Forum Discussion

lisa33's avatar
lisa33
On our wavelength
2 years ago

Essential Broadband With Stream Unfair Extra Monthly Costs

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    Virgin UK  offer an essential broadband package for customers who are on certain welfare benefits, I recommended my brother to apply for this but I noticed that the difference between broadband 54Mbps (£20 per month) and 54Mbps with stream (£25 per month) is £5. This seems to be a very unfair charge being that you can currently pay a one off payment for stream of £35 (Was £25 a few months ago) meaning someone who takes up the essentials package with stream over 12 months will pay an extra £25 if they don’t buy stream as a one off payment. In the second year it will be an extra £60, considering the essential packages are supposed to help low income families this appears to defeat the object of that package and many customers will be unaware of those unfair extra charges as there is no information letting the customer know that they will be paying more money for the stream than they would if they paid a one off fee and took the 54Mbs package without stream. 

     

 

 

10 Replies

  • newapollo's avatar
    newapollo
    Very Insightful Person
    2 years ago

    Essential Broadband customers are charged a subscription price of £12.50 a month for 15 Mbps broadband with free set up .

    Essential Broadband Plus customers are charged a subscription price of £20.00 a month for 50 Mbps broadband with free set up.

    Essential Broadband Plus with Flex customers are currently charged a one off set up fee of £10 (which is the cheapest it's ever been and is actually an activation fee for the equipment) In the past this set up fee been has £35, or for a period of time also on offer for £25)

    The set up fee has nothing to do with the subscription price which is £25 a month for the 50 Mbps broadband and Stream (Flex) 

     

    • lisa33's avatar
      lisa33
      On our wavelength
      2 years ago

      But you can be an essential customer and get 54Mbps and then purchase the stream unit for a one off £35 fee so your monthly outgoing is £20 a month once you have purchased the stream for a one off £35 so your total for 12 months will be 12 x £20 = £240 plus £35 so £275 OR Essential Broadband including stream for £25 a month total for 12 months is then £300 and if you sign up for another 12 months on Essential = £240 or if you’ve took the stream package that’s £300 I have taken the package without stream and paid £25 for the stream unit as it was £25 then, so it definitely costs more to get the package that’s £25 a month rather than do it the way I have, and this is not considering any set up costs to keep it simple so that anyone can see it costs more money to take the £25 a month package than the £20 including buying the stream as a one off payment, it costs me nothing to use my stream unless I choose to add on, as I paid a one off cost for it.

      • lisa33's avatar
        lisa33
        On our wavelength
        2 years ago

        This screen shot shows you can purchase the stream unit on its own for a one off fee (albeit they call it an activation fee its still a one off fee with no further monthly charge unless you want to add channels besides the free ones) and then if you take out the Essential Package 54Mps at £20 a month that’s cheaper than the Essential Package with Stream at £25 a month 

  • lisa33's avatar
    lisa33
    On our wavelength
    12 months ago

    Actually since I queried it with Virgin (and I’m not saying it was anything to do with my query) they are now offering Essentials Broadband Plus with Flex  (correctly I feel) at £20 a month and a one off £10 set up fee for the stream, not one person who replied addressed my original post (like I said lost in translation) this package is the same as Essentials Broadband Plus @ £20 a month the difference being the stream box which should be a one off fee rather than £25 a month which would cost low income users much more financially, unaware at the time they could have bought Essential Broadband Plus for £20 a month then pay a one off fee for the stream (which they can now do).

     

    • unisoft's avatar
      unisoft
      Super solver
      12 months ago
      lisa33 wrote:

      Actually since I queried it with Virgin (and I’m not saying it was anything to do with my query) they are now offering Essentials Broadband Plus with Flex  (correctly I feel) at £20 a month and a one off £10 set up fee for the stream, not one person who replied addressed my original post (like I said lost in translation) this package is the same as Essentials Broadband Plus @ £20 a month the difference being the stream box which should be a one off fee rather than £25 a month which would cost low income users much more financially, unaware at the time they could have bought Essential Broadband Plus for £20 a month then pay a one off fee for the stream (which they can now do).

       

      Yes that's a result for that social tariff being reduced to £20 for BB+Flex. The non-social tariffs (as new customers) now have the £5 fee per month just for Flex, without any premium subscriptions, and also anyone renewing a contract.