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boragthung · 06-11-2013, 11:39

I thought I would have a little play on the customiser for VM services so put in my post code with next doors house to see what it would come up with.
Looked at the Premiere package - cost is £48 plus phone.

So customising it to not have an extra box (text description states this extra box costs £6.50) and the total cost actually goes up for taking the box off. Only on VM! Totally ridiculous.

I am currently out of contract but I prepaid my phone until 4 Jan 2014. The trouble is I have to make a new prepayment by 16 November according to a letter I received a few weeks ago.

So I will have to ring up just before that date (don't have the money to pre-pay before the 14th November) to negotiate. I wasn't actually expecting to have to do this until January.

With FTTC in my area with the superior upload speeds and 'no buffering' I have to make a decision whether to dump VM altogether and just have BB/Phone with BT. While this will save money overall I would miss my telly and have to then rely on streaming as I couldn't afford a TV package on top of the more expensive BB. The other thing I might consider is moving up to VM's 120 Mbit to get better up.

Currently I have normal rip-off phone, 60Mbit BB and TVXL with an SA V+ box. I don't want a TIVO as I don't need the 'features' you pay a monthly fee for with it's only advantage in my eyes being a larger HDD (it doesn't even have the old archiving feature). I don't need a second box as there is only Me with my one telly.

I have a 'loyalty discount' of £6 (negotiated last year) which apparently runs to 1 May 2014 which reduces my package cost to £41 plus the prepaid phone. From the point of view of the Premiere package I virtually have that except instead of TIVO (£5) plus extra Box (£6.50) swap my one V+ box. Logically that would work out at 48-11.50 = 36.50.

What do you think is a realistic price I should get for my services? Less than my current £41? Because if I could negotiate a slightly cheaper price I would get the 120 for the extra 7.50 on top. If they insist on charging more for my current configuration I am likely to tell them to stick it. This year I am raging against the rip-off culture of this country and in particular the overpayments I have made for too long on stuff (like insurance in particular). So I am being a bit more pro-active in value-for-money.

Anyway when you compare the alleged full cost of my package @ £47 compared to Premiere @ £48 it's obviously over-priced (hence why they gave me that reduction when I complained, I should think). There are likely lots of people ignorantly over-paying their services and being taken advantage of ( I used to be one a few years back).

Any advice/imparted experience is welcome.

06-11-2013, 11:39	#1
boragthung Inactive Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 47	Bundle Pricing I thought I would have a little play on the customiser for VM services so put in my post code with next doors house to see what it would come up with. Looked at the Premiere package - cost is £48 plus phone. So customising it to not have an extra box (text description states this extra box costs £6.50) and the total cost actually goes up for taking the box off. Only on VM! Totally ridiculous. I am currently out of contract but I prepaid my phone until 4 Jan 2014. The trouble is I have to make a new prepayment by 16 November according to a letter I received a few weeks ago. So I will have to ring up just before that date (don't have the money to pre-pay before the 14th November) to negotiate. I wasn't actually expecting to have to do this until January. With FTTC in my area with the superior upload speeds and 'no buffering' I have to make a decision whether to dump VM altogether and just have BB/Phone with BT. While this will save money overall I would miss my telly and have to then rely on streaming as I couldn't afford a TV package on top of the more expensive BB. The other thing I might consider is moving up to VM's 120 Mbit to get better up. Currently I have normal rip-off phone, 60Mbit BB and TVXL with an SA V+ box. I don't want a TIVO as I don't need the 'features' you pay a monthly fee for with it's only advantage in my eyes being a larger HDD (it doesn't even have the old archiving feature). I don't need a second box as there is only Me with my one telly. I have a 'loyalty discount' of £6 (negotiated last year) which apparently runs to 1 May 2014 which reduces my package cost to £41 plus the prepaid phone. From the point of view of the Premiere package I virtually have that except instead of TIVO (£5) plus extra Box (£6.50) swap my one V+ box. Logically that would work out at 48-11.50 = 36.50. What do you think is a realistic price I should get for my services? Less than my current £41? Because if I could negotiate a slightly cheaper price I would get the 120 for the extra 7.50 on top. If they insist on charging more for my current configuration I am likely to tell them to stick it. This year I am raging against the rip-off culture of this country and in particular the overpayments I have made for too long on stuff (like insurance in particular). So I am being a bit more pro-active in value-for-money. Anyway when you compare the alleged full cost of my package @ £47 compared to Premiere @ £48 it's obviously over-priced (hence why they gave me that reduction when I complained, I should think). There are likely lots of people ignorantly over-paying their services and being taken advantage of ( I used to be one a few years back). Any advice/imparted experience is welcome.