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The regulator said thousands of vulnerable customers had been put at risk during the migration from analogue to digital landline services
Ofcom has imposed a £23.8 million fine on Virgin Media, marking the largest financial penalty the regulator has issued this year, due to the telecoms giant’s mishandling of vulnerable customers during its planned migration from analogue to digital landline services.
The media watchdog’s investigation was triggered by incidents reported by Virgin Media itself, involving the disconnection of “telecare” customers, typically elderly individuals reliant on phone lines for emergency support, during the transition period in late 2023.
According to Ofcom, Virgin Media’s failure to properly identify and support these telecare customers placed thousands at direct risk of significant harm. The regulator found that Virgin Media disconnected users who did not engage with the migration process despite being aware of the critical safety implications, effectively severing these customers’ connections to alarm monitoring centres.
The telecoms provider also exhibited systemic failures in recording and screening telecare customer status, resulting in inadequate support during the migration.
Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom’s director of enforcement, condemned the company’s actions as “unacceptable,” emphasising that vulnerable customers should never be left exposed during service upgrades. He stated that the fine sends a clear message to firms about the gravity of protecting vulnerable users or facing enforcement action.
“It’s unacceptable that vulnerable customers were put at direct risk of harm and left without appropriate support by Virgin Media, during what should have been a safe and straightforward upgrade to their landline services,” said Strawhorne. “Today’s fine makes clear to companies that, if they fail to protect their vulnerable customers, they can expect to face similar enforcement action.”
Virgin Media admitted to its shortcomings during the investigation and cooperated fully throughout the process. The company has since taken significant steps to improve the safety of its migration process, including pausing the migrations in December 2023 and revising its policies and procedures.
“As traditional analogue landlines become less reliable and difficult to maintain, it’s essential we move our customers to digital services,” said a spokesperson for Virgin Media. “While historically the majority of migrations were completed without issue, we recognise that we didn’t get everything right and have since addressed the migration issues identified by Ofcom.”
“Our customers’ safety is always our top priority and, following an end-to-end review which began in 2023, we have already introduced a comprehensive package of improvements and enhanced support for vulnerable customers,” they added.
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