I'm with Virgin Media but moving to area which doesn't have fibre optic cables...

macman

Yes, you need a BT line in order to get any ADSL service.
Bear in mind that moving your existing sub may trigger a new 12m contract with VM.

PinkPrincess

From what I've read it seems VM will create a new 12 month contract upon moving the service over to the new address. Does this mean that I also have to pay the £125 fee that BT charge to put a phone line in?

patman99

You are still required to pay BT £125 (found my connection bill from 20 years ago £160, nice to some things get cheaper).

As for B/B, I'm with Demon. Only time I ever have connection issues is when BT have hardware failures at their exchange. I have an 8Mb package, and average 7.8Mb/s, my nieghbour has BT bb, same speed, same exchange, but only 4.9Mb/s ave.

Super1980_2

Hi,

I was in the same situation as you a few months ago and I have some answers. I had a package with fibre optic cable (the fast one) and was moving to an area with ADSL (National). I had just bought the package when my landlord told us he was selling our house. As I was still within the 28 days consumer hire agreement period, I rang Virgin to cancel. A sales assistant did a very big pitch and managed to persuade me to take my package with me. He explained that there as a £125 connection fee charged by BT, but that Virgin usually charge the customer only £39, and in my instance they would waive the fee if I agreed to stay with Virgin. So I agreed.

Here's the crunch.
1. When I phoned to book the installation the customer service rep I spoke to told me that I was starting a new 12-month contract, which I had never been told before - but you will definitely have to start a new contract as it is a new service area.
2. You won't get a TV box. This might seem obvious but I didn't realise. In fact I ended up paying the same price but for less (as my old package included TV 'for free' so they were not obliged to provide it this time, and can't anyway because of the cabling). The sales assistant promised me a freeview box, which has never arrived.
3. They did charge me the £39, I complained, and I received a letter rejecting my complaint. They seem to have no record of the sales pitch call I'd received, and cannot verify that I was promised that the callout fee would be waived.

In short, I was persuaded to sign a new 12-month contract for services which I can't get, and lied to about the associated charges.

Finally, the service is utterly crap. Internet drops out all the time (like every five minutes) and you can't watch a half-hour episode online without having to refresh about five times.

Go with someone else - I wish I had.
You will have to get a BT line though, and you'll struggle to find anyone to install it for less than a 12-month contract.

Good luck. And if anyone has any advice about how to effectively pursue a Virgin complaint I'd be grateful.

PinkPrincess

Thank you, your post has been really helpful. I wasn't told about the £39 charge, I was just told that I would have to pay BT £125 for a new phone line. What about the Post Office? Can I not get a phone line with them?

OldGreyFox

You dont need to go to another supplier to provide a phone line Virgin can now connect one.

You can get the phone line from the Post Office but the connection is over £100.

PinkPrincess

OldGreyFox wrote: »

You dont need to go to another supplier to provide a phone line Virgin can now connect one.

You can get the phone line from the Post Office but the connection is over £100.

I thought they could only connect a line if you're in a cable area?

macman

PinkPrincess wrote: »

I thought they could only connect a line if you're in a cable area?

OGF is referring to Virgin National (ADSL) service-not VM cable service.

PinkPrincess

macman wrote: »

OGF is referring to Virgin National (ADSL) service-not VM cable service.

So if I transfer my Virgin line from a cable area to a non-cable area, I will only be charged £39 for them to install a new line and I won't have to contact BT or Post Office?

PinkPrincess

Can anyone calrify my question above please? I'm running out of time...!