Re: TV price rises
 

I wonder how many customers VM have lost since the announcement of their recent price increases

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VM are the masters of triple play. They've been doing it since the days of Telewest etc... SKY are relatively new to it in comparison. With SKY fibre rolling out next year, and only 33% of customers on triple play just now, SKY has fantastic growth prospects.

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Up until now they have not been able to offer fibre broadband to their customers so that has stopped them having so much triple pay. As fibre gets on more exchanges I expect that to change.

Have heard a lot of people say they would switch to Sky if it wasn't for the fact their area is still adsl only.

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Isn't that what I said?

The selling more to existing is a massive opportunity, even with those figures only 33% of Sky customers take all 3 products, whereas with VM its 65%, so reckon there will be all sorts of offers on the way to push that number up.

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Ah sorry I misread your post.

Figures for NOW TV in 12 months time will be interesting too.

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If your talking growth what about Netflix , in just 7 months in the UK they managed to hit over a million subscribers.

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Yes indeed it will but l think it will be held back somewhat with the price it is charging at the moment.

---------- Post added at 16:14 ---------- Previous post was at 16:14 ----------

Not surprising given its £6 a month price tag.

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Yes, Sky Movies will see its subscribers fall dramatically when Netflix finally comes to the TIVO box.

Wish they'd hurry up! Hopefully, we'll get it before the price rise to offset the 'feel bad' factor.

Re: TV price rises
 

I am probably going to get the usual "Mates Rates is not available to everyone" points raised by people, but would welcome your advice please as this seems the most appropriate forum to ask as it relates to the price rise and this thread includes some very helpful people.

Is it true that Mates Rates is the cheapest deal you can get on Virgin please? I phoned to query our price rise (£5.45 a month on top of £45) and was told this was the cheapest deal available on Virgin as it was half normal price. I know it isn't half price (it was originally), but how much should XL Phone (plus unused Talk Mobile/Talk International), XL BB, XL TV, 2xTivo 500gb and 1xV+ cost please, as you cannot work this out on their website as it only now lets you add one additional box and no V+ option. I should probably add at this point that this was the normal Mates Rates deal at the end of last year (£38.01) enhanced with swapping out the VHD box for a Tivo, moving the V+ to another room and adding another Tivo (as the deal was on at the time, if you remember, with one Tivo fee no matter how many boxes and free moving/keeping the V+).

I know that I had/have a fairly good deal for the package (though not as good as others who joined Mates Rates before me), but the combined rise from April and next February is close to 20% in a year and therefore is still a hefty rise and is causing me to re-evaluate just how good a deal it really is and whether we need it all. Could we, for example, remove the Talk Mobile and Talk International to bring down the price a bit without affecting the Mates Rates discount? And could we use the £120 line rental advance payment?

I received the letter towards the end of last month and queried when I need to give notice if I wish to leave - I was told 16th January (as she went away to check on the system) - this is clearly not 30 days from a date at the end of November when I received the letter? As someone mentioned earlier that all letters would be out by 17th December as they sare posting out letters/emails in batches and letters don't have the date on (mine just said November 2012), is the same notification date being set for everyone?

I am disappointed that the "free" upgrade to 60MB has not happened despite it originally being announced it would be here in July and that multi-room is there but unusuable for the content that we have recorded due to licensing, plus although Tivo is good, I am not sure we are getting the value out of it as we tend to still use it like the V+.

Many thanks

MrB

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No it's not the cheapest deal - as the underlying package is a high level of services, so even when you get a discount it's still more expensive than some TV/BB/Phone combinations

It depends on what the underlying package is as to whether you can remove services without effecting your discount. You should however be able to go for the Line Rental Saver

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Have been staying at a house with SKY . OMG it was it bad. Rugby on at 1.30 `ish kept hanging. EPG very slow to respond kept thinking it simply was not working. Worst of all as we record & watch later normally ( if only 15mins or so) Adverts did not pick up that there were so MANY

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Thats doesnt automatically make Sky bad. That issue could have been a number of things. The EPG may have been awful for you doesnt mean it is for everyone. It may not have been the new EPG and still on the old grey coloured one.

The picture issue may have been interference, signal issue, transmission issue or a number of things.

Im not sure what you mean about the adverts thing

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Had a phone call just over an hour or so ago from VM asking for my feedback on why I cancelled and boy did I give her the answer!

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Thank you Ben, she claimed I couldn't get this mix of services cheaper - I am not bothered about the Mobile or International add ons but would ideally like to keep XL/XL/XL, 2xTivo and 1xV+ (if it helps the Mates Rates offer was XL/XL/XL, phone line plus Talk Mobile/International, V+ and VHD - is this the underlying minimum package?).

Has anyone on Mates Rates any experience of them discounting down/cancelling the price rise please?

Many thanks

MrB

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How long ago did you leave Virgin?

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End of last month using the price rise get out clause to cancel ;)

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Obviously this forum isn't a fair reflection of Virgin customers in general however it seems more people have left Virgin at this price increase than I remember them doing previously. Usually you'll get people posting how unhappy they are, threatening to leave, but in the end they stay. This time more than ever people are actually cancelling.

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1) Agree it does not make Sky bad - Its has however put me off!!:dozey:
2) The EPG was blue And sorry I found it very poor, chunky & slow
3) Interference, no doubt it was - HOW do you live with that - shocking in the 21st century.
4) Adverts as we can "record" all the shows we wish to see :) I had not taken in how many adverts are on these days. A plus for TiVo LOL:dozey:
Always looking to save money by swapping but Sky would need to be 10`s of £`s cheaper to put up with that service. The next day a family member was using it and the EPG seemed the same to me, as he uses it all the time and made no comment what so ever I take it that that was the norm :shocked:

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I'm assuming it wasn't a recordable box, Itshim, then? My understanding is the sky + hd epg is different. I haven't used it since it was recently updated, but always found it pretty good. In fact when I first got cable the v+ hd epg had me thinking I'd made an awful mistake. Fortunately TiVo arrived to save the day!

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I think you must have been using an old Sky box.

I moved back to Sky last month and the EPG is much quicker and easier to navigate than the Tivo and is dynamic! I rarely if ever viewed a "suggestion" despite spending several weeks training it with red and green thumbs!

Also the On Demand service using my 60mgb Virgin broadband is equally as fast as my experience with the Tivo. The only downside I have found is the loss of one tuner but with the On Demand service that is manageable on the rare occasion I need three and for a saving of over £300 a year (including the saving from taking the Virgin 12 month line rental deal) is something I can live with.

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Its obvious from this thread that, even when you take out the die hard sky/virgin fans, all the individuals experiences are significantly different. I had sky TV for six years as at that time there was no paytv alternative for me. Due to location (Heathrow Airport area) and especially when we had bad weather (remember we are in the UK) I had constant breaking up, freezing or complete loss of picture.

I too was not happy with latest advised VM price hike. So looked again at my package and talked to Sky about possible alternatives. Broaband with Sky was out of the question as only adsl was available and on past experience plus being 3 miles from the exchange if I got a stable 2.5 to 4 Meg I was lucky plus no Infinity upgrade was even planned for my exchange. So just discussed cost for retention of broadband and phone with VM and re-installing sky TV. However, no special return deal (left more than a year ago) was offered just a small introductory deal. End result was a saving of about £36 over the first year. Was tempted but then remembered the picture problems and decided it was not a worthwhile move. The cost after the first year would also have been possibly dearer especially when adding breakdown and support insurance cover.

Maybe I am lucky in that in the last two years with VM I have had no problems with the TV side despite having to change out the first Tivo box on the day of installation.

So to summarize for me I am better off to stick with VM mainly due to signal issues but maybe for someone ten miles further out from Heathrow Sky may be a worthwhile alternative, who knows and who cares - try both over a couple of years and then decide what is best for you.

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Weeks?!? Good grief!

I've had my TiVo for just over a year now and I have to say I think suggestions are an excellent feature. It's like a extra on demand channel of stuff that I'm probably going to want to watch, and on more than one occasion it's saved us when we've forgotten to set something to record but TiVo hass been clever enough to think we'll like it.

Suffice it to say it is slower, and perhaps less intuitive than Sky+hd, and as a result it can be significantly more frustrating at times, but on the plus side it's not so slow as to be unsuable, it has three tuners and it's capable of some very very clever things.

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Good grief, you make it sound dreadful! It is tons better than the V+ box, which was certainly slow and clunky. For most people, I'm sure that the TIVO box is as quick as you could expect it to be, given the functionality of it.

I haven't found the Sky+HD box much better, and it froze for me for about two minutes last time I used one!

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I doubt it but not sure. The guy is a bit of a teccy the TV was a big B&O flat screen & the wired in sound system is Bose. Even went out and brought a touch screen PC - why !

My comment was as suggested just about the length & number of ads on TV in general. Do not think I could cope with the lack of not being able to record 3 channels if needed. Can be worked around but why bother :dozey:
Sorry was so nearly temped to switch but the price difference if there is one at all. Says no not a hope . The wife was looking that night for something she fancied to watch. 10 minutes later ( it felt like hours) she said "what a load of rubbish channels are on Sky" Looks like I will be with Virgin for the present time. O Yes when we were looking Sky Atlantic was offering Star trek in one form or another :erm:

Re: TV price rises
 

Is there extra interference from Airport related stuff? My sister lived quite close to a police station which had powerful transmitters of all kinds on its roof and had problems getting a normal tv reception. Most people in that area had Sky as it was almost out in the sticks but the reception of channels got better the further away from the station you got.

Between Gatwick and Heathrow myself. Had no problems with picture quality at all since Sky was installed last week. Wondered if there would be any picture degradation during a storm but the one we did have had no effect.

The distance from the exchange can often be a deciding factor. Personally I would have switched years ago if the exchange was closer. Infinity came along here recently and let me escape from the poorly performing broadband.

In one of these threads is a post saying that old customers have been offered a 75% discount to return to Sky.

---------- Post added at 15:09 ---------- Previous post was at 14:57 ----------

Found the little V+HD box laggy in the menu's and it of course had the missing tv guide after midnight. Got a replacement Samsung V+HD box which was much bigger and was a bit faster but it still didn't feel responsive. Glad they sorted it out with the Tivo.

The 2TB HD sky box with the dark blue menu system is blazing fast. Takes a while to get used to where things are but once you do the layout makes a lot of sense.

One thing that stands out for me in normal use is how fast and fluid the fast forward and rewinding is on the Sky box compared to the Virgin one I had. It makes sense due to the fact Sky has a local copy of what is playing compared to the VM box I had which has to stream it from a network source. With the Tivo having local recordings too, does it work much better on those than the standard boxes?

Not had any of the problems Ishtim mentioned.

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You sound happy with Virgin..i suspect they appreciate all the support you give.

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I didn't mean too - my point was that it's slower than Sky, but not to the point where it's a deal breaker. I love TiVo - I'm not sure if I've made that clear enough!

Re: TV price rises
 

[QUOTE=Qtx;35513748]Is there extra interference from Airport related stuff? My sister lived quite close to a police station which had powerful transmitters of all kinds on its roof and had problems getting a normal tv reception. Most people in that area had Sky as it was almost out in the sticks but the reception of channels got better the further away from the station you got.

Between Gatwick and Heathrow myself. Had no problems with picture quality at all since Sky was installed last week. Wondered if there would be any picture degradation during a storm but the one we did have had no effect.

The distance from the exchange can often be a deciding factor. Personally I would have switched years ago if the exchange was closer. Infinity came along here recently and let me escape from the poorly performing broadband.

In one of these threads is a post saying that old customers have been offered a 75% discount to return to Sky.[COLOR="Silver"]

Have lived in two properties at the now Terminal 5 end of the airport. These properties were only two miles apart and at either end of the perimeter road. The problems were identical during the winter months and during the summer the property I live in now suffered picture degragation during the summer as well. We are sheltered on two sides by a reservoir and another complex on the third side including two telecommunication facilities. Anyway despite two engineer visits neither resulted in any improvement with one engineer reckoning we didn't have a chance where we were sited.


Not a chance of infinity at my place according to a friend who works for BT Openreach. Apparently we have three things against us - Exchange is other side of the M25 which results in extra long runs and high installation costs partly due to permissions and licenses required - area is VM enabled with already high take up so limiting potential customer base - other local areas are more attractive comercially and served by other exchanges,

I was offered a fixed sum reduction by a customer service agent who lost interest once I confirmed I was not interested in broadband and phone. Seems its not just VM who have somewhat moody CS staff. Probably falling behind on his upsale target

Re: TV price rises
 

Does sound like you have the same type of interference there as my sister had. Good job you have the cable option available then, you would be stuck on adsl for broadband too otherwise.

No excuse for rudeness from CS staff, even if they are on commission. Got a feeling as pressures get worse in call centres its only going to get worse.

Re: TV price rises
 

It seems this thread seemed to go completely off topic :confused:.

Just as an update, I spoke to someone about my situation (on Mates Rates, not happy about the price rise but happy with services, is there any other discount I could get) and was told in a word no (and because of how the system works, I was given a list of the "discounts" that I apparently receive - which aren't really discounts as I know it is just the way that the VM billing system works it out and I really only have the Mates Rates discount of around £33 which apparently used to be half price but is clearly no longer the case).

Anyway, I don't want to mess up the Mates Rates discount on my account and don't wish to move, but £49 from next month is not cheap (no matter how many discounts I supposedly have)! So has anyone on Mates Rates secured any other discounts to wipe out the price rise please?

I asked whether I could pay £120 pay in advance for line rental, as explicitly mentioned in my price rise letter, but was told this is not possible as I am on Mates Rates and adding it would remove my Mates Rates discount? If it isn't possible, why mention it in my letter? Has anyone on Mates Rates managed to get the £120 advance line rental please?

Many thanks

MrB

Re: TV price rises
 

you could downgrade to the classic collection and pay full price

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It will be a generic letter thats why

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A generic letter that was addressed specifically to me with my account details, gave me my specific price rise, told me not to worry because I am still apparently on a great deal and this was another way they could help me to keep my bill to a minimum?

I appreciate that they use templates but as their system is clever enough to put in the specific price rise based on individual packages it should also be able to insert/delete appropriate options and not advise you that you can apply for something if you can't.

I appreciate I could drop all my services to bring my price down but I am happy with the package, just not happy paying 15%+ more for the privilege!

Many thanks

MrB

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I've just checked with some colleagues and you can get Line Rental Saver when you have Mates Rates

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Thank you BenMcr, I thought it odd that it would be included in the letter if not available, but as nstokes noted, it could have been a generic template for most of the letter.

It is unfortunate that the people I spoke to said no - who would be best to call if I wanted the Line Rental Saver adding? They said it wasn't possible (the Thinking of Leaving team) and if they did add it, it would remove the Mates Rates/additional box discount :(.

I am conscious that the Mates Rates is a good deal, and like the services I have, but like everyone am having to look at what I spend and the £5 price rise to £49 is pushing it to the limit :shocked:. I am also conscious that any changes to my account could mess up the Mates Rates discount and they may not be able to change it back :confused:. However, if I did give notice to leave, would I be able to reverse/cancel this decision before the 30 days was up and effectively be back to where I am now (theerfore no worse off):erm:? Or would giving notice change all the settings on my account at that point, never to return?

Yes this is partly a ploy to hopefully speak to outbound retentions as they seem to be able to do better deals than CS or the Thinking of Leaving team, but I am not sure if this has the same effect if on Mates Rates (and I don't want to mess up Mates Rates if I then don't find a better deal over the next month with VM or Sky/another provider).

Many thanks

MrB

Re: TV price rises
 

Mr B,

Just give retentions a call and explain the situation that you aren't happy with the price rise and see if they can review your services if you've not done this in a while as they may be able to give you a better deal. It might be that you are already on the best deal possible (from what you state in your earlier post this does sound like a good deal) with the 'mates rates' that you get or they might be able to offer you something better?

Either way you'll then know where you stand with VM and can weigh up your options against other providers.

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l just received our price rise this morning of £1.50 but l ain't complaining as we now have BT Sports to show for it plus there is the promise of more channels coming to us in the Autumn.

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The price rise is purely for Sky Sports and will be passed straight to Sky.

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I think it's ether £1 or £1.50 for us

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One must expect these Sports and Movies price rises now and again but they must also realise there is a limit to what many can spend each month as well.

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they seem to be a bit more regular than "now and again" it feels from a customer perspective every year, sometimes twice. and a £1 or so extra a month everytime does add up

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Yes, it is normally twice a year

Historically VM have normally changed their prices at the beginning of a year, and Sky change their prices in the September.

So for those people with Sky Premiums they will get two changes, rather than one.

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thanks Ben the problem would be is that customers wouldnt see the difference between the two though they would just presume is VM doing it,for both counts perhaps VM should consider doing it at the same time as Sky or is that not possible?

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Or maybe Sky should change their prices at the same time as VM ? ;)

VM do make it clear what the price rises are for, so it's up to customers as to whether they think the changes are appropriate or not. Most customers who have Sky Premiums know any price changes happen separately to VM's other price changes.

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HAHA true :)

I agree VM do make it clear what is for whom, just wonder how many dont see it still despite VM stating so

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People only see what they want to see !

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VM are not stupid are they, although the increase is cheap, it didn't surprise me as this is the way that VM will get there money back from BT Sport.

I'm not complaining however, but thought this would happen.

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It's got nothing to do with BT Sport!

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Remember we are getting BT Sport FREE, but other packages have to pay, it seems strange how VM put the price up shortly after getting the new channels.
Not strange eh.

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Arthur Sky Sports and Movies are totally separate from BT Sports in every way and these price rises were inevitable once Sky put up their rates.

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They've put the cost of Sky Sports up because Sky have increase their prices as they always do, so is nothing to do with BT Sport.

The standalone broadband increase also has nothing to do with TV changes - because it's not TV

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You see diabolical dealings in everything, Arthur! What are you on?

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Arsène Wenger tablets....;):D:D

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As we know prices are rising shortly but for new customers Virgin Media have announced a special offer on triple play collections.

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/6...llections.html

http://store.virginmedia.com/bundles...llections.html

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For crying out loud the Sky premium price rise was in the pipes long before BT Sports launched. Whinge whinge whinge is all you do. Here's a option for you bloody Freeview!

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Why can Virgin advertise standalone broadband with a discounted rate for 6 months then a full price after 6 months which isn't the price it will be?

Isn't 30Mb going to be £25 per month from October yet on the website it says £22.50 after 6 months with no mention of the price rise?

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It's a great point

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I believe the price isn't changing for new broadband connections, therfore the website is accurate

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Thought it would be... could not see VM getting that sort of thing wrong.

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So for the length of the contract the price will be held?
Then increased at the end of the 9/12/18 month contract?

Sounds a bit complicated - good luck to people explaining the billing!

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No. Technically they are new standalone broadband packages i.e. unless there is a communicated price change, the ongoing price wouldn't change.

It should also mean that if you are on one of the older price points that has had an price increase, when you upgrade, the price difference would be less as you'd get the current price for the new speed.

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I just signed a new contract with loyalty discount, am I protected from price rises?

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I'd say no as you are not a new customer - you have simply renegotiated a new contract (or extending an old one)

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No you're not. I have just recently renewed my contract with a loyalty discount but was still hit with the £1.50 price increase.