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Broadband and TV provider Virgin Media has agreed to pay a €255,000 fine issued by ComReg, for failing to provide 26,046 customers with contracts with enough detail explaining what they were signing up for.
ComReg said that Virgin Media breached the Consumer Information Regulations 2013, after it failed to provide customers with contracts that explicitly showed what they were being charged for by the company.
An investigation by ComReg was sparked after complaints were received by customers who said they did not receive contracts from the company in a durable form. Another complaint was that their contracts lacked sufficient information.
It is the first time that ComReg has imposed a fixed payment notice.
The devil is in the detail
As well as the fine, ComReg has ordered Virgin to provide customers with more detailed contracts.
Virgin must also inform customers of their right to a 14-day ‘cooling-off’ period to allow them to cancel contracts if they wish.
The cable broadband and TV player will also confirm measures put in place to ensure the situation never arises again.
“We acknowledge ComReg’s findings, which relate to the confirmation notices that were issued to customers who made changes to their contract from November 2015 to April 2016,” Virgin Media said in a statement.
“These notices did not provide customers with the precise level of detail that is required by the regulations.
“We confirm that we have now contacted all the customers in question and provided them with the detailed information required by the regulations. The matter is now closed.”
