[ziggycat]

I've been a C&W / NTL / VM customer for about 10 years. Last week in a cost cutting exercise to try and reduce monthly bills we decided to downgrade our BB and TV, 20mb to 10mb and TV from L to M taking our monthly bill from £45 to £26. Tried every angle with the rep to see if I could reduce it further (moving to e-bill from paper billing, the fact I was agreeing to a new 12 month contract etc.), but alas this was the best deal they would do. * later that same day they advertised on tv the exact package I had just signed up to - But for new customers £24*

Over the weekend our existing wireless router(non VM) got damaged, and before rushing out to buy another the wife reminded me that when her parents signed up for BB they were given one for free.

So today 7 days after agreeing the new contract over the phone I recieved my new consumer hire agreement/welcome letter. Ahh I thought, I'll just give them a call now and get myself a new router for free, after all I've just agreed to a new miniumum 12 month term like a new customer would have.

WRONG!!!

I thought I'll skip customer services and go straight through to the retentions team. I can honestly say the rep I spoke to was just outright hostile. I explained that we had reduced our services and entered into a new 12 month term and could I have a wireless router as per new customers.

NO! That is for new customers only - we are already giving you a £10 discount I was told. ?

When I asked what the discount was for she told me I was paying £11 telephone and £15 BB, and I was getting the TV free. It's freeview channels only I replied, to my knowledge you can get this for free if you take out a phone line(?I think?). She then started going on about me not having to buy a freeview box blah blah. and toldme that If I really wanted the router they would do it for half price £20. WTF. do they just make things up as they go along. Sod it I thought - i'm not being spoken to or treated like this, so I informed her It was within 7 days and I wanted to cancel all my services. Almost immediately she changed her tone and offerred me the router for free. Unfortunately at that point I had made up my mind, "no, please take this as my 30 days notice". She asked if I had heard what she said and reitterated that I could now have a free router. I confirmed my cancellation and the conversation promptly ended.

This is typical of VM, and now that I've actualy jumped ship and started looking around I wish I'd done it sooner. No they do not look after existing customers, their only mandate is to get people on as longer contract as they can. Yes I'll miss BB, the STM policy is very strict, and set to become worse - unlimited it is not.

/rant