Virginmedia Broadband - Old customers pay more than new ones for same service?!

searchingsun

Hi, I am on Virginmedia size L since over 12 months now (which was the minimum contract time), I am paying £25, however, this service is now priced on the website as £20 (3 months for £15 for new customers, which I am not talking about). This is NOT a bundle offer, its just for the broadband, same as I have.
So I was thinking, as they lowered the price for this service, they should lower my price too, but not according to VM. I have phoned them, and apparently they can't offer me a "discount" on my service, but only offered me a discount if a upgrade to a more expensive service, which would still leave me paying more than now.
I have emailed them and they came back with some excuse like its a competitive market and they are sorry that I am not happy with the price I got "quoted" and they have to offer new customers some incentives to swap.

I find this ridiculous - I know ts only 5 pounds a month difference, but still, all I want is to pay the same price as their website states for my service, and not a higher price only because I am an "old" customer. Any thoughts, am I wrong?

thanks!

spike7451

Well yes imho,you are wrong.Why should a service provider drop it's price for exising customers? VM,like all the rest out there,are in business to make money,not loose it.Every company does the same to make money,offers sweeteners to get people to switch.Should I turn round to O2 & demand the offer being given to their new sign up's because it's better than the one I got?
Yes,once they have got you the incentives are less,but if they gve every old customer the £5 discount,imagine how much money they'd loose &,to make the money up,your service would suffer & people would be made redundent.As was I & hundreds of other NTL/VM workers.

searchingsun

thanks for your view and sorry you been made redundent.

Well I would understand if I would be still within my 12 month contract, but now I am not anymore I would be free to switch as well... I don't see it as a discount, its a "price correction" surely as this is now the official price on their website for my service? I am not talking about the £15 price you get for the first 3 months when you join..

If my neighbour joins now he pays £20 for exactly the same service that I pay £25 for ... and that should be fair? talking about keeping excisting customers happy... not that way surely!

kwikbreaks

The answer is simple - if you aren't satisfied get your broadband elsewhere.

I haven't read up on the various deals but if they are offering a limited time discount to new customers after which the price reverts to what you are paying then I don't have any sympathy with your complaint. If OTOH there is a permanent reduction in the product price for new customers which they will not make available to existing ones then they deserve to lose business.

Of course as a cable company they probably have you by the short and curlies as your deal may well be for phone, BB and TV which could cost more elsewhere - if that is the case then you'll need to consider your actions carefully.

dylanuk

Existing customers can get just as good offers as new customers if not better.

When your VM contract is up phone them and say you want to leave - chances are they'll offer you 50Mb for £9.99 (perhaps not quite that good, but you get the idea).

New customer offers are just customer incentives, as an existing customer you're already paying so they don't need to incentivise you - unless of course, you want to leave.

searchingsun

@ Kiwibreaks, I believe its a permanent price change, I can't find anything saying its not, otherwise I wouldn't complain!

thanks dylanuk, I will try that...

dansylvester

Im in the same boat. When I joined Virgin in 2007 i paid around £40 per month for phone, tv and internet, for 12 months, then it went up to £55 per month, and gradually since then it has increased to nearly £70 over an 18 month period. Today I recieved my January bill for £69 and though enough is enough, maybe I can reduce some of my packages to a lower level to save abit of money, so went on the internet page and found that the Broadband package Im on is £20 on my bill, yet no longer exists on the website, but the next package up is being advertised at £12.50. There is nothing to say this is an introductory offer, except new customers get the first couple of months free. The TV package im on is advertised at £1.50 per month less also, the only thing that is the same is the phone package at £7.95.

I also called them and they said 'there were not able to offer me that price', and the only discount they could offer me was £1.25 off a month if I signed up to E-Billing. I wouldnt mind if it said on the website that it was for new customers, or an introductory offer, but it makes it look asthough these are the standard prices...

dylanuk

Did you threaten to leave or just ask for a discount? You ought to consider switching providers and if you'd be prepared too... and then say you want to cancel your service, you'll probably get put through to retentions and you'll get a better deal.

VM always update packages and prices but it rarely gets automatically given to existing customers, so people who signed up a few years ago are often on comparatively pretty crap packages.

Red_Cat

I have just left VM as they are too expensive. The day after I rang to be disconnected, they rang me back and offered me a slight discount (saving £3.60 per month compared to what i was paying). For me that was still too much, so they now will let me finish with them, a month after my request.