Virgin to pass on lower VAT rate

Virgin Media will pass on the new 15% VAT rate to customers in its subscription prices, the cable operator has confirmed.

It has already reduced the VAT rate charged on landline phone calls from 17.5% to the new rate, but warned it would need more time to adjust its billing systems to reflect the change in other service subscriptions.

"Following the reduction in VAT, we’ll be changing the way some of our services are charged," Virgin confirmed on its website. "This means that, from 1st December, calls from your Virgin Media landline will be charged at the reduced VAT rate of 15% (instead of 17.5%).

"We’re working as fast as we can to reduce our other services, but until we can sort everything out at our end, all other services on your bill will continue to be charged at 17.5%. Don’t worry though, we’ll keep track of your bills and credit back the difference (from 1st December onwards) as soon as we can."