Virgin price rise phone call, leave without penalty, 1 hr 13 mins, 5 different advisors, no progress

matelodave

FindMyWayBack said:

matelodave said:

It will all come down to what is in the specific contract T7C's made between you and Virgin, not what's in the contract between Virgin and anyone else.

Suppliers have been varying their contracts in some subtle (and not so subtle) ways over the past couple of years, therefore you need to sort out the documents that refer to your contract at the time that you agreed it.

Some suppliers have several sets of contract conditions which are relevant to the specific date that the contract was taken out - just one day either side can make quite a substantial difference to the T&C's.

Its always a good idea to download the T & C's at the time you agree your contract as it often difficult to try and find those that have been superseded.

So you are saying Martin could be wrong, well that is interesting. I have read all my contracts and subsequent ones online in my account area, phone and broadband (all I have) ends July. Martin on here says people can leave and this is the last time they can due to price rises, I suppose he could be wrong....

the only people who know what is in your contract with VM is you and VM, not Martin or anyone else.  We all may have an opinion, even Martin but it's what's in your contract that counts.

FindMyWayBack

Within your minimum contract term? In most cases, you CAN'T cancel penalty-free

If you're in contract – meaning you actively signed up to a new tariff within the last year or possibly two (do check) – the price rise will likely be part of that contract. In most cases this means you won't be able to cancel penalty-free.

The two main exceptions are:

• Sky broadband and home phone – price hikes on these packages aren't written into contracts, so you can leave within 30 days of being notified about the increases without having to pay early termination fees. However, this is NOT the case for Sky TV packages. See our Sky prices hikes story for full info.
  
  

Virgin Media broadband, home phone and TV – Virgin's price hikes for this year were not written into contracts, so you can leave penalty-free. See our Virgin Media price hikes story for full info.

So there it is, just as I thought. I will not let this lie.

dil1976

FindMyWayBack said:

Thanks I am aware of that, but as per my post, none of the staff are aware of anyone being able to leave penalty free upon the increase, one even said I wasn't getting an increase, and another said my increase is April 1st.... who knows? They clearly don't !

That's because you haven't been officially told yet. read the article in full rather than reading the sections you want to read and its quite clear when you will be able to cancel.

FindMyWayBack

That was only part of my post, several operators were unaware of the price increase, unaware that people can leave mid contract and one even said I wouldn't get the email. That specific thing you have circled I do agree with though....

dil1976

FindMyWayBack said:

That was only part of my post, several operators were unaware of the price increase, unaware that people can leave mid contract and one even said I wouldn't get the email. That specific thing you have circled I do agree with though....

They wont know about it as it wont be on your file yet which is what they work off.

FindMyWayBack

I suppose I expect people to be trained and have knowledge of the organisation if they work on phone..... must be 'my bad' as the kids say, ta for your comments

dil1976

FindMyWayBack said:

I suppose I expect people to be trained and have knowledge of the organisation if they work on phone..... must be 'my bad' as the kids say, ta for your comments

Why would they know the ins and outs of everyones file? Everyone is unique as soon as you receive you letter then you can cancel, not that difficult to understand is it? Or is that typical of the "I want it now generation"

FindMyWayBack

Are you seriously telling me that call handlers should not be expected to know that the company they work for is putting up the prices? I am not part of the 'I want it now' generation, I am part of the 'people were trained and efficient' generation, anyway have had enough now, won't be coming back to this, you are like a dog with bone....I shall wish you good woof, ahem....good night.

Neil_Jones

FindMyWayBack said:

Are you seriously telling me that call handlers should not be expected to know that the company they work for is putting up the prices? I am not part of the 'I want it now' generation, I am part of the 'people were trained and efficient' generation, anyway have had enough now, won't be coming back to this, you are like a dog with bone....I shall wish you good woof, ahem....good night.

Knowing what the company wants to do, what the company does do and what the company should do are three entirely different things.  The bigger the company usually the worse the internal communication is.  By the time you get to front line staff you're lucky if you hear anything at all sometimes.

Anyway call handlers are often the last to know about anything and as above, can only go on what they can see.  Which is probably the bare minimum they need in their flak taking duties.

iniltous

Often , when the ‘letter’ arrives advising you of the price increase , and if as MSE suggest, VM never built in the annual price increase into the T&C’s when customers renewed in the last year or two, , as well as having 30 days to reject the change in the terms ( something those affected by annual increases that are written into the terms and conditions don’t have the option to do ) it can have a specific number to call , not necessarily the usual customer service number…the reps on this number should ( obviously ) be aware of the letter , the option to reject the change in terms and be able to process the penalty free cancellation, or more likely be able to offer a retention deal to try to stop you leaving.
In the OP case , although it does seem odd all employees  wouldn’t know of the forthcoming price increases, the fact is , they haven’t yet received notification of any price increase , so it’s premature to reject the increase ( it hasn’t happened yet ) and leave penalty free, they need to wait until the notification actually happens, no doubt there will be instructions on the letter , if it is correct that a penalty free option to leave exists .