Forum Discussion

Angry_Gandhi's avatar
Angry_Gandhi
Tuning in
23 days ago

Don't need/want O2

Hi all,

Our contract ends in a month or 2.  When we renewed last time, in order to get a package we had to also get an O2 SIM - an extra separate charge of £25

We never fully understood why but we were getting more features than before for less the cost so we're semi-ok with it. 

We have never used the SIM (don't even know where it is) and can't get O2 in our area. 

So, it's a useless feature of the package. 

Yesterday I renewed our package for 2 more years.  We're getting exactly the same package and the Virgin bill is a little lower.

However we're still signed up for Volt which I assume comes with O2 SIM.  We don't want to pay £25 for something we don't use.

Maybe I'm wrong but can someone clarify this?

Can I just cancel the O2 direct debit if we find we're still being charged.

There's no mention of an O2 SIM in the image below (or any info we've been sent).

Thanks

 

11 Replies

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

    Hi Angry_Gandhi​ 

    The screenshot you posted shows that you have Volt M500 broadband.

    You will need a member of the forum team to confirm, but as far as I'm aware, all Volt contracts include an O2 sim.  

    I notice that the screenshot also shows you have the Homeworks add on.  Where you  aware of this and did you agree to that add on?   

    See https://www.virginmedia.com/help/broadband/homeworks

    • Angry_Gandhi's avatar
      Angry_Gandhi
      Tuning in
      23 days ago

      Hi

      I remember the guy saying something but he was talking really fast - like a whirlwind he was :D .

      I don't think I need it but also not sure how much it is.  Not sure (and doubt) it was a freebie.

      The fact that you're bringing makes me wonder why you are.

      Do you know how much it is?  Is it worth it?

      I work from home a couple of days a week but you'd hope that Virgin would be stable.  Don't have many issues normally.

      ---

      On a separate note - I normally go through to disconnections/retentions but there wasn't the option I normally get through to.

      The guy said he can help me & as I was also trying to work at the same time I just went with it.

      Is there a direct line to retentions nowadays - it seems to be harder to get through to.

      Thanks 

      • Carley_S's avatar
        Carley_S
        Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
        20 days ago

        Hi Angry_Gandhi 

        Welcome back to the Community Forums. 

        Regarding your query on the O2 SIM. O2 would be a separate contract and would not show on the Virgin Media contract you receive; however, these are linked, and that is shown by you being offered and eligible for the Volt deals and benefits. Removing the O2 SIM would remove your Volt benefits, meaning you would be either move to the lower speed of M350 or be charged extra for the speed increase to M500, which is the free speed boost you've received from being an O2 and Virgin Media customer. 

         

        If you wanted to remove the O2 SIM from your deal, or are having any doubts on the contract, you do have a 14-day cooling-off period in which you can cancel the new contract should you wish. The team can look to discuss a new standard speed package with you on either M350 or M500, depending on your needs. 

         

        For your HomeWorks query, you can find all the information on what this is here. It will depend on your package discounts for what the monthly price of HomeWorks is for you. As this is an add-on, this can be removed with a 30-day notice should you not wish to carry on with this service. 

         

        If you would like to discuss your package further, please contact the team via any methods listed here, and they'll be able to support you further should you need. 

         

         

  • Paulpal's avatar
    Paulpal
    Dialled in
    20 days ago

    You don't have yo accept the package that is £25 for 02. What i mean by that is you can reduce the cost eith less data. I don't know if you can refuse the the sim

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta
    20 days ago

    Nobody's forcing you to have the SIM, it's only part of Volt. Look at non-Volt bundles and compare prices.

    • unisoft's avatar
      unisoft
      Super solver
      6 days ago

      The poster is wanting the heavily discounted VOLT bundle another £25 cheaper by cancelling the O2 SIM. The separate bundles without VOLT would be more expensive.

      It's either pay up the VOLT amount as agreed, or cancel and go for a cut down package that is not a VOLT deal which would be cheaper, but without all the extra goodies.

  • unisoft's avatar
    unisoft
    Super solver
    6 days ago

    Read the T&C's available about VOLT on VM's web site. It's black and white, if you cancel the O2 SIM within the cool off period though, you lose the speed and other VOLT benefits (this is a change from original T&C's for VOLT as VM tightened up this area). As it seems you got your VOLT through a VM bundled package, the contract basically says if you cancel the O2 SIM completely within 14 days you lose your speed.

    If you were volted because you already an O2 SIM separately and that contract was either not in a minimum term, or the minimum term was ending soon, you would have kept your speed until contract renewal on the VM side. This does not apply to you as you got the O2 SIM as part of a negotiated VM bundle deal.

    You used to be able to go to uswitch.com and "upgrade" to the cheapest O2 SIM - it restarted a 12 month contract on the O2 side, but was say for £6 per month and was still VOLT eligible. I'm not 100% whether VMO2 ended this as you used to sign in with your O2 account during the uswitch checkout process (which was O2's checkout) and selected upgrade. It started warning about early termination fees, then that got removed when you went to final page of the checkout. The advice was there to scare people off, but in reality, O2 always marketed the tariffs as change at anytime up or down, so it was dodgy ground to try and enforce.

    Contracts from April 2025 T&C's:

    https://a.storyblok.com/f/253875/x/4220195753/terms-and-conditions-tv-fibre-phone-from-24-apr-2025.pdf

    "If you subsequently cancel your eligible O2 Pay Monthly Mobile Plan, 
    where you are the registered account holder of it, or it is cancelled by 
    the relevant account holder after the 14 day period referred to in 
    paragraph A.5 above, the Volt benefits for your Virgin Media services 
    may be lost when you next recontract to Virgin Media’s services."

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

    You have 14 days to cancel this contract if you are not happy with it.  24 months is a long time ...  You could have just left the old contract to expire and talk with retentions at that point.  Best to have checked all the competition prices in your area, so you can hopefully get a good deal from VM if you want to stay.  You also mention WFH, so just note there are no SLA's on a residential contract, so a backup connection is worth while, 30 day rolling SIM router for example.