Contract Renewed Today Feel I have Been Mis-Sold

[tc472]

I took a call this evening from Virgin who stated I've been on my contract for 18 months and it's due to expire. If I do not change to a new contract, my monthly bill will increase.

The line was terrible and kept cutting out and it was incredibly difficult to understand what the chap was saying and numerous times I had to ask him to repeat what he said. I did ask for this to be done via e-mail but told not possible.

Eventually, after much frustration, I have agreed to the new 18 month contract with the understanding none of my services will be changed (broadband & TV).

Now I cant access TNT Sports either online with TV Go or at home and says I need to upgrade to watch. I've checked my package details on line which states I have MAXIT TV which includes the channels I'm now missing. However, the e-mail regarding the new contract states MEGA TV...which doesn't. 

I'm expecting to be told that I'll need to foot the bill to get TNT Sports and I feel I have been misled or mis-informed by the caller and this isn't acceptable.

[Martyn]

you should have the option to cancel the upgrade and even cancel all services if you wanted to, I know calling support is a hassle,  maybe try live chat or whatsapp? or with any luck the forum team can help =-/. although they struggled to offer me a good deal for renewal. 

[roy247]

TNT Sports has been removed as being included, more to do with the change from BT to TNT, it's now an addition, the cost I have seen varies it was £18 a month, I have also seen it knocked down to £10 on VM's home page when looking for what's available in your area, also some people have said they have had it added for £10 or slightly less.

As a side note I have just seen something saying if you are a BT/EE customer it's either £24 or £20 a month but they do get Discovery+ the streaming versions.

[tc472]

I now know its no longer included. My main grievance is the fact I wasn't told this by the Virgin employee when renewing my contract and when I asked, was told nothing would change from my old contract to my new contract.

[roy247]

Was he phoning from somewhere outside the UK, don't trust what they say is my advice.

[japitts]

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@tc472 wrote:

I took a call this evening from Virgin who stated I've been on my contract for 18 months and it's due to expire. If I do not change to a new contract, my monthly bill will increase.

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The usual misconception over what these contracts are. You have a rolling service contract at a fixed price, with a time-limited promotional discount.

All that happens on the 18month point is that you exit the minimum term, lose the promotional discounts but otherwise continue on exactly the same basis.

By re-contracting you have been migrated from the legacy Maxit TV tier to its replacement, Mega TV. The difference is the loss of inclusive TNT Sports. As with any other distance selling scenario, this comes with 14days statutory "change of mind" right of cancellation.

There have been a few threads on this board where some slightly inventive marketing activity has mistakenly stated "no change", "same package" or some similiar wording. If you have proof of that, you may have an argument for retention of TNT Sports - if you are willing to stand your ground. If no such proof is available, then you either pay up for TNT Sports or revert under 14days.

[tc472]

I refuse to pay more and have less.

I'll either drastically reduce my package or go elsewhere. 

[roy247 · Accepted solution]

If you want to try talking to a UK based person about this then call Virgin on 150 from a Virgin phone, mobile or landline, or 0345 454 1111 and select the " leaving option " and speak to retentions who are usually UK based unless you are unlucky, if they aren't and you are having problems with what they are saying hang up and try again, 8am is usually the best but you can be lucky any time of the day.

[FlockWallpaper]

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@japitts wrote:

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@tc472 wrote:

I took a call this evening from Virgin who stated I've been on my contract for 18 months and it's due to expire. If I do not change to a new contract, my monthly bill will increase.

---

The usual misconception over what these contracts are. You have a rolling service contract at a fixed price, with a time-limited promotional discount.

All that happens on the 18month point is that you exit the minimum term, lose the promotional discounts but otherwise continue on exactly the same basis.

By re-contracting you have been migrated from the legacy Maxit TV tier to its replacement, Mega TV. The difference is the loss of inclusive TNT Sports. As with any other distance selling scenario, this comes with 14days statutory "change of mind" right of cancellation.

There have been a few threads on this board where some slightly inventive marketing activity has mistakenly stated "no change", "same package" or some similiar wording. If you have proof of that, you may have an argument for retention of TNT Sports - if you are willing to stand your ground. If no such proof is available, then you either pay up for TNT Sports or revert under 14days.

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And I think that you know as well as I do, that VM’s marketing and advertising department are simply out of control and making ‘offers’ and ‘promises’ that simply don’t conform with reality.

Yes the subscriptions have changed and TNT is no longer included in the ‘new’ setup, fine! But when an advertising campaign or a VM agent promises the ‘same package’, any reasonable person, and indeed a Court should push come to shove, interpreted that as the services you are receiving now will not change, but they do and hence VM are in breech of contract! What really needs to happen is for a number of people that have suffered from this, to make a formal complaint to the ASA

Because is not like this is a new thing, people have been complaining on here for weeks if not months about this blatant mis-selling.

[roy247]

If it's the offshore sales team phoning I would listen to what they say and then cut the call short.