Virgin Media - Retention Deals?
Discussion
MiniMan64 said:
As someone who still has to visit an actual building to work, I don’t know the answer to this. What happens to those ‘working’ from home when this happens?
Is it a “sick” day or just a bonus day off?
Depends whether your work relies on an always-on connection, and whether you need to be connected to do the work.Is it a “sick” day or just a bonus day off?
As long as I can get on a couple of times a day, I can sync my local files with the cloud version, and can telephone colleagues instead of using MS Teams.
Other than emails, and ad-hoc requests from colleagues/bosses, I can spend all day working on stuff I know I've got to get on with without being interrupted for a change.
MiniMan64 said:
As someone who still has to visit an actual building to work, I don’t know the answer to this. What happens to those ‘working’ from home when this happens?
Is it a “sick” day or just a bonus day off?
Maybe I'm a bit more conscious than most, so I have backups in place for this sort of thing.Is it a “sick” day or just a bonus day off?
Wifi hotspot off my phone works better than I like to admit.
However, I am tempted to get the LTE failover option for my UniFi Network at home.
Must have caught them on a good day today.
Currently paying £46.00 for m125 broadband, mix TV package with TiVo box and a landline we never ever use.
Got the price increase letter about 10 days ago and phoned them today, they wanted £12.00 per month more until August when my current contract is up.
Skipped the initial automated discount of £7.00 and got through to cancellations within about 1 minute, this was odd as it’s usually hours.
I told them I was leaving as they are scandalous charging me double what a new customer would be paying.
Got the following deal.
£21.40 next month and then £36.10 for the remainder of the contract. So I have no doubt in August I will go through the same rigmarole.
Currently paying £46.00 for m125 broadband, mix TV package with TiVo box and a landline we never ever use.
Got the price increase letter about 10 days ago and phoned them today, they wanted £12.00 per month more until August when my current contract is up.
Skipped the initial automated discount of £7.00 and got through to cancellations within about 1 minute, this was odd as it’s usually hours.
I told them I was leaving as they are scandalous charging me double what a new customer would be paying.
Got the following deal.
£21.40 next month and then £36.10 for the remainder of the contract. So I have no doubt in August I will go through the same rigmarole.
MiniMan64 said:
As someone who still has to visit an actual building to work, I don’t know the answer to this. What happens to those ‘working’ from home when this happens?
Is it a “sick” day or just a bonus day off?
For me it makes no difference as the office uses VM for internet access and is in the same town as me, if it's broken at home it's also broken at work Is it a “sick” day or just a bonus day off?
I accept I'm probably in a minority for this though.Whistle said:
Must have caught them on a good day today.
Currently paying £46.00 for m125 broadband, mix TV package with TiVo box and a landline we never ever use.
Got the price increase letter about 10 days ago and phoned them today, they wanted £12.00 per month more until August when my current contract is up.
Skipped the initial automated discount of £7.00 and got through to cancellations within about 1 minute, this was odd as it’s usually hours.
I told them I was leaving as they are scandalous charging me double what a new customer would be paying.
Got the following deal.
£21.40 next month and then £36.10 for the remainder of the contract. So I have no doubt in August I will go through the same rigmarole.
That's a very good illustration of how broken the VM model is. Currently paying £46.00 for m125 broadband, mix TV package with TiVo box and a landline we never ever use.
Got the price increase letter about 10 days ago and phoned them today, they wanted £12.00 per month more until August when my current contract is up.
Skipped the initial automated discount of £7.00 and got through to cancellations within about 1 minute, this was odd as it’s usually hours.
I told them I was leaving as they are scandalous charging me double what a new customer would be paying.
Got the following deal.
£21.40 next month and then £36.10 for the remainder of the contract. So I have no doubt in August I will go through the same rigmarole.
You've been paying £46 per month and presumably would have been happy doing so until renewal. Now because they have tried to force a mid-contract increase, you are paying £10 a month less than you would have been, and are in a better position to hopefully negotiate a further 18 months at that price.
That's quite a hit for them overall.
I realise that the model is based on a good percentage of people not questioning the increases, but it seems that more and more people are getting used to standing up to them now.
kingston12 said:
Whistle said:
Must have caught them on a good day today.
Currently paying £46.00 for m125 broadband, mix TV package with TiVo box and a landline we never ever use.
Got the price increase letter about 10 days ago and phoned them today, they wanted £12.00 per month more until August when my current contract is up.
Skipped the initial automated discount of £7.00 and got through to cancellations within about 1 minute, this was odd as it’s usually hours.
I told them I was leaving as they are scandalous charging me double what a new customer would be paying.
Got the following deal.
£21.40 next month and then £36.10 for the remainder of the contract. So I have no doubt in August I will go through the same rigmarole.
That's a very good illustration of how broken the VM model is. Currently paying £46.00 for m125 broadband, mix TV package with TiVo box and a landline we never ever use.
Got the price increase letter about 10 days ago and phoned them today, they wanted £12.00 per month more until August when my current contract is up.
Skipped the initial automated discount of £7.00 and got through to cancellations within about 1 minute, this was odd as it’s usually hours.
I told them I was leaving as they are scandalous charging me double what a new customer would be paying.
Got the following deal.
£21.40 next month and then £36.10 for the remainder of the contract. So I have no doubt in August I will go through the same rigmarole.
You've been paying £46 per month and presumably would have been happy doing so until renewal. Now because they have tried to force a mid-contract increase, you are paying £10 a month less than you would have been, and are in a better position to hopefully negotiate a further 18 months at that price.
That's quite a hit for them overall.
I realise that the model is based on a good percentage of people not questioning the increases, but it seems that more and more people are getting used to standing up to them now.
I can see people happy they got their basic package deals down to £50, which is more than some people are originally complaining about.
They will have lost alot of customers
I have been Virgin Media or NTLworld for about 30 years live in Bracknell so could not get Sky because of lack of signal
Just got Sky Stream (in 4 rooms ) and very happy with it but you need a fast broadband
I will be in 18 months looking at broadband via Gigabit or similar due to City fibre installing fibre in our area
They offered us discount but it was to late due to speedy delivery of Sky Stream
I have been Virgin Media or NTLworld for about 30 years live in Bracknell so could not get Sky because of lack of signal
Just got Sky Stream (in 4 rooms ) and very happy with it but you need a fast broadband
I will be in 18 months looking at broadband via Gigabit or similar due to City fibre installing fibre in our area
They offered us discount but it was to late due to speedy delivery of Sky Stream
SV_WDC said:
Called VM to place my cancellation yesterday.
Had a 0800 call this morning. Answered. Other line was in a call centre but didn't speak, then hung up.
Good start.
That will be their outbound marketing team trying to upsell you an O2 sim, bigger TV package, etc etc Had a 0800 call this morning. Answered. Other line was in a call centre but didn't speak, then hung up.
Good start.
I had 40 minutes with them trying to take my package down to something more sensible before they admitted that that team couldn't do it.
And then they tried again the following day.... CRM isn't great, obviously...
MiniMan64 said:
As someone who still has to visit an actual building to work, I don’t know the answer to this. What happens to those ‘working’ from home when this happens?
Is it a “sick” day or just a bonus day off?
Every year or so we have a test. Eg turn off the power to laptop / turn off the internet. How long will laptop last / how can you connect.Is it a “sick” day or just a bonus day off?
In the case of VM failure, just use the hotspot from my non VM mobile.
No problem whatsoever ..
Coincidentally I was in the office yesterday, one day every 2 weeks. In reality far less..
Black AMG45s said:
They will have lost alot of customers
I have been Virgin Media or NTLworld for about 30 years live in Bracknell so could not get Sky because of lack of signal
Just got Sky Stream (in 4 rooms ) and very happy with it but you need a fast broadband
I will be in 18 months looking at broadband via Gigabit or similar due to City fibre installing fibre in our area
They offered us discount but it was to late due to speedy delivery of Sky Stream
What’s the point of Sky Stream / basic Virgin package ?I have been Virgin Media or NTLworld for about 30 years live in Bracknell so could not get Sky because of lack of signal
Just got Sky Stream (in 4 rooms ) and very happy with it but you need a fast broadband
I will be in 18 months looking at broadband via Gigabit or similar due to City fibre installing fibre in our area
They offered us discount but it was to late due to speedy delivery of Sky Stream
It’s Freeview (with a monthly charge for the box)
Better off with Freeview & a couple of apps. Also energy savings due to no pointless box..
I cancelled Sky over a year ago, not missed at all. Wouldn’t have Sky/Virgin Tv if it was free.
James6112 said:
What’s the point of Sky Stream / basic Virgin package ?
It’s Freeview (with a monthly charge for the box)
Better off with Freeview & a couple of apps. Also energy savings due to no pointless box..
I cancelled Sky over a year ago, not missed at all. Wouldn’t have Sky/Virgin Tv if it was free.
Supposedly having the TV aspect allows for larger discounts. Our VM box has been in a wardrobe for 5 or 6 years.It’s Freeview (with a monthly charge for the box)
Better off with Freeview & a couple of apps. Also energy savings due to no pointless box..
I cancelled Sky over a year ago, not missed at all. Wouldn’t have Sky/Virgin Tv if it was free.
Hoofy said:
There's a f
king surprise.
Contract Buy-out Charge £13.44
They asked me to move to O2!
Edit: I feel like I've got a part-time job talking to Virgin call centre staff.
FFS.king surprise.Contract Buy-out Charge £13.44
They asked me to move to O2!
Edit: I feel like I've got a part-time job talking to Virgin call centre staff.
Edited by Hoofy on Wednesday 29th March 16:35
Changed to O2 early March and just been hit with the RPI increase. Gone from 1 month at £15pm to £17.59. Taking the piss! I thought it wouldn't hit me until next year. Thoroughly pissed off with the utterly s
t and broken process that the transfer has been. I must have spend over 2 hours talking to different people. Ridiculous.It's like one s
t show after another.However, I've been offered a chance to cancel(!) and then sign up with a new contract. Am seeing 5GB data for £6.00pm which would set me back to my original rate plus I land with 250Gb broadband at £24pm. I need to think about this and make sure I don't get hammered with some kind of fee! (Wouldn't trust them not to.)
Edited by Hoofy on Friday 7th April 18:30
I currently have Maxit TV (190+ channels), M200, V6 Box and a landline with Talk Weekends which I never use for which I was paying £69.75, which is £837/year (I had certain monthly discounts prior to that, so was more like £50/month).
Letter received telling me it’s all going up to £92.75/month. That’s a whopping £1,113 per annum!!
New users were being offered that same package for £49/month plus £150 Cashback, so about £41/month or £492 per annum. This was my target.
Called up to renegotiate and was offered £62/month “less than you’re currently paying”, so pulled the cord and gave my 30 days notice.
Two days later, Retentions called with an OK offer: for current package £44/month or £528/year for 18 months. Didn’t bite, saying I watch lots of Netflix now and use the e-players on catch up for most TV, so I’m only really paying for the benefits of the VM channel interface. Helps I’m in central London, so plenty of competition. Said I would be happy with a fast 500MB Vodafone broadband for £35/month.
He then offered a bump to M350 broadband and an upgrade to TV360 via a software feed to my current V6 box. Only downside is that I lose all my recordings in the upgrade (36% full, so I will get busy watching movies!). I would have held out for a £10 contribution off the Bill, but was in a hurry.
So Maxit TV (190+ channels), M350, TV360 and still have a useless landline with Voicemail and Talk Weekends for £44/month over next 18 months but good for leverage if I ever switch my SIM contract.
Was happy with that, and based on an 18 months contract, the numbers look like this:
ORIGINAL CONTRACT = £1,256
NEW OFFER CONTRACT = £1,670
RENEGOTIATION = £792
So, depending on how you look at it, I can claim a £464 saving over 18 months vs. original contract, or a massive £878 saving over the proposed new offer contract, plus a faster broadband speed and a new TV360 interface for about 20 mins effort! Hope this is useful to others!
Letter received telling me it’s all going up to £92.75/month. That’s a whopping £1,113 per annum!!
New users were being offered that same package for £49/month plus £150 Cashback, so about £41/month or £492 per annum. This was my target.
Called up to renegotiate and was offered £62/month “less than you’re currently paying”, so pulled the cord and gave my 30 days notice.
Two days later, Retentions called with an OK offer: for current package £44/month or £528/year for 18 months. Didn’t bite, saying I watch lots of Netflix now and use the e-players on catch up for most TV, so I’m only really paying for the benefits of the VM channel interface. Helps I’m in central London, so plenty of competition. Said I would be happy with a fast 500MB Vodafone broadband for £35/month.
He then offered a bump to M350 broadband and an upgrade to TV360 via a software feed to my current V6 box. Only downside is that I lose all my recordings in the upgrade (36% full, so I will get busy watching movies!). I would have held out for a £10 contribution off the Bill, but was in a hurry.
So Maxit TV (190+ channels), M350, TV360 and still have a useless landline with Voicemail and Talk Weekends for £44/month over next 18 months but good for leverage if I ever switch my SIM contract.
Was happy with that, and based on an 18 months contract, the numbers look like this:
ORIGINAL CONTRACT = £1,256
NEW OFFER CONTRACT = £1,670
RENEGOTIATION = £792
So, depending on how you look at it, I can claim a £464 saving over 18 months vs. original contract, or a massive £878 saving over the proposed new offer contract, plus a faster broadband speed and a new TV360 interface for about 20 mins effort! Hope this is useful to others!
GlenMH said:
The sales guys must be getting desperate.
Had another call from them today: same price as I am paying (£68/month) with no price increase for 200 TV channels, 100gb O2 sim, talk anytime package and a move from 250Mb/s to 500Mb/s.
But they wouldn't drop the price for just the broadband so cancellation goes in next month, once I have used the 100 quid credit for non-provision of phone service for a couple of weeks.
So to finally finish the story:Had another call from them today: same price as I am paying (£68/month) with no price increase for 200 TV channels, 100gb O2 sim, talk anytime package and a move from 250Mb/s to 500Mb/s.
But they wouldn't drop the price for just the broadband so cancellation goes in next month, once I have used the 100 quid credit for non-provision of phone service for a couple of weeks.
Put my 30 days notice in after I called and they offered me £39/month for M500 and a call package. I then raised an order for Voda FTTP for their 500Mb connection and a phone connection for £35/month.
I then get a call from Retentions and he offers me £30/month for M500 and weekend call package and I mistakenly said "no". Oops. He did warn me that they might not be able to repeat that price.
2 days later I get a call from their outbound marketing team - different script - and after about 10 minutes of conversation I was offered 42 quid/month for some package or other. I then pointed out that I was in the 30 day notice window for cancellation and I wanted the deal I was offered before.
I was told that they couldn't do that so I said "I don't care what you add to the package but I want an uplift from my M250 and a phone connection. What can you do?"
Soooo, drum roll, I have signed up for M350 and a weekend call package for £26/month for an 18 month contract, price increase next April.
50. pounds. per. month. saving.
It really should not be this hard...
JJJSW7 said:
I currently have Maxit TV (190+ channels), M200, V6 Box and a landline with Talk Weekends which I never use for which I was paying £69.75, which is £837/year (I had certain monthly discounts prior to that, so was more like £50/month).
Letter received telling me it’s all going up to £92.75/month. That’s a whopping £1,113 per annum!!
New users were being offered that same package for £49/month plus £150 Cashback, so about £41/month or £492 per annum. This was my target.
Called up to renegotiate and was offered £62/month “less than you’re currently paying”, so pulled the cord and gave my 30 days notice.
Two days later, Retentions called with an OK offer: for current package £44/month or £528/year for 18 months. Didn’t bite, saying I watch lots of Netflix now and use the e-players on catch up for most TV, so I’m only really paying for the benefits of the VM channel interface. Helps I’m in central London, so plenty of competition. Said I would be happy with a fast 500MB Vodafone broadband for £35/month.
He then offered a bump to M350 broadband and an upgrade to TV360 via a software feed to my current V6 box. Only downside is that I lose all my recordings in the upgrade (36% full, so I will get busy watching movies!). I would have held out for a £10 contribution off the Bill, but was in a hurry.
So Maxit TV (190+ channels), M350, TV360 and still have a useless landline with Voicemail and Talk Weekends for £44/month over next 18 months but good for leverage if I ever switch my SIM contract.
Was happy with that, and based on an 18 months contract, the numbers look like this:
ORIGINAL CONTRACT = £1,256
NEW OFFER CONTRACT = £1,670
RENEGOTIATION = £792
So, depending on how you look at it, I can claim a £464 saving over 18 months vs. original contract, or a massive £878 saving over the proposed new offer contract, plus a faster broadband speed and a new TV360 interface for about 20 mins effort! Hope this is useful to others!
360 isn't an upgrade, it's alternative software because Virgin's agreement with Tivo is coming to an end.Letter received telling me it’s all going up to £92.75/month. That’s a whopping £1,113 per annum!!
New users were being offered that same package for £49/month plus £150 Cashback, so about £41/month or £492 per annum. This was my target.
Called up to renegotiate and was offered £62/month “less than you’re currently paying”, so pulled the cord and gave my 30 days notice.
Two days later, Retentions called with an OK offer: for current package £44/month or £528/year for 18 months. Didn’t bite, saying I watch lots of Netflix now and use the e-players on catch up for most TV, so I’m only really paying for the benefits of the VM channel interface. Helps I’m in central London, so plenty of competition. Said I would be happy with a fast 500MB Vodafone broadband for £35/month.
He then offered a bump to M350 broadband and an upgrade to TV360 via a software feed to my current V6 box. Only downside is that I lose all my recordings in the upgrade (36% full, so I will get busy watching movies!). I would have held out for a £10 contribution off the Bill, but was in a hurry.
So Maxit TV (190+ channels), M350, TV360 and still have a useless landline with Voicemail and Talk Weekends for £44/month over next 18 months but good for leverage if I ever switch my SIM contract.
Was happy with that, and based on an 18 months contract, the numbers look like this:
ORIGINAL CONTRACT = £1,256
NEW OFFER CONTRACT = £1,670
RENEGOTIATION = £792
So, depending on how you look at it, I can claim a £464 saving over 18 months vs. original contract, or a massive £878 saving over the proposed new offer contract, plus a faster broadband speed and a new TV360 interface for about 20 mins effort! Hope this is useful to others!
By all accounts it's a downgrade in terms of features
V8covin said:
360 isn't an upgrade, it's alternative software because Virgin's agreement with Tivo is coming to an end.
By all accounts it's a downgrade in terms of features
There are a few things that are missing from 360 (e.g. the ability to undelete recordings), but I find it works fine for what I need it to do. It's a more modern looking interface compared to the Tivo one which was getting pretty clunky. Voice control also works well and saves a lot of clicking around menus.By all accounts it's a downgrade in terms of features
one of Virgin's tactics at the moment seems to be to take random amounts from your account on a monthly basis. the figures reflect the bill that they send you in advance of the debit but the bill doesn't reflect the amount that you agreed with them.
then the fun starts when you try to get them to explain why they charged you those random amounts because the foreign call centre don't know the answer and you can't get to speak to someone who can help. eventually, when you get to talk to a UK person they try to bamboozle you with talk of credits and all other crap till you're utterly confused.
my advice is only communicate with them by documents (emails etc) and pay them manually when the emailed bill arrives each month (no direct debit).
then the fun starts when you try to get them to explain why they charged you those random amounts because the foreign call centre don't know the answer and you can't get to speak to someone who can help. eventually, when you get to talk to a UK person they try to bamboozle you with talk of credits and all other crap till you're utterly confused.
my advice is only communicate with them by documents (emails etc) and pay them manually when the emailed bill arrives each month (no direct debit).
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