Virgin Media punters stung in mobile data bill cock-up

[Scoobs]

A number of Virgin Media customers were wrongly billed for mobile data usage last month due to a system error, The Register has learned.

However, the telco was unable to tell us exactly what had gone wrong.

A Virgin Media spokesman assured El Reg that customers who had been incorrectly billed needn't worry as the ISP is contacting those affected and dishing out refunds if they were overcharged. Here's the company's official statement:

Due to a billing systems issue relating to our Virgin Mobile service, some customers using mobile data in late July may see incorrect charges for this element of their service on bills covering this period. We have now resolved the issue and are automatically adjusting customers' bills, meaning customers will not end up paying more than the correct amount for their services. We apologise for any inconvenience.

The billing cock-up miscalculated mobile data use between 22 and 26 July. VM was unable to tell us how many people had been affected by the system failure, which the spokesman told us had a "maximum impact" of an inaccurate £9.95 charge.

One punter who complained about the billing error on the company's community forum said:

Interesting; I have just received my bill and had the same issues [as other customers] during the same period - but I have been charged £1.99 for 0Kb of internet per day - despite being on the unlimited Premier tariff.

The matter is being investigated internally, but Virgin Media hadn't yet reported the matter to communications watchdog Ofcom, which takes a dim view of such errors (for reference, just ask TalkTalk).

Virgin Media couldn't immediately pinpoint how many of its mobile customers had been wrongly billed for data usage, either.

One Reg reader told us that when he contacted VM about the error on his bill the call centre staffer informed him he was "the fifteenth caller in the last hour" to complain.

That said, VM does appear to be actively contacting its customers via email and SMS to warn them of what the spokesman described as a "small error" that has now apparently been "rectified". ®

Source the register

[Scoobs]

There always over charging 50p here and there on your bills when you have a large internet allowance.

Ive had to ring up several times to get a refund normally save it up a few months so its like £4 -£5 credit back