U.K. — Ofcom fined Virgin Media £28 million after finding the company repeatedly hindered customers from canceling their contracts between early 2022 and autumn 2024. The fine is Ofcom's largest ever under its consumer protection rules.

The regulator discovered Virgin Media likely mishandled millions of phone calls between January 2022 and September 2024. Ofcom found the company used deliberate call-dropping tactics, unnecessary call transfers, and put customers on hold for no reason. The investigation began after Ofcom received almost 2,000 complaints from broadband, landline, and pay TV customers who struggled to cancel their contracts.

Ofcom found evidence of deliberate mishandling of calls by retention team agents to delay or prevent customers from canceling and switching to a competitor. The regulator also found Virgin Media had a commission scheme that effectively encouraged and financially rewarded agents for mishandling calls.

Natalie Black, a director at Ofcom, said Virgin Media initially did not fully cooperate with the investigation. The £28 million fine was reduced by 30 percent because Virgin Media admitted to its failing and agreed to settle the case. Ofcom has ordered Virgin Media to check that every affected customer who complained has received compensation or other remedies within the next six months.

A spokesperson for Virgin Media said the company is committed to giving all customers great service and apologises to the small proportion who experienced an issue when contacting us to agree a new deal or cancel their service in the past. The spokesperson said the company has completely redesigned its customer services in recent years, addressing the historic shortfalls identified by Ofcom through a number of improvements, and has resolved all formal customer complaints from this period providing redress where appropriate. The company said Ofcom's latest data showed it now had the fewest complaints among broadband providers.