NTL/Telewest at it again! Make the call and save some cash...

stressedoutmum

I have been with NTL for years and using this board last year negotiated half price family package for one year as I have tv, phone and BB all through NTL. They did tell me they can only apply this for 6 months at a time but they would carry it over - well they didnt and after a couple of phone calls they reinstated it as luckily I had marked it in my diary. Now my 12 months doing that is up I wonder if I can try for anything else. I currently pay £21.75 for Family Package and Standard 321 plus £17.99 for Broad Band - am billed separately for both although I dont know why so total outgoing is approx £39.74 but this will be rising to £49.74 at the end of this month when my half price family package offer finishes. Can I negotiate a new deal with them and if so what can I quote - and do you have the telephone number of the retentions department please. thanks.

Marty999

I am with NTL for the base TV and telephone package at £21.50 per month, plus 1Mb broadband at £17.99 and Talk Unlimited 24 which gives me all UK calls day and night for £14.50, total spend £53.99 per month. I did have cheap broadband for 6 months, but now that has ended I decided to re-evaluate the total package as I feel £54 per month is a lot of money.

I decided the Tiscali bundle of 1Mb broadband and all UK calls for £19.99 per month was too good a deal to turn down and made up my mind to go with Tiscali. This needs a BT phone line at £11 per month, so total spend would be £30.99 per month. I would cancel NTL and therefore lose the digital TV as well but as I don't pay for any special channels I would get a Freeview box for £30 or so.

I phoned NTL to cancel, expecting some resistance, and this is what happened. The first chap that I spoke to offered to double my broadband speed to 2Mb and also give me a £4 reduction per month, making it now £49.99, but I was not tempted by this. Then he put me through to his supervisor, explaining that she could possibly offer me a better deal. The supervisor was very pleasant and polite, and she basically asked me what I was looking for. I told her about the Tiscali/BT deal and she first of all pointed out that I would lose the digital TV. I countered this with the Freeview argument, and then she offered to keep me on the same deal as I am currently on , but for a fixed monthly cost of £31.49!! So that's me £22.50 per month better off, just for threatening to leave NTL. I was not making a hollow threat, I was genuine in wishing to change, but when she offered me this deal for 12 months I naturally accepted! So after 12 months the price will increase, but then I am free to check out my options once more.

I would recommend that all NTL customers ring up and threaten to leave, and then you may get offered a similar deal. The number I was given is 0800 052 0184. Good luck!

stressedoutmum

I just called NTL and told them myhalf price family package was about to stop .... I didnt even have to say anything else - straight away he said do you want me to put it back on for you - half price again for another year so I'm well chuffed. Probably could have got something more but the guy was so nice and I didnt have say more than ten words before he changed it. Well happy thats £120 for the year. :j

mrwibble

I've got NTL 10Mb @ 34.99 pm - no other services currently with them - anyone had any success in getting reductions ?

I'm quite a way from the local BT exchange so 512k DSL is the only alternative - anybody had any intelligent NTL reps asking for a BT phone number / post code to check DSL availability before giving out reductions ? If not then I will call and try the Madasafish offer as an alternative.

Anon

stressedoutmum wrote:

I just called NTL and told them myhalf price family package was about to stop .... I didnt even have to say anything else - straight away he said do you want me to put it back on for you - half price again for another year so I'm well chuffed. Probably could have got something more but the guy was so nice and I didnt have say more than ten words before he changed it. Well happy thats £120 for the year. :j

I currently get this (for six months) but it is about to end - did you call the normal customer services or get put through to retentions?

Many thanks

Anon

EmmaLou_3

Last year I received a leaflet through my door saying that you can get 3 for £30 - it didn't mention this was only for new customers, so I called them and asked to be put on this. They told me they couldn't give me this offer as I was already a customer. I put up a fuss and said I was thinking of leaving. The girl then told me she could give me the 3 for £27.99 - bargain!

Got a statement through recently and the bill had gone up by £10. I phoned billing thinking they had made a mistake - they said that the offer I had before was only for a year. They then said all they could offer me was half price line rental. This bought the bill down slightly. He also suggested I do the £2 for free evening and weekend calls.

I then got my next bill only to discover they hadn't discounted my line rental and also that I hadn't actually made any weekend or evening calls. I called up NTL. They then offered me it all for £32. I said I didn't want the free evening and weekend calls and would rather just pay £30, but they said that I would have to accept it like that. They did say that they would back date it to the previous month.

It will be interesting to see on my next bill if they have actually implemented these changes!

NTL are a pain! I really don't know why I stick with them! I am dreading how much I will be charged in phonecalls to them when they start the new charges. I always end up on the phone to them for ages!

mobilegossip

EmmaLou wrote:

NTL are a pain!

Not Arf !!!!!!!

knuckledragger

Time to put the squeeze on again people.

If you were one of the NTL customers who received the automated phone message a few weeks ago telling you that you'd been given the free evening and weekend calls for a month (normal price £6) then obviously now is the time to cancel otherwise they'll be adding the payment to your bill.

I rang up to do just that today, saying I just wasn't gettin the use from it. No sooner had I paused for breath, the very helpful man was offering me Talk Unlimited 24 free for 3 months!! Sounds like I'm getting something for nothing I said suspiciously. You are he replied.
Saving me a 1899 bill for the next 3 months
Just call back before the end of June if you don't want to continue. What a nice man! Did I want to complete the automated customer satisfaction survey? You bet!

Now I just need to find a freephone/geographic number for NTL CS to use in June. Surely they'll leave a backdoor in their system for when the payline breaks down...

Bonhel

Thanks for all your NTL help.
I have 3 phone lines onTalk 24 (For Business) and Digital TV Family pack with them, bills are usually £65-£75 a month. Dumping TV for Freeview... they did not make any offers on this. I asked for 3 2 1, soon to be named 3 2 0. on all 3 lines, Intending to go to an overirde provider. He offered all 3 lines still on talk24 for £20.25. £40-£50 saving a month. Coming to collect the Digi box on the 5 May, so plenty of time to look for Freeview box and may be an offer before they collect it. Number I called 0800 052 0184.

Heinz

Bonhel wrote:

Coming to collect the Digi box on the 5 May, so plenty of time to look for Freeview box and may be an offer before they collect it.

Get a timed, dated and signed receipt for the box. And hang onto it for years.