Ofcom has issued its largest fine of the year, accusing telecommunications titan Virgin Media of neglecting to safeguard vulnerable customers.
The media watchdog has slapped Reading-headquartered Virgin Media with a hefty £23.8m penalty due to its handling of customers during a planned shift from analogue to digital landlines.
Virgin Media alerted Ofcom to incidents related to the transition of its "telecare" customers between November and December 2023.
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This service is typically utilised by elderly individuals who need access to a telephone line for assistance in case of emergencies.
This sparked an investigation by Ofcom, which scrutinised the company's conduct during the transition, as reported by .
Ofcom stated that Virgin Media's strategy of disconnecting its telecare customers who did not participate in the migration process, despite being cognisant of the risks involved, placed "thousands of vulnerable customers at a direct risk" of harm and hindered their devices from connecting to alarm monitoring centres while the disconnection was ongoing.
The regulator also claimed that Virgin "failed" to accurately identify and record the status of telecare customers, leading to significant gaps in the screening process, meaning those affected did not receive the necessary level of tailored support throughout the migration process.
Ofcom noted that Virgin Media acknowledged its shortcomings by entering into a settlement process and cooperated with the investigation.
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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.
"Today's fine makes clear to companies that, if they fail to protect their vulnerable customers, they can expect to face similar enforcement action."
Ofcom said Virgin Media has since "taken significant steps" to address the issues after halting the migrations in December 2023, including revising its policies and procedures and implementing additional safeguards.
This penalty is the largest Ofcom has issued this year and follows closely on the heels of a £21m fine levied against Royal Mail for delayed delivery of first and second class mail.
A spokesperson for Virgin Media said: "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."