Virgin Media Community

[regentroad5]

I presently have the rental line saver option with Virgin as part of my account with them. However, it expires in January 2020.

Last year when I renewed it I was told it wasn't available to new applicants and there was some doubt about its continuing to be offered to any of their customers, meaning it would no longer be possible to save money by making use of this option.

Please confirm the Rental Line Saver option is now defunct. If it is it's a shame, and will certainly make me think long and hard about remaining with Virgin, since I now find having their landline virtually pointless.

Thank you.

[nodrogd · Accepted solution]

Yes. Virgin is actually the last telecom company to scrap the Line Rental Saver (Sky was the first, scrapping it over 5 years ago).

There are NO companies offering it now, assumedly as it is unviable. Also new rules state that line rental cannot be quoted as a seperate item anymore.

A word of warning. If you choose to remove the landline from your package you lose the majority of discounts on your other services. 

[regentroad5]

Thank you nodrogd for your reply. Please clarify what is meant by "new rules state that line rental cannot be quoted as a separate item anymore". What were the previous rules please? Why is it not viable?
Also if one is able to relinquish one's landline will this not compensate for the loss of any discounts? Your advice will be appreciated.

[nodrogd · Accepted solution]

In 2016 the Advertising Standards Authority bought in new rules that line rental charges could no longer be shown seperate from Broadband charges.

https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/guides/broadband/asa-broadband-pricing

Despite the fact VM don’t rely on the landline to provide the service the rule was applied to all Broadband providers, hence the line rental effectively became a “hidden” item in the Broadband price on most providers bills overnight. With most LRS deals either already gone by now, or as with VMs, reduced to a poultry £2 a month saving, the ultimate scrapping of the remainder was inevitable.

On most of the latest bundles if you remove the landline, as it is now integral to the deal (owing in part to the above rules) you have to renegotiate the ENTIRE package. In most cases this now INCREASES the cost of the package by a few pounds. The maximum saving on the old packages was only around £5 a month as it was.

[regentroad5]

Thank you for clarifying things. I have been with Virgin since the year dot. Hopefully, my loyalty will be valued when I shortly have to renegotiate a new contract.

[geoffreys]

Some providers still offer LRS. Checked today. Trying again with VM now.

[BenMcr]

Virgin Media no longer offer Line Rental Saver. Any available offers will be against your bundled services, rather than specifically for the home phone.

[nodrogd]

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@geoffreys wrote:

Some providers still offer LRS. Checked today. Trying again with VM now.

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https://store.virginmedia.com/the-legal-stuff/terms-and-conditions-for-fibre-optic-services/line-ren...