Help for Aged Nan

[JonSwfc]

Hi, I would like to review and possibly take control of my aged nan's Virgin account. She pays £104/ month for standard TV, phone but no internet. 

Might not be the right board, apologies if so.

She needs a new box as hers is ancient and unreliable. We'd also like to talk about installing a router so she has the internet. We can then use smart switches etc to check she's up and about. She's determined to live on her own but she needs lots of help now. 

Thanks

[newapollo]

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@JonSwfc wrote:

Hi, I would like to review and possibly take control of my aged nan's Virgin account. She pays £104/ month for standard TV, phone but no internet. 

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Hi @JonSwfc 

I've moved your post to the manage your account board.

It sounds like your Nan has the old TIVO box which has it's own modem so doesn't need VM internet (these are being phased out and are no longer available as part of a package)

VM have two other boxes which both require a VM hub and internet. The V6 and the 360.

The V6 has the same interface as the TIVO, but it is far faster and also has more apps. Not that your Nan will probably need it, but it can also record six programs at a time. I suggest going for that one, even if the agent tries to push you towards the 360 box.  

Basically the 360 is the same box as a V6 but with voice control, it is missing a lot of the functions of a TIVO/V6.  It has a completely different interface and would be confusing since your Nan will be used to the TIVO layout

Would it be possible for you to be with your Nan when she contacts VM? Only the account holder can make changes, so unless you have POA you really should try and be with her to help.

If you have POA then you can take over the account, otherwise accounts can't be transferred.

Once she has passed verification on the phone she can ask for you to talk on her behalf, then once you've spoken with the agent and agreed on a deal that you and Nan are happy with then pass the phone back to her so she can authorise the change.

I also suggest speaking to Retentions rather than regrades.

The best route is to call 150 from Nans Virgin landline, or 0345 454 1111, options 1,1,4 and 4 (thinking of leaving) but it's best to call at 8am to avoid call queues

This should put you through to Retentions (thinking of leaving us) however your call may be picked up first by a front line agent. If this happens be firm and say you want transferring to Retentions. 

Retentions are generally based in the UK and do far more than cancellations. They have a greater degree of knowledge and flexibility, along with a larger range of discounts than the front line agents when negotiating a new deal. (You could threaten to cancel at the same time as they may help push toward a better price). 

[Andrew-G]

Something else to bear in mind over and above @newapollo 's excellent advice is that you may be in for a frustrating and drawn out ordeal.  Many customers have lately reported great difficulty in getting to speak to retentions, calls being repeatedly transferred between agents who can't help, encountering some of the poorest quality chatbots ever devised, lengthy hold times, being referred to a Whatsapp channel that has its own delays, and sometimes being on hold for hours and then disconnected.  Each time you speak to an agent the account holder should need to go through ID checks, and if you want to speak to the agent the account holder needs to give new authority to do that. 

If you're lucky, your call will be picked up quickly, handled well and all the things you want addressing resolved on that call.  If you're not, then it could be something like I've described above - prepare yourself mentally.

[Carley_S]

Hi JonSwfc

Welcome to the community. 

I can see that our VIP's have already responded to your queries. 

Please do consider giving us a call on 0345 454 1111 / 150 or via SMS 0753 305 1809 and our team will be more than happy to perform a package review for you. They will ensure that your Nan is on the best possible deal for their package.

I also recommend calling at 8am when the lines first open, as this is when we will be less busy with shorter wait times.

Please let us know how you get on and if you have any further questions or concerns, we'll be here to help if needed.

[gurpswu]

if you are outside of your minimum contract period, cancel the account and sign up as a new customer in your own name, not your nans, and you'll get all the deals available to new customers.

completely legal and fine to do this, just don't tell the operator on the phone, because they'll try and scare you into not doing it, often saying you'll need to wait 30 days between disconnection and reconnection. it's just not true.