Looking to change to Virgin Media

bristoljon

I ran through some figures earlier today and calculated that if you order virgin phone, broadband and tv before 0000 tonight via topcashback.com you will pay less than if you ordered the broadband on its own!

XL 20mb broadband on its own costs £345 per year including the (massive) £15 discount on the first 3 months.
Thats compared to £237 per year for the same broadband plus tv (M+) and phone (M). Or an effective monthly cost of £28.75 and £19.75 respectively.

Thats taking account of line rental costs, cashback (for the bundle) and the discounts virgin includes (first 2 months free with bundle purchase).

However this does not include installation costs which are free with a bundle purchase but not with solo broadband.

We don't want the TV and will not be paying for a TV license but if you do/are already its definitely a deal.

The cashback deal ends at 0000 tonight so its probably worth ordering even if your not sure and cancelling during the grace period just so you can claim the cashback.

FYI the yearly costs for the L, XL and XXL broadband on their own are £225, £345 and £441 respectively compared to £152, £237 and £317 if you take phone and tv with it and get the cashback.

pcosmic

krissycontagious wrote: »

i have the M virgin media package broadband and its terrible but might be ok for you not sure

What makes it so terrible for you?

I'm on BT broadband Option 3 at the moment and it's very reliable but I want to switch to Virgin Media (Large 10MB); purely because I don't need a house phone or want to pay line rental.

I actually used Virgin Media for a year whilst living way from home at University; it was ok, but was sometimes slow. I'm guessing this was because of their 'bandwidth throttling'? I shared it with two other people and it also went noticably slower for all users if someone was streaming video or bittorrenting. Anyone else have similar experiences?


*The packages are now : L, XL and XXL (as opposed to M, L, XL)

jem16

pcosmic wrote: »

What makes it so terrible for you?

She's getting speeds of 0.38Mb on a 10Mb connection - quite probably a fault.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2302169

I'm on BT broadband Option 3 at the moment and it's very reliable but I want to switch to Virgin Media (Large 10MB); purely because I don't need a house phone or want to pay line rental.

Problem with that thinking is that for Virgin 10Mb on its own it's £20pm which can be dearer that line rental plus BB with someone else.

I actually used Virgin Media for a year whilst living way from home at University; it was ok, but was sometimes slow. I'm guessing this was because of their 'bandwidth throttling'? I shared it with two other people and it also went noticably slower for all users if someone was streaming video or bittorrenting. Anyone else have similar experiences?

Throttling can be a problem if you are a high user. However speed issues can also be a problem in some heavily utilised areas. I was getting less than 1Mb most evenings on my 10Mb Virgin connection. However in the last 3 weeks or so it seems to have got a lot better and I'm getting my full 10Mb at all times.

pcosmic

Problem with that thinking is that for Virgin 10Mb on its own it's £20pm which can be dearer that line rental plus BB with someone else.

Thanks for your response jem16
Could you recommend any alternative broadband services which cost less, or around £20 per month? I am a heavy user so definitely need an unilimited service.
I only need broadband, even if I got a phone line, I wouldn't use it as we all have mobile phones.


I'm currently paying £22.99 a month for broadband and £11.79 for line rental. (I was offered a lower price of £15.49 per month to renew my contract but it's still relatively expensive).

Jeff77

It is expensive. So far I think its still good to have Virgin.

jem16

pcosmic wrote: »

Could you recommend any alternative broadband services which cost less, or around £20 per month? I am a heavy user so definitely need an unilimited service.

Before anyone can give you some ideas we would need to know what exchange you are currently on and what LLU options are available to you.

Can you check SamKnows and let us know?

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php

karatedragon

Stay away from Virgin Media. Their customer "service" line is appauling.

However, their sales line always answers promptly and seems to be UK based.

Think On. You only get what you pay for.

robt_2

karatedragon wrote: »

Stay away from Virgin Media. Their customer "service" line is appauling.

However, their sales line always answers promptly and seems to be UK based.

Think On. You only get what you pay for.

However their support through newsgroups is stunning, and probably the best of any company in the UK. Just not many people bother to use it.

jem16

robt wrote: »

However their support through newsgroups is stunning, and probably the best of any company in the UK. Just not many people bother to use it.

I agree.

Unfortunately from 22nd March they are stopping their support service via the newsgroups and providing support via the forums. Remains to be seen how good/bad it will be.

karatedragon

jem16 wrote: »

I agree.

Unfortunately from 22nd March they are stopping their support service via the newsgroups and providing support via the forums. Remains to be seen how good/bad it will be.

Bet they won't reduce their monthly subscription cost to their customers as a result though. They didn't when they moved their already abysmal "service" side to offshore to save a shed load of cash on cheap labour. I would like to know what they do with the cash they save by doing that.

With VM the service goes from worse to worse yet they still have the audacity to charge the same.

They keep writing to me asking me to join. Have had enough of their junk mail to paper the walls of my 20ft x 20ft lounge and still have enough to put in the recycling bin. I would rather have my eyes gouged out with a rusty spoon than take my custom to those Shystyers.

I rang them for a friend who was having trouble who didn't understand computers. I thought it was bad when it was NTL and I was with them then but VM were even worse with their scripted replies and lack of knowledge about computers etc.

They took not only the biscuit but the packet, tin, tea cup, saucer and the kettle.

They still don't have caller display on their phone service either. I was told by NTL in 2006 that it was being introduced in the next 12 months. Four years on and it still isn't available. The only useful phone number in Virgin Media is the disconnections line.