Ofcom has fined Virgin Media £23.8 million after finding the company disconnected telecare customers during its programme to move people from analogue to digital landlines.
The regulator said the failures happened as the telecommunications giant carried out part of the industry-led transition away from the public switched telephone network (PSTN) – the copper-based landline system that is now beyond its intended lifespan and becoming increasingly unreliable.
The migration to digital landlines is seen as a necessary step to secure modern, resilient home phone services across the UK.
However, Ofcom has been clear that providers must identify, protect and support vulnerable customers throughout the process.
This is particularly critical for people using telecare alarms, where any disruption to a device’s connection can have serious consequences for safety.
Virgin Media alerted Ofcom to a number of serious incidents tied to the telecare migration programme in November and December 2023.
That prompted an investigation into whether the company had met its duties to treat vulnerable customers fairly.
Ofcom’s inquiry found “serious systemic failures” in the company’s approach between August 2022 and December 2023.
It concluded that the company failed to properly identify and record which customers relied on telecare, creating significant gaps in screening and meaning those customers did not receive the tailored support required.
Investigators also found that the business disconnected telecare customers who did not engage with the migration process, despite being aware of the risks.
The regulator said this decision put thousands of vulnerable customers at direct risk of harm and prevented their devices from connecting to alarm monitoring centres while the disconnections were in place.
On that basis, Ofcom said Virgin Media failed to comply with its own policies for the fair and appropriate treatment of vulnerable consumers and, in doing so, broke the regulator’s consumer protection rules. The penalty will be passed to HM Treasury.
In setting the amount, Ofcom said it took into account the vulnerability of affected customers, the length of time over which the contraventions occurred, the seriousness of the breach and the significant potential harm caused.
Ofcom also noted mitigating factors, including that Virgin Media self-reported the issue, admitted its failings through a settlement process and cooperated with the investigation.
The company has since paused migrations, updated its policies and procedures and introduced additional safeguards to avoid a repeat.
“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 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 Virgin Media spokesperson told BusinessCloud: “As traditional analogue landlines become less reliable and difficult to maintain, it’s essential we move our customers to digital services.
“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 including improved communications, additional in-home support and extensive post-migration checks, as well as working with the industry and Government on a joint national awareness campaign.
“We’ve been working closely with Ofcom, telecare providers and local authorities to identify customers requiring additional support and are confident that the processes, policies and procedures we now have in place allow us to safely move customers to digital landlines.”