Haggle with Virgin - our new guide 24 August 2015 at 4:03PM edited 25 August 2015 at 3:06PM in Phones & TV 386 replies 108.8K views

youreds

JJ_Egan said:

Just be aware that OR ISPs may not be able to set you up quickly depending upon work needed .

Indeed, although it shouldn't need an engineer as I've had it before, it does say a visit is required when quoting.

moneysavingmike1

Hi MSE, 
I've got an email yesterday saying Virgin wanted to increase my bill to £64.00 a month, I rang up customer services to ask for a better price, they said that was the best price possible, so I asked to leave, they put me through to the leave department who then offered me the same package for £43.00 a month! I've just saved £252 a year by making that call! I also got my mobile phone bill lowered by £4 a month at the same time saving me an additional £48 a year! Thank you! 

GTR_King

I am with virgin have ultimate Oomph Bundle £99 (£103 price increase) gonna go up next month to about £124 (Way too much money)
On there website new Customers pay £79 with free 4K TV gonna try haggle to see if i can get that offer 

There existing customer prices are a big fat joke  but can't give up Sky Sports F1 

tripleh_2

GTR_King said:

I am with virgin have ultimate Oomph Bundle £99 (£103 price increase) gonna go up next month to about £124 (Way too much money)
On there website new Customers pay £79 with free 4K TV gonna try haggle to see if i can get that offer 

There existing customer prices are a big fat joke  but can't give up Sky Sports F1 

Hi GTR, how did you get on. I spoke to them yesterday and the best offer I can get is Maxit Tv + Sky Sport, M200 broadband, Talk more anytime = £87. Not as good as the new customer deal!!

h158

I need to reduce what we are paying with Virgin, been with them 8 years so after many phone calls with them, eventually cancelled on 31 May. I’m hoping that we hear from the retentions team with an offer....any recent experiences of this, or due to lower staffing at the moment will they be doing retention calls? 

Brosgidi

h158 said:

I need to reduce what we are paying with Virgin, been with them 8 years so after many phone calls with them, eventually cancelled on 31 May. I’m hoping that we hear from the retentions team with an offer....any recent experiences of this, or due to lower staffing at the moment will they be doing retention calls? 

Im in a similar situation. Been with them for 11 years and have been able to negotiate a good deal every year my contract is up for renewal.
For some strange reason, this year, they dont seem to be interested in keeping my custom.  Its like they have a plan to shred customers. I pay £67 now, to go up to £122. They offered £93 which i rejected. Gave them the 30 days notice to cancel and the retentions were on the phone the next day. They offered £77, which I again rejected. I should have accepted that but I was going to hold out for a maximum £5 increase or a cheaper price even, which they offered last year by bringing my price down from £78 to £67.
Since then, Ive called them twice, and the two guys I have spoken to, working from home, sounded so disinterested. It was like -
 'thats the price coming up on the computer, if you dont want it, come off the phone'.
Both did not budge from £93. I tried going through the VM site chat yesterday and after a long wait, they couldnt offer better than £93 either. I feel they have a note on my account saying £93 or he can go elsewhere. 
So the point is, h158, if they havent called you by now, they might not. I suggest try calling them again and if they dont offer you anything better, start making other plans. Ive had a look around and BT can offer me cheaper but its a 24 month contract, which will probably mean Virgin lose me forever. Dont think they even care anyway.

buglawton

Brosgidi said:

h158 said:

I need to reduce what we are paying with Virgin, been with them 8 years so after many phone calls with them, eventually cancelled on 31 May. I’m hoping that we hear from the retentions team with an offer....any recent experiences of this, or due to lower staffing at the moment will they be doing retention calls? 

Im in a similar situation. Been with them for 11 years and have been able to negotiate a good deal every year my contract is up for renewal.
For some strange reason, this year, they dont seem to be interested in keeping my custom.  Its like they have a plan to shred customers. I pay £67 now, to go up to £122. They offered £93 which i rejected. Gave them the 30 days notice to cancel and the retentions were on the phone the next day. They offered £77, which I again rejected. I should have accepted that but I was going to hold out for a maximum £5 increase or a cheaper price even, which they offered last year by bringing my price down from £78 to £67.
Since then, Ive called them twice, and the two guys I have spoken to, working from home, sounded so disinterested. It was like -
 'thats the price coming up on the computer, if you dont want it, come off the phone'.
Both did not budge from £93. I tried going through the VM site chat yesterday and after a long wait, they couldnt offer better than £93 either. I feel they have a note on my account saying £93 or he can go elsewhere. 
So the point is, h158, if they havent called you by now, they might not. I suggest try calling them again and if they dont offer you anything better, start making other plans. Ive had a look around and BT can offer me cheaper but its a 24 month contract, which will probably mean Virgin lose me forever. Dont think they even care anyway.

Maybe they've been given an internal pep talk along the lines of 'customers are nervous about losing their connection and about delays going to an alternative supplier during the lockdown - time to cash in boys, bonuses all round!'

Once 5G home broadband arrives across the UK, they will be singing a different tune.

Mister_G

buglawton said:

Once 5G home broadband arrives across the UK, they will be singing a different tune.

Look like they've covered off the 5G angle

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/07/virgin-media-and-o2-owners-confirm-31bn-mega-merger-in-uk

buglawton

Yeah what a shame then for Virgin and Openreach that there will be 3 other 5G networks for consumers to choose between. Instant installation, no faff. Gaming-quality low latency. Once 5G comes onstream there will be a vast oversupply of home internet bandwidth. Happy days.

Mister_G

In towns and cities, I'm sure that there will be this choice.  However, in rural areas 5G will be very slow coming due to the cost per head.  In fact, for some rural areas, the only choice will be the current copper network for a long time to come.