Forum Discussion

crankyjimmy's avatar
crankyjimmy
Tuning in
8 months ago

When is an offer not an offer?

When its a Virgin Media offer, you all knew that, you would think Virgin Media would know which offers they have sent out, and to which customers, even more importantly which offers have been redeemed, 31-07-24 i redeemed 2 offers, one to renew my contract and keep everything i already had for £79-35, i accepted got an e-contract, which i signed and took a screenshot off so i would have proof, then i took up another offer to double my broadband speed for an extra £3, and took a screenshot of the e-mail offer, total £82-35, now they are trying to charge me £134-00 a month, at one point it was £152, but after much fighting i got £18 off and had TNT Sports restored, but still a big difference in price between £82-35 it should be and £134 they want, i have lodged 2 complaints, but that is an incredibly slow process, it takes up to 28 days for a reply, good grief is their that many complaints to get through? silly question i know judging by the amount of unhappy people in this Community, it makes me so angry that i have to jump through hoops just to get what i was offered, even with proof, i have been with Virgin Media for nearly 30 years, and it's so frustrating to be treat this way, i'm not looking for help from the Mods, already have Vikki_M looking out for me, which i'm very grateful for.    

  • crankyjimmy's avatar
    crankyjimmy
    Tuning in
    8 months ago

    Can anybody give me an answer? In the last week I have received 2 offers to "renew now and save Choose this deal and keep your current Virgin Media plan without losing anything, I have seen in this forum some people have accepted similar offers only to find either TNT Sports or second tv boxes are missing off new contracts, I have phoned Virgin twice to ask if I accepted this offer, would I keep my TNT Sports, one lady said she did not know, the other said she didn't think so, but I could take the offer, but then cancel if Sports missing, not ideal, the offer itself is OK and I would like to accept, but can do without the hassle, my contract ends in 5 weeks.

    • Nathan_B's avatar
      Nathan_B
      Forum Team
      8 months ago

      Hi there crankyjimmy 👋 Welcome back to our forum and thanks for your post 😊

      Sorry to see there's been some confusion as to whether some elements are included or not. For clarification of what's included it would be best to check the pre contract documents that are sent as these will show exactly what is/isn't included. Any discrepancies can then be corrected.

      Regards

      Nathan
       

      • crankyjimmy's avatar
        crankyjimmy
        Tuning in
        8 months ago

        Hi Nathan

        Thanks for suggesting i check out a pre contract, done that and it clearly shows TNT sports 

        M500 Broadband

        TV
         Mixit TV
         Entertainment Picks (x4)
         Sky Premium HD
         Sky Sports Collection
         TNT Sports

        Phone
         Line Rental
         Weekend chatter
         Well pleased, thank you.

               Jim

  • crankyjimmy's avatar
    crankyjimmy
    Tuning in
    8 months ago

    I previously posted that i had been given an offer via My Virgin Media app "Renew now and save choose this deal and keep your current Virginmedia package without loosing anything" my monthly bill before offer £66.55 cost after accepting offer of £79.35, then i received a Virgin Media information contract sheet, showing that price with TNT sports, almost immediately after accepting the offer, i get another offer to upgrade my 500m broadband to Gig1 for £3 a month, good price i accepted, received another Virgin Media information contract sheet this time showing a price of £70 a month, strange, still showing TNT, anyway today TNT sports is gone, and very worryingly for me, and causing me great concern is when i look at My Virgin Media app it shows i will pay £70 this month, but from next payment the price goes up to over £134, i rang up Virgin to cancel, the lady i spoke to said the broadband as it was an upgrade and only activated yesterday then it would be stopped immediately, and i would have no internet, can't imagine life without the internet, when i pointed out the cost going up so much from next month, she suggested contacting the what's app group, that way i could forward screenshots of proof, i thought i could do this, but i'm a pensioner in my 70s and not that clever with computers, really worrying me, any idea's?

    • jpeg1's avatar
      jpeg1
      Alessandro Volta
      8 months ago

      They regularly use those "renew now" offers with various unexpected changes to confuse a customer into paying for more than they want or need.  Now they are frightening you with the loss of internet. It's disgusting and immoral.

      Has your old contract actually finished yet? If not you can insist on going back to that and consider what you might do when it ends.

      You should ring up and take the menu options for 'thinking of leaving us" so that you can speak to another person. Tell them that you only want the same contract as before and what price will they offer.

  • crankyjimmy's avatar
    crankyjimmy
    Tuning in
    8 months ago

    Could Mods help me please, i also took up Virgin Media's renew now and keep your current plan,

     

    So i accepted, also accepted a half price Broadband upgrade Gig1 for an extra £3 Total £82.35

    I received a Virgin Media Contract Information Sheet, clearly showing TNT

    Your package choice: Broadband, TV & Phone bundle
    Full breakdown of your product choice, tier and any additional services.

    Broadband
     M500 Broadband

    TV
     Mixit TV
     Entertainment Picks (x4)
     Sky Premium HD
     Sky Sports Collection
     TNT Sports

    Phone
     Line Rental
     Weekend chatter
    Full PDF file available uploading,

    Anyway TNT went off after 2 days, no warning, just disappeared I've never had any communication from Virgin about TNT

    To top it all on Tuesday 6-08-24 i called them to see if i could get it back, was told no chance, they were not even allowed to give a discount, while i was on the phone i asked about TV 360s and the lady got them sent out to me, great, but same night i got an e-mail from Virgin, eContract Service change receipt, informing me, Your initial monthly service charge £134.00, obviously i phoned them, a nice woman said she would look into it and would call me back next week, fingers crossed,

    • Matthew_ML's avatar
      Matthew_ML
      Forum Team
      8 months ago

      Hey crankyjimmy, thank you for reaching out and I am sorry to hear this.

      TNT is no longer part of the packages its now an odd on,

      However if your paperwork states this then it would be included, we can see you've spoke to the team since this post.

      Please do keep us updated. 

      • crankyjimmy's avatar
        crankyjimmy
        Tuning in
        8 months ago

        Hi Matthew

        Thank you for your reply, yes getting TNT Sports back would be really good, but right now my great concern is the latest contract I have states my payments will now be £134 a month, should be £82.35, I'm very worried is there something in the small print that I've missed ? a nice lady at Virgin Media said she would look into it and call me back next Thursday only problem is that's 2 days after my cooling of period, to late to cancel contract renewal and broadband upgrade, I'm so tempted to call up and cancel everything while I can, including giving 30 days notice on my original contract, plenty of other providers now, I really would hate leaving Virgin, been there nearly 30 years, with very little problems in the past, just to finish, am I the only person who likes the new tv 369 remote and screen layout ?

  • Ilyas_Y's avatar
    Ilyas_Y
    Forum Team (Retired)
    8 months ago

    Hey crankyjimmy Thanks for reaching out to us on the Virgin Media forums. 👋🏼

    I'm  sorry to hear about the issues with the bill and contract offers you are having,
    I will assist you on this and send a private message to provide further support.

    Kind regards,
    Ilyas.

    • crankyjimmy's avatar
      crankyjimmy
      Tuning in
      8 months ago

      Hi IIyas_Y

      Thank you for reaching out, is it ok for me to send you 2 copies of my contracts, just to show you what i'm up against, and is driving me mad,

                                    Jim

  • Ilyas_Y's avatar
    Ilyas_Y
    Forum Team (Retired)
    8 months ago

    Thanks for speaking with us today crankyjimmy on the Virgin Media forums. 👋🏼

    I'm glad we have been able to assist and get everything resolved for you.
    Let us know how it goes when your next bill is produced.

    Kind regards,
    Ilyas.

    • crankyjimmy's avatar
      crankyjimmy
      Tuning in
      8 months ago

      Hi Ilyas_Y

       Thank you for your help on Sunday, i got a call from Virgin Media Complaints Department today, after a lot of waffle from this guy called Ajay, nothing was sorted, he said this matter needed to be escalated to a higher level, what ever that means, and he would call back Friday, how i wish i could turn the clock back 4 weeks, big regret renewing my contract,     All the best Jim

      • Matthew_ML's avatar
        Matthew_ML
        Forum Team
        7 months ago

        I am sorry to hear this, 

        I can see you are currently in DM with colleague I would advise reaching back out if you still need some assistance. 

  • crankyjimmy's avatar
    crankyjimmy
    Tuning in
    7 months ago

    Renewed my contract Wednesday 31-07-24 for £79-35 plus Broadband upgrade for £3, £82-35 a month in total, some how price showed at £70-00, i just thought it must be some sort of adjustment, 6 days later i phoned Virgin to ask about 360 box, that night i got a Service change receipt, and my new monthly price would be £134.00, four days later it was £152.00, two days later back to £134.00 and finally £163.75, when i show these prices i have taken no upgrades or made changes to package, spoke to someone from complaints department yesterday, who said this would have to be escalated to a higher department, Virgin Media can't see anything wrong, unbelievable. 

    • codenstuff's avatar
      codenstuff
      Tuning in
      7 months ago

      The pricing is very silly. I decided not to renew mine and had BRSK installed last week, so far I have zero complaints. Engineer turned up next day, install took about an hour, I've had a consistent 1GB connection since then, I don't know if it's their router or because they hook you up directly to the phone mast outside, but everything is loading faster, all my connected devices (CCTV cameras, doorbell etc) all sync super fast. I was on Virgin 1GB on their Hub 5 which I thought was pretty nippy, but this BRSK is like 10 times faster.

      My bills have gone from £70+ on Virgin to £28 a month with BRSK on a 24-month contract with no price rises during the length of the contract, and I got a £75 Amazon voucher on top. BRSK will even pay what's left on your contract (and termination fees) with your current provider if you move to them. Shame Virgin can't give their customers decent pricing - especially loyal ones.

      Move provider if you can, that's my recommendation.

      • crankyjimmy's avatar
        crankyjimmy
        Tuning in
        7 months ago

        I really wish I had gone elsewhere, I've been with Virgin for nearly 30 years, I've always praised them, I must just have been lucky always had great service without much problem, but my luck has run out, and this episode has really turned me against Virgin.

  • crankyjimmy's avatar
    crankyjimmy
    Tuning in
    7 months ago

    Just been informed that a Virgin Media offer i received, To renew now and keep everything, an offer which i accepted and signed an e-Contract agreement, returned it, and got a Virgin Media Contract Information Sheet outlining what i would receive, now Virgin have decided the price they offered me was an online mistake, and i now can't have what they originally said i could have, well not for the same price, if i took the same package now it would be nearly £30 more a month, i have had to go for a lesser package, now no sports, if was not for their Broadband i would love to tell them what to do with their package, i will be getting in touch with the Ombudsman, also trading standards, you just cannot give a contract at an agreed price then decide you have given too much, and say it was an online problem. 

    • Callinder's avatar
      Callinder
      Up to speed
      7 months ago

      I was also contacted by email to renew my contract rather than wait until it was about to end. After numerous phone calls, because nothing was happening, I was told that my contract cost was going to increase by over 60%, the intial payment was going to be over £370!!!???, that's over 3.5 times what I pay now and it didn't seem that I was going to get what I get now.  Now after receiving 7 different contracts by email and on my mobile, it appears to be close to what I finally (sic) agreed upon. However we'll have to see what my next bill is? Fingers crossed!

      • Cardiffman282's avatar
        Cardiffman282
        Trouble shooter
        7 months ago

        £370 is officially the highest monthly payment I have ever seen on here. 

    • goslow's avatar
      goslow
      Alessandro Volta
      7 months ago
      crankyjimmy wrote:

      Just been informed that a Virgin Media offer i received, To renew now and keep everything, an offer which i accepted and signed an e-Contract agreement, returned it, and got a Virgin Media Contract Information Sheet outlining what i would receive, now Virgin have decided the price they offered me was an online mistake<snip>

      There has been no shortage of topics like this in recent times from existing customers trying to renew via a 'great deal' kind of email (which then turns out to be not as great as suggested or not even available at all).

      If you have made a formal complaint to VM (and have received a 'resolution' that is not acceptable) you can reject the resolution and VM should provide you with a deadlock letter (to allow you to go to the ombudsman). Sadly, VM is not very good at providing deadlock letters, as detailed in topics on here. In any event, after 8 weeks have passed since you first complained, you can go to the ombudsman anyway.

      https://www.commsombudsman.org/our-process

      Speak to Citizens Advice on the consumer law side of it to see what is applicable.

      If you think the advert to renew was misleading, you can complain to ASA as well

      https://www.asa.org.uk/make-a-complaint.html

       

      • Matthew_ML's avatar
        Matthew_ML
        Forum Team
        7 months ago

        Thank you for reaching out goslow.

        We have been in PM with the above customer have been looking into this.