Early bird promo issues

[MathewD09]

Hi!

Has anybody else experienced problems when upgrading devices through the early bird promotion that was available last year?

I’ve recently been through the process under the impression that I could upgrade for free after having the phone for over 12 months. Turns out virgin are trying to charge me an extra £92 and it seems like they have completely disregarded the original promo offer and turned it into your usual trade up option.

The customer service call got me nowhere apart from being passed from pillar to post for over an hour with no end result.

Thanks in advance!

[David_Bn]

Thanks for your post on our Community Forums @MathewD09, and a very warm welcome to you!

Sorry to hear of the difficulty you've faced when trying to upgrade your handset after 12 months.

Do you possibly have access to the deal you're referring to, so I can review and advise further?

Kindest regards,

David_Bn

[MathewD09]

It was just called the early bird promotion where you could take a new contract over either 24 or 36 months and after having the phone for atleast 12 months you could upgrade early, for free aslong as you sent the device back after receiving your new device.

[Tom_W1]

Hi @MathewD90 thanks for your post although I'm sorry you've had problems with your upgrade.

So for the Early Bird promotion, this is something we no longer offer however for customers (such as yourself) who are on the Early Bird deal still, we are honouring the early upgrade so I'm unsure why you didn't get the help you need, really sorry about this.

Please do call us back 0800 183 1150 and we'll get you the help you require.
Many thanks

[MathewD09]

I understand you no longer offer the promotion but in march 2021 when I took on the deal, it was valid and should have been valid up until I either decided to take advantage early or let the contract run out. I did take advantage so I could get a newer device. Now i’m being told I owe £92 for the early upgrade which should have been free aslong as I sent the phone back.

[Tom_W1]

Hi @MathewD09 thanks for your reply.

Yes of course - apologies if I've been unclear but I do agree with you, that you should still be able to upgrade the handset free of charge as long as you've surpassed the timescales set out in the Early Bird promotion.

It would appear to be a training issue by the agents, as even though we aren't strictly offering this promotion (to take out) anymore, we are honouring the free upgrade (within the requirements) if you are on the Early Bird.

Please call us on the number provided and we'll get this sorted for you.

Many thanks

[MathewD09]

I’ve already called today. Spent around an hour and a half being past to 3 different departments and no one seemed to understand the issue so was left on hold every 5 minutes. Nothing came of the call except having a complaint put in my name and assured that someone would get back to me.

[Steven_L]

Thanks for coming back to us @MathewD09 and I hope that the team will get back to you as soon as they can with an update to your issue and complaint.

Regards,

Steven_L