Overcharged on TV etc packages?

rachierach_2

I have a current package with Virgin media and from what I've seen on here am being massively overcharged! I have XL TV (plus sports and movies), L broadband (10meg for £26.00 - has been going up steadily for the past 18 months) and M telephone (free calls only on weekends, £13.00 line rental). For this I'm paying >£80/month and have found a slightly better package (20meg and free calls on evenings & weekends) for £63 installed free with Sky.
Am I being massively ripped off or am I missing something as I don't really understand how it all works?!

Mark_In_Hampshire

Off the top of my head there are a couple of important differences you should be aware of.

Virgin Media cable is a part fibre optic network hence you get a 10Mbps service which you could upgrade if you wanted to

Sky broadband is supplied down phone lines, so the speed you will get will most likely be between about 0.5Mbps and 16Mbps. If the speed of the broadband is important to you then you should check on www.samknows.com > Availability checker to see what sort of speed Sky might be able to offer down the phone line, as it could be very, very much slower. But then it could be a bit quicker.

Secondly cable is a managed service, Sky is not. So if for example your VM set top box packs up, they replace it. If the Sky one packs up I think you have to pay for another one, as you own it, it is not managed.

Finally, is there any setup fee? It normally costs between £0 and £150 to activate a dead phone line to have the service, £0 is a good deal!

kwikbreaks

Put your package together on the VM website package builder. If you are paying more than the new customer price after introductory offers call 150, take the "I'm thinking of leaving" option and tell them about the Sky package you are considering. Just be pleasant but make it clear that if they don't come up with a discount you'll be leaving shortly (once the Sky package is in place).

If you actually make any phone calls it may work out cheaper ditching the phone line and taking Vonage. If you don't use it then just ditch it. This is especially true if you have any call features. I took the line to get cashback, a free install, and free months but I've just binned it - saving on my package was £3 reduction for no phone, £2 on callerid so Vonage UK costs me an extra £1 a month but I get callerid + other free calling features and inclusive UK geographic calls (2000mins max) for that.