My aunt moved house recently and had her broadband was supposed to be transferred to her new address (she’s with Virgin Broadband) and to do this they cancelled her broadband at her old address and set it up to the new one.

I set up her computer a few weeks later at the new address and there was no broadband. After spending 3 hours on the phone to Virgin, it was discovered that, they had misheard and set up the account to the wrong address but the right phone number.

They were supposed to phone back the next day but didn’t so we phoned them back and they claimed that not only did she need to have her calls set up to Virgin (which she didn’t before) but that she also owed them £80 odd and they won’t reconnect her or give her a MAC code until she paid. So with that she got her credit card bills and proceeded to read it down the phone and thus providing evidence to show she owed nothing. They have told her to phone them back in 72 hours but will not provide a MAC.

Is there any way to a) get them to provide a MAC or b) change broadband providers without?

My broadband was set up with o2 on 15th June. However, I discovered this week, that my old provider Talk Talk was still charging me (approx £80). When I contacted TT, they said they were unaware that I had changed providers, and that o2 should have imformed them.

I remembered when the o2 chap came to my home to set up the new BB, that he gave me a new number. I had assumed I would keep my old number, and simply the provider would change behind the scenes. As I had assumed it this, I hadn’t thought to ask o2 to keep my old number, when setting up the switch. I didn’t mind my home number changing, so thought nothing more of it. But it transpires that TT have still been supplying me on the old number, while o2 were supplying on the new number.

So I contacted o2, to find out why they didn’t contact TT to inform them I was switching provider. The woman on the phone was fixated on whether I had requested a number change or to keep my old number. I told her I didn’t remember, but I did remember asking: ‘do I, the customer, need to contact TT to tell them I’m switching, or do you, o2, do this for me’. I was informed that o2 would contact them. So regardless of whether I wanted to keep or change my phone number, o2 should have contacted TT to tell them I was moving.

I now have to wait up to two weeks for them to retrieve my call, so they can listen to it and decide who is at fault. I asked if I would be able to listen to the call myself, and she replied that I could see the transcript of the call, that she would attach to my account – but at a cost of £10 to me.

Would really appreciate any advice, as I can’t believe that this is acceptable. Reading the comments above, should someone have mentioned this MAC code to me?! I don’t recall have any discussion of a MAC code. Thanks

I could stay with Virgin as i had broadband without a phone for years- but im now on a very tight budget due to being made redundant. and there are cheaper faster deals about……..advice would be gratefully received..

im now joining sky tv,phone,bb do i need a mac code because bt wont give me one because im not in contract with them anymore…………….

what can i do to get my sky broadband????

So we tried to cancel – they would again not talk to me so I emailed them and asked for the MAC code which they gave us. We moved to BT but Orange charged us for 2 more months. When we complained by phone they would still not talk to me so I complained by email. They took ages to reply and in the meantime our bank had refunded us one of the months they had overcharged us. After that Orange refunded us the unused amount and a good will gesture.
But now months later they have written to us and said that we still owe them a month because the date the contract ended was when we actually changed to BT and not the date we requested the MAC code or when we rang to cancel or when we emailed to cancel. So they say we owe them for the month after we transfered to BT because there is a 30 day notice period.
I have been emailing them back and forth but all they do is tell me how to pay. I am at the end of my tether.
Why should I pay twice for that month? – once to BT and again to Orange.
What should I do?

That sounds like a complicated relationship issue to me. The first thing that comes to mind is to cancel the direct debit with your girlfriends bank. A company can not enforce a direct debit payment, it has to have your consent to take the payment – this should be part of the direct debit guarantee.

The broadband company is then going to contact you and try and encourage you to pay up for the default in the broadband direct debit. They may try and get heavy-handed but throw their own argument back in their faces. Ask them to show you evidence of a contract between your girlfriend and the broadband company.

If the broadband company can not provide evidence of a contract (oh and BTW, I don’t believe verbal contracts do not exist or stand up in law – you almost certainly would never have been asked to sign a bit of paper) between your girlfriend and them, this should be the end of the line. Tell them your circumstances and that they need to pursue the ex-boyfriend. At the end of the day, the contract is between the ex and the broadband company, not the postal address (i.e. physical building) and the broadband company.

Your other options that I would encourage you to undertake anyway, are:
1) Speak to your local citizen’s advice bureau.
2) Speak to Ofcom about the circumstances and what your obligations are.
3) Lodge a complaint with Ofcom.

Whatever you do, do something. For as long as this is not sorted out, your girlfriend will continue to pay for a service you do not want.

Robin