Virgin Media Hit With Major £23.8 Million Penalty After Telecare Customers Left Disconnected

Key Takeaways

• £23.8 Million Fine: Ofcom fined Virgin Media £23.8 million for disconnecting vulnerable telecare customers during the PSTN-to-digital landline migration.
• Systemic Failures: The investigation found major gaps in identifying and supporting telecare users between August 2022 and December 2023.
• Direct Safety Risk: Some vulnerable customers were disconnected despite known risks, preventing telecare alarms from contacting monitoring centres.
• Cooperation and Remediation: Virgin Media admitted its failings, cooperated with Ofcom, and introduced new safeguards, including manual reviews and continuous engagement.

Deep Dive

The UK telecoms watchdog has fined Virgin Media £23.8 million after vulnerable customers relying on telecare alarms were left disconnected during the company’s switch to digital landlines, a move Ofcom says put people directly at risk.

The transition away from the ageing copper-based public switched telephone network (PSTN) is happening across the industry, aiming to improve reliability as the decades-old system reaches the end of its lifespan. But as Ofcom has repeatedly stressed, the safety of vulnerable customers must come first. In this case, it didn’t.

Virgin Media alerted the regulator in late 2023 to a series of incidents where customers using telecare devices, often elderly people or those with disabilities, were cut off while the digital switchover was underway. Ofcom launched an investigation soon after.

Over the 16-month period between August 2022 and December 2023, Ofcom uncovered “serious systemic failures” in how Virgin Media managed the upgrade for telecare users:

• The company failed to correctly identify many telecare customers, meaning they weren’t given the tailored support needed during migration.
• Some vulnerable customers who did not respond to migration outreach were disconnected anyway, despite Virgin Media knowing this would leave alarms unable to contact monitoring centers.

Ofcom said the company failed to follow its own policies on supporting vulnerable people, breaching consumer protection rules that require fair and appropriate treatment of those at greater risk.

“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,” said Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement. “Today’s fine makes clear to companies that, if they fail to protect their vulnerable customers, they can expect to face similar enforcement action.”

A Significant Penalty and A Reset

The £23.8 million fine, discounted by 30% because Virgin Media admitted its failings and cooperated with the investigation, must be paid to HM Treasury within four weeks.

Virgin Media halted its migration program in December 2023 and has since introduced new safeguards, including:

• Manually reviewing customer records to better identify telecare users
• Contacting 42,991 telecare customers to ensure they receive appropriate support
• Keeping non-engaging telecare users connected rather than suspending service
• Working with local authorities to ensure safe outcomes when the analogue network is fully shut down

The company has also signed the UK Government’s PSTN charter, committing to stricter protections as the digital transition continues nationwide.

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