Virgin Media Community

[MickyTwoShoes]

A few years ago I had Broadband, Phone, and 2 Tivo boxes I'm no longer aTV package customer, after a price increase I cancelled and switched to Freesat & Freeview. I tried to cancel the phone line (don't even have a phone connected) but was told that by overall cost would increase, go figure how that works?

I'm now being hit with yet another increase for sticking with Virgin, however if I was a new customer there are some really good deals to be had, around a third of what I'm paying. Does no-one at Virgin understand how annoying to loyal customers this is. My contract is now at an end and my time as a loyal customer I feel is also coming to and end, as I look for a company that understands that loyalty is a two way thing.

[Grumpy_Trucker · Accepted solution]

A common reply to posts like this is that there is no loyalty, or shouldn't be, from customers. Legislation over the years has been put in place to encourage people to keep switching to get the best deal. The fact that realistic competition to VMs speeds is only now starting to appear has apparently not been relevant to this.

Personally, I agree with you. We shouldn't have to jump through hoops to get price matched to new customers. If the price a new customer is getting is the price, then that price should be easily available for us for the cost of 10 minutes of time on the phone. That's why this time I haven't given them the option. Wrote to them with my 30 days' notice and I'm off. Luckily I have a viable alternative here. A mate of mine has been haggling for days but they won't give him anything great cos they know he has no viable alternative.

[Scurtis1]

What age are you if you don't mind me asking? I found that my parents pay significantly more than me for the same package and I think it is perhaps related to their age or location and hearing that you are paying approximately 3 times more sounds about the same sort of profit margin

[MickyTwoShoes]

You could be on to something, I certainly have less years ahead of me than I have behind and that has made me even more annoyed at Virgin, either taking advantage due to age or the fact that I've been loyal ....................... until now

So Virgins £65 for 100meg with NO TV and NO Phone has now changed to a new supplier beggining with a V for 500 Meg with NO TV and NO Phone for £32. Had it installed before cancelling my Virgin contract (just in case) also got a 4g dongle that works as a backup in case the cable fails and a free booster (with Alexa built in. So after over 20 years with Virgin time to say goodbye

[mmj]

---

@Scurtis1 wrote:

What age are you if you don't mind me asking? I found that my parents pay significantly more than me for the same package and I think it is perhaps related to their age or location and hearing that you are paying approximately 3 times more sounds about the same sort of profit margin

---

Your parents have probably been with Virgin Media much longer and therefore have received numerous "cost to improve/provide services" price increases over the years.

I think Virgin Media's business model is just to keep increasing prices on people and hope that they don't notice they're getting shafted, helped by the fact that customers are redirected to a different homepage and have to scroll down to the bottom and click Not a customer? in order to see current package prices.

It's not just that new customers get a ridiculously low 18mth limited time offer but that loyal customers end up paying more than what new customers do after their 18mth period is up (ie. the regular price) and often times with an inferior package.

If Virgin Media want to be seen as a decent company to loyal customers then either stop putting the prices up willy nilly all of the time or make sure that old customers are not paying more and more whilst their package remains static and inferior compared to what new customers get.

[annorax]

---

@mmj wrote:

---

@Scurtis1 wrote:

What age are you if you don't mind me asking? I found that my parents pay significantly more than me for the same package and I think it is perhaps related to their age or location and hearing that you are paying approximately 3 times more sounds about the same sort of profit margin

---

Your parents have probably been with Virgin Media much longer and therefore have received numerous "cost to improve/provide services" price increases over the years.

I think Virgin Media's business model is just to keep increasing prices on people and hope that they don't notice they're getting shafted, helped by the fact that customers are redirected to a different homepage and have to scroll down to the bottom and click Not a customer? in order to see current package prices.

It's not just that new customers get a ridiculously low 18mth limited time offer but that loyal customers end up paying more than what new customers do after their 18mth period is up (ie. the regular price) and often times with an inferior package.

If Virgin Media want to be seen as a decent company to loyal customers then either stop putting the prices up willy nilly all of the time or make sure that old customers are not paying more and more whilst their package remains static and inferior compared to what new customers get.

---

Do you think the other ISPs are decent companies for their loyal companies?

For me, BT are worse for ripping off it's companies as I remember one year they decided to bill its customers an extra month and you should have seen the complaints about it on the BT forums.

[nodrogd]

Some companies are now offering new customer prices to existing customers. The downside of this is that ALL their prices are rising as a result. In VMs case the new customer prices are loss leaders, & offering these heavy discounts to existing customers would be unsustainable in the long run.

[jem101]

In the absence of VM publicly releasing figures (and let’s be honest, they won’t), the usual assumption is that VM and all other broadband suppliers actually make a loss or at least just about break even on the initial ‘new customer’ prices, but they know that the bulk of their customers won’t leave at the end of the promotion period and that is where they make their money.

Now, be honest, as a new customer you have a choice, £x for 18 months as an introductory price, or another supplier saying it will cost you, say, twice that but we won’t increase it after the 18 months.

The vast majority will opt for the first, and, frankly, anyone who says they won’t is either a) lying or b) a complete idiot!

Bottom line, if VM (or any other ISP) were to say ‘this is the price for the service, no ‘introductory discount’ but it won’t enormously go up after 18 months’, they’ll be out of business within a couple of years.

[Roger_Gooner]

VM is a Pay TV provider whose best deals are for those who take multiple offerings. If you need only broadband you'll find cheaper options elsewhere.

[Andrew-G]

@jem101 In the absence of VM publicly releasing figures (and let’s be honest, they won’t), the usual assumption is that VM and all other broadband suppliers actually make a loss or at least just about break even on the initial ‘new customer’ prices, but they know that the bulk of their customers won’t leave at the end of the promotion period and that is where they make their money.

Actually, Virgin Media release sufficient information to investors that with a moderate amount of analytical effort and an understanding of the mechanics of customer profitability it is possible to calculate that when worked through to the true bottom line of net profit, VM definitely make a loss on new customer discounts.

As you say, normal practice, and VM will use a complex customer pricing model to assess the net present value of offering deals that are unprofitable for 18 months, with those losses made up (to a limited extent!) by the proportion of customers who stay on at either full price or a somewhat discounted deal.