Any advice on Virgin Media packages for the elderly?

BigTezza

I manage my Mum's VM account as she's 90 years old and doesn't use the internet, thank God.

Until recently, she had a very basic set-up which was

Tivo DVR
The basic channel package i.e. same as Freeview really
A landline for incoming calls only.

That was costing her £30pm.

It was only by chance that I found out her contract had expired recently. Neither of us received any notification of it.

VM have now insisted that I swap out her DVR for a v360 box, which I did over the weekend.

Now I've come to try and negotiate a new contract for her and the prices I'm being quoted are mental. I keep stressing to the agents on calls and web chats that although the new DVR may demand internet, Mum doesn't use the Web directly, so offering higher bandwidth is pointless. Similar with deals involving O2 SIMs and huge data allowances - she doesn't use a smartphone and is with Lebara anyway. However, these details seem to be off-script and my requirements keep getting ignored.

On the most recent web chat, the prices for a pretty basic package started off at £56pm (£26pm more than she was recently paying), before dropping to £47 and finally to £39.

I may be daft but I still think that nearly £10pm more for a landline and a DVR offering Freeview channels is a bit steep for someone on a state pension. She doesn't get Pension Credit and I presume that's because of a (very) small pension she gets from my late Father's employment. Therefore, as far as I can tell, this nadges any hope of a social tariff.

Has anyone had any success sorting out a fair VM package for an elderly relative??

BigTezza

PS. I tried to post this on the VM Community Forum but my browser protection jumps in and blocks access to their login page because of a security certificate issue. Class.

Ayr_Rage

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011114#Comment_82011114

VM Community has been undergoing reconstruction for months and now has expired security issue, no idea when it'll be back.

Deals for all ISPs/Media are becoming harder to come by, £39 is reasonable.

QrizB

Would a minimal phone & broadband package (so no Virgin TV service) plus a one-off purchase of a Freely box be an option?

https://www.freely.co.uk/products/streaming-devices/manhattan-aero-4k-tv-streamer

BigTezza

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011181#Comment_82011181

Possibly. Her TV has Freeview and I'm looking at Freeview DVRs and 'standalone' landline deals as we speak.

Bigphil1474

Personally I would avoid VM for elderly relatives who aren't on the ball. They do some great packages IME, but you do need to be good at doing the dance every 18 months/2 years. My dad was with VM for years and was paying over the odds until he asked me to take a look. He only had phone and basic cabled TV and his bill was halved when I got broadband and a better TV package added for him. After that, I did everything online so he didn't have to worry about any renewals.