Virgin Media retention deals (post your haggling successes)

DonnySaver

Me neither. I've only just negotiated a new deal too (just before the price rise announcement) so I'll be straight on the phone.

latecomer

DonnySaver wrote: »

Me neither. I've only just negotiated a new deal too (just before the price rise announcement) so I'll be straight on the phone.

If you have just negotiated a new contract you wont be affected by this - the rest of us will be once we get notification.

[Deleted User]

latecomer wrote: »

If you have just negotiated a new contract you wont be affected by this - the rest of us will be once we get notification.

Yep, according to the newsletter:-

Only those who signed up to Virgin Media after 1st August 2018 won't see their prices increase.

That'll presumably include re-contracting customers.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2018/08/virgin-price-hikes/

The_Flying_General

Finally got to talk to Retentions who were actually really helpful. Currently on an old package Fun TV, 100Mb BB & Talk weekend at £69/month after the price rise.

Offered a few deals:
1. Renew current package at £53 / 6 months then £56.5 / 6 months for 18 months, saving £172 over 12 month contract
2. Drop down to the newer Mix package at £47.50 / 6 months then £51 / 6 months for 18 months, saving £238 over 12 month contract
3. 100Mb BB only £35/month, saving £409 over 12 month contract

The big question I now have to ask is whether Virgin TV us really worth £400 a year to me when I can dip in and out of Amazon and Now TV. I would miss a few of the documentary channels and Eurosport (do good winter sports coverage) and Gold, but how much time to I actually spend watching it when I'm at work more than I'm at home. Crunch time, but at any rate doing nothing is clearly not an option! What's the thinking - would I get a much better offer if I put my notice in? I've not done it so far because my work patterns would make it difficult to contact them during normal business hours, I'd need a pretty good reason to deal with the hassle of being able to take a call at work.

Anon

The_Flying_General wrote: »

Finally got to talk to Retentions who were actually really helpful. Currently on an old package Fun TV, 100Mb BB & Talk weekend at £69/month after the price rise.

Offered a few deals:
1. Renew current package at £53 / 6 months then £56.5 / 6 months for 18 months, saving £172 over 12 month contract
2. Drop down to the newer Mix package at £47.50 / 6 months then £51 / 6 months for 18 months, saving £238 over 12 month contract
3. 100Mb BB only £35/month, saving £409 over 12 month contract

The big question I now have to ask is whether Virgin TV us really worth £400 a year to me when I can dip in and out of Amazon and Now TV. I would miss a few of the documentary channels and Eurosport (do good winter sports coverage) and Gold, but how much time to I actually spend watching it when I'm at work more than I'm at home. Crunch time, but at any rate doing nothing is clearly not an option! What's the thinking - would I get a much better offer if I put my notice in? I've not done it so far because my work patterns would make it difficult to contact them during normal business hours, I'd need a pretty good reason to deal with the hassle of being able to take a call at work.

Better deals are offered by Outbound retentions after you put in your notice then the team when you call in. Don't just threaten to leave, give notice then await a call back (make sure you have set your marketing preferences online to allow them to contact you and that you have also given them your mobile number as a contact). This has been covered extensively on here and other forums with plenty of evidence to show what is achievable (see the current discussions on HotUKDeals for example https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/virgin-media-price-increase-2018-leave-penalty-free-by-september-30th-3017287).

Rycall

I just called up to give my notice and was surprised by the offer made by the inbound retentions so accepted it, now I'm wondering if I've done the right thing.

We currently have the Full house TV package with 200MB BB and 2 of the V6 boxes but no movies or sports packages. For the last year I've been paying £62pm but my contract is up this week and when the discount I currently have runs out I'll be paying £78pm. The lady I just spoke to said she could keep everything the same and renew my deal for only £58pm which seemed like a good deal.

Now I'm thinking should I have given my notice and tried to get something better. I do have 14 days to change my mind.

den169

The_Flying_General wrote: »

Finally got to talk to Retentions who were actually really helpful. Currently on an old package Fun TV, 100Mb BB & Talk weekend at £69/month after the price rise.

Offered a few deals:
1. Renew current package at £53 / 6 months then £56.5 / 6 months for 18 months, saving £172 over 12 month contract
2. Drop down to the newer Mix package at £47.50 / 6 months then £51 / 6 months for 18 months, saving £238 over 12 month contract
3. 100Mb BB only £35/month, saving £409 over 12 month contract

The big question I now have to ask is whether Virgin TV us really worth £400 a year to me when I can dip in and out of Amazon and Now TV. I would miss a few of the documentary channels and Eurosport (do good winter sports coverage) and Gold, but how much time to I actually spend watching it when I'm at work more than I'm at home. Crunch time, but at any rate doing nothing is clearly not an option! What's the thinking - would I get a much better offer if I put my notice in? I've not done it so far because my work patterns would make it difficult to contact them during normal business hours, I'd need a pretty good reason to deal with the hassle of being able to take a call at work.

Wow iv'e been on the fun package tv 200mb evening and weekend calls for £36 a month it was £32 a month till i changed house in january they put it up to £36 but did give me a £50 credit.I'm hoping to get the letter soon so i can try and get it back to £32.

latecomer

The_Flying_General wrote: »

Finally got to talk to Retentions who were actually really helpful.



What's the thinking - would I get a much better offer if I put my notice in? I've not done it so far because my work patterns would make it difficult to contact them during normal business hours,

If you haven't put in a cancellation then you haven't spoken to retentions - they generally only speak to people who are in the process of leaving and have much more power to offer deals.



I have done this a few times and generally they will happily phone back later in the evening if you ask them to - obviuosly you need to answer the initial call but it can be very quick

The_Flying_General

Well that’s that - cancelled the lot, disconnection on 7 Oct. They tried hard to keep me, well, they said a lot about how they have the best internet and you couldn’t compare their contracts with others who were offering 18 month deals (apparently structured to appear cheaper), but other than a one off £50 credit they weren’t budging.

When I said we’d been talking to friends who had renewed on 200mb BB and Full House for less they said impossible, we don’t sell 200mb BB. The VM website I had up at the time said differently - yet more of the randomness we’ve all come to love with VM contract renewals! Given they ‘think its a shame to lose me after 10 years’, along with saying it’s the hardest retentions environment they’ve been in yet, I’m hoping that might be a sign of a call back at some point soon.

ratechaser

100mb BB and basic weekend phone package

On £42.99/month after my last deal, cancelled yesterday, retentions called today, got down to £29/month for 18 months plus a £50 credit. On a 12 month basis that's sub £25/month, which was my target so reasonably happy. Might have been able to hold out for a bit more but life's too short! All done in 10 mins.