Discounts
 

Has anyone who is out of contract been able to get a decent discount deal from retentions lately?



Thx.

Re: Discounts
 

I was in contract and got an extra significant discount and cash credit due to the UKTV fiasco. Go for it, it's an open goal atm.

Re: Discounts
 

I got a miserly £3 a month discount, but don't let that put you off. Many people have received a much better deal as Mr K did.

Be warned though, they are now putting people back into a contract in return for UKTV discounts. They tried it with me, but it didn't work ;)

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That could be why you only got a "miserly" £3 pm.

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...or you have already got a huge ‘non-loyalty’ discount on your account.

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No, the issue of being put back into a contract was never brought up during the conversation (which was the basis for me refuting that I had agreed to a new contract) and was eventually accepted by VM.

---------- Post added at 12:46 ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 ----------

I have, but a huge number of people have also stated that they only got £3 a month off for six months or a one off credit of £20.

It is also the case that much larger discounts have been applied. It seems to be pot luck as to whether any credit or discount is applied and by how much. The same goes for being allowed to leave without any exit fees.

Re: Discounts
 

Try them again Richard (the retentions area of course). Nothing lost.

I had already negotiated a new contract and line rental saver just before UKTV withdrawal. That didn't stop me getting a further discount and credit. Yes it was a new contract again, but in effect only extended the current contract by a month. tbh if you've paid line rental saver, you might as well be in contract - i only ever take LRS out, if i've just signed up for 12 months. A price rise is imminent once this who ha dies down, so that will give you get out anyway if you want.

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I've been very lucky recently then, we got:

Old TiVo Box replaced with a 1TB V6 for free
£45 knocked off the monthly bill
and £60 one-time credit.
oh, and a 150 Mbit/s boost to our broadband speed.

Just gotta hold out for it. :-)

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Fun bundle (historical ) still called that Now at £30 a month for 18 months

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I think Richard has already achieved far more compensation than my wallet is happy with! You do realise that you are contributing to his upkeep, don't you?

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I wonder what discounts people will get with the recently announced price increase

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I got an ok deal last week, kept my slightly out of date VIP package as it was, only difference is 200Mb instead of 350Mb broadband and kept my old TiVo as a second box.

They offered £103/month instead of £129, 12 month contract. This included the recent price rise so hopefully no more increases in that time.

I did have a laugh and joke with the lady about the UKTV channels, she was glad it had calmed down (channels weren't back at the time).

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Added premier sports at nil cost . didn't even ask for it .see sports thread on this section

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I was paying £35 a month for Phone and 100Mb Broadband. I have recently added a V6 with Full House TV and am now paying £49, though it's due to go up to £70 once the years contact is up

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It's all part of your beloved capitalist society. More fool you if you pay more than you have to, VM love customers like you.

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I don't blame anyone for getting as good a deal as they can! What sense does it make to pay more for something when you don't have to?
I negotiate on the majority of things I buy: Cars, holidays, sofas, TV's etc etc etc.

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It's is strange, but it's only VM and insurance I find the have to haggle with to get a decent price. Electricity/Gas you'll get no where haggling, they have set rates, but it's easy to switch. Water you just have to pay whatever they charge. It's a pain, but those that don't haggle subsidise the rest of us. Guess most don't bother, or realise they can negotiate, and this set up is profitable for VM. Capitalism at work !

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I hate haggling in general, all it seems to create is the majority of people all paying different prices for the same product which then becomes unfair.

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A general rule of thumb is that they tend to start offering it when you express your desire to leave...so you don't even have to ask. When you tell them that you want to downgrade / can't justify the cost etc, they'll start offering discounts etc.

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It's entirely fair. There are examples all throughout the economy where price differentiation for the same/similar products goes on.

If someone values Virgin's offering at £100, and someone else £120, and the first is willing to put in a bit of effort to get there then that's their prerogative (and Virgin's as a seller to engage with it).

Re: Discounts
 

I've rang up before to get faster speeds and managed to get discount without asking, twice.

---------- Post added at 19:00 ---------- Previous post was at 18:57 ----------

There might be examples but I still think it's unfair. Why should I pay £99 for VIP, you pay £90 and someone else pays the full price £125. That's 3 different prices for the same product.

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Yeah and usually if they can't give you the speeds they generally tend to compensate you with a lower cost for the speed that you get but they may want you to re-contract if they need to install a bunch of new equipment etc - from what I know anyway. (Make it worth their while and so on). Aside from offsetting their own homes the equipment is then already there in the property the next time that anyone else wishes to join etc.

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I was on the VIP package with 200Mb and the hub 3. First I went on the online chat and asked to go up to 350Mb as that is what comes with the VIP and he said ok and I can offer you discount. At that point the laptop restarted so I phoned retensions and explained what happened and at that point he stated he could better the discount.

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Which goes to prove the first discount wasn't really a discount just the standard price. There is a price psychology to some of these 'discounts', i.e. offer an inflated price plus then a 'discount' to make you happy. It's not just VM do this, it's in everywhere online and on the high street.

Re: Discounts
 

It's just the same concept with wages. Once a person gets higher up than the minimum wage jobs, it's now prevelant for people to have to negotiate their wage, leading to disparities for people doing exactly the same job.

The days of collective bargaining and paying everyone the same are generally behind us, often viewed as socialism or working against the free market. Society can't have it both ways.

Because of equal pay legislation, some employers have come unstuck where this has led to women receiving less pay than men.

Re: Discounts
 

True dat...

(One exception I would say is a genuine depreciation on an item / set of goods that comes with time, like a car etc - for services it is almost always due to the fact that there is now better or like you said, a feel good factor for the customer etc).

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Exactly. Companies obviously want to get the highest price for their product that they can, but a lesser product from those who can't or won't pay this is better than nothing and stops money going into the business of a rival.

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Point is, I didn't ring up for discount nor did I mention any prices. The standard price is the price on the website.

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Not necessarily, I have worked in sales before and sometimes the sales agent may take a dip in their commission and give their customer a better deal.
This happens with industries like mobile telephony, kitchens etc. It all depends on how desperate the agent is to secure the deal.

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If it is commission based etc? I assume that varies from company to company though. (What their policies are etc).

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Why don't you leave then? No one is forcing you to stay with VM, but you do have a lot to say about them! Try Sky if you're unhappy!

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Yeah of course, but the majority of industries' sales depts work on commission - it's how you tend to attract the best sales people.
I know it's not all companies and all industries, which is why I said, I know commission bonuses are definitely paid out in the communications industry, at least for things like Broadband and mobile.
BT don't offer their staff any commissions for phone packages though, probably because it's not a guaranteed extra income, but I know they pay royally on Broadband connections and upsales.

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Oh yeah, I didn't mean to sound like I was doubting you I was just curious as to which do and which don't. My husband usually deals with retention but he has asked on occasion if the personal rep stands to gain from keeping him as a customer etc.

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He didn't say he couldn't haggle, he just said he has to, and it's not readily given away like some companies. From my own experience it's harder to get a deal out of Sky than it with VM as Sky seem to be more egotistical. The last time I said I was leaving Sky there response was, "By then, see you in a year when you realise we're better than Virgin." Lol.
Whereas VM have always bent over backwards previously to keep my custom.

---------- Post added at 22:23 ---------- Previous post was at 22:22 ----------

They definitely do :) Retentions departments work a bit differently. They are paid bonuses on the number of customers they keep. If they don't hit targets they don't get bonuses - so it's very much in their interest to try and keep you if they can. :)

Re: Discounts
 

Because I have haggled a good deal out of them. More by luck than judgement ! Doesn't stop.me bring critical of the above inflation rise they are again imposing on most customers. You don't have to be a VM luvvie/employee to be on this forum !

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I think just about anyone can get a deal out of VM if they are proactive - when I say proactive I mean actually ring up to cancel or ask for a better deal once they're out of contract, but unfortunately there are (i'm guessing) the majority of their customers who either don't realise they're out of contract and no longer get a competitive deal, or ones who just can't bothered to ring up and complain.
My friend's mother is with Sky and has a really old legacy package with a Sky + box and is paying a shed loads for sports and movies, but she refuses to call up and get a better deal because she can't be bothered.

Re: Discounts
 

The nature of the capitalist economy relies upon discounting. Buy one get one free vouchers, what lager is cheap this week in the supermarket, fast food offers in the Metro.

If you can get people to pay full price then good, and with a little effort 90% okay, 80% maybe not so good. However in organisations with high fixed costs (like bank interest) and little variable costs (content) then having someone buying for 80% or less is better than them subscribing to another service elsewhere.

It happens everywhere. If you feel strongly enough you could join Sky who do exactly the same thing.

The rational consumer in the pay-tv/broadband/telephone market switches every 12/18 months for the new customer offers. It's natural all providers try to mitigate that.

---------- Post added at 00:15 ---------- Previous post was at 00:14 ----------

It isn't unfortunate that people don't seek to pay less for their package. It's the natural process of maximising income.

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It's unfortunate for those who unaware they can negotiate a lower price, it's not unfortunate for those who can't be bothered. It certainly isn't unfortunate for the business of course.

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Every year I regularly negotiate with my TV/phone/broadband provider(s), mobile provider and do so on behalf of my parents and my uncle.

If you are unaware, or not interested enough to find out these things happen or don't feel like making the effort, then you simply deserve to pay more.

Those unaware have obviously never got to the "I'm paying too much" stage - because it's easy to find out how much you can save my taking up new customer offers elsewhere and then cancel (inviting an offer).

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An awful lot of the older generation (not all) have been with the same provider for decades and probably think change is too complicated for them.
My late grandfather-in-law was too scared to even transfer to Freeview until terrestrial was turned off. He went weeks without any Television until he was bought a freeview box and it was set up for him. After he was shown how to use it he was very happy with it.
BT has an awful lot of vulnerable customers who don't fully understand technology, packages etc and just swallow the price increase every year and think it's part and parcel of the service not realising they can even negotiate. Or maybe they are too polite to try and do so. It's these people I feel sorry for.

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It's sad that those individuals don't have people to support them.

However that's capitalism. As being likely from the generation who benefited from the sale of council housing on the cheap I will not be the first to shed a tear.

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I dunno about complicated but yes they do tend to stick with familiarity. Some day I'll be in that category of "old". I am not there yet but for like 12 years me and my husband haven't looked to beyond one, maybe two different providers in the UK and US and we're happy with what we have. (Same with manufacturers etc). We actually get a unique function (at least until recently) that we could only get from that provider and it probably isn't that bad to change but we honestly have no desire. (Or need). We get the cheapest available and don't need the most extensive speeds and packages, we're relatively content.

Yeah, there is definitely that. I never thought that I would use a picture sharing system until recently but am glad that I do ; never used social media for my own gain (outside corporate) but maybe one day I will...dunno. (Doubtful).

Once you try it, and if it works I suppose that you might stick with it. Some things do change with time, you have no choice. Some things disappear altogether...brand new things appear that never existed before.

Some who are already through the peak of their life never needed it this long (or never had it) so I guess they see no reason to try it now.

Yeah that is one of the biggest problems with monopolies which is the unique situation that BT customers find themselves in. Also, given that a bunch of other companies have to use BT hardware to provide their own line and call / net services (Sky / Talk talk etc) the way that BT try to control everything needs to broken up - there is way too much of a CoI in the same company providing both the hardware and selling access to it, to it's competitors while providing the same service, through the same hardware that their competitors do. I do not know of a single country round the world that has a company / utility / telecom etc that does the same. It is preposterous. The fastest way to help about elder generations realize that they have more options is to allow for more competition.

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BT, Sky, Virgin, Talktalk plus others. Plenty of regulated landline competition, plus communication can be maintained by any of the mobile providers.

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l do that once the contract has nearly ended as it usually goes l am leaving you because l think you have become too expensive and the answer is we will see what we can do for you as l will be back in a couple of minutes as l need to speak to someone quickly and then 2 minutes later their answer is we can give you this deal for the next 12 months and after a slight pause l agree.

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Yeah that is pretty much the norm for us, too.

Only difference is that we actually downgrade stuff, from time to time. (Varied reasons but usually a lack of interest).

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I always tend to give 30 days notice prior to my contract actually ending. I'm quite proactive and I remind friends when there's are up too and they usually ask me to ring up and negotiate as they're scared to do it.