Forum Discussion

Trev1972's avatar
Trev1972
Dialled in
5 months ago

Renewing contract, impossible to get pricing without phoning?

Hey all

I am out of contract, i want to see renewal pricing so that i can compare it to sky etc.

What i do not want to do is have to call virgin and make a decision there and then on the phone.

However, clicking on any link whatsoever regarding changing my package, renewing my package or exploring deals on my package results in an error screen telling me 'call our lovely chat team'

Is this a deliberate policy to stop existing customers seeing any pricing and to force us to call? or is it just me with this issue?

Thanks.

  • Hi Trev1972

    We're sorry to hear you've been unable to view the packages online. 

    Could you please send us a screenshot of the error you're receiving?

    Could you also try opening this using a different browser if possible. 

    Please also clear any cookies and cache prior. 

    Please pop back to us when you can. 

      • Vikki_M's avatar
        Vikki_M
        Forum Team

        Thank you for the screenshot. 

        Please do select the 'chat to us now' option to speak to a member of the team. To clarify, you don't need to call, you can chat online there. They can do a full package review with you :).

        If you have any further questions, please pop back to us and we'd be happy to help. 

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta

    Yes, it's a deliberate policy to force you to engage with a sales agent who will try to upsell you a bigger/more expensive package. The message to 'call the team' is often an alternative to the ever-unpopular 'oops something's gone wrong' message.

    In all likelihood though, any generic renewal offer you get from VM is unlikely to be very good value. In addition we have seen endless topics on here recently where a renewal offer claiming to keep everything 'the same' as part of a generic renewal offer turns out to be completely untrue and some services are missing from the renewed package (which forces the customer to ring up anyway).

    If you wish to renew with VM, the unfortunate truth is that you are likely to be best off phoning up and having the painful renewal conversation.

    Before doing that though, arm yourself with information about what competitors in your area can offer. VM's offers on the phone are 'of the moment' so you need to be armed with other prices before phoning in to decide whether to accept there and then.

    An alternative approach would be to put in a cancellation when you phone VM. Some have reported recently on here that was the only way to get a sensible renewal offer (although you may well have to follow through and leave if VM does not come up with something that is acceptable to you).

    • Trev1972's avatar
      Trev1972
      Dialled in

      Yeh i will have to do the web chat or call i guess, it is frustrating though. I know it is standard but new customers are clearly considered more valuable than existing ones. 

      I am sure i am not alone in that i just dont want to have to deal with hard selling salesmen, i just want straight forward pricing.

      • goslow's avatar
        goslow
        Alessandro Volta

        I would suggest that the overwhelming majority of customers would agree with you!

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person

    VM's renewal prices are usually done via a phone call, and are "of the moment"   What you get offered one day may well be non-existent the next. But you are correct in getting all your facts together as a bargaining tool.  The strange thing is you may have to actually cancel before you get the best deal.  That is a risky strategy however.  When I left VM, I did get two calls from retentions, but I was leaving anyway no matter what, so it didn't matter.