Is this theft?

eriverpipe

No it isn't theft. They would have had to have taken something from her, which they have not. They have not taken anything from her. She has paid a bill for their services, and can prove it, so as it stands things are even. She can now simply sit back and suggest that if they want any more money, then they take her to court. Rubbish administration and lousy customer service, yes, theft, absolutely no.
ADD:
Yes I can read as i understand, the money that has left her bank is in respect of services THEY provided to her (it was a payment of a bill, yes?). So the Â£86 she paid was to pay off a debt to them. So as things stand things are even - they provided her the service and she paid for it. The situation now is that they are saying she hasn't actually paid. BUT she can prove she has. So therefore, if they try to insist she pays again, she can refuse to. And if they try to take her to court for it, then she can produce the statement and this will prove she paid and their case will be dismissed. So yes, love, I can read, however if you are incapable of understanding the situation/ explanation, that is simply not my fault..... The ONLY way it could be construed as something approaching theft would be if they had extracted two payments from her and were now refusing to give her one of the payments back.... and that is not (from the reading of your question) what has happened.

PAUL D

This appears to be a civil matter/proceedings at present, unless any other evidence comes to light.

Catherine E: VT

The bank might have to look into exactly where the money went...what account number it was sent to, and confirm that it went there.
If she has to, she should inform Virgin Media that she is going to get a lawyer and go after them, and then make them reimburse her lawyer fees.

Lemony

What does it say on your friend's statement? If it was paid to Virgin, it will say so and she has proof. If it says anything else other than Virgin Media on her statement she needs to contact her bank and possibly the police.

Tiffany <3

sue them

jeanimus

How can it be theft when they dont have it?
She needs to put in a formal complaint to them. If they never find it and decide to take it to court, she should keep the bank statement as proof she paid. They were as bad when they were Telewest.

Aonarach

if your friend has paid her bill ,and the money was taken out of her bank,she has nothing to worry about,if they want to take her to court let them do so,it will cost them as your friend has proof (bank statement)

Mr Abba

She needs to sort this out because they might have made a mistake. It is definatly not theft though.

Firebird

If this Â£86 hasn't gone to Virgin Media, then where has it gone?
Your bank should be investigating this if Virgin still claim they haven't received it.

Whoever dealt with your friend over the phone - or a close colleague of theirs - might have taken the Â£86 for themselves.

That would certainly be theft.

a1ways_de1_lorri_2004

well as others have said if she has proof she has nothing to worry about, just get onto virgin customer services, but here's a tip to those paying their bills to virginmedia by phone, when you pay, always ask for a payment reference number and immediately write it on the bill, along with the name of the person you spke to, i always pay by debit card and doing this means i have all the evidence i need if they ever dispute payment has been made, (they never have yet).

Wondering Mind

she needs to talk to a manager a supervisor if she has proof shes in the right

D.C.

YES,IF SHE HAS A BANK STATEMENT WITH THE CHARGE ON IT THE COMPANY MUST REMEDY THE SITUATION.

gpibambam

i think its a risk that is taken if you pay over the phone.

what she should tell virgin media to do is compare the bank statement to the workshift the day the payment was made (even if they dont have a payment, the bank statement should show a withdrawal). they can compare this to who was working and who was on call at what time.

BUT they should have the lines of those who receive payments over the phone wired anyway. so have her tell them to go through those records.

if they still say its not payed she should be able to pay them and be even. they might charge her late fees, so she might have to pay those. very worst case scenario- theres law involvement. but i dont think its that serious.

if anything she can probably get to the law and state her case and provide her evidence. see how it plays out. i dont think its a jail or heavy fine scenario at all. late fees or losing service would be the biggest problems (i THINK)

good luck to her. sounds like a huge PITA.

stormydays

Your friend should write a letter of complaint to the head office and give them 7 days to respond.

Whether it is theft or not....i doubt it....the correct amount had been deducted and i assume that the bank statement shows it was paid to virgin. I think it is poor administration at their end and unfortunately large company departments do not communicate with each other very quickly so although she has paid and has proof....the collecting deptartment who sends the demands out have not yet been informed.

morwood_leyland

If the money went from her debit card to Virgin Media then that is easy to prove and I don't understand why they do not accept that. The issue is theirs and i would suggest a letter to Customer Relations copied to the bank demanding this is immediately sorted out. Their inability to trace the payment is not your friend's issue.

However if the employee diverted the money then the case gets more difficult - your friend needs to make it clear she will report the alleged theft within 7 days if she hears nothing more - she could ask the bank to reverse the debit (as it has been misapplied apparently) and then pay the account another way.

Eventually she should get the money back - and she should ask for any costs as well.

xtina

Tell her to seek help at your local citizens advice bureau

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