Keeping you up to speed

As soon as you phone to cancel they'll start talking discounts, albeit generally modest discounts and with a new 18 month lock in starting.  Or if you do cancel then during your 30 days notice they'll start calling you with the potential for serious discounts (the sort of deals they offer new customers).

If you decide to stay, then check you're happy with the change to terms and conditions that set next year's price rise at RPI + 4%, and because those terms will then be written in the conditions then come next April you won't be able to leave or renegotiate until your fixed term ends.  Moreover that is applied to the undiscounted price, so customers on good deals see much higher prices than the headline level announced.  As a guide, if you negotiate a deal around new customer discount level now, then next April it'll likely go up by 20% or so, that'll you'll have to take.

Or maybe consider Sky.  Price increase this year is significantly lower than VM, and I believe that (unlike VM) they haven't baked a mongo price rise into their broadband package contracts, so if they do increase prices next year you'd have the option to leave or negotiate.

Hi there brads 

We always balance our prices with the need to continue investing in our network, products and services.
 

1. Like many businesses, we’re experiencing rising costs due to inflation. We are not immune to rising costs, primarily due to wider economic changes from rising inflation.
    
2. We’re seeing growing demand for data – with usage growing by more than 10% each year. Last year, we invested more than £2bn in our networks, which contributed to average broadband speeds increasing more than 40%, while helping to make sure our customers stayed connected and were able to keep using our services more and more.

PRICE RISES.

The price rise is based on current inflation, but what happens if inflation then reduces, will there then be a price reduction, I doubt it.

It would be better if all prices were fixed, some get better deals by negotiating or threatening to leave while other still pay the full package price, that is unfair and new customers get a better deal, so that encourage switching supplier, but in my area the  choice is VM  or the slower 10mb ADLS.

My bill will go up to  an estimated annual £1117 which is a big chunk out of my state pension when, also expecting energy and council tax increases as well as the food price  and petrol rises.

The VM service is good and these days everyone needs a broadband connection, but not sure if mobile broadband is any good or  hybrid systems  that use cable and mobile.

I think many will review their option depending on the actual rise and I have stayed on a monthly rolling contract to avoid exit costs if moving house, and the exit costs can be hundreds of pounds which is also unfair to have to pay for a period after termination when you are no longer using the service.

The cheapest option will be the popular one.

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webster74 wrote:

Having just received a message informing me of a 12% price increase from April can anyone please inform me of how I can actually speak to someone at Virgin about this.  The  website help services just send you round in circles and I can’t find a phone number.  Pay enough for the product with quite frankly the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life.

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Renegotiate by using the "leaving Virgin" option on the telephone (150 on cable phone OR 0345 454 1111 from other phones at local call rate) not standard customer services. You should get new customer pricing or near or sometimes even better. Be polite to VM retentions and explain what you are not happy about and the changes you want to make (you may decide your current BB speed isn't being utilised for example or want to reduce TV channels or reduce one service and add to another).

• Existing customers are cheaper than new as no free gifts (TV's Xbox Cashback as examples depending on the marketing for any given month), no need for VM to pay return postage for kit, no need to refurbish kit, no need to pay cashback to referral sites like quidco/topcashback.
• There has to be a benefit to a customer like a discount because they are being locked into an 18 month contract again
• Know your market prices for other providers Broadband, for example FTTC on NOWTV is 12 month or monthly only contact at £22. If you just want broadband only its going to easier than someone who wants landline and TV
• Consider whether you need a lock in contract for TV services. Does VM's STREAM box offer the channels you want (its Freeview part is free) and can you go without recording facility and just use catch up players or have another device that does recording off Freeview (aerial) for example? Stream's Sky subscriptions channels is only £8 per month and a 30 day notice contract. You also get 10% back on many subscriptions like Netflix, Disney etc.
• Ofcom rules mean you can currently exit your contract without penalty, as long as you do this within 30 days of being notified by VM; wait 3 months and be classed as a new customer and get new customer offers. Alternatively, many people on here sign up the next day in their partner's name.
• Be prepared to give 30 days notice if the result isn't what you want, this gives you time to arrange BB installation by someone else and you can ring back in to cancel the cancel if you change your mind. During this time you **may** get a call from 2nd level retentions with a better offer. It's not guaranteed and they won't if you have marketing disabled in My Virgin Media under My Profile.
• Despite annual price rises at ridiculous rates, new customer offers have been static for years (like Ultimate package hovers around £79-£85 often and sometimes with cashback or free gifts like a TV as just one example)

Cancel services NOT using a phone:

See

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/leaving

The address is on there so you can just pop a recorded delivery letter into you local Post Office if you don't want to phone.

Write to Virgin Media, Sunderland, SR43 4AA, including your name, address and account number.

If it's because of the 2023 price increase AND you are in contract, then mention you are using the Ofcom rule on contract exit without penalty because of price rise and ensure its received by them before 30 days of the dated letter or email sent by VM.

The forum staff can't process cancellations on here.

Renegotiate by using the "leaving Virgin" option on the telephone not standard customer services. You should get new customer pricing or near or sometimes even better. Be polite to VM retentions and explain what you are not happy about and the changes you want to make (you may decide your current BB speed isn't being utilised for example or want to reduce TV channels or reduce one service and add to another).

• Existing customers are cheaper than new as no free gifts (TV's Xbox Cashback as examples depending on the marketing for any given month), no need for VM to pay return postage for kit, no need to refurbish kit, no need to pay cashback to referral sites like quidco/topcashback.
• There has to be a benefit to a customer like a discount because they are being locked into an 18 month contract again
• Know your market prices for other providers Broadband, for example FTTC on NOWTV is 12 month or monthly only contact at £22. If you just want broadband only its going to easier than someone who wants landline and TV
• Consider whether you need a lock in contract for TV services. Does VM's STREAM box offer the channels you want (its Freeview part is free) and can you go without recording facility and just use catch up players or have another device that does recording off Freeview (aerial) for example? Stream's Sky subscriptions channels is only £8 per month and a 30 day notice contract. You also get 10% back on many subscriptions like Netflix, Disney etc.
• Ofcom rules mean you can currently exit your contract without penalty, as long as you do this within 30 days of being notified by VM; wait 3 months and be classed as a new customer and get new customer offers. Alternatively, many people on here sign up the next day in their partner's name.
• Be prepared to give 30 days notice if the result isn't what you want, this gives you time to arrange BB installation by someone else and you can ring back in to cancel the cancel if you change your mind. During this time you **may** get a call from 2nd level retentions with a better offer. It's not guaranteed and they won't if you have marketing disabled in My Virgin Media under My Profile.
• Despite annual price rises at ridiculous rates, new customer offers have been static for years (like Ultimate package hovers around £79-£85 often and sometimes with cashback or free gifts like a TV as just one example)

Hi Gds2,

Thanks for posting this on our forums, I am sorry you may struggle with the increased price. 

I can see unisoft has already given some really helpful information which I would highly recommend reading through. 

If you need to speak to us about reducing your price, you can call our team on 0345 454 1111 option 1, 4 then 2 to chat with our downgrades team, they will go through what options are available to you. 

Thanks,

Megan_L

they increase based on the total figure

so £50 an increase of £7 is about 13%

Personnally I cant wait for my price increase letter, Ive been waiting nearly a year for them to fix the netflix issue so its a good way of getting out my contract and binning VM early

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doogs1 wrote:

Can someone please help.

I currently have broadband only at a discounted price of £30 per month from 18 June 2022 for 18 months, which will then go to £50 per month.

I have just received an email saying that my package will increase by £7 per month from 1 May 2023. This amounts to an increase of 23.3% (on £30). However, I've checked my contract and it states that prices can increase by the RPI in February + 3.9%. February RPI has not been published by the Government's ONS division yet (its due on 22 March).

So, unless Virgin Media has a crystal ball, can you please explain to me where this increase comes from, in accordance with our contract?

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Is that an O2 contract term? I'm not aware any VM contract has the RPI + 3.9% formula in place until 2024. Contracts next year won't be able to get out price increase using Ofcom's rule from then as VM changing the T&C's on contracts to be RPI + 3.9% from then...