Re-Negotiating Contract problems

[countyexile]

I am on the Ultimate Oomph package, including an unlimited Virgin Mobile sim. My 18 month discounted contract at £110 per month ended in August with the price increasing to £147.50 per month. As on previous contract end occasions and as suggested by the VM agent last time I phoned VM to see what options were available. Unfortunately I was connected to an overseas call centre and had some difficulty understanding what was being said. She spoke very fast and with an accent I had great difficulty understanding and had to repeatedly ask her to say it again. Surely when discussing important issues relating to terms and conditions and financial matters that will affect you for a lengthy period it is important that you can understand what is being said to you - you can only say "could you please repeat?" so many times.  She also seemed to be just working from a prepared script, saying the same thing over and over, no matter what I said. I must have said at least half a dozen times that I had no interest in packages linked to the Volt O2 sim and wanted to keep my Virgin Mobile sim. For me the whole point of a "package" means you only have to deal with one company, with one single monthly payment and not to have to deal with separate entities for different parts of the package. The number of issues others have reported on here regarding setting up and running the Volt packages have also put me off even considering one. Added to that why change an unlimited sim integral to the package  for one that costs  an additional £25 per month and will increase by inflation plus 3.9% every year?  After she finally appeared to accept I wouldn't be signing up to a Volt package she then said "If you make any changes at all to your package the Virgin Mobile sim will be de-activated within a month"!! The conversation ended with me saying I wanted to make it absolutely clear that I do not under any circumstances want a volt package and whilst I consider my options do not make any changes at all to my existing package.

What I want to know is

1) Is it true that any package changes at all (irrespective of whether or not they are volt packages) will mean the loss of the Virgin Mobile sim - or was she misleading me?

2) Is it no longer possible to discuss and re-negotiate the monthly cost of your existing package at the end of a discounted period?

I was extremely unhappy at the end of the conversation - I remained polite and calm throughout the conversation but underneath was fuming. Maybe after over 21 uninterrupted years with Telewest / Virgin Media the time has come for a change!

[jb66]

Your going to have to switch to o2 from virgin mobile if you want a decent deal. Virgin no longer bundle virgin mobile sims with their deals.

[Megan_L]

Hi Countyexile, 

Thanks for using the forums to get clarification on what the agent said on the phone to you, I am sorry if the call ended up making you feel frustrated and confused. 

I'll be happy to answer the two questions you had in your post, although I won't be able to make media package changes here on the forums. 

"Is it true that any package changes at all (irrespective of whether or not they are volt packages) will mean the loss of the Virgin Mobile sim?"

As you're on an Oomph SIM, you probably won't be paying for the SIM currently as it's included in the Media package usually. However, if you wanted to change or cancel your media package and continue with the SIM, this would mean you'll then be popped onto the most similar tariff available which you will then need to pay for as it's no longer part of an Oomph bundle. It will still have the same number and we would be able to help with this on the forums. 

"Is it no longer possible to discuss and re-negotiate the monthly cost of your existing package at the end of a discounted period?" 

Yes that's completely possible, all you need to do is call the retentions department to either renew your contract or cancel if we cannot provide a deal to your liking. Of course, if the package you were on becomes unavailable we may not be able to just renew that package as usual, in this case we would explore what other packages we have to offer. 

If you're interested in seeing what other SIM offers we have please take a look at our SIM store here. 

I hope all that information helps explain things, please let me know if you need further advice.

Thanks,

Megan_L

[newapollo]

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@Megan_L wrote:

Hi Countyexile, 

Thanks for using the forums to get clarification on what the agent said on the phone to you, I am sorry if the call ended up making you feel frustrated and confused. 

I'll be happy to answer the two questions you had in your post, although I won't be able to make media package changes here on the forums. 

"Is it true that any package changes at all (irrespective of whether or not they are volt packages) will mean the loss of the Virgin Mobile sim?"

As you're on an Oomph SIM, you probably won't be paying for the SIM currently as it's included in the Media package usually. However, if you wanted to change or cancel your media package and continue with the SIM, this would mean you'll then be popped onto the most similar tariff available which you will then need to pay for as it's no longer part of an Oomph bundle. It will still have the same number and we would be able to help with this on the forums. 

The unlimited sim in the Ultimate Oomph bundle would have cost £30 per month if VM had billed the sim separately via VM Mobile. They instead included that cost in the media package pricing, but also set up a direct debit for £0.00 with VM Mobile. You would only have been charged on the mobile account direct debit if you had called premium rate numbers, used picture messaging etc. So basically it's the same as the Volt package, except on the Volt the cost of the sim is removed from the media package pricing ie Ultimate Volt and is instead charged for by O2 mobile. VM and O2, although a joint venture still have separate billing.

"Is it no longer possible to discuss and re-negotiate the monthly cost of your existing package at the end of a discounted period?" 

Yes that's completely possible, all you need to do is call the retentions department to either renew your contract or cancel if we cannot provide a deal to your liking. Of course, if the package you were on becomes unavailable we may not be able to just renew that package as usual, in this case we would explore what other packages we have to offer. 

Some things to consider when taking out an Ultimate Volt package which are advantageous compared to the Ultimate Oomph bundle.

The Ultimate Volt deal is slightly better than the now obsolete Ultimate Oomph deal in that includes standard netflix in the pricing, along with the Sky Cinema and Sky Entertainment Ultra HD add on which was an extra £6 per month on the Ultimate Oomph package (unless you had recontracted the Ultimate Oomph and had that included)

The newer Ultimate Volt package also doubles data on any other monthly O2 sims in your household, and it includes up to 3 free WiFi pods if needed for any blackspots in your home. 

If you're interested in seeing what other SIM offers we have please take a look at our SIM store here. 

You will notice that the unlimited sim from VM mobile is currently only £20 per month, compared to £25 via O2.  The VM sim (not the O2 Volt sim) can be downgraded to say 10 or 12 GB and unlimited calls and texts if you wish once you renegotiate a deal if you want to keep it. You could also transfer (PAC) that number to the O2 Volt sim if you took a Volt deal.

I hope all that information helps explain things, please let me know if you need further advice.

Thanks,

Megan_L

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[countyexile]

Thanks for your replies. Been a bit side-tracked on other matters lately so only just got around to this.

From what has been said it is fairly clear that the information I was given by the overseas call centre was misleading.  After continually pushing the volt bundles when it became clear I did not want an O2  sim she said if I made any other changes to my package the Virgin Mobile sim card would be de-activated within 30 days. She completely failed to mention that I could actually change packages and still have a Virgin Mobile sim, just that it would be contracted and billed separately from the media bundle!  This is the major problem with Virgin at the moment - It is purely the luck of the draw who you get to speak to on the phone. It could be someone knowledgeable and helpful who explains everything properly (as I experienced 18 months ago) or it could be someone pushing a particular package who fails to explain the full options (whether by accident or design)  and gives misleading information (as happened to me last month).

Given the continuing issues setting up, operating and billing for the  Volt / O2 bundles as detailed in many posts on here and from speaking to other VM customers I have no intention signing up for a Volt bundle unless / until the ongoing issues reported by  many others are sorted.  The "advantages"  of the Ultimate Volt package referred to aren't ones that appeal to me. Standard Netflix is of no interest to me, having had a subscription to Netflix in the past and saw a steady deterioration in what they were offering, so cancelled it. That is even before considering the dozens and dozens of posts on here where users have been unable to access Netflix anyway.  As a widower living alone double data on additional O2 sims is of no interest. Regarding  Sky Cinema I have it just because it came as part of the Ultimate Oomph bundle but my main interest is in the Sky Sports (plus HD) part of the bundle.

Looking at the VM website it appears currently  the Non - Volt options are very limited for someone who does not want the O2 sim.  On the mobile side I can sign up for a separate Virgin Mobile sim contract for unlimited calls and texts plus 10gb data for £7 per month, or 30gb data for £12 per month. Either of these would suit me as I rarely use more than 2gb data per month.

The problem, however is in relation to the media bundles on offer. On Ultimate Oomph I have Maxit TV including Sky Sports HD, Sky Cinema and 2 V6 boxes. Also have M600 broadband with 2 wifi pods and a talk anytime landline. None of the bundles advertised however have anything remotely close to this. They only have talk weekends landline,  M500 broadband and either Sky Sports  or Sky Cinema.

Surely there should be a non-volt option, at an appropriate price,  which includes talk anytime landline, Sky Sports and Cinema together and the other benefits of the Ultimate Oomph package minus the Sim card?

[Kain_W]

Thanks for the detailed response again countyexile,

Firstly I'd like to apologise for any misleading information from that call, 

Just to touch base on your question, was any other packages offered when you contacted our team?

Regards,

[countyexile]

Hi, 

No, when I said I did not want to consider a Volt bundle all that was said was that if I made any change to my package my virgin mobile sim card would be deactivated - but no alternative packages were offered

Regards

Rob

[Harley2017]

Hi

I was offered a bundle with a VM sim ( unlimited text, minutes and 4gb) 200 bb speed basic tv and that’s only £5 cheaper than the Ultimate Volt…. I understand that you don’t want to move to O2. 
Try phoning at 8 am tomorrow if you are able. 
Hopefully you will get it sorted! 

[Kain_W]

Ahh okay.

I'd advise to give our retentions team a contact to see if there are any alternative packages you can be placed on.

If you are looking to keep the Mobile SIM then I'd also recommend contacting our team via 0345 600 0789/789 to discuss this matter.

Many thanks,

[countyexile]

Ok thanks. I am off on holiday tomorrow so will try in a week's time. How do I get through to retentions please?  Last time I seem to recall the phone menu options just included "thinking of leaving" and on trying that one I was put through to an overseas call centre ( not retentions?). I even tried phoning early (8 am) but still got connected to an overseas centre.