Upselling - how to get package I want?

[Tomm1805]

Had a call from vm as I’m out of contract. Currently paying £180 pm for services. All I want is a basic tv package plus sports and uhd.(plus broadband and landline)  Guy at vm said he couldn’t help me with this and kept trying to upsell a package for £188 pm. This is all he could offer 
How do I arrange to get a package I want?

[MOD EDIT: Subject title changed for clarity]

[Cardiffman282]

You make sure VM has your current phone number and you have enabled marketing and then you cancel. The best offer comes in the second outbound retentions call. It's brinkmanship and the calls might not come. You will need of course to have a good fallback provider ready to go. 

[Alex_RM]

Hi Tomm1805,

Thanks for posting 😊

We're unable to do package changes via this forum, but you can speak to the team on 150/ 0345 454 1111 or via whats app on +44780 308 9684 and they will offer you the best deal at the time of your contact. 

Alex_Rm

[Tomm1805]

Alex. VM have contacted me via the 0800 number  but said they couldn’t give me the package I want. They could only offer me a more expensive package, not a cheaper one 

[goslow]

The VM sales agents will continue to stonewall you by only offering bigger/more expensive packages.

If you want to downsize, and cut costs, start looking around at what the competitors are offering. That is the only relevant information you need when trying to negotiate with VM.

Do your research into that first of all and try some of the suggestions from Andrew-G at post #5 in the link below

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Forum-Archive/Why-oh-why-does-loyalty-get-punished/m-p/5226917#...

Your success depends on your negotiating skill and how willing the sales agent thinks you are to actually leave.

If you still get nowhere, give your 30 days notice to cancel as per advice from Cardiffman282. Have marketing options turned on in 'My VM' and you may get a better retentions offer although there is no guarantee at all such a call will come through. So, if you do cancel, you need to be able to follow through with it if VM fails to come back with an acceptable offer.

VM's offers tend to be 'of the moment' and no longer there if you decide to think about it and call back. Having all the facts and figures to hand will help you know if any future offer from VM is good or not compared to the competition.

Finally, make sure you are very clear on the details of what any future package with VM contains (particularly TV channels) as there are regular topics on here where the details discussed on the phone do not come through in the formal offer VM sends through. Check any offer in writing to make sure it exactly matches what you want in any future package before you formally sign up to it.

[Steven_L]

Thanks for coming back to us Tomm1805, unfortunately we would not be able to help any further from here. Have you tried to speak to the team on the number that Alex recommended earlier today?

Kind Regards,

Steven_L

[GregorianChant]

OK so you have now had responses from two different members of the VM forum team, both quite explicitly saying that they can’t, or won’t help you. So maybe, time to give this up, yes?

Think of it like this, Virgin Media is a company drowning in debt; no they are literally drowning in debt, and they really need every single penny they can get from subscribers.

So how about the idea that they instruct their call centre staff to do everything they can to increase income, not reduce it? Of course they won’t offer a ‘cheaper’ option, they will rely on ‘most’ customers simply sucking it up and  accepting it. Now some, maybe a small minority of customer won’t just ‘suck it up’ and will kick off and actually cancel and look elsewhere.. But VM don’t know if you, personally are one of them, from their perspective, the likelihood is that you will (probably) fold ad accept what they offer.

So VM ‘play the numbers’, probably you won't cancel, because it’s 'too difficult’ and too much effort and hence they end up get more money from you, except maybe......?

Honestly, yes I know, it doesn't seem a good way to run a business, but still it is what it is - cancel, call VM and cancel now. Cancel everything with them. Call their bluff, because it is the only, only way you’ll get a reasonable offer.

Or maybe you won't get a better offer, because they believe you will simply ‘fold’ and come crawling back. So what alternative suppliers do you have? What can they offer? Is their offer acceptable?