Early Termination Fee
 

Hello everyone

I have just signed up with VM for 18 months. I am very pleased with their products and the price is OK. (the customer service is rubbish but that’s a topic for another day).
My only concern is that if I move to a new property within that timeframe that cannot be serviced by Virgin, I will get hit with penalties. I understand the max punishment is £240.

I have looked on their website and found this --->https://www.virginmedia.com/shop/the...onnection-fees
However, that is total gobbledegook. Can anyone explain what I might possibly pay after say a year.

Maxit TV
M200 Fibre Broadband
Talk More Anytime
My new price is £51 pm

I am still within the cooling off period so could still withdraw from the deal without taking a hit. I am thinking of moving home and apartments I have perused on the ‘net do not have Virgin.

Any help would be appreciated - thanks!

I wonder what you call a block of flats devoid of virgin – Sodom and Gomorrah?????????????.

Re: Early Termination Fee
 

In these circumstances, i'd get out of the contract while you can and pay more per month for a 30 day rolling contract.

It's absolutely outrageous to fail to be able to supply a customer at their new property & then financially penalise them for it, this is especially relevant since VM sold off their Off Net service. In the real world, there are lots of factors to consider when people decide or are required to leave their accomodation. The requirements of VM are probably near the bottom of the list.

They have been fined by Ofcom in the past for overcharging & running this policy badly, so it may be worth visiting their website for more information.

Re: Early Termination Fee
 

I agree 100% with your second paragraph. I think the regulator should sort this out asap.

My problem is: (1) I don't know if, where and when I'm going to move (2) the 18 month deal VM have offered me is very attractive.

However, my main point is that Virgin are not being transparent in explaining their ETFs. So if you Richard or anyone else can explain these exit fees, I would be very grateful. Thanks!

Re: Early Termination Fee
 

I think you pretty much know the score without any further explanation. The page you linked to tells you how much a month you will get charged if you leave early and you know the max is £240.

What else do you need to know? Virgin Medias contract policy has always sucked but at least if you play the game you get good deals to recontract.

If you end up moving to a none VM property least you know the max you will be out of pocket isn't to bad

Re: Early Termination Fee
 

When anyone signs up to VM (and many many other services) you agree to a minimum contract length.
It's not VMs fault if you decide to move during that contract to an area that VM do not service.
They are not penalise the customers for moving, it's for ending the contract early.

So you then want out of the contract early, so is it not right that VM charge you for ending that contract early?

Isn't that normal practice for many things if you want to end the contract early?

If you're not sure if you will be able to complete the minimum contract terms, and you're not happy with the early termination fees, then I would suggest that you don't take the offer.

Re: Early Termination Fee
 

The only contract that has little law behind it and therefore broken all to easy is the Marriage Contract

Re: Early Termination Fee
 

The alternative type of contract would be to pay a high cost, up front. Are people prepared to do that, or would they prefer the costs that VM incur, be spread over the course of the contract?

Re: Early Termination Fee
 

But often, especially for those in private rented accommodation, it's not a case of 'deciding' to move. They have no choice & often don't know when they have to leave.

I get what you're saying about contracts, but if a customer is willing to stay with VM, it's not their fault that VM failed to cable up their new home. They used to be able to offer Off Net services in cases like this, but they sold that division off and that's not the customers fault either.

People basically have four choices:

1) Take out a VM contract & hope for the best (because this is cheaper).

2) Take out a rolling 30 day VM contract (but this is more expensive).

3) Do what some do and just don't pay any outstanding bill, let alone any early early termination fees (but you run the risk of being traced by the debt collection agencies that VM will pass the debt to. This would probably affect your credit rating for a couple of years too, which could be problematic for some).

4) Forget VM and go with a supplier who can provide a service at the majority of UK addresses. If speed is important, there are now more & more companies able to offer higher speeds than in the past.

---------- Post added at 23:32 ---------- Previous post was at 23:21 ----------

Minimum contracts were originally introduced to make it worthwhile for a company to install/supply equipment etc.

These days, VM will charge the maximum that they can (regardless of the actual costs to themselves) get away with, either in general or to individual customers.

New customers obtain good deals to hook them in, so VM are likely to make less on these contracts over the course of it's duration.

A lot of contracts are now in force since VM started requiring this in return for offering discounted retention deals, these are contracts where most of the costs that VM incur eg installation, the cost of the equipment supplied etc have already been factored in and recovered.