Sky, Virgin & BT TV Haggle down prices and get serious discounts Article Discussion

gem1875

hello,

Does anyone know if Virgin ring people who have given the 30 days notice with improved deals??

We are due to be cut off on boxing day and sky going in this week but I really don't want all the fuss of the change but I will if I have to.

[Deleted User]

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

There really is no point trying to get deal after deal after deal.

Lifes_Grand_Plan wrote: »

The last bit in bold above is your opinion, which of course you are welcome to but IMHO you are wrong and Sky (and the like) love people with that mindset.

I am on my fourth year of "whatever package you want half price"

It's strange that some people report no problem with continuous deals over a long period while others struggle to get deals lasting even six months. I can only surmise that you must purchase a lot of box office films and/or Sport-otherwise it will hardly be worth keeping you as a customer...

catnun

Hoping the experts can give me some tips.

I'm with virgin and have

Talk Weekends
Free Voicemail
TV Size M+
TiVo Monthly Fee
Broadband L (Up To 30mb)
Bundle Charges total £26.15

+


Telephone Line Rental £14.99
Paying in total = £41.14 that will go up £45.64 in February

Not happy with the increase in price and thinking what's the best technique to approach them. I can't really be without internet as I run my own online business. I don't use telephone at all and only subscribed because it was cheaper to do so than to have BB and TV separately.
After discussing with my partner we know we can live without tv as we can easily have lovefilm or netflix and watch the shows we want without paying a fortune, but ideally I would like to still get the TV M+.
So I'm going to call them as see what they can offer. Now my question is... does anyone know when do they have to meet quotas? I understand that those may be a best time to call as they just need to keep the number of sales up. Also any advice in best time of the day to call? Or even when are the usual change of shift time as by the end of a working day the operator probably has had to many people just complaining and won't be in the mood to please anyone!


Looking for as much advice as possible because even though I tried to skim the thread, with 239 pages it's just difficult not to miss bits.
Thanks in advance and hope you had the patience to read the whole post!:A

[Deleted User]

I think you may be able to get a deal for Triple Play of all three services, but cancelling the 'phone alone will probably be a retrograde step as the packaged "bundles" are heavily subsidised against subscribing to each service separately. It'll probably be a very similar price for two services as it currently is for three!
The price increase gives some leverage, but only if you want to cancel completely
I really don't think it matters when you ring them exactly...

bullinn1

Hi chaps, I pay Virgin £45/mth inc. 60mb bb, £2.00 for talk mobile (whatever that is) £5.00 to get rid of 0800 charges and line rental £15.00 ... is it worth me thinking about moving given that we have been told it's going up by £3.25.mth in Feb ... many thanks for taking the time. Roger

Lifes_Grand_Plan

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

It's strange that some people report no problem with continuous deals over a long period while others struggle to get deals lasting even six months. I can only surmise that you must purchase a lot of box office films and/or Sport-otherwise it will hardly be worth keeping you as a customer...

I've never once purchased anything above my standard TV package. I am the original tight-!!!! deal seeker :rotfl:

My view is obviously to attract a new customer, it costs them the price of the box and dish, the installation cost and account set-ups etc. They don't usually charge for any of this so it comes out of the monthly fees.

After the first year when all of that is covered then they make fat profits at full price, but if people threaten to leave then its better to have 50% of something than 100% of nothing.

I think the mistakes people make are:

1. they ring up and say "my friend has a discount" or "I couldn't live without my sky but its a bit expensive".... none of that tells Sky you are serious about leaving and if you aren't then there is no incentive to make you a big offer to stay.

2. they ring up and put their cancellation notice in but then 'bottle' it and change their mind.

I have always been willing to have my Sky cancelled and wouldn't care less if it was, most of the stuff I watch is on terrestrial anyway. Worst case is it gets switched off and then a month or two later I get the usual postcard offering 50% off.... its only ever been that way once.

I also think that a lot of people who say "they never called me back with an offer" probably missed the call..... in my experience they call on your landline, the last time was a Friday evening so if I had been out then I would have missed it and they might not have gotten around to calling me back. They may call in the day when people are at work though or at weekends when people are out.

Nemo

Just after a little advice. I've always preferred to have my phone, internet and TV separate in the past, but am considering combining them now. My current set-up is:-

- Phone with BT. Have Line Rental Saver which runs out 10th Jan. Hardly ever use phone.
- Internet with BE Unlimited at £14.08/month.
- TV with Sky. Entertainment Extra & Movies & Sport at £55/month.

I'm shortly going to be transferred to Sky's internet due to the takeover. This will cost £12.50/month. I've been annoyed by BT now charging for caller display so am considering moving the phone over also. I have one or two questions...

There used to be an issue that if you move your telephone to Sky you couldn't go to another provider without going back to BT first for a year. Is this still the case?

Do Sky block access to 18185 etc.? Is there a way around this such as dialing a different phone no. first?

Any other comments or issues regarding Sky Talk or combining all 3 elements?

What (I think) I would like to do is go for Sky upfront line rental (£140/yr) and go for the free weekend calls option...Sky Broadband Unlimited (£7.50/month including £5 discount for having Sky Talk)...upgrade from Entertainment Extra to Entertainment Extra+ for an extra £5 + £5.25 HD Pack to give me complete HD, box sets, On Demand etc. ie. £55 now becomes £65.25 .

I've currently got a white Sky+ box. What's the minimum I should expect if I call and ask? For instance, especially if I pointed out that I've had Sky TV for around 25 years, would a 2TB box and half subs for 12 months seem ambitious? Should I be asking for more?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Cheers!

[Deleted User]

In your circumstance, go with Sky, I think you'll get a much cheaper deal for triple play with them and there is no requirement to return to BT ever, although be aware that you'll be tied into a year-long minimum term.

shaggy

Has anyone managed to haggle as a new customer with bt to bring the cost down a bit?

Also just been on the phone to sky. I have my tv (entertainment with no sports or movies) broadband and phone with them at £49 per month. They would only reduce to £36 . Not too impressed so looking at options to move to bt.

DragonQ

shaggy wrote: »

Has anyone managed to haggle as a new customer with bt to bring the cost down a bit?

Also just been on the phone to sky. I have my tv (entertainment with no sports or movies) broadband and phone with them at £49 per month. They would only reduce to £36 . Not too impressed so looking at options to move to bt.

Haggling as a new customer is difficult, particularly because new customers get discounts and/or cashback anyway.