Virgin Media increasing charges mid-contract

mtc863

We cancelled the TV service without penalty the last time they put the charges up. They downgraded us to a free 'M' package (essentially Freeview plus CatchUp TV) and we kept the box.
Likely we'll ditch the phone line too this time and go with VOIP and mobiles.

Keith

Kevie192 wrote: »

Has anyone had any luck in getting VM to cancel their contract because of this increase? Also, could I cancel ALL of my services from them or does the increase only affect 1 service and so I can only cancel that service? They're putting mine up by £3.50 plus the e-bill discount removal means an extra £4.50 per month !

Yes, I've cancelled, retentions have called a number of times. Installed Freeview yesterday

Geordie_bear

Mine is going up by £4.50 & I'm 12 months in to an 18 month contract apparantly I can serve my notice mid contract as they've upped my bill as I phoned VM to clarify my position. So March 1st I will put my 30 days notice in & see if they'll offer me a better deal!

cptncanary

I got my £4.50 increase letter yesterday. Trying to find 15 minutes to call VM today...

noodles86

Hmmmm I have just called as they are putting out bill up by £4.10 a month & I'm not happy as when I entered into a new 12 month contract I was assured that the price wouldn't budge.

Any ways the guy I spoke to said that if I cancelled I would have to pay an early get out fee of £180 as they have given me the 30 days required notice and I have to accept it or pay to get out of the contract.

He then said I have 9 months left and the increase would be £36.90 and that he could put a credit on my account for that much but not reduce the £4.10 charge a month so I just agreed to it as I don't really want to go to sky!

macman

Incorrect, as long as you reject the increase within the 30 days, then you could have left with out any ETC being payable.
Their call centre drones wouldn't know if prices were going up tomorow, let alone within the next 12 months-they're the last to know.

cptncanary

Section J, sub-section 3, paragraph 1, clearly states that:-

If Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments:
a. increase their respective charges under these agreements;
b. make significant changes to the services so the services you are entitled to receive in return for the charges you pay are significantly altered or reduced; or
c. make significant changes to the terms and conditions of these agreements (including the other legal stuff),

you may cancel those services affected without penalty by giving Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments (as applicable) at least 30 days' notice. Such notice must be given within 30 days of the increase in charges or changes to the services or this agreement being notified to you. If you were not notified of these changes in advance, you must give notice of cancellation of the services affected to Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments (as applicable) within 30 days of receipt of your first bill following such increase in charges. If you do not give notice of cancellation within the specified period, you will be deemed to have accepted the increase in charges and/or the changes to the services and these agreements. You will no longer be able to cancel your services under this paragraph. If you cancel any services in these circumstances, the increased charges will not apply to those services during the 30-day notice period and paragraph J2 will not apply if you cancel before the end of the minimum period.

Buzby

The work you appear to overlook is 'significant' along with 'reasonable' this needs to be quantified to be of any relevance. They are currently offering a 30 day waiver for prople to obkect and leave with no penalty, this is over and above what you quoted, and removes the usual 10% increase limit normally used to trigger a no fault departure.

Turquoise

Hm, i got a surprise with my virgin media online bill today but because it has gone DOWN! I did some haggling for a discount back in December which has now appeared on my bill, together with a credit for the discount for last month but the bundle price itself has also gone DOWN!

Broadband - L, TV - XL, Phone - L is now £33.95 pm when it was £42 pm.

Am now left wondering whether for once they have made an error in my favour which they will realise somewhere down the line and then muck my bills up for months whilst they balance it all out or whether indeed the bundle cost has gone down but they haven't bothered to shout about it!

Keith

Buzby wrote: »

The work you appear to overlook is 'significant' along with 'reasonable' this needs to be quantified to be of any relevance. They are currently offering a 30 day waiver for prople to obkect and leave with no penalty, this is over and above what you quoted, and removes the usual 10% increase limit normally used to trigger a no fault departure.

No, he isn't. The clauses are a) b) or c).

If Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments:
a. increase their respective charges under these agreements;

you may cancel those services affected without penalty by giving Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments (as applicable) at least 30 days' notice. Such notice must be given within 30 days of the increase in charges or changes to the services or this agreement being notified to you. If you were not notified of these changes in advance, you must give notice of cancellation of the services affected to Virgin Media Ltd and/or Virgin Media Payments (as applicable) within 30 days of receipt of your first bill following such increase in charges. If you do not give notice of cancellation within the specified period, you will be deemed to have accepted the increase in charges and/or the changes to the services and these agreements. You will no longer be able to cancel your services under this paragraph. If you cancel any services in these circumstances, the increased charges will not apply to those services during the 30-day notice period and paragraph J2 will not apply if you cancel before the end of the minimum period.

It doesn't specify how much the increase must be. This is a standard clause in the VM contract
http://shop.virginmedia.com/the-legal-stuff/terms-and-conditions-for-cable-services.html#ending