Retention Dept gone?
 

I phone up VM retention Dept to ask for renewal of discount, although I pressed the right key to select retention, it was nothing but the usual customer service and they said retention dept is no more, thus they are unable to renew any discounts.

Is that true? Can somebody point me to correct play to get discounts? Or is discount a thing of the past?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Ring up to cancel and they will appear, by magic ;)

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Maybe they are toughening up on discounts. The whole system is ridiculous. They should stop copying Sky and set a reasonable price in the first place, then stick to it.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Cripes I agree.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Double cripes! There's not even a crack in the sky!

Mind you, it is cloudy here...

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I hope it's not really gone, and that call hander was just fibbing.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

For years, I took the "moral" high ground and never phoned for discounts, as I thought it was unethical, while all all along reading posts here about people getting great discounts.

One day I thought to myself, what, as with most business', VM are overcharging for their products and the discounted price is closer to the true price? I then phoned up retentions and never looked back. :)

These days I think the discounted prices are overcharged too! :D

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

It's obviously a very profitable way for VM to operate. Most don't haggle so vastly overpay. If they do there is sufficient margin to discount and still make a profit/retain custom.

Retention is everything, so there's always a retention dept. Think they only work office hours, so the OP might have got through to normal CS who will give nothing. Either ring back, or cancel and they'll contact you, sharpish !

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

My mum phoned VM and pressed the options for retentions and got through to normal foreign customer services, so it's possible they have gone.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I spoke to them this morning they still exist as a department I phoned at 11 ish

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Retentions does exist but sometimes only if you ask, on VVIP FMC handle everything

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

A truly effective retentions department isn’t one that’s openly discussed on Internet forums are dishing out deals right, left and centre to anyone that asks for a deal.

It’s supposed to exist to retain those who genuinely intend to leave. I’d not be surprised if they operate on a “call back” basis a day or two after notice is given.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

As a matter of interest is 'Retentions' the department you speak to if you phone and click thru the options to 'I'm thinking of leaving'?.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Not ordinarily, someone tries to fob you off first (in my experience managing two contracts for a few years now).

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I will try to ring "retentions" again early tomorrow morning to see if I get UK or India. The Indians did say there is no discount available despite one before said said there will be. One of them was fibbing.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Tell them you want to cancel. Leave the call in your 30 day notice period if required.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

The Indian call centre don’t even bother, call first thing in morning

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

They'll call you back within a few days if you give your notice.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Surely, ben or spiderplant could confirm if retentions still exist?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

They never did exist.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I must have imagined those special offer call backs then. Unless the pedantry is that internally they have a different name.

At a minimum they do employ people who partially their job is to call back customers who have given their notice with better offers than those deals offered in the initial call. Obviously, it would be unwise for Virgin Media employees to encourage/promote this on Internet forums.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Are you kidding? I've been put through to retentions in the past, or are they called something different?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

The "thinking of leaving" advisors is who i've always spoken to....so retentions in all but name :erm:

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Phoned "thinking of leaving" at 9:10am today, its still India. Will write to CEO instead

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

They are Customer Relations.

Try again tomorrow when it isn't a Bank Holiday.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Utter pedantry.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Not really. If you ring an offshore call centre and ask to be put through to "Retentions", don't be surprised if they don't know what you mean.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Perhaps their own lack of understanding of the English language, perhaps because they’re told people that aren’t intent on cancelling shouldn’t be put through.

Either way thanks for your confirmation that the team that offers discounts to people “thinking of leaving” for the purposes of retaining customers does exist. Known on this forum, by thousands of references, as retentions. What they are internally known as is irrelevant to the customers who just want a better price. I’m sure that’s what Mad Max really wanted to know.

:)

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Do it on a normal working day.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Bang on jfman. :)

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Just did a "thinking od leaving" routing on the phone and a woman answered, I asked her where is the call centre and she said she is in the Philippines. Still no UK, so I will wait for the CEO to reply my email.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I've just had a dispute with VM and despite emailing the CEO a week ago have heard nothing from my complaint.

Currently on BB only 100mb my bill shot up from £30 to £35 then to £41 I was told my loyalty discount was expired and they could not give me loyalty discount on the same product.

After an hour on the phone to India I agreed to Full House TV phone and 100mb for £43. I asked about installation charges and was told he would have to talk to a supervisor. Next thing I know I'm in a queue for 10 mins and ended up talking to the Scotland call centre who disputed the deal I was just offered. Saying if I wanted that £59 was the cheapest. I got so riled I told them to just cancel the broadband.

Within 2 days had a call from customer relations offering me broadband only for £29.

VM would rather waste over an hour of my time, lie to me and give me the run around than just give me a deal without canceling first. Ironic I would have happily kept paying the £35 but am now paying £6 a month less because they put my bill up.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Sounds about right. Ask 10 different people at VM you'll get 10 different prices. Just keep going till you get a price you like. A farce but that's the way it is.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

You wasted your own time. Up until the point you said you wanted to cancel you weren't within the remit of 'retentions'.

If you phone up every single provider of every single service you have and ask nicely for a discount I can guarantee almost every time they will say no.

By making you jump through hoops, and actually give your notice period, they knew you were more serious instead of the thousands of chancers who phone up week in week out because the Martin Lewis website told them to.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

That's very annoying for you. If they really have got rid of the customers ability to contact "retentions" directly then i think i'll be signing up to gigafast when it arrives, really can't be bothered playing VM poker when they hike the bill up. :mad:

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I don't see the drama. Give notice period. Wait for call back.

It's not rocket science.

It's not an effective strategy to let people phone up and say:

"oh well, I've had the service for 15 years now and every 18 months or so I phone up pretending I want to cancel and you've always given me a discount so it's that time again, any chance?"

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I went through the phone maze with only one thought in mind I want to cancel. I must have said this to the Indian call centre 30 times in the hour, so no I wasn't wasting my own time I was just trying to get cancelled. This is why in my complaint I have asked VM to listen to the call and have asked them if they are happy with that kind of pressure selling only to be then told o should not have been offered that.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

they could not give me loyalty discount on the same product.

After an hour on the phone to India I agreed to Full House TV phone and 100mb for £43.

These bits threw me. To the casual observer you look more like “I want to pay less” than I want to cancel. Did you find an alternate supplier/offer to say you were going to leave for?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I take a TV package from another provider. I think that was my mistake really as it was the first thing the guy asked and what I was paying. I said Now TV and £3 a month for entertainment. So canceling my other TV package and getting a recordable box BT sport and some channels I don't get would be of interest if the price was right. It was not my intention to even discuss TV when I cancelled but the guy on the Indian call centre would not drop it as I thought that was a good deal was willing to entertain it.

When I got the call back I gave a brief explanation to the guy and he said do you want TV I said no and he said right we will find you a broadband only deal. No other mention of TV was made.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Fair enough. Best to keep it simple with outsourced call centres. Often misleading statements get made and/or misunderstandings.

I’ve had the best offers on the 2 day call back for a few years now. Too many chancers has companies filtering “threats to cancel”. It’s the same with Sky - during your 30 day cancellation period the my account section of the box/website offers better incentives to stay than the initial call.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I've never pretended to cancel, I just say i'm looking to pay a bit less and what can they do for me, I don't get the best deals, because I don't bluff, but enough to keep me happy. I've always done it out of contract or after a price increase but i've never been knocked back.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Now i know why i finally joined Sky after being with VM since Nynex days. About 18 years. The company is doing a massive infrastructure upgrade where I live. Pity they don't care about loyalty anymore. Bye everyone.

PS Sky deal was every channel (Except separate subscription channels). All in HD and UHD. Where broadcast.
65 meg broadband. Landline (Missus Insisted) 2Tb Q box. 2 mini boxes. Netflix UHD. for £85 for 18 months. Deal agreed end of March so may no longer be available. Only Negative have had to pay £25 for BT sport for 3 months. (Then 31 i think). But that's BT ripping me off not Sky.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

This is what I've always done after a very helpful VM man in Retentions suggested I ring them every so often a few years back. I usually manage to get some kind of deal or reduction and, up to date, have never had a problem or been given the runaround. Sounds like I've been lucky.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

So that's £110, then, compared with VM's V VIP special deals for less than £100.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Or normal price of over £120pm

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

What's the normal price of Sky?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

No-one who wants it cheaper pays that, though, do they?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

As I do, I will be ringing Virgin to cancel - if they don't give me a deal I will return to Sky

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Broadband speed keeps me at Virgin as i live in a village which usually doesn't get many broadband options.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Sky Entertainment £22 a month for 18 months

Sky Kids £5

Sky HD £0

Sky Q Multiscreen £13

Ultimate On Demand £12

Sky Sports £23 a month for 18 months
18 month minimum contract. Non-contract price £30pm

Sky Cinema £11 a month for 18 month
18 month minimum contract. Non-contract price £19pm


Sky 63Mb broadband £27 a month 18 months contract, then £45.99 a month thereafter. £10 one-off cost


Sky Talk Anytime Extra - £10

Chat anytime day or night with unlimited inclusive calls to UK mobiles and landlines (0845/0870 calls not included)


Monthly £123 for 18 months, then £156.99
One-off £114.95*

*Fibre Broadband Activation Fee £10, Broadband Hardware Delivery Charge £9.95, Sky Q Mini £20, Sky Q 2TB box £75


Plus....

BT Sport on Sky £29.99, £20 upfront

BT Sport HD FREE for 3 months, then £6.50 a month

BT Sport on 2nd box FREE for 3 months, then £6.00 a month

Three Unlimited SIM £20 a month (normally £24) on a 12 month contract or £25 a month on a 30 day contract



V.VIP: £99 a month for 12 months, then £139
Sky/BT/Three: £172.99 for 3 months, then £185.49 a month for 15 months, then £219.48 a month

Upfront fees
Virgin: £25
Sky/BT/Three: £134.95

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Thought so.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Ouch!

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I think personally that Virgin Media should be sold to another company, who will look after there customers. After today farcical problem of outage problems.

VM should sell and bring in another company that can give 100%. And sadly, VM do not give that

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

There are new rules coming in that oblige TV and broadband providers to tell their customers about the 'best deals available'.

https://advanced-television.com/2019...st-deal-rules/

I wonder if this will put an end to haggling? After all, if I get a really good deal that beats what is being advertised as 'the best offer', doesn't the deal you've just done become that best offer?

Frankly, I would prefer such a system being in place which does not encourage haggling. At least you know where you are and you have a fairer system where everyone is treated the same.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

You could end up with those that are more prudent being penalised by flat pricing and an end to “new customer offers”.

If I can be bothered switching provider every 12 months I don’t see why I should be penalised because others don’t know/don’t want to make the effort. Much like those that continue to pay full whack on their mobile on month 25. Energy providers too.

Implementing this isn’t going to come from the profit lines of Virgin/Sky, it’s going to be from the customer base.

I do think if you are on older packages that are now priced above a new package (undiscounted) you should be automatically transferred.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

No, they only have to show generally available tariffs.

"We acknowledge that, where notifications include the cheapest generally available tariff, a customer may be able get a cheaper price than that shown by negotiating directly with the provider or purchasing via a third party."

"there is also nothing that prevents providers from presenting alternative tariffs to their customers, where they are lower than the cheapest generally available tariff and the provider decides to make them available"

Source: Ofcom

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

The problem with that is being a New Package by definition means they are different, not just a price difference, and the customer may not want what is being provided on the New Package or even the terms that comes with it. Automatic processes of this nature will lead to problems.

Better to write to the customer beforehand and offer them choices.

For example, we were on M+ TV. After being around forever VM finally wanted to discontinue it. It hadn't been sold to new customers for a while, it was a long standing legacy tier. M+ customers were moved to Fun tier and given 30 days to try it (no obligation) and decide from there, whether they wanted to keep it (do nothing) or downgrade to Mix or Player. Sure the 30 days trial was automatically implemented, but there was open prior communication and there was a choice. They wrote to you just before it happened.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Doesn’t that penalise the vulnerable and elderly, though, jfman?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

That, unfortunately, is day to day life in a capitalist system. I can pick up a newspaper and check websites for the best deals on televisions, laptops, mobiles, mortgage providers all the way down to who is doing the best price on 12 bottles of my preferred German lager.

Unless we just want to go the whole hog and nationalise everything and have straightforward regulated pricing for everything. I’d be at the front of the queue for the socialist revolution but as far as I can tell this is offering me the downsides of capitalism (international companies making supernormal profits) and none of the upsides.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

The problem with that is you get variable answers depending on who you talk to and what time of day it is. Some people just don't know how it works. I'd say users like us who use forums are in the minority of knowing how to play companies.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

This goes totally against your capitalist beliefs though.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Any call centre environment will have its staff performing to targets with the aim of minimising discounting, again that’s just how the system works across Virgin, Sky, Vodafone, EE, o2 and anyone else who does it.

When I got rid of SkyQ in favour of Virgin I kept getting call backs that were progressively worse.

I’m not sure we are in a minority - the Martin Lewis website and HotUkDeals websites are both popular and have a ton of information. If someone can afford the product without needing to research or discount then great, but it’s a fundamental contradiction to capitalism to remove differentiated pricing. If we want regulated pricing because the market is so important then it should be in state ownership or have controls on profits.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

But you shouldn't get a cheaper price because you phoned at 8:16am and spoke to John when I might phone at 15:30 and speak to Julie

We are in the minority. Speak to the average person on the street and they wont have a clue. I've told countless people about hotukdeals.
It's my personal belief that we shouldn't be paying differently for the same service.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I’m inclined to agree that at first it appears unfair, but why should you lose out if I, or anyone else, aren’t as assertive or persistent? If it’s not worth the price offered take your custom elsewhere.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

The whole point is no one should lose out. It should be a standard price for everyone. Why should you have to be persistent to get the same price offered to someone else just because you spoke to someone else.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

That’s the free market though. If you don’t provide me what I want, at a price I’m willing to pay, I’ll take my money elsewhere.

It makes sense to discount to maximise revenue across the potential customer base. If there were fewer customers then the fixed costs would be absorbed across a lower customer base and everyone loses out.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Totally agree.

New customers should actually pay more to cover the costs of advertising!

Existing customers should get the best deal, then there would be little point in advertising saving companies a fortune.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

If that actually held true don’t you think these profit chasing companies would do that?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Capitalism is best where there is light regulation to ensure fairness.

I don't think encouraging bullying behaviour by those who think they can just break through all the rules to get what they want while the more polite of us get a worse deal because they weren't prepared to be pushy and rude.

I used to think that you were all for fairness and equality, Richard.

---------- Post added at 20:04 ---------- Previous post was at 19:58 ----------

Assertive/persistent or discourteous/rude and pushy?

These are not traits I want to see encouraged in British society. I agree with Mythica. It is not right that some should be paying less for getting the same service.

---------- Post added at 20:08 ---------- Previous post was at 20:04 ----------

Your first paragraph I agree with. But to get more customers and retain custom, the same rules should apply to everybody.

It is your right to go steaming off to another company, but you wouldn't do that if they applied the same rules of fairness to everyone, unless they were actually a better proposition for everyone with the same needs who could also get that service for the same price as you.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

The range of choices available varies from postcode to postcode though, so if Virgin have data that indicates I’m less likely to leave (for example due to inferior broadband alternatives) why should they pull out all the stops as with someone that has a genuine ultra fast alternative?

The same rules cannot apply to everyone, or very quickly it becomes a check box. Would you like a discount of 20%? Call this number.

There’s no such thing as rude and pushy if someone insists they are going to take their custom elsewhere that’s a fundamental right under capitalism. Driving a hard bargain is business for companies, why not consumers?

Capitalism is awful where there’s little/no regulation, however I’m perplexed at why you’d want to regulate straightforward consumer transactions such as these. Might as well go the whole hog.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

The offer is the offer. Do you get to haggle on your council tax payments? Of course not. It isn't necessary. The cost is the cost. If it reduces, it reduces for everybody.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

My council is the sole supplier of its services - there isn’t a private sector alternative. That’s literally a state provided service.

Should we tell supermarkets to regulate their prices and end special offers? After all why should I pay a price today if I didn’t know an item would be on offer tomorrow? Or it was on offer last week?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

I always ring at contract end when price goes to full.

I would never pay full and will happily switch supplier if retentions can't do anything for me.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Boils down to companies being greedy, using lazy and vulnerable customers who do not haggle, to offer enticements to new customers.

Unfortunately, it is the vulnerable who are financially exploited in the process.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Your analogy does not justify your argument. If there are special offers on at the supermarket, the nature of those offers is displayed and apply to everyone at that time. That does not involve haggling and is fairly applied.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Same here.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Provided, of course, you could actually get a better deal with another supplier. Nothing wrong with that.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

It involves going out your way and buying at the opportune moment, even declining an opportunity to purchase from time to time.

Unless you live 24/7 in a supermarket the rationale stands. You can walk way and come back if there’s a better price that suits you. They don’t issue retrospective refunds to people who miss discounts, do they?

---------- Post added at 14:22 ---------- Previous post was at 14:20 ----------

It’s not rocket science. If someone is so vulnerable as to be incapable of straightforward capitalist transactions then surely family members or the social care system should be involved? There’s far greater cons out there than the fact I get a small discount on my tv/broadband they’d be exposed to.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Not sure you understand the capabilities of vulnerable adults. Those that are incapable of managing are often looked after by advocates who are looking after too many people to take time to haggle for discounts.

Less vulnerable are capable of bill paying but may not be savvy enough to avoid ending up with more than they wanted, rather than pay less. Should we encourage infantilising them, because businesses are greedy?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Then that’s a deficiency of the social care system then.

As I said let’s go all Corbyn and have a socialist utopia of flat pricing and profits reinvested in this country and into our communities.

Between now and then I don’t see why I should get the downsides of capitalism but none of the upsides.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

Just wish company loyalty was appreciated rather than abused, so people did not have to haggle.

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

A truly noble idea, but why should those least likely to do anything benefit from price differentiation.

McDonalds to discounts for people who cut vouchers out the Metro, why not just sell at the lower price all the time?

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

But the point is that while the offer is there, anyone can have it. That is the point. No haggling, bullying and generally making a nuisance of oneself. This is not behaviour we should be encouraging in a civilised society.

---------- Post added at 16:52 ---------- Previous post was at 16:51 ----------

So very caring of you, jfman.

---------- Post added at 16:54 ---------- Previous post was at 16:52 ----------

As long as you're all right, eh. :rolleyes:

Re: Retention Dept gone?
 

So phoning up for a retention deal is bullying? You do know call centre staff have a release button if behaviour is inappropriate. It odd that you aren’t on the side of the consumer but instead the company.

I’m frankly astonished that you wish to restrict the free market in this way. If the market is failing then state ownership and regulated pricing is the answer. If we are declaring that broadband and tv companies are exploiting the vulnerable for their profit lines then they should be removed from the market full stop.