UK regulator fines Virgin Media $37 million over obstructing customer exits

London: Britain’s communications regulator on Wednesday fined British telecoms and television group Virgin Media O2 a record £28 million ($37 million) for deliberately stopping or delaying customers from cancelling contracts.

Ofcom found that millions of customer calls between 2022 and 2024 were “likely mishandled” by Virgin Media to delay or prevent customers from switching to a competitor.

Tactics uncovered by the investigation included excessive transfers of calls to other departments, repeatedly keeping customers on hold and deliberately dropping calls.