Re: 2018 price rises
 

Great price! I think £29 including line rental is one of the cheapest desks we have seen for Full House. Was this deal achieved after cancelling from Outbound Retentions?

Many thanks

Re: 2018 price rises
 

This was just phoning inbound retentions.

I'm not sure I phrased it correctly but it's £29*12 +£196, so effectively £45.33 a month.

I'm also not sure if it's meaningful in any way but I have actually gone through with cancelling Virgin in the past, and taking Sky Q for 12 months. Maybe they use this to indicate who might be serious and who might be chancing their arm?

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Yeah but how would they know that you took out Sky Q? They would know that you left VM but unless you told them "I am moving to Sky", how are they any the wiser?

Re: 2018 price rises
 

I was informing the forum I took Sky Q. I did tell Virgin I had seen a deal with Sky, whether they recorded it or not I do not know.

However what they may have a record of is that my account closed - and possibly telephone number ported out which provider. If they can see on some kind of 'account history page' that I either join or leave around this time most years for the past decade then it's a sign I'm likely to be serious when I say I'm going to cancel.

Similarly, I have an account at another property which records will show there are phone calls every year since the account opened but I've never actually moved (mates rates).

It would make sense for Virgin to make better offers to me as described in the first scenario compared to me in the second scenario, if their systems keep a log of anything like this.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Now I phoned for the other account and it was basically 'name your price' but you'll lose the permanent mates rates discount and be joining the merry go round every year.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

I had my letter of price increase £3.02 per month that is for landline, 100 meg BB and I think they call the Tv Player. I don't watch Virgin Tv as I get all I want via free view by the aerial.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Did my weekly check of my apartment mailbox and sadly nothing there apart from some takeaway leaflets. Hopefully I'd see something soon.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

A lot bigger discounts can be had than 'mates rates'. Easy enough each year to get another 'discount'.

---------- Post added at 11:13 ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 ----------

What , you're looking forward to a price rise letter?:confused:. No news=good news on that front, particularly if you've just renegotiated a contract.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Nope, I'm not. But did make a package change early August to cancel a phone feature (Manage My Privacy and Calls) but signed up as a new customer in early July. I don't know if I'm due a price increase as a result as it didn't generate a new contract.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

As you signed up in early July you'll get a price rise letter and or email at some stage in the coming weeks

I think they are all done 1 area at a time

Re: 2018 price rises
 

I got my email last week

From 1st October, your bill will be going up by £4 a month

We understand that a price rise is never welcome. Yet with broadband usage increasing across our network by 31% last year, we need to continue investing in it so that you're brilliantly connected to the stuff you love. And of course, you'll still enjoy things like inclusive servicing and repairs for your peace of mind.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Mm, if broadband usage is increasing so are VMs profits.... More likely the increase is funding the extra discounts/lost customers as a result of the UKTV fiasco.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Well the Tivo is going and so is the phone... lets see what the charge for 150 meg just for broadband will be (or a better deal)... if it is to expensive than I may strongly consider going to Sky.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Still no letter or email here ...

Re: 2018 price rises
 

We had a Mates Rates discount for a while - when we joined it was half price if I recall correctly. It diminished to the point where most reports on here and elsewhere were cheaper deals without the Mates Rates, so we left after another rise. We returned under a new customer deal later that worked out much cheaper.

If it is correct and there aren't other deals, the new Mates Rates deals are now only £5 cheaper the on the main website:
https://www.virginmediapartners.com/matesrates/offers

Re: 2018 price rises
 

It looks like it depends on how many and what level of services you take. VIP has £15 off on the page you linked to. I'm on Full House with Vivid 200 and would be happy with the £10 off a month that it states.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

??

If 4 million customers used an average of (made up figure) 350GB in 2016, and 4 million customers used an average of 500GB in 2017, how are profits increasing? Same number of customers, same revenue, just using the service more...

Re: 2018 price rises
 

VMs revenue increased by 4.1% between 2017/18 (before this latest price rise).
https://www.virginmedia.com/corporat...-overview.html.
There aren't major cost pressures demanding yet another inflation busting rise, just greedy demands from investors.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

This price rise necessitates a call to retentions team, I fear! It's sad that customers have to call every year to get the fair prices they deserve.

Anyone recently get a good deal on the Gamer plan?
Seems there's no alternative now (with 20meg upload...) and I have no need for the 350m service!

Tom

Re: 2018 price rises
 

No letter or email has arrived here as yet either, which is confusing...

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Nor here either..

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Why?
I have no letter yet but understand that the increase (and the letters) are phased.
My increase was from November last year and I expect the same this year so Virgin Media have plenty of time to advise me.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Not confusing they work in a pashed bases area by area it takes a long time to get them out given the amount of customers they have to contact

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Had our notification by email a week or so back, including a caveat buried in small print about honouring existing promotional offers.

And within a few days, a thread kicked off on a local Facebook group from someone fed up with the annual rises and asking how BT broadband fared in their parts. Oh, and how they know they can call up each year but it's an inconvenience they shouldn't have and how a move to BT/Sky/TalkTalk/whoever was the solution.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

To right Tom... It is ruddy annoying to say the least... they should reward long time loyal customers not keep price increasing them.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Got my email yesterday! ... basically
So I think I'll be on the phone and cancelling sometime, got a bit hacked off recently with the broadband going on and off all the time (it's OK if I'm the only one using it, but as soon as the lad wants to start up his XBOX it's no dice!)

I've been with VM for more years than I care to remember (since Cable & Wireless days?) and it's been rock solid up until February/March this year when it sadly went haywire! This coincided funnily enough with the SHUB 3 going in ...

Anyhow I fancy a change ... maybe off to Vodaphone or EE ... looking around for deals right now!

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Have to say looking at the bundles today I don't see anything that really grabs you and says value for money. They are looking a bit dated

Re: 2018 price rises
 

On Virgin or elsewhere?

Re: 2018 price rises
 

What you mean is you can't see anything cheap! ?

There are cheap broadband isp's like talktalk etc if you find VM outwith your price range.

i actually think bb is too cheap and have said before.Punt the cost of bb up a bit and it's more cash to invest back into the network.

Edit: just had to add that i don't have tv or phone from VM as it was over priced and pants. so i'm not brown nosing VM because they do have services that are over priced and not value for money esp the tv. But back to my actual point and that is that BroadBand is too cheap so i dont have a problem with my £3 a mnth increase :)

Re: 2018 price rises
 

We are still waiting for our price rise notification, though some on other forums only received their email yesterday so they are still coming out. They are dragging it out a bit!

Re: 2018 price rises
 

They stage the notifications to try and enable the call centres to manage the call volumes when customers ring up - if they didn’t do this, people would complain that they couldn’t get through to the call centres.

Even if only 1% called up about the price rise, that’s still 400,000 calls over a few days.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

I agree, Existing customers who have been with them a long time should be getting good discounts ;)

Re: 2018 price rises
 

In the local VM shop yesterday they said some people aren't getting a price rise but if they did, it would be in October? I walked out.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Why ? Do you get a discount from your energy provider for being a long term customer ?

Gas ?
Electric ?
Water ?

Does the local petrol station give you discounted petrol for always using them ?
Does the local gym give you a better price of membership because you always use them ?

Bla Bla ditch this long time customer emotion nonsense because that's all it is an emotion.

There should be one price point for new and existing customers in my opinion.Yes of course there should be short promotion offers to attract new customers but after a short period of time they really should be paying the same as everyone else ;)

.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Sometimes new customers get really good deals for a long period and long term customers do not so it works both ways ,

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Usually i just call retentions and take whatever they offer but went down the actually cancelling route for the call back this time. They called tonight and offered £22 for 100mb which i took so that's that for another year.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

No price rise for me so far ;) Renegotiating a new contract at the start of August, seems to have been a good time to choose !

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Exactly right. I thought the same.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Just called, VM want to double my bill. "This offer has finished" etc. Shame. Have to look around for a good deal.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

That's a bit drastic for you,

Re: 2018 price rises
 

..but it does suggest that the last deal was a very good one.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

That's the problem with these deals, some are that good that the customers taking them forget what the actual price of the bundle is and get a big shock at the end of the deal period.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Agreed.That's part of the problem,the promotion period is too long and should in my opinion be 3 months maximum then the price point goes up to the same as other customers are paying.

Too many people seem to think that they should get services for a price point that ''they'' think is fit for the service they are supplied with lol

This is something that Ofcom really should sort out and make ISP'S have fixed transparent pricing that's easy to understand and regulate that promotion periods can't last for more than 3 months.

I'd imagine that it's partly because of all the promotions and customers on the phone whining like babies for cheap cheap cheap!! that drives up costs for VM and that in turn means that we get one or two price rises a year ;)

Re: 2018 price rises
 

I don't think people should be looked down upon for wanting the cheapest deal possible. Unless you actually require the speeds VM offer it's really no different than changing your gas or electricity supplier to make sure you're not paying more than you have to.

I'd have been quite willing to switch this year with living quite close to the FTTC cabinet and plenty of deals around for £25 ish. If they hadn't called me back after cancelling it wouldn't have made any difference to me whether i was getting 70mb elsewhere or 100mb from them, other than to my bank balance.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

VM tried to convince me I needed at least 100MB, which I don't. I was offered 50MB BB only, no TV, no telephone for about the same as last year, I'm still thinking about it. I don't really need either of those two. Last year's deal was good for VM but not that good versus what the rest were offering. I'm looking around now.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Listen i totally agree with you there lol. that's partly the point i was making in my earlier comment. if people find VM too expensive then they should downgrade with either VM or move to a different supplier.But there are far too many people that let emotions get in the road and stick with the ISP in question but constantly want to haggle for cheaper services and constantly badger them for loyalty discounts etc rather then just paying the price point as advertised and everyone pays the same.:)

Re: 2018 price rises
 

That's not how it works though is it? If VM wanted everyone to pay the same, they could easily make it that way. Not in their interests to do so. They make loads from those paying the 'full price', either through apathy or ignorance. Given that's the way it is, it's in the customers interest to haggle the best deal possible.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Totally agree. It's why guides like this exist:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ut...customer-tips/

"Companies make their best deals only available for newbies, and they LOVE loyal customers, because they stay with the firm through thick 'n' thin, always paying full price and never checking if their deal can be beaten.

This lets big firms rake in regular, guaranteed, easy profit. So ask yourself a question: do you want to be a customer whose business is fought for, or one who's taken for granted? If you don't want to be taken for granted, take the haggle challenge."

Re: 2018 price rises
 

VM doesn't seem to haggle anymore, it's take it or leave it. Sometimes you get a decent price - less than their advertised price, offered by retentions/outgoing retentions, sometimes you don't. Then you find another ISP. Bundles used to get you a reasonable deal, not now, just my experience this year. The trigger phrase in previous years was to say you wanted to take your number with you. Now IMO they're not bothered and are happy for you to leave. Churn will be quite high this year I expect.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Then you get VM doing daft things, I tried to get rid of TV and Phone and was prepared to pay full price for the broadband package I wanted.

Customer loyalty then called and offered me a bundle that makes it cheaper to keep all 3 than the broadband on it's own should cost for the duration of the contract term as well.

I think the Tivo has watched for about an hour in the past 8 months if that, seriously thinking of totally unplugging it to save some power.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

The retentions phone line now plays an automatic recording;

"We notice your bill is going up in October - We'd like to offer you £3 credit per month as a valued customer. Press 1 to accept!" (Same amount as the increase).

When they offer you discounts for not even reporting an issue, it proves the point that you're being ripped off.

I was offered £4 p/m more than new customers - Suffice to say, I told them I'd consider my options :D

The operator mentioning that he 'wishes he could also have Virgin as it's much better than Sky and his BT' got my dander up, as well!

Tom

Re: 2018 price rises
 

My TV and phone are going.. The phone do not use it or nobody rarely calls us on it. The TV is full of repeats, so might as well use freeview... I will keep the broadband which is 150Mb, so how much will they charge I wonder.:dozey:

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Very interesting. Any mention whether it ties you into a new minimum term? I'm happy with the price I pay, so if they offered a discount to mitigate to rise, I'd take it provided it didn't start a new minimum term.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

It mentioned "Press 1 to agree and listen to the terms and conditions" - So I assume that'd be agreeing to something. I naturally ignored such an option!

Tom

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Ah, that'll be it then! Cheers.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Had a email from Virgin last night regarding the forthcoming price rise as it was just a matter of time before we received one of these emails.

It just states.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

VMs pricing with the RRP is priced high to account for the offer prices. Only customers who pay no attention to their bills will end up paying over the odds (which I agree is wrong, the high rrp is unjustified). The RRP has increased significantly over the years to allow for these offers to be offered. It is the same as no sensible person would go to Alton Towers etc at the gate price when there is always kids go free/buy one get one free offers available. The rrp has been significantly increased to allow for this in their pricing model, the same as VM, to the point where the half price is probably close to what should be the rrp and any "offer" should now be less than that!

Re: 2018 price rises
 

I fail to see what the alternative is: the whole market does the same thing. I know someone with Sky who has had it for three years and never paid more than half price. Currently paying £35 or so for box sets, movies, sports and HD.

If Virgin (or Sky) didn’t engage in a retention strategy they’d quickly have less customers to absorb their fixed costs.

As I’ve said before: negotiating with your provider is capitalism. If it’s not worth Virgin providing the service they can choose not to.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Just do a reply Den, "From the 1st November I will no longer be a customer."

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Compared my current setup with Virgin to what I could get from sky as was paying just over £80pm (currently 2xV6, 200m internet and talk weekends), Sky offered £62 for 18 months. Virgin offered me £67.50 for 6 months then £71.50 for 6 months (£81.50 after discount expires) which I was happy with so took it.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

What numbers did dial/press to get to this ?

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Dial 150 from Virgin landline. From memory - 1, 1, 4, 5 then your password.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

'Thinking of leaving us' and then the final option I think (after moving house etc etc)

Tom

Re: 2018 price rises
 

30 days left with VM, then gone.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Byeeeee ... :)

Re: 2018 price rises
 

btw, VM didn't want the SH2 or the 500MB TiVO back, I have to dispose of them 'carefully'. :angel:

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Well that's me done too, cancelled today and oddly enough I was not offered any incentive to stay! ... no mention of a £3 discount for example!

The broadband has been down for 6 hours earlier today ...

Re: 2018 price rises
 

The incentives will come ;)

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Do these rises apply to contracts taken out in March this year? I understood the cut off was the beginning of August. I asked earlier on chat, as we have not received notification yet, and the operator said the rise doesn't apply to us as we are in our first year ... but I am never 100% sure they give accurate information. Thank you.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

No you'll get 12 months at the originally agreed price. I'm surprised they haven't contacted you saying as much.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

I thought prices can change at any time? even for new customers

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Thank you. By coincidence I have got home tonight to a letter from Virgin with the price rise notification.

It starts by saying in bold "Our prices are going up on 1st November. But your monthly bill won't change until your offer ends."

It goes on:

It ends:

So there you go - my question is answered, the promo price honoured until the end of 12 months but as the price that we will be paying after, mentioned in the contract, is going up, then we can still leave penalty free now if we wish (or renegotiate).

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Called to cancel this morning and was surprised they managed to to knock £9 off my bill so i'm actually paying less than I am currently, even after the price rise.

Can't complain with that!

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Out of interest, what services do you have and what is your price now going from/to? A few people on different forums seem to have struck lucky with inbound recently but most only seem to get the best deals from the outbound retentions team.

Many thanks

Re: 2018 price rises
 

I got my £3 increase deferred till the end of my discount.

Unfortunately I don't have any other providers near me which will give me the same speed as VM to make the jump.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Most people are not actually planning to leave, they are just putting in the cancellation to negotiate a better deal (if VM don't come back with an improved offer, you can always cancel your cancellation).

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Got my letter today

£4 a month rise from November 1st

Re: 2018 price rises
 

350Meg and basic tv and phone (we dont use either) but it still works out cheaper to get all 3 than to just get the BB alone.

It was going to be £49.50 after the price rise, it's now going to be £40/m, just got the email to confirm the change too.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Just got Mix TV + 200Gamer + Bog standard phoneline for £45, which I think is reasonable.
They did mention that it'll state £50 p/m with a 'rolling £5 credit' - So that's presumably the loyalty amount these days.

Pretty happy with that. They also bundled in an engineer to install the TV cabling/box in 2 days time!

The triggers for them reducing the price seemed to be;
*5 mins until closing time (after 20 minutes of intolerable pop music...)
*Mention of current £40 sky plans with same upload speeds on Broadband.


Tom

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Well just phoned and completely cut the TV element from my package as we only watch freeview channels anyway along with Netflix and Amazon.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Is it possible for those downgrading to the Player pack to add Sky Cinema or Sky Sports?

I know that Sky require a minimum basic subscription before they allow this to be done (They used to make people take Box sets, but I'm not sure now they've changed their pricing structure and made each genre a £5 add on per month).

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Yes, you can add Sky Premiums to Player TV:

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Is there a limit on how many times VM retentions call back? I've missed their calls but want to know what offer they have before I switch.

Edit; Just got a call from 'disconnections' and after a massive change of bill amounts, I'm staying with VM a little longer. :) Got a £30 credit as well as a big monthly price drop. As they say never accept the first offer. Dropped the phone and TV but I hardly use them anyway.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Thanks.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Cant believe the price increase my dads bill has gone up nearly a tenner a month, will be telling him to look elsewhere

Re: 2018 price rises
 

A rise of that size can’t just be the general price increase. Some discount must have come to an end.

Re: 2018 price rises
 

Loyalty discount perhaps.