of Ofcom, said: “While landline services need to be upgraded safely and simply, it is unacceptable that vulnerable customers are left at direct risk of harm and left without appropriate support by Virgin Media.

“Today’s sentencing makes clear to companies that they could face similar sanctions if they fail to protect their vulnerable customers.”

Virgin Media said most landline-to-digital migrations had been completed “smoothly”.

A spokesman added: “We recognize that we did not do everything right and have since addressed the transition issues identified by Ofcom.

“The safety of our customers is always our top priority and, following an end-to-end review starting in 2023, we have already implemented a comprehensive suite of remediations and enhanced support for vulnerable customers, including enhanced communications, additional in-home support and comprehensive post-migration checks, as well as working with industry and government on a joint national awareness campaign.”