Virgin Media has been fined £23.8 million by Ofcom for putting vulnerable customers at risk during the switch from analogue to digital landlines. The media watchdog found that the company failed to protect thousands of people who rely on telecare alarms, which can be disrupted by the digital transition.
Ofcom identified serious system failures in Virgin Media's migration process between August 2022 and December 2023, including inadequate identification and recording of telecare alarm users. The regulator stated that Virgin Media's approach to disconnecting non-responsive telecare customers left them without access to alarm monitoring centres, putting them at risk of harm.
Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom's director of enforcement, said: '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.'
The £23.8 million fine, which includes a 30% discount for self-reporting and cooperation, must be paid within four weeks and will go to the Treasury. Virgin Media has since taken corrective measures, including manual reviews of customer records and contacting its nearly 43,000 telecare users.
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: '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.' The company has introduced improvements such as enhanced communications, in-home support, and post-migration checks.
