Virginmedia so expensive!

melb

hi there I have just found out my OH is spending £167 a month with Virginmedia which includes phone (landline only), broadband and TV.  We do have all the Sky Sports channels and BT Sport - I am saying all the channels but basically we can see all Premier League matches and F1 plus cricket and golf which is all we require.

After spending the best part of a morning trying to speak to anyone there, including trying to cancel, we have given up.

Please could I ask if anyone has a smiliar contract and if so paying a similar amount?  We have been with them years, probably about 20 so are probably being treated like mugs.  We did have Sky previously but I am assuming if we returned to them we would have to pay to have a BT line installed.

Any advice please? I have looked on comparison sites - could we cancel contract in OHs name and take out a new one under my name in which case I would go through quidco or topcashback.

Would be very grateful for any advice or tips to try and bring the cost down - we both absolutely love watching football so it's not an option to lose those channels.

Many thanks

booneruk

I've been a Virgin Media customer for over 14 years now, and if I didn't phone up and go through the "do-me-a-discount" dance every time my contract was up I'd be paying much more than I am now!

I have phone, XL TV, Sky Sports, 350Mb/s internet and it costs me just under £80pm

The discount dance goes something like this:

1) Approaching end of contract I phone up and inform them that I've found a better deal at a competitor (usually I have been to Sky/BT etc, specced out an equivalent package and told myself that I will switch to it if I have no haggling success). I read out the particulars of the most impressive competitor deal in a tone of voice that suggests I've been completely seduced by it (well...). VM will make a discount offer after all this

2) Telling VM that I'll go away and consider their offer of a discount and get back to them. I usually invent the existence of a spouse at this point - "I better go and check with she who is in command" etc. Always good to end with a forced chuckle from the call handler I feel.

3) Phone back the next day and tell them their offer is no good, before asking to be placed through to cancellations/retentions department ("I'd like to terminate my service then please" etc)

4) Hey presto! Retentions department immediately give a better offer. I've always accepted this straight away, haven't quite had the jacobs to go through another round of the dance, since I do actually like VM and don't want new holes drilled in my house

Good luck!

PZ19

You need to ring up and say you want to cancel cos it’s too expensive.  They will offer you cheaper deal, say that’s still too expensive, want to cancel. You will then get put through to another dept where another offer will be made.  If you’re happy with that then take it, but the best prices are offered once you’ve put your cancellation in.  Remember you have 30 days to rescind your cancellation if you want to.  As an example if it’s just sport you want then the bigger bundle plus sports pack with 250mb bb my dad got for £65 last week and another forum member with 350mb got it for £66.  That’s after cancellation and their outbound retentions team calling them back less than 24 hours later.

call 150 and follow the menu to thinking of leaving us option.  If you can’t get through just sit and wait in queue, that wait will save you hundreds of pounds or possibly over a thousand in your case

melb

thanks for both your replies.  OH became impatient waiting on the phone so went on livechat which directed him to their text system (it works better as you don't need to sit on the phone  -  apparently lol!) upon which he got a message that that system is no longer working!  

When you ring up, which option do you choose?  Thanks

JSmithy45AD

melb said:

thanks for both your replies.  OH became impatient waiting on the phone so went on livechat which directed him to their text system (it works better as you don't need to sit on the phone  -  apparently lol!) upon which he got a message that that system is no longer working!  

When you ring up, which option do you choose?  Thanks

Cancellations or thinking of leaving (whatever they call it nowadays), you do have to be patient however or just carry on paying a frankly ridiculous amount of money. Have a chat before phoning up to discuss what you really need to keep rather than just keeping everything.

Have a look online at Sky and see what you would pay for an equivalent service.

You don't generally pay for a new line to be put in BTW and if you don't want a dish then they do Sky Stream (or Sky Glass if you need a new TV, although I wouldn't recommend the TV) through the broadband.

melb

hi again just thought I'd come back firstly to thank those that took the trouble to reply and also to give people hope.

Firstly I totally accept that what we were paying was ridiculous and I certainly wouldn't have been letting that go out of my account every month!

Anyway got on the phone first thing yesterday and had a most frustrating conversation with a lady from an overseas call centre - no disrespect to her she was speaking english but we just couldn't grasp what she was saying and she couldn't grasp that we wanted to cancel.  Got cut off after about 20 minutes of chat.  She rang back and then cut herself off after 5 minutes.

I rang back and got through to UK call centre who said the best he could reduce it to was £115 so we said too expensive and we want to go ahead and cancel.  Told him price we could get as new customers, not interested.  Asked us what we were going to do when our landline was cut off - told him we didn't use it much anyway.

I could tell that my OH was wavering but said just stick to it, if worse happens we can say we have changed our minds and still save £50 a month.

Got a phone call today and we are now paying just over £75 for exactly the same package!  Over the moon and just wish we had done it years ago as apparently we were out of contract in 2018 and they had actually been contacting us by email to give us cheaper options so lesson learnt by OH that not all emails are scams.

Sorry for the essay!

baser999

I simply can’t believe anyone would pay £167pm on broadband and tv 😱

PZ19

melb said:

hi again just thought I'd come back firstly to thank those that took the trouble to reply and also to give people hope.

Firstly I totally accept that what we were paying was ridiculous and I certainly wouldn't have been letting that go out of my account every month!

Anyway got on the phone first thing yesterday and had a most frustrating conversation with a lady from an overseas call centre - no disrespect to her she was speaking english but we just couldn't grasp what she was saying and she couldn't grasp that we wanted to cancel.  Got cut off after about 20 minutes of chat.  She rang back and then cut herself off after 5 minutes.

I rang back and got through to UK call centre who said the best he could reduce it to was £115 so we said too expensive and we want to go ahead and cancel.  Told him price we could get as new customers, not interested.  Asked us what we were going to do when our landline was cut off - told him we didn't use it much anyway.

I could tell that my OH was wavering but said just stick to it, if worse happens we can say we have changed our minds and still save £50 a month.

Got a phone call today and we are now paying just over £75 for exactly the same package!  Over the moon and just wish we had done it years ago as apparently we were out of contract in 2018 and they had actually been contacting us by email to give us cheaper options so lesson learnt by OH that not all emails are scams.

Sorry for the essay!

Well done, unfortunately it’s a game you have to play.  Most people don’t unfortunately like yourself in the past and pay an astronomical amount,  remember in 18 months time do the same

Cheltonyan

I've been with 'Telewest' and 'Blueyonder' since 2003 and then Virgin Media took them over in 2006 (I believe?). I've been with VM ever since. I like their 'Packages' offered as I'm a gamer (retired so time at home now) and two others have computers, mobiles etc.
BUT our monthly VM bill recently increased to £114.00 for landline (Never used), broadband and TV. 
I HATE doing this sorta stuff, but I determinedly got on my mobile.
It took me a total of nearly four hours' wait, (on WhatsApp) - various 'We're Really Busy' messages etc. But eventually got through to someone on WhatsApp and told 'em we had to leave...it was either EAT FOOD or WATCH TV/GAME...but we now CAN'T afford both!
I got offered some 'brilliant deals' but they were all on the same monthly price. REFUSED everything. JUST CAN'T AFFORD IT!!! REDUCE PRICE or we go elsewhere at approx £35 monthly new customer rate.
After another 45 mins approx, I repeated the same to Retentions - and I have to say the lady was very professional and also very understanding...once she'd checked out if I'd 'bite' at offers, and realised I wouldn't, she eventually agreed:
OUTCOME A reduction from £114.00 monthly to £51.00 monthly for 18 months, with immediate effect, and a credit for part of the next month's D/D about to be processed. 
We reduce from 'millions' of TV channels to a mere 150 or so (I told 'em was fine with that - I'd had only 3 or 4 channels for half of my life! We watch maybe 15 absolutely maximum!)
Broadband speed stays the same at 250MPS...good for one working from home occasionally and me gaming too!
I also made sure I saved the transcript of the entire conversation btw. And they followed up within the hour with emailed new contracts.
So, rather pleased with myself for that, bluntly. It really is true, as people say here: 'Keep patiently waiting! Don't give in!'
I suspect being retired helped massively - I had the time to stay in contact with them and they Knew I was waiting patiently.
But at least they've 'kept' us as customers and I'll be prepared to argue much more (and switch if necessary) in 18 months' time!