Price increase 2023

[ian_rs]

I've just received notification that my Virgin package is going up an incredible £21.50 PER MONTH!! How can this be justified? My service is exactly the same, with the very poor broadband (despite claims it is 250Mbps but still poor connectivity), same old TV (with channels disappearing) and no customer loyalty (have been with Virgin for years now).

[japitts]

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@ian_rs wrote:

with the very poor broadband (despite claims it is 250Mbps but still poor connectivity)

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Have you reported this problem, to get some help with it? https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Speed/bd-p/Speed may be able to help if you detail the issue

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@ian_rs wrote:

same old TV (with channels disappearing)

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Such as?

[ian_rs]

Smithsonian for example. This has moved across to Paramount, which is not available via Virgin Media.

[Ernie_C]

Without knowing what services you have, it’s difficult to comment, other than to say that you have the option to leave without exit fees or re-negotiate for a better price in return for a new contract minimum period which won’t have a free exit clause next time round.

[Paulina_Z]

Hi @ian_rs,

Welcome to our Community Forums! Thank you for your first post and we're sorry to hear that you're unhappy with the current Price Rise.

Your individual price rise will be specific to the service you have. Overall, the average price rise is 13.8%. Some price changes will be lower and some customers will be excluded completely.

We always balance our prices with the need to continue investing in our network, products and services.

• Like many businesses, we’re experiencing rising costs due to inflation. We are not immune to rising costs, primarily due to wider economic changes from rising inflation.
• We’re seeing growing demand for data – with usage growing by more than 10% each year. Last year, we invested more than £2bn in our networks, which contributed to average broadband speeds increasing more than 40%, while helping to make sure our customers stayed connected and were able to keep using our services more and more.

Please let us know if there's anything else we can do to help.

Thank you.

[japitts]

There's two sides to the Smithsonian example.

On the one hand, recent years have seen a move to multiple subscriptions for multiple streaming platforms - that's an industry trend and I personally think it's unsustainable in the long-term.

But in general, VM can't be blamed when channels cease broadcasting - packages do come & go, and they've recently put many Sky Entertainment HD channels into lower packages. Increasing the value on Mixit & personal picks at the cost of devaluing Maxit.

[Nialli]

Sky prices up too, but a fraction of Virgin’s rise. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2023/02/sky-broadband-tv-price-hikes-2023/

VM greed is going to be a brilliant boost for Sky Stream and Glass - talk about shooting yourselves in the foot!

[ian_rs]

Paulina

You’ve missed the point here, how can you justify a £21.50 monthly increase for no change in service, at a time when people are struggling with all other price increase? Having been a Virgin Media customer for many years now, not once have I been contacted to see what could be done,  and a simple solution of leaving to find another provider (in other posts and your website) show extremely poor customer service. I’ve tried to talk via the Call Chat (as it says it’s better than trying to phone) and waited for a couple of hours this afternoon with no one picking it up.

[Ernie_C]

You have been given Virgin Media’s justification which you disagree with.

You have also been given the action you can take.

1. Cancel penalty free;

2. Re-negotiate in return for a new contract minimum period;

3.[MOD EDIT: Inappropriate language removed, please review the Forum Guidelines]

[Anonymous]

What was the inappropriate option three Ernie? You have me on tenterhooks now...