Haggle with Virgin - our new guide

Nazgul

Has anyone had good luck with Virgin Media agreeing to a lower price but without extending the contract? My 18-month is expiring soon and the offer I got was if I signed up for another 18months.

victor2

Nazgul said:

Has anyone had good luck with Virgin Media agreeing to a lower price but without extending the contract? My 18-month is expiring soon and the offer I got was if I signed up for another 18months.

I doubt very much they would do that. They want to tie you in to something for giving you a discount. You will also be subject to the annual increase, but with the option to cancel without penalty when the increase is announced. That's my experience anyway.

Aristotle67

No success for me, I am afraid. When giving notice to cancel I was offered a better price than I am paying at present, with a slightly enhanced package, but the stumbling block is that the better price includes an 02 unlimited sim for which I have no need. My mobile contract is not with Virgin/O2. I don't want two separate bills especially if one is for something I don't use. The price without the sim is £20 more. Some sort of special deal on at present, apparently.

I have given the standard 30 days notice of cancellation. If they had simply ditched the sim and left the price the same without the sim, rather than hiking it £20, I would happily have remained. 

PZ19

Aristotle67 said:

No success for me, I am afraid. When giving notice to cancel I was offered a better price than I am paying at present, with a slightly enhanced package, but the stumbling block is that the better price includes an 02 unlimited sim for which I have no need. My mobile contract is not with Virgin/O2. I don't want two separate bills especially if one is for something I don't use. The price without the sim is £20 more. Some sort of special deal on at present, apparently.

I have given the standard 30 days notice of cancellation. If they had simply ditched the sim and left the price the same without the sim, rather than hiking it £20, I would happily have remained. 

Wait till they call back and see what they offer.  If what they offer is at a total price you like and it includes an O2 sim, just leave the O2 sim in a drawer!  You don’t have to actually use it!

Aristotle67

PZ19 said:

Wait till they call back and see what they offer.  If what they offer is at a total price you like and it includes an O2 sim, just leave the O2 sim in a drawer!  You don’t have to actually use it!

Thanks for that.

All sorted. Having started the cancellation process they called me and offered me the package I was hoping for, without the sim, for less than I am paying at present and less than I was quoted initially. Very happy with the outcome. It just emphasises what we know; haggle, don't accept an offer you are not happy with and be prepared to vote with your feet.

Re the SIM; if it wasn't for the fact that the SIM would have been billed separately by O2, unlike before, I would indeed have taken it and not used it. Probably sounds petty of me but I didn't want a separate bill for a SIM I would not use and have two contracts to deal with when renewal arose in eighteen months time.

PZ19

Aristotle67 said:

PZ19 said:

Wait till they call back and see what they offer.  If what they offer is at a total price you like and it includes an O2 sim, just leave the O2 sim in a drawer!  You don’t have to actually use it!

Thanks for that.

All sorted. Having started the cancellation process they called me and offered me the package I was hoping for, without the sim, for less than I am paying at present and less than I was quoted initially. Very happy with the outcome. It just emphasises what we know; haggle, don't accept an offer you are not happy with and be prepared to vote with your feet.

Re the SIM; if it wasn't for the fact that the SIM would have been billed separately by O2, unlike before, I would indeed have taken it and not used it. Probably sounds petty of me but I didn't want a separate bill for a SIM I would not use and have two contracts to deal with when renewal arose in eighteen months time.

Good stuff..well done

Nazgul

Aristotle67 said:

PZ19 said:

Wait till they call back and see what they offer.  If what they offer is at a total price you like and it includes an O2 sim, just leave the O2 sim in a drawer!  You don’t have to actually use it!

Thanks for that.

All sorted. Having started the cancellation process they called me and offered me the package I was hoping for, without the sim, for less than I am paying at present and less than I was quoted initially. Very happy with the outcome. It just emphasises what we know; haggle, don't accept an offer you are not happy with and be prepared to vote with your feet.

Re the SIM; if it wasn't for the fact that the SIM would have been billed separately by O2, unlike before, I would indeed have taken it and not used it. Probably sounds petty of me but I didn't want a separate bill for a SIM I would not use and have two contracts to deal with when renewal arose in eighteen months time.

What are the steps in this process and and at which point do they call you? If they don’t call you, are you cut off?

Esmondo

realcountryman said:

Haggling with Virgin Media via its chat system takes much patience. First you have to negotiate past the bot - which will try to force you into other methods of contact - and then past the first customer service human who will put you though onerous security questions. Then when advisor 1 has stopped trying to sign you to a contract at much more than the existing you eventually get a retentions advisor who repeats the process including security.
You have to convince the retentions person you can't afford the high monthly charges, and resist the urge to take the first, second or even third offer. My bills were £48/month (because I'd let my contract elapse) and I eventually talked it down to £19. Virgin won't tell you there's a 'Fibre 50' tariff until all hope is gone for getting your agreement to a slightly reduced cost higher speed tariff. (It's worth checking your actual speed with Ookla. My previous download speed was only ever around 12 mbps so whether on a 50 or 100 speed tariff the reality is far short)
My whole experience (not counting two previous failed attempts) was just short of 2 hours, despite the advisor seeking a resolution so he could go on his break. Often 5 minutes elapse before you see the advisor is typing again. I imagine many will run out of time and patience, so be prepared for a long and frustrating battle.
Keep it polite and throw in some personal friendliness for good measure. In the daytime at least you'll be talking to an overseas call centre. After 6 it seems to switch to UK but you only have until 8 to seal the deal.
Good luck. 

Hi, you mention in this post that you can see the adviser typing - I remember I haggled in web chat last year (much easier to get on with other things while waiting that way) but can’t find it this time. Where did you go to use this function please? 😊

Bigphil1474

I've only been able to use the Chat function on Virgin if I'm not logged into My Virgin i.e. just go onto the Virgin website and the chat should be there. Presumably they don't want existing customers using it, but I always use it as the account is in my OH's name and she doesn't really like sorting out the contract stuff. Opens about 8:30am I think

_Baz_

Very quick call today at 1.30pm to haggle for a better deal. I called 0345 454 1111, then options 1, 1, 4, 4. After giving security info there was NO WAIT TIME to talk to the first agent.

Current package went out of contract a few months ago at £54.75 and increased to £92.75.

• 200 Mb broadband
• MaxIT TV (including BT Sport)
• Talk Weekends

Shell Energy are showing up at the top of the MSE Broadband deal list with 70Mb broadband for effective £13 pre month and then I could add Entertainment NowTV for an extra £10 per month going direct to NowTV.  I'm a Shell Energy customer for gas/electric and upon log in to get the best deal that also came out at £23 per month inclusive of NowTV.

This is what I said to the agent:

I said that my energy company is offering £23 inc. NowTV. Said cost of living means I need to cut back, agent said their broadband and TV is much less than I have now and I said I need to make sacrifices in these times.

First offered £69 per month, which I rejected. Then left on hold for a few minutes.

At 11 mins into the call I was then transferred to retentions to an agent evidently based in the UK, given his northern accent.

Retentions offered £58 per month on a like for like basis, or £50 for broadband only.

I said still it's still about the price, I have to cut back.

At 21 minutes into the call, the same agent offered an extra tenner off making £48 per month. They are using the 14 day cooling off period to say that if you need to ask your partner then can still cancel within 14 days. So if I wanted to not take the offer then I'd prob say I don't want hassle of cancelling if she hadn't wanted me to take the deal. The agent then also offered 100Mb at £34 per month without TV.

If I'd still gone ahead with cancellation I might have got a better deal with a callback from retentions before the notice period finished, but for £48 per month and only 34 minutes on the call I was happy to hang up my haggling hat for now!