Forum Discussion

John_FC's avatar
John_FC
Tuning in
17 hours ago

Moving home, cancel or move connection?

Hi guys

I need some advice and wisdom. Due to personal circumstances myself and my family have had to sell our home and this is in progress. I recently arranged a new 24 month broadband only deal back in June. At the time I had no idea we would be moving.

We are moving in with my parents for the next several months and they already have a VM account phone and broadband.

If I cancel my broadband I will likely need to pay a fairly substantial early disconnect fee. I am wondering on the feasibility of simply moving my package to our new temporary address and having two accounts and connections, if this is even possible. Or simply taking the hit and cancelling and paying the penalty.

Once we buy our own property again likely early next year I would probably look at VM again as my experiences have been generally very good.

7 Replies

  • Micha1978's avatar
    Micha1978
    Joining in
    15 hours ago

    Firstly my sympathies for your situation, it can't be easy.

    I see three options, none of which are really ideal.

    a) You cancel and pay the early disconnection charge, which won’t be small as you still have some 22 months left on your contract.

    b) You manage to transfer your existing account to your parent’s property. Now having two separate accounts at one address is not unknown but is really quite unusual. It will require an (additional) physical connection to be made from the VM street cabinet to the house, a second omnibus to be fitted, a separate hole to be drilled through the wall and a second hub to be installed - even if you never, ever use it! In addition you might find it ‘difficult’ to get VM’s customer service staff to agree to arrange the installation! There is a non-zero chance that they will assume that you are taking over the property and terminate your parent’s existing contract!

    or, and this might be controversial;

    c) You do nothing! You continues to pay for an internet connection to a property you no longer live at, VM won’t care! If, if you are sure that you will be moving in six months or so, only then do you transfer the account to the new property. On paper, this might just turn out to be the cheaper option. However what will mess this up is if the new owners of your existing property also want VM services. If they sign up or want to transfer an existing service, it’ll become very messy, very quickly for both parties!

    Option a) will cause you the minimum of fuss (which you could probably do with) but the maximum cost. B) is possible assuming that VM will play ball and your parents are OK with extra holes drilled in their house! Option c) is, on paper, the best but does require a number of things to align which you have no control over. Should the new owners want a VM service, it throws a massive spanner into the works

    • newapollo's avatar
      newapollo
      Very Insightful Person
      14 hours ago

      Hi John_FC​ 

      Have you spoken to your parents about the VM contracts?

      They might be in better position to cancel their account even if still in contract their early termination fees may not be as much as yours.   If they are out of contract then they could cancel without any ETF by giving 30 days notice, You and your parents could then share your connection and the costs?   If that works they could order a new connection when you move out and they would pay new customer rates?

      Another scenario, and please don't take offence.  I'm not prying and  have no need or desire to know, but if you are moving in with your parents due to finances then have a look at Virgins Essential broadband tariff

      You would be eligible for that tariff if you are claiming either Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or Income-based Employment Support Allowance.

      If you do qualify for the above then since you’re already in a contract with VM they can swap you over to one of the Essential broadband packages straight away and you won’t have to pay any fees or extra charges. (That also means you don't have to pay off any early termination charges) 

      • Micha1978's avatar
        Micha1978
        Joining in
        14 hours ago

        Good point, my bad, I hadn’t thought of that option. Except since the OP mentioned that they may be purchasing a new property in the new year, I (possibly wrongly) assumed that this was not a financial issue.

    • John_FC's avatar
      John_FC
      Tuning in
      14 hours ago

      Thank you Micha for your detailed reply. That is much appreciated.

      It is indeed not an ideal situation and one which we are not entirely happy with but unfortunately left with little to no option. 

      I suspect that paying the early disconnect fee will be the safest option in the long run.

      The installation would not be a problem at my parents. The don't mind, however as you say it would likely be problematic getting VM to do this. I suppose I could still ask the question though.

      I did consider just continuing to pay for the service and not using it but as you point out this will complicate things for myself and the new owner who will most certainly want their own service installed.

      Many thanks again 👍