Changed package - now two contracts with different numbers on

[BringBackHub2]

We have today called to remove the TV due to the price increases and changes to contract terms, and mentioned to the agent that we were paying for a Hub 5 but actually have a Hub 3 (which was dire for most of January, hence the username) and wanted a different router if we were staying with Virgin. Agreed a price for 250 BB + phone and they said I would need to go to a different department to arrange the new router. After being put on hold and speaking to several different departments, I was eventually cut off. A little later a lady phoned back and I thought the new router was being delivered on Friday, however on checking my emails I now have two emails from Virgin, two contracts with two different numbers. One says installation date Friday, so perhaps a router is coming, however I don’t want to be paying for two different contracts at the same address. Can someone from Virgin check my account, as I found some of the agents difficult to understand and don’t want to go the other way and end up with no BB + phone. 

I understand that the TV continues as is until 31 March (30 day notice presumably) but haven’t received anything to tell me what to do with the TiVo box. Is this usual?

We were also supposed to receive compensation for a missed engineer visit in December, which we hadn’t had and the lady who rang back said I would get this also. There is no reference to this on the second email, they just seem to have set up a second contract to get the router with a one off fee of £5.

Thank you

Edited to add: This account was registered with a different email address than the VM account is in, as my daughter set it up during our earlier problems with the Hub 3.

Edit 2: Just received another email from Virgin and in it was a contract saying that the £5 charge was a termination fee for the TV. What happened to no fees if cancelling before X date due to price increase? 

[Anonymous]

Unless specified otherwise they won't want the old Tivo box back 

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/return-or-recycle-equipment

[Zach_R]

Hi @BringBackHub2,

Thank you for your post and welcome back to our community forums. We're here to help.

I'm sorry for any confusion you're facing with a package change. It's not possible to have two active accounts at one address at the same time. Are you moving home too, or residing at the same property?

In regards to the TiVo box, we wouldn't be asking for these to be returned once you're finished with it and no longer have an active TV service. You can find details here on what equipment we'd like returned, and how to go about responsibly recycling any other equipment.

Thanks,

[BringBackHub2]

It’s the same property. 

The first two emails did say pre contract information, however it was confusing as these had different numbers on and were identical apart from the £5 charge added to the second and an activation date of 3 March. A contract in the format of the previous one (edit 2 in the previous post) later arrived, describing the £5 as a termination fee for the TV. Given that the price increase email said that the package could be changed or cancelled without any cancellation fees until 9 March, I don’t understand why this is there and should have received the contract as per the first pre contract information with no one off charge on it. I discussed with the lady who rang back getting a new router and the compensation that I was due but never received for an engineer not arriving on the date agreed in December; a different engineer was sent from another area the next day in the end. If the charge was for example a delivery fee for a new router, I might understand it, but that isn’t what it says. I was expecting a credit to my account, not for a charge to be added.

Could you clarify what the 3 March date is, and if it is because a router is arriving tomorrow? I understood that my package would not actually change until 31 March (i.e. TV service cease, as the same broadband speed and call package have been retained.) Is this correct? If so, given the 3 March date on the new contract it appears as though 3 March-31 March’s broadband and line is being double charged.

[Zach_R]

Hi @BringBackHub2,

Thank you for expanding on this. It'd be hard to say exactly what is going on without looking at the account, so I'm going to send you a private message in a few moments. Please respond to this when you can and we'll go from there.

Thanks,
 

[BringBackHub2]

The Hub 5 arrived on Friday evening, and having read in the accompanying literature that it should be plugged in within X hours of arrival, we did so at the earliest opportunity on Saturday. Since this the TV has shut off early with a termination fee that will be more than £70 when VAT is applied showing on the account. 150 eventually said that the TV was disconnected ahead of 31 March in error and would take up to 48 hours to put back on. Naturally I am not happy paying for a service I am not receiving and the 48 hours will be up later today with no sign of it yet. With the bill due later today we will see if the fee disappears but a fee of that level is concerning when I expected and wanted to see out the 30 days notice for dropping the TV and sports. 

This morning I received another email saying that my order needed to be approved and would expire soon - the same pre-contract information number as the second received last week. But my account area is already showing a new contract with those details as accepted. I am now scared to do anything in case something else goes wrong - receive existing services until 31 March and then drop TV with a new 18 month minimum term on M250 Broadband and phone shouldn’t have been so complicated.

[Beth_G]

Hi BringBackHub2,

Thanks so much for your update on this and that things seem to be moving in a more positive direction.

I can see that you are still in PM with Zach and you're awaiting a response. He is on shift now, so he will be able to respond to you shortly and assist you further.

Thank you

[BringBackHub2]

Still no TV more than 48 hours later and the bill has arrived with £63.60 of early termination fees on it. The amount due is roughly what was expected for March - but that was with my receiving the TV until the 31st.

Very concerned with regards to the contract confusion as the expiry stated in the email received yesterday is tomorrow - I don’t want to end up with two contracts or no contract for broadband and phone.

[Adri_G]

Hey BringBackHub2, thanks for the reply and your update. 

Sorry to see this issue has been ongoing.
We've seen you had been speaking to our forum staff via PM already about this, please let us know if you received some help now or still need more support after your last post?

Here to help where needed.

[BringBackHub2]

Posting an update just in case another customer should have a similar issue in future. Connecting the Hub 5 cut our TV off earlier than it should have been and despite what 150 tell you (wait 48 hours,) it cannot be reactivated without a new contract. This also added an ETF to the account (although this should be in the process of being credited back, as we wanted and expected to receive the service for the 30 day period and cannot through no fault of our own.)

We now have a suitable lead to receive Freeview and Now TV up and running (the latter we would have had in place sooner had we not been waiting for a reactivation that was never going to materialise.) 

With a TiVo box now needlessly sitting in standby, I looked through some older community posts about disconnecting it. We have what looks like a splitter with one end in the Hub and the other in the TiVO and understand that we need to remove the end that goes into the TiVo and cap this off with an F Type 75ohm Terminator plug. Is anyone able to confirm this is correct? As the TiVo isn’t required to be returned one of these was never sent (from the other posts it should be in the returns box.) I have been on Screwfix, B&Q, Wickes and not found one. For a single cap that should cost pence, I have been quoted £9.00 delivery from a retailer that sells a single item. The alternative seems to be getting 10 from an eBay or Amazon seller for somewhere in the region of £5 with decent reviews. There was one seller that wanted £3.49 for a single, but has two identical looking items with a 1 digit difference in the number listed in the title. There must be a difference, but I don’t know what it is and there’s no guarantee of getting a response from the seller. They also use the title Male Plug End cap - is this another way of referring to the same thing?

If anyone could link me to somewhere I can get the correct cap/plug from inexpensively that would be very much appreciated.