Mobile firm hounded dementia OAP for £38

VIRGIN mobile have been branded ‘despicable’ after a debt collection agency chased an 88-year-old man with dementia for a £38 bill.

Kenneth Harkins, from Edinburgh, was on a £10-amonth rolling contract but as his condition worsened he stopped using his mobile.

His family say Virgin refused to cancel the contract unless they could get his account password – which he could not remember because of his condition.

When they then cancelled the direct debit, Virgin passed the matter to a debt collection firm.

They put a ‘default’ against the pensioner’s credit file and wrote two threatening letters, one warning of ‘further action’ if the £38 bill remained unpaid.

The complaint is one of several about debt collectors posted on Virgin’s Twitter account.

Letters were sent to customers who say they closed accounts from eight years before. One customer cleared a debt but was still being harassed by a bailiff.

Mr Harkins’ son-in-law Ali AbuHusan said: ‘I don’t understand why they are chasing him for such a small amount. We tried to explain it to them, and they just wouldn’t listen.’

Last night, Virgin Mobile issued a statement saying: ‘As a gesture of goodwill we have cleared the remaining balance on Mr Harkins’ account.’