Contract renewal

[jonathanpye]

Hi

I have an ultimate oomph bundle at 1GB since its launch back 2019, added UHD cinema when it was released.

I'm out of contract now, been so for several months, and phoned customer service retentions; how disappointed I was. Firstly, i do not believe it was a UK based response even tough it was day time and i suspect the below experience was due to this.

I was offered ultimate Volt and told i would get a speed boost , how can i get a speed boost i asked when I'm already on 1Gb, I got some rubbish reply. 

I asked would i get a Hub 5, told hub 4 is suitable.

I am unclear if i get Netflix standard added and able to pay extra for the premium service i have.

I was told disney plus included free for 6 months, i guess that's worth a couple of pounds a month saving over the length of contract as I do have a disney plus subscription now.

I was told my unlimited package would be replaced with O2 100gb package, really, a downgrade regardless if i use that data or not?

I don't know if i will lose my UHD service, i asked but was not given an answer as the sale speak continued about my so called speed boost?

I have 2 additional sim only deals on family plan discount, and asked about them and if that discount is retained if my main sim is moved to O2 and given another non descript answer as the speed boost answer was again given?

I was offered a 3 pound reduction, which "only eligible customers such as me" are getting , did i really get told that, insulting to my intelligence really.

In summary my bill goes down insignificantly, i get offered a speed boost from 1GB to 1GB , but i don't know if i get to retain the discounts on my family plan so could cost me more if i lose the discounts.

I could lose UHD channels and then have to pay the £6 uplift from HD to UHD, again this wasn't explained on the call

There seemed little benefit in changing and it could cost me more if you look at all the factors.

The general pattern of the call was sales pitch rather than listen to the customer and his needs, therefore i politely declined the offer due to uncertainties of taking the Volt package and in my view no real advantage from my VM package AND locked into 18 months contract. I would sign if i felt it there were advantages to locking in for another 18 months on a contract in both service offered and cost. I got neither and was left confused about what i would be getting / losing if i signed a new contract.

In 20 years of being a VM customer I have never felt so dissatisfied when talking to retentions, at least i used to feel listened too and understood the services provided when negotiating a renewed contract,

I have therefore not renewed the contract as I intended to do so.

I have not yet cancelled the services as I now seriously consider alternative providers in the coming months especially as full fibre is currently being installed by openreach in my area opening up Gigabyte broadband by Sky, BT, talk talk etc.

Have other community members suffered the same  issues when dealing with customer retentions of late

[David_Bn]

Thanks for your post on our Community Forums @jonathanpye and welcome back!

Sorry to hear of the poor experience when attempting to agree a new contract with Virgin Media.

The benefits of agreeing to a Volt package can be found here.

It may worth considering what you pay and gain in terms of data on each Virgin Mobile sim card as you would be issued with double data, if you were to switch over to O2.

In relation to Netflix, you would be able to top up the account, with the base rate being free of charge and then the additional amount paid to top up to higher tiers.

If you're able to call our team on 0345 454 1111 or 150, our team will be able to confirm if UHD content can be included within your package, or if this would be issued to you at an extra charge.

Sadly if you are already on the 1GB download speed, the benefit of a free speed uplift on your connection would be somewhat redundant.

Kindest regards,

David_Bn

[jonathanpye]

Thanks for the response, much appreciated.

Read the O2  benefits via the link and regardless of fancy marketting as suspected the mobile deals are way more expensive than equivalent virgin mobile deals. There is no benefit only additional cost to becoming an O2 customer via a bundle.

The bundle itself could be dearer too with the only benefit is Netflix as standard.

I see little to no value in signing a new contract and so wand will await openreach confirming activation in my area.

Thanks again for responding

[Kath_F]

Hi jonathanpye, 

Thanks for coming back and letting us know. 

We are sorry that on this occasion there are no suitable deals for you to benefit from. 

We do wish you the best going forward though. 

Take care,

[Megan_L · Accepted solution]

Hi Jonathanpye,

Thanks for chatting with me in our PM's, I am really glad we managed to get a complaint created for you about this unhelpful retentions agent. 

Feedback has been sent and I am glad you're now happy after our chat 🙂

If you need any further help, you know where me and my team can be found!

Thanks again, 

Megan_L

[jonathanpye]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your responses and tolerating my small rants, I decided to ring retentions again and although the offer financially was as offered previously, I decided to renew. The difference was retentions taking their time to understand my concerns and resolve and answer each query I had allowing me to make a fully informed choice.