Virgin-Media Charge almost DOUBLE the rate for non-geographical numbers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

utilitybroker

ACDeag wrote: »

Unfortunately nearly every company charges more than BT for these types of number, the real task is to find someone almost as cheap as BT.

I dont know what their cable tariff is these days but the phone.coop will provide cable access via a smart box or access number and they charge same as BT for 0844 calls.


http://www.thephone.coop/images/stories/support/price_lists/Residential_Rates.pdf

Scrudge

KimYeovil wrote: »

Of course charges are going to increase and vary wildly. How else will the business models work? It really amuses me when people are caught by the very structures they are seeking to exploit. If you jump in to a cut-throat leech on top of leech industry then stop whingeing whenever you carelessly make the wrong choices. Providers are not magicians.

First of all I do not agree that it is a cut throat market - for example broadband/telephone/mobile charges in the UK are not significantly lower then elsewhere. In fact some of the charges 10 times higher then in other countries. So it is not as competitive market as provider would lie you to believe.

In any case any changes to prices need to be communicated to customers. The more significant the changes - the more prominent communications should be. It does not matter whether it is a "leech industry". My argument is that these OBSCENE charge increases have not been communicated to me.

OldGreyFox

They normally e-mail price changes to customers. Did you get the latest one.

http://www.virginmedia.com/myvirginmedia/price-changes.php

Scrudge

OldGreyFox wrote: »

They normally e-mail price changes to customers. Did you get the latest one.

http://www.virginmedia.com/myvirginmedia/price-changes.php

For the latest price increase I saw the following AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF MY EBILL EMAIL "Some of our call charges are changing, to find out more visit www.virginmedia.com/callingcosts"


This is grossly is inadequate. They clearly try to hide things, putting statement where normally the "unsubscribe" and disclaimer statements are. It would cost them next to nothing to send a separate email - LIKE BANKS DO WITH THEIR CHARGES CHANGES. But they don't.

I believe due to dishonest ways they "communicate" these charge changes to customers they are open to challenge.

HAD BANKS done something similar we would have already set all the dogs on them. But much maliced banks send you a leaflet explaining charge changes by post!!! They don't try to add a small line at the very bottom of the back of your statement to inform you that "some charges are changing" to increase prices in some cases by a factor of 20!!!.

Scrudge

Would like to add that "Unfair Terms" regulations do not apply to price related terms - except the clarity provisions. So where price increases have not been clearly communicated they are open to communication not only under general law of contracts but also under "Unfair Terms" regulations.

ACDeag

Scrudge wrote: »

to increase prices in some cases by a factor of 20!!!.

They haven't recently increased them by a factor of 20. Virgin's call costs to 0845/0870 etc have been far higher than BT's for years. Difference is that BT have not increased their costs for years whereas Virgin's seem to go up every year.

The difference a couple of years ago was that 0845 was 12 times BT's charges now it is 20 times.

Scrudge

ACDeag wrote: »

They haven't recently increased them by a factor of 20. Virgin's call costs to 0845/0870 etc have been far higher than BT's for years. Difference is that BT have not increased their costs for years whereas Virgin's seem to go up every year.

The difference a couple of years ago was that 0845 was 12 times BT's charges now it is 20 times.

This is incorrect!!!!!! My last Paper Bill is April 08 - and all non-geographical numbers are priced correctly!!!! I am not talking about standard 0845 / 0870 - I am talking about fixed rate ones shown on callchecker. It seems NTL were reasonable - it is these Obscenely named company run by the equally obscene billionaire that first introduced Ebills and then hiked the prices several times.

ACDeag

Scrudge wrote: »

This is incorrect!!!!!! My last Paper Bill is April 08 - and all non-geographical numbers are priced correctly!!!! I am not talking about standard 0845 / 0870 - I am talking about fixed rate ones shown on callchecker. It seems NTL were reasonable - it is these Obscenely named company run by the equally obscene billionaire that first introduced Ebills and then hiked the prices several times.

Do you always shout

mrtom21

I didn't think people still used Virgin Media for their phonlines their call charges are pretty much the highest on the market. I would stick with them for internet but not phone.

boobbby

If you pay £5 a month plus the line rental to Bt you can call anytime to Unlimited UK landline calls are for up to an hour to numbers beginning 01, 02 & 03, after which pence-per-minute rates apply. You can hang up and redial before the end to avoid charges also all 0845 numbers are free to phone