Virgin Media

andeyknox

6 Months ago i took out a 6 month promotional offer which was the big kahuna deal (XL TV, Tivo Box, 1 Extra V HD box & 100Mb Boradband) the bundle was 63.50 + the 17.99 phone line. The promotion was £15 off the bundle so it came to 66.49pm which i already thought was way expensive. Now after the 6 month promotion its gone up to 85pm which i knew but think is a absurd price considering some standard bundles my friends get. Once i took out the promotion 6 months ago i was told i could revert back to my old contract without a problem but apparently am now tied into this for another 6 months. The last month however, i was only credited 11 instead of the 15 from the promotion so i went onto live chat and they said its because of the 3.49 price increase that happened at the start of the month, bearing in mind i've had no email or letter with them telling me otherwise. They offered to pay 3 pound off for the next 6 months so i saved and closed the chat. I'm just wondering where i stand and what i could do i was debating just buying out my contract but that would mean waiting a 90 day cooling off period, even with checking the T&C's i cant find? ive gone on about how my friends get waaaay better deals but there adamant all their prices are the same or they are new customers. Furthermore surely if they offer a promotion of 15 off for 6 months it should be the full 15 off not 11? I'm never good with these type of situations so thanks for any responses!

andeyknox

Been a customer for over 10+ years, been on live chat and it would cost 250 to cancel with 5 months remaining. I've just read that i couldve cancelled earlier with no fees because of the price hike but im assuming its too late now? I'm quite happy cancelling and going with another provider its just that a a hassle sorting everything back out but i could get the same deals with sky and BT for way less than i am now

JJ_Egan

Within 30 days of the price rise email .

andeyknox

Like i say i never recieved an email or letter? i honestly didn't even know there was one until i was told on the Live Chat. Is there a set date when the letters were sent or were they different for everyone? Would there be a way to terminate the contract without paying fees at all? Thanks

andeyknox

Update: apparently they only sent out letters about price rise not emails, i've said ive not recieved one all they can say it sorry its been sent

victor2

Email could have gone into your spam. VM's spam filters have been all over the place over the past several months, with piles of real spam getting through so it wouldn't surprise me to see one of their own emails getting caught by it. I got my email, can't remember if I got a letter as well.
It is pretty standard for them to offer a £3 discount for 6 months to anyone who complains about the price increase (they've had two this year).
I doubt you'll get anywhere trying to convince them you were not notified. Better to stick out to the end of the contract, then find out what alternatives you have, such as BT infinity, and threaten to leave, mentioning the cheaper alternative. In my experience they then offer you a better deal to stay, on a new contract of course, but it seems to work.
I also pay the line rental 12 months in advance, which saves a bit and protects you from increases during the 12 months. Best to do that close to the contract date, so that both run out at the same time, as the advance line rental is non-refundable if you leave.

Also, get yourself a non ISP specific email address and gradually move important stuff over to it, so that you can leave VM without worrying about losing your active email address too.

andeyknox

Double checked and no email, they're adamant they ONLY sent out letters. Yeah i realised it's there word against mine and they're always gonna win.

Its extremely expensive now after the promotion has gone reckon there is anyway to get a better deal half way through my contract otherwise im genuinely debating buying the contract out and going with Sky or BT?

The thing with the promotion and it supposedly meant to being 15 discount but the last month was 11, is there anyways i get haggle them about this?

And good idea about the alternate email i'll keep that in mind thanks!

victor2

andeyknox wrote: »

The thing with the promotion and it supposedly meant to being 15 discount but the last month was 11, is there anyways i get haggle them about this?

If the discount period ends part way through the billing month, they only apply it pro-rata. The service is paid for a month in advance, with the exception of chargeable phone calls.

andeyknox

That might be why, however they stated that it was a fault on my end somehow and that they were not wrong with the billing but didnt fully explain the situation.

Im currently caught in 2 minds though i mean would anyone justify seeing it out for the 6 months at 85 or should i pay the cancellation and switch? Don't sky pay like 100 of the cancellation if you switch or is that no more? Thanks

Zeitgeist

I received a letter at the end of October and it says I can cancel my contract at any time up to the end of November.

So you could ring up saying you received such a letter (maybe you were sent one and it got lost) and therefore you would like to cancel your contract as it's now too expensive.

Always worth a go.

andeyknox

Zeitgeist wrote: »

I received a letter at the end of October and it says I can cancel my contract at any time up to the end of November.

So you could ring up saying you received such a letter (maybe you were sent one and it got lost) and therefore you would like to cancel your contract as it's now too expensive.

Always worth a go.

Reckon i could get away with saying i received one at the end of October aswell? I genuinely havn't received any form of confirmation about the price hike but obviously its my word against theirs. Only problem is if they dont believe this, which probably will happen, ill still have 6 months left on my contract with no way to haggle a better deal. Thanks