Ofcom has fined Virgin Media a record £28 million for preventing or delaying customers from switching to another provider.The regulator said that the telecoms firm had mishandled calls over a near three-year period.Its “widespread” and deliberate mishandling had caused customers on millions of calls “unreasonable effort, hassle or undue difficulty” when trying to cancel, Ofcom said.This included attempts to pressure customers to stay, unnecessary call transfers to other departments, keeping callers on hold, deliberately dropping calls, and failing to process cancellations on the system.Virgin Media was previously fined in 2018 for breaching the same rule.The telecoms giant also repeatedly failed to comply with Ofcom’s information-gathering process in the investigation, the regulator said.Virgin Media has received a £28 million fine (AFP/Getty)“The facts are clear. Virgin Media made it harder for customers to cancel their contracts and then did not fully co-operate with our investigation,” Natalie Black, Ofcom’s group director, infrastructure and connectivity, said.“As a result, we are levelling our largest-ever fine under our consumer protection rules for direct harm to consumers.“Today, we are sending a clear message that any provider who wilfully acts against the interests of their customers will pay a heavy price.”This is a breaking news story. More follows...Subscribe here to get the latest updates from The Independent.