Virgin Media Customer Services

BudgetBaby

Hello all.
I have just had the most frustrating phone call with virgin media.

I have been with them for 2 years and found my contract ended last month. I pay a whopping £35 a month for large TV and Broadband.

I am a single graduate student who has no income. Also suffering from many other things which i tried to explain to them which they completely ignored.

I wanted to see if they would offer me a better deal as certain other providers where offering deals like Sky for £20, i know there's a line rental in in there but it would still work out cheaper than what I'm currently paying.

I asked to speak to a supervisor and was put on hold for 25 minutes. When i spoke to him, i explained my situation, mentioned my loyalty to the company and asked what better deals they could offer me.
He offered to remove the TV and i would save a whole £1! They both kept banging on about setting up a direct debit which would save me £5 a month.
I had one set up when i had money coming in but now i don't.

I live in a basement so TV signal is pretty bad without cable, and i live alone so the TV is background noise.

He was able to do absolutely nothing. And wasn't exactly helpful with explaining this.

I am so angry, there are so many things going on in my life where i could save maybe £10 a month would be a weight of my shoulders.

Any suggestions? I didn't get either of their names. Are Virgin regulated by a 3rd party?

custardy

BudgetBaby wrote: »

Hello all.
I have just had the most frustrating phone call with virgin media.

I have been with them for 2 years and found my contract ended last month. I pay a whopping £35 a month for large TV and Broadband.

I am a single graduate student who has no income. Also suffering from many other things which i tried to explain to them which they completely ignored.

I wanted to see if they would offer me a better deal as certain other providers where offering deals like Sky for £20, i know there's a line rental in in there but it would still work out cheaper than what I'm currently paying.

I asked to speak to a supervisor and was put on hold for 25 minutes. When i spoke to him, i explained my situation, mentioned my loyalty to the company and asked what better deals they could offer me.
He offered to remove the TV and i would save a whole £1! They both kept banging on about setting up a direct debit which would save me £5 a month.
I had one set up when i had money coming in but now i don't.

I live in a basement so TV signal is pretty bad without cable, and i live alone so the TV is background noise.

He was able to do absolutely nothing. And wasn't exactly helpful with explaining this.

I am so angry, there are so many things going on in my life where i could save maybe £10 a month would be a weight of my shoulders.

Any suggestions? I didn't get either of their names. Are Virgin regulated by a 3rd party?

regulated for what?
you took services on at an agreed price
you can drop your cost by £5 a month for free
you are free to leave them

BudgetBaby

Fair enough, but being a customer for 2 years and having a page about special deals for existing customers on their website

They made no effort to help me.

When i meant a 3rd party, i meant like an ombudsmen.

custardy

BudgetBaby wrote: »

Fair enough, but being a customer for 2 years and having a page about special deals for existing customers on their website

They made no effort to help me.

When i meant a 3rd party, i meant like an ombudsmen.

but what is the complaint to the ombudsman?
I dont want to pay the price VM give me even though Im free to leave?
why should they make an effort? a £35 a month customer isnt exactly a high user
you have said yourself you need them due to the TV reception so maybe they know the area is like that
cancel it and see if retentions offer a better deal but I dont understand your DD issue
the bill has to be paid regardless,so why not save £60 a year?

robt_2

If the TV is just background noise why do you need the Large TV package? What speed broadband package are you on?

Widelats

Television is not an essential, is it? There are no regulators its a free market i think, energy is essential there are governing bodies, but not television, the councils don't even do aerial services on the roofs of houses.

I think all any governing body would tell you is to move out of your basement and find a flat on the land somewhere, its frustrating if your living in a basement.

penrhyn

You seemed happy with the offer you got in January.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=40024192&postcount=4

With Sky, the basic package is around £20/month with 'free' broadband, if you take the calls, however with line rental this would add up to at least £30, you may also get charged extra if you don't wish to pay by direct debit.

The free broadband, if you can get Sky LLU at your exchange, has a 2Gb download cap which represents no more than 3/4 hours worth of iPlayer use.

Mark_In_Hampshire

The funny thing is that I hear many, many people complaining about their broadband and asking why Virgin Media aren't somehow compelled to cable their street. The reason is that they're a private company and can do as they wish.

The same is true for BT, which is why they have chosen not to invest in their last mile network for nearly 30 years until last year, and it's one reason why they don't have a network suitable for TV transmission (the other being that it's basically a telephone company) - I'm sure BT would love to compete with VM on the TV service, but until they pull their finger out it's just a pipe dream.

That's why you have no alternative options. Except perhaps Sky if you can get the building owner to agree to put a dish up and Sky to agree to do it, and it's actually feasible (in many flats, it is not). For the same reasons 3G might otherwise provide a viable broadband service, coupled with a PAYG mobile phone you could save a fair bit of cash by cancelling TV phone and broadband, however the 3G broadband might not work from a basement.

If money is a concern, doesn't Radio 4 provide "background noise" - that's what I have on all day long. Our TV aerial can't even get ITV channels half the time as we're in a poor signal strength area, and I just live with that. We could afford Sky but I'd rather listen to the radio or read a book.

I don't permit direct debits on my accounts and I do understand your "DD issue"; personally on sign up if I were told it would cost me £5 to pay the bills I'd be laughing down the phone to, er, negotiate that.

penrhyn

Much better pictures on the radio.


NB The Goon Show is on at 12 on R4extra, quality!!

midgetessa

Do not agree another contract.

Keep going month to month but ring up to give notice for disconnection of services every 3 months or so (starting today). They ask why....you say you can't afford it and will use the library for internet, etc. You must also say you will not sign a new contract, simply that you cannot afford it. They will drone on about the £5 reduction for paying by dd......you will explain that you do not like dds and don't have any on your bank account. Usually they will give you a bill credit (bribe) of £30 to cover the cost of the non-dd thing. If they offer nothing (unlikely), go ahead with the disconnection notice as you have 30 days to think about it. You will likely get a call within 2 weeks then repeat the method above for the £30 bill credit and no contract.

Rinse and repeat every 3/4 months.

I've done this 3 times already this year for bb without having to sign up for another 12 months.

Mark_In_Hampshire

That sounds like a plan here. After all, of all the things they can negotiate on, that ludicrous £5 charge has to be the most obvious, since the cost for them to receive a BACS or Faster Payment credit is only a few pence.