Virgin Media

timlyon

I have been a Virgin Media customer for a while now, however I'm unable to get the same deals as new customers. Can I cancel my account and get my wife to open a new one as a new customer?

geordiejon

if you cancel your account you will most likely get a call with a new deal.
i believe although not sure but the account is linked to your house so i doubt if your wife would be treated as a new customer.

JSmithy45AD

No, if it was that easy everyone would do it. You can cancel and get Sky (say) and then cancel that in 18 months and go back to VM on a new customer deal however.

Ildiko

Hello - i think it is best if you have a look at other options, just so you are prepared, and then tell Virgin you want to leave. They will ask, what would you be prepared to pay, and you can tell them what other offers are out there for a similar package - just for a benchmark. In the first instance they will give you some discount, but don't accept that. Just say you would want to leave as it is not matching the best offer with an other company. They will put you trough to another department, for 'cancellation', and they will once again give you an offer, better than the first one. If you find it reasonable, you can accept it, but i chose to say i want to go anyway, and was giving my one month notice. They noted that, and after couple of days i had a call from Virgin 'Outbound calls department' with the best offer yet, but i did not accept it, because considering their annual price increase they have in contract, i would have been probably slightly worse off than with another company. 
Within a week of cancelling, i have had a text message from them, (missed some calls i think) having their fourth and i believe final offer, which beat everything that was on the market, and was the best even considering their annual increase. 

It is up to you how far are you comfortable to push it, but if you are comfortable with the possibility that you may switch to another, you can push them right to the limit. 

Using the above sequence i have reduced my £52/month (at the end of my contract, this was what they were offering) to a £16/month one - same package. 

Good luck!

moneytroll

Ildiko said:

Hello - i think it is best if you have a look at other options, just so you are prepared, and then tell Virgin you want to leave. They will ask, what would you be prepared to pay, and you can tell them what other offers are out there for a similar package - just for a benchmark. In the first instance they will give you some discount, but don't accept that. Just say you would want to leave as it is not matching the best offer with an other company. They will put you trough to another department, for 'cancellation', and they will once again give you an offer, better than the first one. If you find it reasonable, you can accept it, but i chose to say i want to go anyway, and was giving my one month notice. They noted that, and after couple of days i had a call from Virgin 'Outbound calls department' with the best offer yet, but i did not accept it, because considering their annual price increase they have in contract, i would have been probably slightly worse off than with another company. 
Within a week of cancelling, i have had a text message from them, (missed some calls i think) having their fourth and i believe final offer, which beat everything that was on the market, and was the best even considering their annual increase. 

It is up to you how far are you comfortable to push it, but if you are comfortable with the possibility that you may switch to another, you can push them right to the limit. 

Using the above sequence i have reduced my £52/month (at the end of my contract, this was what they were offering) to a £16/month one - same package. 

Good luck!

Were you not worried being left without any broadband if they didn’t come back to you? I did this today. And the best I got was £32 per month (down from about £53). I didn’t know one can push them as far as that.
i find it ridiculous that they don’t just give best price to existing customers anyway. And that they give better prices to new customers.

Bigphil1474

That's how they all work. They'll get loads of people saying 'give me a great deal or I'll leave' - how many would actually leave is probably quite small. So they work on the assumption that you don't really want the hassle and offer you a small discount. Those that are willing to leave or willing to go the distance will get the best offers (usually).

In a way it's quite a funny game we have to play every 18 months, but would be much easier if they just offered a decent renewal price in the first place. If they did that however, they wouldn't be able to fleece the people who are too lazy, or unable, to negotiate a more favourable new contract. Sad really.

PixelPound

geordiejon said:

if you cancel your account you will most likely get a call with a new deal.
i believe although not sure but the account is linked to your house so i doubt if your wife would be treated as a new customer.

A contract is with a person, not a house. So long as the new contract starts after the other has ended (e.g. the next day) then the old contract would have no bearing. After all what would happen if you were selling your house and whoever moved in wanted Virgin - sorry you can't have it as the previous person had it. Or if a couple split up but the non-virgin customer is staying in the house and wants to use virgin.