Weird Bills

[Ignitionnet]

I've read many threads like these but I'm struggling to work out just what on earth VM are up to with my bills.

Last month:

Description Date/period Amount
Telephone Line Rental 02 September - 01 October £11.00
Talk International 02 September - 01 October £1.50
Talk Unlimited 02 September - 01 October £7.95
Phone, TV & Broadband Saving 02 September - 01 October £-25.95
T V Size: X L 02 September - 01 October £23.00
XXL 50Mb Broadband 02 September - 01 October £52.00

I think we can see 1 issue - XXL price is wrong.

Now this month:

Description Date/period Amount
Broadband XXL Price Change Credit 3 September £-7.00
VAT Credit 28 September £-1.46
Partial Months Service 20 September - 1 October £-1.62


OK That takes care of the XXL price from last month and the partial month is due to a downgrade of TV from XL to M as I got my Sky HD back but...

Description Date/period Amount
Telephone Line Rental 02 October - 01 November £11.00
Talk International 02 October - 01 November £1.50
Talk Unlimited 02 October - 01 November £7.95
XXL 50Mb Broadband 02 October - 01 November £45.00
T V Size: M 02 October - 01 November £0.00

Where's my 17GBP triple play discount gone? I've just been charged for everything a la carte?

If I've read it wrong please let me know, but I think they've screwed up especially as a previous month before these two, with no XL TV, reads as follows:

Description Date/period Amount
Telephone Line Rental 02 July - 01 August £11.00
Talk International 02 July - 01 August £1.50
Talk Unlimited 02 July - 01 August £7.95
Phone, Bband XL & TV Discount 02 July - 01 August £-17.00
XXL 50Mb Broadband 02 July - 01 August £52.00
T V Size: M 02 July - 01 August £0.00

Relevant and missing bit from most recent bill in bold.

Any ideas peeps or is this a simple screw up?

[BenMcr]

They didn't screw up. When you took out the XL tv you went on the Triple XL 50 which requires XL tv, XXL broadband and XL phone. It is also a minimum 12 month term

Because you downgraded your TV your account no longer met the requirements for the Triple XL 50 discount, so it was removed.

Virgin's bundle rules do not allow downgrades through the bundles. Instead if you no longer qualify for the discount you had you pay the standard non-discounted price - which may end up more expensive

Basically once you go up you can't go back down again

[Ignitionnet]

I see.

So the advertising regarding XXL being 28GBP when taken with a phone line is conditional on not adding, then removing other services, and VM will charge me 38GBP unless I upgrade the TV pack?

I am beginning to feel a cancellation of everything bar XXL which is still contracted coming on. If they really insist on making me pay full price for other services they can stick them where the sun doesn't shine and I'll use BT instead

I just do not understand the billing at all. I thought it was highly publisised that the price change was for all and I was under the impression £28 was the price and thats that.

Originally Posted by zing

I just do not understand the billing at all. I thought it was highly publisised that the price change was for all and I was under the impression £28 was the price and thats that.

I have to say that I think the whole point of VM's confused pricing is to confuse deliberately.

Well judging by the number of queries that people bring to CF that would appear to be the case.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by Broadbandings

I see.

So the advertising regarding XXL being 28GBP when taken with a phone line is conditional on not adding, then removing other services, and VM will charge me 38GBP unless I upgrade the TV pack?

All the prices Virgin quote are when you take out those services, so as I said downgrading to a lower bundle is not allowed - you lose all discounts if you do.

Which is what the terms mean when it says: You must, at a minimum, take all services included in your bundle for your minimum contract term. If you change any part of your bundle, standard prices apply.

This is how the bundles have worked for the since Feb 2007. It hasn't changed.

The same would happen if you tried to downgrade from XXL to L broadband. You would lose the £17 discount so actually only pay £3 less (rather than the £14 difference between the two on the website)

I am beginning to feel a cancellation of everything bar XXL which is still contracted coming on. If they really insist on making me pay full price for other services they can stick them where the sun doesn't shine and I'll use BT instead

The Triple XL 50 is 12 month recontracting on ALL services. So you are now under contract for XXL and TV and Phone

[EBD3000]

If that is the case why didn't the CS rep warn him that he'd be paying full price for everything before he did made the changes.

[BenMcr]

He should have done

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

All the prices Virgin quote are when you take out those services, so as I said downgrading to a lower bundle is not allowed - you lose all discounts if you do.

Odd that, given that I started off on triple XL last year and downgraded the TV after 3 months to return to Sky, yet clearly was receiving bundle discounts as early as the month before I briefly upgraded the TV.

The Triple XL 50 is 12 month recontracting on ALL services. So you are now under contract for XXL and TV and Phone

Try again - not agreed to, not explained, and assuming the call is recorded I'd be quite happy to discuss the matter in court, there was no mention at all of any contract either when I upgraded or when I downgraded the TV. I asked for an upgrade to XL TV and fully expected to pay full price for it less my current bundle discount, at no point did I ask for an upgrade to any bundle VM chose to supply that discount unprompted.

Given the masses of notes on my account regarding unreliable broadband service over the course of this year and back end of last which ended up with the CEO's office staff in Wythenshawe and my being upgraded to XXL as a priority and first install in this area, along with the near 3 weeks of downtime in the past 3 months on said XXL service all not compensated as I'm nice like that and accept excreta happens I doubt it'll get that far, still I do have some time free during the week over the next couple of weeks so it may keep me occupied.

I don't suffer fools gladly and this pricing policy and intentional obfuscation of prices and contracts is foolish. Anyone who can in all good conscience go onto a forum like this and tell customers otherwise is likewise being a fool. I'm not saying that's what you are doing I might add and hope you aren't going to, this is indefensible especially given that I was not warned either upon adding or removing the XL TV what was going to happen to bundle discounts.

[BenMcr]

If you weren't told about the new contract when you upgraded or about the lost of discounts when you downgraded then those agents are not doing their jobs correctly.

It is VM policy to do both and is certainly something I do

[Ignitionnet]

Yes well let's see what happens. Between this and the reduction in price on the XXL HSI service being applied retroactively not a happy bunny at all.

EDIT: I'm not actually that bothered about paying 38 quid a month for 50Mbit, I think it's a perfectly fair price, it's just the way that discounts are applied, removed, etc, and the obfuscation of pricing that has gotten my back up.

[BenMcr]

You have misunderstood what has happened - without any discounts you are paying £45 a month for XXL not £38

The £7 credit is a one off because the price didn't drop from £52 to £45 when it should have done. It won't appear on future bills

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

You have misunderstood what has happened - without any discounts you are paying £45 a month for XXL not £38

The £7 credit is a one off because the price didn't drop from £52 to £45 when it should have done. It won't appear on future bills

So I won't be paying even the 38GBP/month a la carte price that the website presently shows, and has shown ever since the 'price reduction' earlier this month but I will actually be paying a higher unadvertised price?

I am actually smiling, most amused by this. The duplicity just gets better

EDIT: I should mention it's more amusing given that the XL TV service was cancelled this month after the price drop, so not only would it appear VM took all bundle discounts off they also have arbitrarily decided to charge me the pre-September price for XXL with it despite it only precariously applying to my account since early September.

Who are they trying to kid here?

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by Broadbandings

So I won't be paying even the 38GBP/month a la carte price that the website presently shows, and has shown ever since the 'price reduction' earlier this month but I will actually be paying a higher unadvertised price?

The £38 price ISN'T 'a la carte' it is the price of BB XXL ordered by itself with no other services - not the price without any bundle discounts. That is the price that shows on the bill which is £45 (as you posted above)

EDIT: I should mention it's more amusing given that the XL TV service was cancelled this month after the price drop, so not only would it appear VM took all bundle discounts off they also have arbitrarily decided to charge me the pre-September price for XXL with it despite it only precariously applying to my account since early September.

Who are they trying to kid here?

They haven't charged you the pre-September bill on the October bill, otherwise it would still be showing as £52

It was an IT error as to why the £52 charge showed on the September period bill - which is why you got a £7 correction (as did everyone else it affected)

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

The £38 price ISN'T 'a la carte' it is the price of BB XXL ordered by itself with no other services - not the price without any bundle discounts. That is the price that shows on the bill which is £45 (as you posted above)

Ben, you're too wrapped up in VM speak. If you check what 'a la carte' means its' literal translation is 'according to the menu' and in the cable world it is the term used to describe the price of a service when taken on its' own. 'A reference to a menu of items priced and ordered separately.'

Can I also suggest you re-read the above and then you'll realise how ridiculous what you are saying is.

it is the price of BB XXL ordered by itself with no other services - not the price without any bundle discounts.

So 38GBP is the price of the XXL service ordered by itself with no other services, however when one takes the XXL service with no other service one receives bundle discounts?

I'm astounded you are trying to make out it's fine to advertise the service as 38GBP on its' own yet think it's fine for VM to charge me 45GBP without bundle discounts. I would imagine losing bundled discounts would mean being charged the price for the service, err, on its' own?