Charged £164.93 to swap Virgin Media TiVo 1TB to V6

[Agarina]

Hi all

Absolutely fuming and starting to question my sanity so any help appreciated. 

Been on WhatsApp with Virgin for 2 days straight now. 

Asked to be upgraded to a V6, told I would have to pay an additional £10 each month (existing customer of 10 years plus here) so said "Nope absolutely not, free swap please" which was accepted eventually.

Now after I accepted the offer made to me to keep the same package (just a couple of quids less each month) and a V6 box to replace my existing older box, I'm now told I need to pay £164.95 for an engineer to come even after I've asked "why can't I do a Quick start install as I already got a box?" 

[10/01, 14:23] Me: Beyond connecting/ plugging in a few cables at the back of the TV and following the online set up guide, what more is there to do to justify £164.95? What is the breakdown of the costs/charge?
[10/01, 14:44] Virgin Media: *Arianne*
The Installer needs to connect it to properly connect to your V6 box, he has a one-time fee

Pardon my French but what the actual frell?! 

For info my package is:

M250 Fibre Broadband, Maxit TV, Bigger Bundle and Weekend Chatter at £64 month for 18 months.

Thank you 🙂

[newapollo]

Hi @Agarina 

I have no idea where the fee of  £164.95 for an engineer came from, but there is often a higher first bill when changing package but the following months package should revert to the actual package price. <<< this page >>>  explains the billing

You should be able to swap from a Tivo to a V6 box without upgrading your package. You would however though need a tech visit to install the newer box.

Fees for tech visits are normally £25. There may also be an installation or activation fee for the new box.

You have 14 days to change your mind for a package change, and revert back to your original package.

I would speak to retentions (thinking of leaving) cancel the regrade and re-negotiate a deal  with them. 

Retentions (thinking of leaving us) are generally based in the UK, and have a greater degree of knowledge and flexibility, along with a larger range of discounts than the front line agents. Hopefully you can negotiate a deal with them that's suitable to your pocket and needs in exchange for a new contract.

[Roger_Gooner]

AFAIK the last time VM offered a (time-limited) free upgrade to a V6 was about nine months ago. The upgrade cost used to be £99.95 plus £35 activation fee.

If you don't want to pay you can just wait for VM to upgrade you from the TiVo for free (which will happen sooner or later).

[japitts]

If nothing else, £165 seems a very random figure and I suspect if you called back or tried live-chat again, you'd struggle to be told the same info twice.

Be aware if you take the retentions route, you'll get a hard sale for TV360 - whether that suits you or not is your call, but you should be prepared for it if you're not aware.

Faulty TiVo's are replaced with V6 as a matter of course.

[Stepheninleeds]

I did a Quick Start install. It was very easy to follow the instructions. There was an issue with activation. A call resolved that. I am not sure why they insist on an engineer. I would call, or wait until you are offered the upgrade for free, as I was for 6 months.

[Ilyas_Y]

Hey @Agarina, thanks for reaching out to us and a warm welcome to the Virgin Media forums.

I'm sorry to hear about the issues with the booking for a QS order.
I will look in to this for you and see what has gone on.
Watch out for the purple envelope inviting you in to a private message.

Kind regards,
Ilyas.