Desperate measures from Virgin Media

NikkD

I'm in the process of switching my Virgin Media landline phone to the VoIP service, Vonage.

I just had a phone call from someone at Virgin Media trying to stop me, saying that having only broadband access from Virgin will cost more than having the package with broadband and phone service, and that I will save money overall by staying with them.

Although this is clearly untrue (as I pointed out to the salesman concerned, who didn't seem to have heard of Vonage or VoIP), I'm appalled that they are so desperate to stop people switching they are now stooping to these measures. If it IS the case that they are going to be vastly more expensive if I only have broadband from them, I will consider switching back to BT's broadband service.

I'm still fuming after receiving this phone call, and wanted to alert other forum members who are also thinking of switching from Virgin's over-priced and under-specified landline phone service. I am still definitely switching to Vonage and expect to see a substantial reduction in my costs overall.

iniltous

VM basic (10Mb) stand-alone cable broadband is £22.50/month, plus what the Vonage voip service costs ( dunno but would think its around £3 to £5/month) so probably around £25 to £28 per month, is this less than what you currently pay for cable line and broadband (which will have some included calls) ?
if it is less then you could obviously save some money, but some people seem to over estimate the savings available

NikkD

Thanks for the reply. I've looked into this a bit more now.

If you have broadband and a landline phone from Virgin, they charge you less for the broadband component (around £9 less, depending on which broadband package you have). The cost of phone line rental is £13.90, so you're right, I won't save as much as I originally hoped, unless I switch broadband provider as well.

Even so, it's still well worth switching, because with Vonage you get unlimited calls to UK phone lines anytime included. With my basic Virgin subscription, all I get are free calls from Midnight Friday to Midnight Sunday.

Also, you get a lot of other services free with Vonage that Virgin charge for - Caller Display and blocking calls from callers who withhold their number, for example. As I get a lot of unsolicited sales calls, this is another reason I decided to switch.

Anyway, as I said above, I'm definitely still switching, and the attitude of the Virgin Media salesman in trying to deceive me into staying with the company for my phone service has only hardened my resolve. I've always been a fan of Virgin Media up till now, but this experience has severely dented my faith in them.

mikewal

Don't believe anything from Virgin Media unless you have it in writing.
You are not the only one being lied to...

I tried leaving Virgin Media due to price hikes. BT offered a very competitive deal.
I was then phoned by VM who offered me phone+broadband+calls all for just over £11 per month. The only catch was an 18 month contract and that I would need to phone up after 12 months to continue the low rate as their computer couldn't couldn't go that far. Too good to be true? I questioned the agent again and again, fearing a con. After 12 months, I phoned up and told that the offer was limited to 12 months and for the remaining 6 months it had gone up to just under £30 per month- there was 'nothing they could do.'
I have been conned.
They have no record of the 18 month discount.
They had no recording.
I will leave VM at the first opportunity.
BE WARNED - nothing said on the phone is worth the paper it is not written on - you can't trust what you hear.

DundeeDoll

I second that. We cancelled them last july (did it by phonethey deny getting the call) bt took over the virgin number august they blocked us getting other virgin numbers tho' didnt tell us so my 71 old mum wasnt able to get through to us they claimed bt had sent fax rescindingtransfer (they told me this on phone connected to bt box not virgin box rofl if i wasnt so fuming) theythen tried to continue charging us absolutely horrendous. To cap it all they claimed we never paid their last bill. Bank confirmed it defo went to virgin december. We got threat of bailiffs and virgin woman persuaded me to pay again cos if we really had paid theyd refund the money. Still waiting! Any advice on what to do next?

DundeeDoll

Oh yes also had virgin woman tell me we'd never written when by that time we had to complain. I got her to confirm what she just sed then asked how she account for the letter i had in my hand thanking us for contacting them. My advice to anyone dealingwith virgin is gt everything in writing and keep all copies. Unfortunately we didnt. One virgin advisor told me we should have been told to confirm in writing. Sadly we wern't

OldGreyFox

NikkD wrote: »

I won't save as much as I originally hoped, unless I switch broadband provider as well.

If you changed your broadband supplier you would need to rent a phone line as well.

Did Vonage tell you about the exorbitant amount they charge to call some non inclusive 084/087 numbers ?

Are you happy with the limited bill payment options ? and the fact they can raise a charge anytime if your bill exceeds a certain amount.
https://support.vonage.co.uk/app/answers/list/c/2,12

Inclusive calls are only to 01/02/03 numbers and are not unlimited.
http://www.vonage.co.uk/fair-usage-policy/

NikkD

Thanks for your comments. I'm not here to act as an advocate for Vonage. At the end of the day, if I don't like their service, I will look elsewhere. And yes, I do appreciate that if I switch broadband supplier from Virgin I will probably have to get my old BT line reconnected.

Re. the points you raise, I seldom call 084/087 numbers. However, a quick check showed that Vonage are cheaper than Virgin for this. According to their call plans page (I'd post a link, but apparently as a new member of this forum I'm not allowed to) for 0845 numbers they charge 4p per minute daytime (less at evenings and weekends) and a 4p connection charge per call. By contrast, Virgin Media charge 9.94p per minute most times and an 11.24p connection charge for 0845 numbers (more for other numbers).

I don't have a problem with Vonage's bill paying options - I pay Virgin by credit card anyway, so I'm quite used to this. And while it's true that there is a 'fair use' policy on calls to UK numbers, you are allowed up to 2000 minutes of free talk time every month, which is far more than I am ever likely to use.

I'm not saying that Vonage will be ideal for everyone, but having looked into it carefully, I think it will work well for me. If not, as I said above, I'll vote with my feet!

But I've been well and truly disgusted by Virgin's policy of employing high-pressure salesmen to try to strongarm customers who are planning to switch telephone suppliers, so they definitely won't be getting my telephone business back any time soon. A pity, really, as otherwise I've had excellent service from them.

Buzby

AS to your last paragraph - I have my own issues with VMs mercurial ways of dealing with customers, but where did they lie to you? They were talking about what THEY provided, and if you take multiple services you DO make savings. I have a phone line, but use Skype for outbound.

It is unrealistic to expect VM to evaluate the competition (as you appeared to do) and then say the service they provide 'would be cheaper' than those options - they would have no idea, and can only go by what THEY would charge.

NikkD

Thanks for the reply. My issue is that the VM salesman DID insist that staying with Virgin would be cheaper, despite apparently never having heard of Vonage.

He also told me that if I switched to broadband only from broadband and phone, it would actually cost me more. OK, he may have meant that OVERALL it would cost me more, but he certainly didn't make that clear. And again, knowing nothing about Vonage, how could he be so certain?

It was really the pushiness of the salesman and his willingness to make all sorts of claims about the benefits of staying with VM while knowing nothing at all about Vonage that got my goat. OK, in a court of law I probably couldn't prove that he was lying, but in my view his claims were at the very least misleading and deceptive.

Anyway, the good news is that the 'port' went through without any problem on Monday and I'm now on Vonage for my phone service. I'm already benefiting from the free Caller Display and other services that VM charge for, not to mention the free calls to most UK landlines. So I certainly have no regrets so far!

AlanUdale

Virgin is great for Broadband but forget Phone and TV and forget the offers to keep you.

A price hike is coming anyway.

I got Vonage and kept my number £3.99 month X3 then £5.99 does for me you can make up to a 4 hour call and use up to 32 hours a month FREE you have caller display recording calls and blocking calls all free.

For my TV I got an old sky dish £12 and a cheap £15 freesat receiver all channels FREE and you get free BBC iplayer and others Free.

I miss my Eden and Sky 1 but I am saving around £40 month.

I may go back to Virgin for the TV if they offer me a good broadband and tv deal as I miss my eden and sky 1.