Upgrade from Tivo to V6

[WhyamiwithVM]

So Virgin made a bold self- congratulatory announcement back on the 24th January 2018 "

• Virgin Media gives its customers a telly upgrade with its top box
• In what is one of the largest customer upgrade programmes ever carried out in the UK, Virgin Media is accelerating the rollout of its best-ever box and will end the year with the majority of its TV customers using the next-generation, 4K-ready V6.
• Customers who take a TV and broadband bundle will be able to upgrade their older set-top box for Virgin TV’s smallest, smartest and fastest V6 box at no additional cost and with no re-contract requirements.

All brilliant news.  Except I'm still sat here over 3 years later with a barely functioning Tivo box,  and Virgin are now bragging about their brilliant new 360 box.

Having spoken to them about a year ago,  and reading other posts on here, everyone just seems to have been offered the option if they paid for it

Has anyone actually received this or was this just the usual dodgy advertising that's just vague enough to cover their backsides?

[Kath_F]

Hi WhyamiwithVM, 

Thanks for your post and apologies to hear you are unhappy. 

Whenever we run promotions that include box swaps, we would only contact the customers affected if the box they have is something we no longer support. Anything else, you would need to contact us for the offer. 

If you were eligible at the time then when calling, the box swap would have been made available to you too. 

Whilst the TiVo is one of our older boxes, we do still fully support it so therefore if you wish to change box now, you will need to contact the team on 0345 454 1111 to discuss a new package that includes either the V6 or 360 service. 

Apologies once again for any frustrations caused. 

Thanks,

[WhyamiwithVM]

Again,  infuriatingly this wasn't a promotion,  otherwise it would have been clearly labelled as such and the terms clearly laid out and accessible. This was an announcement (personally I would say an advert parading as an announcement) about Virgin Media's upgrade program, that at best appears to be misleading. Had it been an offer or promotion, customers would have been able to see an accurate definition of "eligible",  and challenged Virgin if they were not contacted. 

To clarify: I've had TV, broadband and landline since c2013 and I'm pretty sure i was out of contract in January 2018. I definitely was when I contacted Virgin in September 2018. At which point I was told I wasn't eligible for the upgrade,  Virgin were rolling the upgraded boxes out as they saw fit (again, i couldn't challenge my eligibility as it was an announcement so there was no definition ).

I wasn't overly bothered at the time because the announcement quoted Mr Bouchier  "We believe our finest kit shouldn't just be for new customers So today we're... accelerating the rollout of our best ever set-top box".  And having the "majority" of customers on the V6 by the end of 2018, I figured my free* upgrade couldn't be too far off.

I'm currently out of contract,  so your suggestion to re-contract to get the box wouldn't be a problem.  But why would I want to get tied up again to receive a box that Virgin stated in 2018 was going to be free and not require a re- contract?*

I think I'm going to try and find somebody that makes announcements that can be trusted. Thanks though.

*"Customers who take a TV and broadband bundle will be able to upgrade their older set top box for Virgin TV's smallest, smartest and fastest V6 box at no additional cost with no re- contract requirements. "

[BenMcr]

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@WhyamiwithVM wrote:

Again,  infuriatingly this wasn't a promotion,  otherwise it would have been clearly labelled as such and the terms clearly laid out and accessible. This was an announcement (personally I would say an advert parading as an announcement) about Virgin Media's upgrade program, that at best appears to be misleading. Had it been an offer or promotion, customers would have been able to see an accurate definition of "eligible",  and challenged Virgin if they were not contacted. 

To clarify: I've had TV, broadband and landline since c2013 and I'm pretty sure i was out of contract in January 2018. I definitely was when I contacted Virgin in September 2018. At which point I was told I wasn't eligible for the upgrade,  Virgin were rolling the upgraded boxes out as they saw fit (again, i couldn't challenge my eligibility as it was an announcement so there was no definition ).

I wasn't overly bothered at the time because the announcement quoted Mr Bouchier  "We believe our finest kit shouldn't just be for new customers So today we're... accelerating the rollout of our best ever set-top box".  And having the "majority" of customers on the V6 by the end of 2018, I figured my free* upgrade couldn't be too far off.

I'm currently out of contract,  so your suggestion to re-contract to get the box wouldn't be a problem.  But why would I want to get tied up again to receive a box that Virgin stated in 2018 was going to be free and not require a re- contract?*

I think I'm going to try and find somebody that makes announcements that can be trusted. Thanks though.

*"Customers who take a TV and broadband bundle will be able to upgrade their older set top box for Virgin TV's smallest, smartest and fastest V6 box at no additional cost with no re- contract requirements. "

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There is this bit on the press release which I don't think has been posted so far:

https://www.virginmedia.com/corporate/media-centre/press-releases/virgin-media-gives-its-customers-a...

Eligible customers will be contacted in the coming weeks with details of how they can request their V6 box. The vast majority will be able to self-install avoiding the need for an engineer visit.

So not all customers with TiVo were eligible and as you've said yourself, when you called in you were told that.

I'm pretty sure there was a webpage that was part of the promotion which will have covered the full terms of the upgrade offer, but I can't remember what it was at this point so can't find it in the wayback machine.

[BenMcr]

Took a while but found it and the terms that came with it in 2018 - including the fact that Virgin Media could withdraw the offer

https://web.archive.org/web/20180216031430/http://www.virginmedia.com/shop/connected-entertainment.h...

Free Virgin TV V6 box upgrade: Available to existing Virgin TV and Fibre bundle customers without a V6 box. One free V6 upgrade per account enabling replacement of oldest Virgin TV set top box with a V6 box (previously cost £0-£ 49.95 plus £20 set up fee). Requires connection to HD TV (via HDMI cable – we provide one of these) and the Virgin Media Hub.  If we need to upgrade your existing Virgin Media Hub we’ll let you know and provide this at no extra cost. If you downgrade your bundle to an ineligible bundle we reserve the right to void this offer.  V6 box and any other equipment we provide to you (e.g. Hub) remains the property of Virgin Media and must be returned to us upon request, otherwise you may be charged for not returning it.  Installation: Promotion requires self-installation via QuickStart.  You can chose a delivery date online and an order confirmation will be sent to you via email. Delivery dates are subject to availability and could take over 30 days.  If we cannot provide the date you have chosen we will deliver on the next available date and confirm this by email. See FAQs for further details. This Legal Stuff applies in addition to your existing agreement with us under our terms and conditions, which can be found here. Promotion can be withdrawn at any time and is subject to stock availability.  General:  Registered address: Media House, Bartley Wood Business Park, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9UP.  Registered in England and Wales No. 02591237.   

[japitts]

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@WhyamiwithVM wrote:

I'm currently out of contract,  so your suggestion to re-contract to get the box wouldn't be a problem.  But why would I want to get tied up again to receive a box that Virgin stated in 2018 was going to be free and not require a re- contract?*

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If you're out of contract, you're likely on a bundle that's potentially 18months out of date. You might well find that a newer package is more cost-effective. Not saying you will, but it's a distinct possibility.

[WhyamiwithVM]

Appreciate the effort. 

The announcement never references those T&Cs (strange i know :D)  The announcement also said Virgin will contact eligible customers. Assuming those T&Cs are in fact related to the massively well published announcement,  I would have been eligible anyway. As again,  I would have been if the announcement could be taken at face value. 

It is all moot anyway. They can hide behind all the nebulous language and legalise they wish,  the message that is conveyed throughout that announcement seemed pretty clear: our existing customers are as important to us as new customers,  they should all have the finest tech and we'll be ensuring they have it as soon as possible and for no cost without re-contracting. We will be in touch if you have a TV and Broadband package. 

When they actually meant: This is a promotion,  T&C apply (click here), contact us ASAP as there is limited supply (unless you are a new customer in which case we have plenty). Our definition of "finest kit",  is kit that we still support. Definition of "eligible customer" can be found in the aforementioned T&Cs and is subject to change. 

I can see why they didn't put what they actually meant though. Not a great advert.  😄