Virgin - Should I stay or should I go???

sthomas150_2

Hi all,
first time post here and would realy appreciate you expertise?

I'm with Virgin and have the following Bundle:
*tephone line rental £11.99
*phone/TV/BB bundle saving £-9.50
*Phone 'M'
*BB 'M' £20.50
*TV 'L' £12.50
TOTAL £35.48

I originally signed up for the 3 for £30 and its increased every year so I though now its time to do something about it
I phoned the retentions department and after 25minutes of haggling was offered exactly the same package for £17.99. Not too bad I thought but I wasnt offered any better TV package and no free V+ or V+ HD box, which most ofther hagglers seem to have acheived. I told them to hold this deal while I though about it. What should I say to get the extras I'm after?

Many thanks in anticipation MoneySavers
Scott in Sunny Devon

Harrowing_2

I assume you don't have v+ at the mo, so don't even have timeslip or record-one-watch-another recording facilities at the mo? Then yes reckon you should try again get V+ at least, and HD is rather nice if you can afford....

Say you'll go for sky as it gives free sky+ box (with cool features I mention above) + broadband + calls (check link for which are free) for £19 (£30 install): http://www.sky.com/quickbuy/build

sthomas150_2

Harrowing -cheers for the reply

No I still have the ancient 'Telewest Broadband' box (as it was even before NTL! and was before VM). Therefore no + features:(

What I want to know is exactly what do I say to them in order to get this. When I originally phoned redemptions they to tell them I wanted to leave the just said okay and processed my cancellation!! I had to say "urh...hold on I just wanted to get me a better deal"

Should I tell them " I know someone who got a free box" ???

Cheers

Scott

jb66

If your needing a v+ box your just as well going xl to get the HD content

Harrowing_2

sthomas150 wrote: »

Harrowing -cheers for the reply

No I still have the ancient 'Telewest Broadband' box (as it was even before NTL! and was before VM). Therefore no + features:(

What I want to know is exactly what do I say to them in order to get this. When I originally phoned redemptions they to tell them I wanted to leave the just said okay and processed my cancellation!! I had to say "urh...hold on I just wanted to get me a better deal"

Should I tell them " I know someone who got a free box" ???

Cheers

Scott

call their bluff and go ahead and order sky? Quiet a simple process.:D Re responses to threats, have heard it depends who you talk to, a bit of luck involved.

You really ought to be plus-sing, very handy feature, especially the pause feature whilst watching anything. And sky (presumably V+ too?) has rewind of live tv too !

sthomas150_2

jb66 wrote: »

If your needing a v+ box your just as well going xl to get the HD content

How much extra (to the £17.99 /month) do you think should I expect to pay for XL TV??

Phone 'M'
BB 'M'
TV 'XL'
£££££ ??????

I do like this option as tempted by ESPN and can use my TV to its full potential however the main reason was to get my bills down (aka moenysaving:money:)

Harrowing_2

sthomas150 wrote: »

How much extra (to the £17.99 /month) do you think should I expect to pay for XL TV??

Phone 'M'
BB 'M'
TV 'XL'
£££££ ??????

I do like this option as tempted by ESPN and can use my TV to its full potential however the main reason was to get my bills down (aka moenysaving:money:)

If you look at http://shop.virginmedia.com/digital-tv.html you'll see the XL is £12 dearer than L.

sthomas150_2

Harrowing wrote: »

If you look at you'll see the XL is £12 dearer than L.

True but considering they can offer me an (almost) half price deal with my current package I don’t think I should pay the full £12 to get the XL upgrade. I'd say £6 would be fair - £17.99+£6= £23.99. That sounds fair to me??! What do you think?

Has anyone had any experience of paying in full for year? £17.99 a month over the year is £215 so I was just going to offer ~£200 cash upfront. will they do this? not sure how it'll work with the phone bill. Not that i ever use it as its extortionate!

Thanks again all

sthomas150_2

EDIT: I've actually jsut got onto Virgin's "build a bundle" and in the package I have the difference bewteen L TV and XL TV is £7 ( £47.50 with £40.50 without) so not £12 anyway

Harrowing_2

sthomas150 wrote: »

EDIT: I've actually jsut got onto Virgin's "build a bundle" and in the package I have the difference bewteen L TV and XL TV is £7 ( £47.50 with £40.50 without) so not £12 anyway

Excellent, getting cheaper by the minute....:D

Re them giving you discounts, make sure it's a long-term one, not just "this year's treat".

Others, please contribute on haggling skills!

sthomas150_2

Harrowing wrote: »

Excellent, getting cheaper by the minute....:D

Re them giving you discounts, make sure it's a long-term one, not just "this year's treat".

Others, please contribute on haggling skills!

good idea about a longterm deal. But I guess that means I shouldn't push them too much this year.

I really apprecate your input Harrowing but I feel like I've PM'd you! -

Id really appreciate other's experiences and haggling tips etc. Tell me what you pay for your VM package?? what deals did you haggle and how??

cheers moneysavers