Virgin Media retention deals (post your haggling successes)

leew

JasperAlex said:

Great haggling today. Called up retentions about my £3.25 price increase and they offered to increase the price even more by £8 on a new 18 month contract. Lovely stuff. Have now cancelled. 

Wow that's goof of them! I hope they are a bit more generous when I ring them again - in fact I'm hoping to get the automated discount message that i got the first time i rang. 

beelox999

How long is it taking for people to get details of their newly negotiated deals? It's been two days since I spoke with retentions and agreed my new seal but got nothing in writing and my package details online not changed and the 2nd box I agreed to drop is still working? 

victor2

beelox999 said:

How long is it taking for people to get details of their newly negotiated deals? It's been two days since I spoke with retentions and agreed my new seal but got nothing in writing and my package details online not changed and the 2nd box I agreed to drop is still working? 

Go my email confirmation and new contract the same day. It also showed in my online account at the same time.

Phone them up and ask if you haven't heard yet. Their new website should show pending changes already agreed as well.

JasperAlex

leew said:

JasperAlex said:

Great haggling today. Called up retentions about my £3.25 price increase and they offered to increase the price even more by £8 on a new 18 month contract. Lovely stuff. Have now cancelled. 

Wow that's goof of them! I hope they are a bit more generous when I ring them again - in fact I'm hoping to get the automated discount message that i got the first time i rang. 

Called up 3 times yesterday due to being cut off and never got the automated discount message. 

After cancelling yesterday, outbounds retention called this morning again offering a new contract price which is more than what I'm paying now plus the price increase even though my contract still has nearly a year to go. Really at my wit's end with these lot. 

Has anyone had multiple calls from retentions after rejecting the first offer?

Aylesbury_Duck

Spoke to them yesterday because my current discount deal £11 p.m. off) happens to end in March, the same time as a £3.25 p.m. price rise.  I'd be going from £34 p.m. to £48.25 p.m. for M50 and weekend calls.  Told them I couldn't justify that when I can get BT broadband only at similar speed for £29 and Sky for £25.  I can't drop speed any more because there are often 3 or 4 of us working from home, but I don't need the landline.  After some initial discussion I got put through to retentions.  Had to wait 25 mins on hold but the chap there was very helpful.  They got it down to £36 p.m. for 18 months of the same services with a promise not to implement the March rise or any other rise before July 2023.  Still more than I could be paying for BT or Sky for broadband only but I'm not sure my old BT line is active (I've never used it since owning this house) and don't want to risk the hassle of a problematic switch for the sake of a few pounds a month.

I told my son to call to haggle.  He has M100 broadband only, which was going up from to £46 p.m.  He got upgraded to M200 and a new monthly cost of £28.  Should have got him to call for me...

I've got my contract through this morning, but there's nothing about the promise not to implement any price rises.  I could call them but then again, if they introduce a rise in March next year, it gives me an early exit opportunity if there are better deals around.

Aylesbury_Duck

JasperAlex said:

leew said:

JasperAlex said:

Great haggling today. Called up retentions about my £3.25 price increase and they offered to increase the price even more by £8 on a new 18 month contract. Lovely stuff. Have now cancelled. 

Wow that's goof of them! I hope they are a bit more generous when I ring them again - in fact I'm hoping to get the automated discount message that i got the first time i rang. 

Called up 3 times yesterday due to being cut off and never got the automated discount message. 

After cancelling yesterday, outbounds retention called this morning again offering a new contract price which is more than what I'm paying now plus the price increase even though my contract still has nearly a year to go. Really at my wit's end with these lot. 

Has anyone had multiple calls from retentions after rejecting the first offer?

Just see the cancellation through and go elsewhere.  Then you can come back as a new customer at some point (I think it might be 90 days?) on a preferable rate.

Aylesbury_Duck

beelox999 said:

How long is it taking for people to get details of their newly negotiated deals? It's been two days since I spoke with retentions and agreed my new seal but got nothing in writing and my package details online not changed and the 2nd box I agreed to drop is still working? 

Agreed by phone at 4.30pm yesterday, email with new contract received at 7am today.

victor2

Aylesbury_Duck said:

...

I've got my contract through this morning, but there's nothing about the promise not to implement any price rises.  I could call them but then again, if they introduce a rise in March next year, it gives me an early exit opportunity if there are better deals around.

I got a new 18 month contract 9 months ago, with a verbal promise of no price increases during the contract. Then the March increase came along. VM said the original advisor made a mistake and they wouldn't honour what he'd supposedly said, even if I got them to review a recording of it. Gave my notice and retentions called me back with an improved 18 month deal, with no price increase this year, but no guarantee that there won't be an increase next year.

Aylesbury_Duck

victor2 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

...

I've got my contract through this morning, but there's nothing about the promise not to implement any price rises.  I could call them but then again, if they introduce a rise in March next year, it gives me an early exit opportunity if there are better deals around.

I got a new 18 month contract 9 months ago, with a verbal promise of no price increases during the contract. Then the March increase came along. VM said the original advisor made a mistake and they wouldn't honour what he'd supposedly said, even if I got them to review a recording of it. Gave my notice and retentions called me back with an improved 18 month deal, with no price increase this year, but no guarantee that there won't be an increase next year.

Thanks, that's interesting.  I will call them and ask where the term is in the new contract and see what they say.  I'm in the 14 day cooling-off period so could cancel if they can't commit to what was verbally agreed.   As you point out, at least if another rise does appear in the next 18 months, I have an exit or renegotiation point.

Edited to add:  I rang them.  As your experience suggested, they can't fully meet the promise they made verbally.  I'm protected from this year's price rise but they reserve the right to increase the price next March/April.  I'll only be 3-4 months from the end of my current deal anyway, and it's another opportunity to renegotiate or leave for a better deal elsewhere.  Bit naughty of their advisors to make promises they know they might not keep, though.

beelox999

beelox999 said:

How long is it taking for people to get details of their newly negotiated deals? It's been two days since I spoke with retentions and agreed my new seal but got nothing in writing and my package details online not changed and the 2nd box I agreed to drop is still working? 

finally got new contract through after speaking to the retentions guy who put it through - though this is where the fun started, they disconnected the wrong box! took down my living room V6 instead of the Bedroom- despite them confirming serial numbers etc...took another couple of calls to the retentions guy but fingers crossed its sorted now!