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BBB2005's avatar
BBB2005
Tuning in
2 days ago

Leaving VM after 20 plus years as end of current contract offer was a joke.

So last week gave notice to cancel my VM account as I had completed my last 18 month "deal". Having just retired I explained that I no longer want or need Volt M600 fibre and wanted it downgrading. I only want 1 x 360 box rather than 2, and I only watch sport so don't want or need the full Maxit TV package. This was due to having received notification that the current deal ending would result in a monthly price hike of £66.

The initial customer rep offered me a "great deal" for being a loyal customer which in fact resulted in sport going down from HD to SD, removing Sky cinema, 1 x 360 box and a "saving" on my current (ending) 18 month deal of £15.

I said I wanted to cancel and was put through to another customer rep. The second rep suggested that no package was available for what I was looking for and that reducing to base broadband and phone, only, 1 x360 box would mean my new payment would be an increase on my current ending deal of £26 per month for a lesser service which was actually £41 higher than the first rep had offered albeit I would maintain HD sport.

At this stage of being on the phone for an hour I gave up expecting some sort of deal and said I wanted to cancel. 

Besides letting the community know the complete lack of  customer loyalty and the charade employed by the customer services team, I have now found out that VM are the only provider to my address with full fibre connectivity. BT,Sky Talk Talk etc are still only able to supply copper to my addresss. I presume  VM don't allow other providers to use their fibre?

 

 

 

 

4 Replies

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  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    2 days ago

    Carbon copies of your story have been posted frequently on here in recent times from other customers (where a long-time customer is only given ridiculous offers when first contacting VM to try to renew).

    Putting VM aside for a moment, have you evaluated what sort of speeds you are likely to need in the future and what speeds are available from the other providers on a copper line? Without wishing to make assumptions about your requirements, we do see regular topics on here where the customer associates speed and quality of connection as being the same thing. If you have specific reasons for needing VM's higher tier speeds, that does limit your options to VM but if a copper connection was acceptable then you could look at building your own package of services from different suppliers.

    An alternative approach, which has been reported on here, has been for another member of the household to sign up as a new customer. This brings new customer pricing but is not without some administrative hurdles such as loss of VM email addresses, loss of existing landline numbers, having to send old equipment back, having to coordinate end/start dates of each account/service and the fact that VM's default TV offering now is a non-recording streaming box (a TV360 costs an extra £50 activation fee it seems based on recent topics).

    Others have simply had enough with VM's renewal games and have put in a cancellation. For some, this has resulted in a call back from VM with a much-improved offer but there is no guarantee at all such a call back will come. So if you put in a cancellation you need to be ready to follow through if necessary and leave VM.

    Even if you have no intention of leaving, any further negotiations with VM are best done armed with specific package/pricing info from other suppliers. This will give VM's agents a clear indication you have researched other options and may really be prepared to cancel if you need to.

    • Alby41's avatar
      Alby41
      Superfast
      2 days ago

      Aside from this well considered above mentioned advice ...have you looked at and considered wifi internet by 5G  ... no wires/cables at all ... comes through the air by waves...for instance Three are doing  good deals for less than £30 monthly and you can get all what you want .. you can go and have a look at their internet site  check coverage .. why not.. it is worth a check .....You get your own set up and router ...depends on the air coverage .. just saying.

      • BBB2005's avatar
        BBB2005
        Tuning in
        2 days ago

        Thanks for raising tis option which I am looking into now. Thanks

    • BBB2005's avatar
      BBB2005
      Tuning in
      2 days ago

      Thanks for your comments and advice. I had looked at the sky package and quoted this to both reps but to no avail. Can't really see VM being bothered about the cancellations judging by the reps attitude which was pretty much take it or leave it and also as you have said my experience is no different to others on here.