SKY VIRGIN AND BT 4 June 2022 at 12:20PM in Phones & TV 4 replies 161 views

mda99das

I am visiting my parents for 3 months, and just making sure their finances are in order. I was shocked that they are being ripped off by BT and Sky.
They have 2 landlines, from back in the day when there was dial up, one isn't needed but the sky broadband is running off that. The second is the landline that they use to receive calls and they are paying £30 for a package and then BT sports.
I have decided to take matters into my own hands to help them out.
Negotiated a much better deal with Virgin saving £60 / month
I have a gripe with BT,  there is an ongoing legal case about overcharging,

https://newsroom.bt.com/bt-statement-on-preliminary-judgment-for-court-of-appeal-case/

1) Anyone know anything about this? This may affect other people especially the elderly.
2) I have put in the cancellation to Sky this morning. BT are billing my parents for the BT sports enhanced package. I tried to sign in to cancel this with BT, but on their site it says that I cannot upgrade (I don't want to!!!) as a request for cancelling is in order. Does BT send an email or text to confirm?
3) Number migration. Right now their sky broadband is on a landline which isn't connected to a phone. Virgin have asked what number I want to port to their services, and I gave them the landline number that is currently being billed by BT. Will virgin take care of this service? I want to cease the sky line but not have it physically removed, is this done remotely?
4) Virgin use VOIP, will they connect the BT master socket that supplies the phones in the house, or is this something I have to do? The BT phone line for the landline in use goes into the basement, so the engineer will need to go down there. Its very dusty and cobwebs galore, I will provide them with FFP3 masks and gloves  and gowns if they want.
5) Found out with Virgin to use the mini boxes, you need co-axial cabling as well as ethernet. Luckily my parents have this in place, as I don't want any more drilling through the walls etc. I will be onsite and requested a preinstall visit. Do engineers go into basements and climb ladders to enter lofts, as the wiring is quite complex, but I understand it, and will be able to help / assist the engineer.

littleboo

They are not being ripped off, they are getting the services they asked for. It sounds as if some checks on their finances were long over due, particularly if it dates back to the days of dial up
In answer to you questions:
1) Its not really relevant at the moment, its a class action, if its successful, then those affected would be compensated to whatever was decided as part of the outcome
2) Not sure, have you tried the member forums?
3) If you ask Virgin to port the BT number, this will cause a cease of the landline and a cease of broadband, if they have it on that line. You would need to make sure they weren't in contract and subject to any early termination costs
4) The Virgin phone service will be accessed via a socket on the V M router, you will need to connect the house phones to this port.
5) I would be surprised if they went into lofts, particularly as the VM infrastructure is delivered at street level
Also, as they will be moving to VOIP, you need to be aware that the phone service won't work if they have a power cut, so you may need to think about mitigation if that's a concern.

iniltous

If you gave VM the BT line number , if/when they request that BT port the number to VM it will automatically cease the BT service ( generate a final bill etc ) , depending on what basis the BT Sport access is supplied , it may need to be cancelled separately ( for example some  customers who have no phone or broadband service from BT , can pay to watch BT sport on Sky , paying BT for it rather than Sky ) , if you only had a ‘upgrade’ option on the BT account , why do you think it’s been cancelled, presumably you should call to get BT Sport cancelled.
Assuming VM process the number port correctly,  you should receive a  ‘sorry to see you leave’ communication from BT , if you don’t , I would contact VM , as it could mean they have not contacted BT about the number port , and are going to provide  a ‘new’ number , and the BT service will continue ( and be billed ) ….obviously this may not be what you want.
I am not sure what you mean about ceasing  the Sky service but not having it removed, nothing is removed internally, or usually externally,  if you cancel any Openreach based service , it’s deactivated, not physically removed, some external routing could be reused by OR for other installs or repairs, but any wiring etc within the property is not to be used by VM , they should provide their own wiring etc 

southsidergs

The class action is for people who had landline only & no broadband in the house at all so is completely irrelevant in this case, it's not BT's fault if someone decided to split the broadband out elsewhere & end up paying more for a line based on that....

Neil_Jones

mda99das said:

I am visiting my parents for 3 months, and just making sure their finances are in order. I was shocked that they are being ripped off by BT and Sky.
They have 2 landlines, from back in the day when there was dial up, one isn't needed but the sky broadband is running off that. The second is the landline that they use to receive calls and they are paying £30 for a package and then BT sports.
I have decided to take matters into my own hands to help them out.
Negotiated a much better deal with Virgin saving £60 / month
I have a gripe with BT,  there is an ongoing legal case about overcharging,

https://newsroom.bt.com/bt-statement-on-preliminary-judgment-for-court-of-appeal-case/

1) Anyone know anything about this? This may affect other people especially the elderly.
2) I have put in the cancellation to Sky this morning. BT are billing my parents for the BT sports enhanced package. I tried to sign in to cancel this with BT, but on their site it says that I cannot upgrade (I don't want to!!!) as a request for cancelling is in order. Does BT send an email or text to confirm?
3) Number migration. Right now their sky broadband is on a landline which isn't connected to a phone. Virgin have asked what number I want to port to their services, and I gave them the landline number that is currently being billed by BT. Will virgin take care of this service? I want to cease the sky line but not have it physically removed, is this done remotely?
4) Virgin use VOIP, will they connect the BT master socket that supplies the phones in the house, or is this something I have to do? The BT phone line for the landline in use goes into the basement, so the engineer will need to go down there. Its very dusty and cobwebs galore, I will provide them with FFP3 masks and gloves  and gowns if they want.
5) Found out with Virgin to use the mini boxes, you need co-axial cabling as well as ethernet. Luckily my parents have this in place, as I don't want any more drilling through the walls etc. I will be onsite and requested a preinstall visit. Do engineers go into basements and climb ladders to enter lofts, as the wiring is quite complex, but I understand it, and will be able to help / assist the engineer.

And what rip-off would that be then?  I see nothing here that could even be construed as "rip-off" territory.

Perhaps you should have taken matters into your own hands a long time ago rather than just doing it because you happened to be visiting for three months.

Contrary to popular belief you do not turn "elderly" one day and find all your marbles have fallen out and you can't do anything for yourself.  If people want to pay through the nose and didn't get a deal after the previous one expired and they've paid full price for that (and they're sound of mind and all that) for all that time then that's up to them.