Forum Discussion

LegalMagpie's avatar
LegalMagpie
Tuning in
30 days ago
Solved

Virgin want to charge me double

I'm currently paying £115 for broadband, unlimited phone and TV including sports and movies. My contract ends next month and Virgin are doubling the price to £219.
I can get a virtually identical service with Sky for what I'm paying Virgin now (24 months contract) 
Do I have to give Virgin 30 days notice to cancel or will it automatically end when my contract does? And if I do give the notice, what happens if Virgin decide they still want me as a customer?

renewal offer
  • japitts's avatar
    japitts
    29 days ago

    Sounds like your standard price is £219 and you have a ~£104 discount, that will tend to expire at the end of your minimum term. This discount should clearly be shown at the bottom of your contract and each monthly bill, so it shouldn't be a complete surprise.

    If you've got prices from alternative suppliers for your services, then you're halfway to a negotiation with VM retentions. Decide before calling, whether you want to remain with VM and if so, what your price point is.

13 Replies

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person
    30 days ago

    VM contract don't end, they run on as 30 day rolling contracts until you give your 30 day cancellation notice.  As you have done your homework and know you can get a better deal, then leave.

    As for what VM will do, who knows.  If you have allowed marketing calls in your account, they may, or may not call you to discuss a deal.  I've left twice and come back when the price was right for me against other ISP's.

    However, if you have a VM mailbox, this will be deleted after 90 days, so you will need to archive that off, and move to another non ISP tied mail provider.

  • tlbingham's avatar
    tlbingham
    Just joined
    30 days ago

    I was in the same position £115 per month. Messaged virgin and they have now offered same package for £56.74

  • japitts's avatar
    japitts
    Very Insightful Person
    29 days ago

    Sounds like your standard price is £219 and you have a ~£104 discount, that will tend to expire at the end of your minimum term. This discount should clearly be shown at the bottom of your contract and each monthly bill, so it shouldn't be a complete surprise.

    If you've got prices from alternative suppliers for your services, then you're halfway to a negotiation with VM retentions. Decide before calling, whether you want to remain with VM and if so, what your price point is.

    • LegalMagpie's avatar
      LegalMagpie
      Tuning in
      26 days ago

      Thanks for your advice. Sky were quoting £126 for an identical package to what I have now so I spoke to someone at Virgin's retention team and he bettered the offer. Contract is 24 months instead of 18 but not a problem. So thanks again.

  • Vikki_M's avatar
    Vikki_M
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    29 days ago

    Hi LegalMagpie,

    Thanks for your post.

    We're sorry to hear you're thinking of leaving us. 

    The service wont end automatically at the end of a contract term, you would need to contact us please to provide 30 days notice.

    If you'd like us to look at what renewal deals are available, please contact us via one of the below channels. 

    Call: 150 (free of charge) from a Virgin Media landline or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone
    WhatsApp: +44 7803 089 684
    - Facebook Messenger (Virgin Media)
    - Instagram DM (@virginmedia) 

    If you have any further questions, please let us know 😊
     

     

    • Cardiffman282's avatar
      Cardiffman282
      Community elder
      29 days ago

      Interesting that X/Twitter isn't mentioned any more by VM. It last posted at the end of July. There are still some replies but no DMs any more for alleged technical reasons. It reminds me a bit of my employer (yes I do have one) which is taking a similar semi detached approach to Twitter - still having a presence but quietly winding things down...

  • LegalMagpie's avatar
    LegalMagpie
    Tuning in
    18 days ago

    I really thought that this was sorted as I was offered and accepted a good  deal but the reality was different as Virgin removed Netflix. I spoke to them the same day and promised to sort it out but I later got an email saying my new package was £204 instead of £124 per month. I have raised a complaint using the form but apart from an email acknowledgement have heard nothing. I have tried to track the complaint but it says "nothing to see".

    i feel really cheated and let down.

    • Alex_RM's avatar
      Alex_RM
      Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
      17 days ago

      Hi LegalMagpie,

      We're sorry to hear there's some confusion over the agreed package. We don't support package changes here, however, so I can take a closer look at your complaint I've popped you over a private message. 

      Alex_Rm

  • LegalMagpie's avatar
    LegalMagpie
    Tuning in
    16 days ago

    I replied to Alex's private message (he asked for account details etc) but, surprise, surprise, no response and no reply to my original complaint either. As they have ignored me can I complain to offcom?

    • newapollo's avatar
      newapollo
      Very Insightful Person
      16 days ago

      Alex_RM will reply to you next time they are online.  The Forum Team work rota shifts, the same as the telephony agents and the social media teams.

      You can read the timescales involved with complaints and VM's complaints process via the following linked page:-

      https://www.virginmedia.com/legal/consumer-complaint-resolution-code-practice

      You can complain to Ofcom, however they don't deal with individual complaints.   

      If you want to take your complaint further then you need to contact the ombudsman, however unless you've reached an agreed stalemate with VM then you have to wait 8 weeks before escalating to the ombudsman.

       

  • LegalMagpie's avatar
    LegalMagpie
    Tuning in
    7 days ago

    Hi everyone. For completeness, I should let you know that the problem has been resolved. A nice lady from the complaints team phoned me. It turned out that the second guy from customer service had not completed setting up my new package, so it reverted to out of contract. It's all been sorted out, my new package has been set up at a good price, my account has been credited plus a small amount of compensation for the aggravation. So I'm a happy bunny again.Thanks to the members here for your support.

    • Akua_A's avatar
      Akua_A
      Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
      7 days ago

      Thank you for the update LegalMagpie. We are glad the team was able to resolve this for you and wrap up your complaint. Please let us know if you need any further help, and we will do our best to assist.