It doesn't affect me as I can leave Virgin when I like, but I think that as in a case like this, it should be a default situation that you can leave a company that no longer offers the same package that it advertised and you signed up to.
You probably can. If the contract was signed before October 2015, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts apply. Broadly, a term of a contract entered into can be deemed unfair if it creates a 'significant imbalance' in the trader and consumer’s positions, to the detriment of the consumer.
For example, a term that allows the trader to fundamentally change the goods or services to be supplied under the contract, and at the same time gives the consumer no way out of the contract if they're not happy with the changes, would be considered unfair under the Regulations.
Post Oct 2015 the Consumer Rights Act applies. There's an extra bit here covering "digital content" which must be as described by the seller. (Virgin bang to rights on that I'd have thought.) Then the bits about unfair contract terms is broadly similar.
As I understand it Ofcom has already concluded Virgin's £240 exit charge is unlawful if you move to an area where their service is not available and are now expressing concerns about the latest fiasco.
In a nutshell, a company can put whatever it likes in its t&cs but that doesn't matter a hill of beans. The merest threat of court action and the precedent that would set is highly likely to make them roll over and have their tummy tickled while you cancel for free. It is reported that some already have.
BBC Radio5Live tonight reporting that Virgin Media may lose ITV by the weekend. They are a shit company. They waste so much money; every week for at least the last 6 years I have received a marketing package from VM, sometimes just a letter, other times a full 10 page A4 pack and I'm pretty certain I'm not an exclusive target!
Me to, literally over the last 10 years they've sent me an oak trees worth of paper.
You would think as a communications company they could come up with another way, like I said earlier in the thread, they wrote to me to tell me about stopping my email account due to spam.
BBC Radio5Live tonight reporting that Virgin Media may lose ITV by the weekend. They are a shit company. They waste so much money; every week for at least the last 6 years I have received a marketing package from VM, sometimes just a letter, other times a full 10 page A4 pack and I'm pretty certain I'm not an exclusive target!
Me to, literally over the last 10 years they've sent me an oak trees worth of paper.
You would think as a communications company they could come up with another way, like I said earlier in the thread, they wrote to me to tell me about stopping my email account due to spam.
BBC Radio5Live tonight reporting that Virgin Media may lose ITV by the weekend. They are a shit company. They waste so much money; every week for at least the last 6 years I have received a marketing package from VM, sometimes just a letter, other times a full 10 page A4 pack and I'm pretty certain I'm not an exclusive target!
Me to, literally over the last 10 years they've sent me an oak trees worth of paper.
You would think as a communications company they could come up with another way, like I said earlier in the thread, they wrote to me to tell me about stopping my email account due to spam.
BBC Radio5Live tonight reporting that Virgin Media may lose ITV by the weekend. They are a shit company. They waste so much money; every week for at least the last 6 years I have received a marketing package from VM, sometimes just a letter, other times a full 10 page A4 pack and I'm pretty certain I'm not an exclusive target!
BBC Radio5Live tonight reporting that Virgin Media may lose ITV by the weekend. They are a shit company. They waste so much money; every week for at least the last 6 years I have received a marketing package from VM, sometimes just a letter, other times a full 10 page A4 pack and I'm pretty certain I'm not an exclusive target!
Me to, literally over the last 10 years they've sent me an oak trees worth of paper.
You would think as a communications company they could come up with another way, like I said earlier in the thread, they wrote to me to tell me about stopping my email account due to spam.
My full TV package, plus Sky Sports, Super fast Broadband and line rental is up for renewal next month. The full cost is approx £102 pm. I always haggle and last year paid £88 pm. I saw an advert for Sky charging £62 pm for a similar deal. They just agreed to charge £61 pm.
Bish, bash, bosh, back of the next, well pleased with that, as we use the TV and/or broadband for about 18 hours a day on average.
My full TV package, plus Sky Sports, Super fast Broadband and line rental is up for renewal next month. The full cost is approx £102 pm. I always haggle and last year paid £88 pm. I saw an advert for Sky charging £62 pm for a similar deal. They just agreed to charge £61 pm.
Bish, bash, bosh, back of the next, well pleased with that, as we use the TV and/or broadband for about 18 hours a day on average.
I've just tried to negotiate a deal and they tried to offer me £47 for just the broadband and phone with unlimited calls to landlines... can't understand how that's an offer for a customer who's been with them since 2012. I've given them my 30 days notice as there are so much better deals out there. I use to get friends&family discount for Sky which was £50 odd with all channels, broadband etc. Surprised they didn't fight to give me a better deal Virgin. Waiting for them to crawl back when it nears the 30 days.
I think they have become a bit harder to negotiate with recently. They seem more willing to lose customers and seem to be more focused on trying to win new customers!
I think they have become a bit harder to negotiate with recently. They seem more willing to lose customers and seem to be more focused on trying to win new customers!
This is what my Dad said but they're not even offering great new customer deals anymore. They're becoming more expensive, don't care about losing customers and are losing channels and then fighting for them back. With the rise of BT Tv, Sky, Internet TV like Now TV etc, Virgin are ruining it for theirselves.
It is a pain - it is like electricity/utilities/insurance- you have to keep chopping and changing. We have busy enough lives already without having to be penalised for not shopping around!
My full TV package, plus Sky Sports, Super fast Broadband and line rental is up for renewal next month. The full cost is approx £102 pm. I always haggle and last year paid £88 pm. I saw an advert for Sky charging £62 pm for a similar deal. They just agreed to charge £61 pm.
Bish, bash, bosh, back of the next, well pleased with that, as we use the TV and/or broadband for about 18 hours a day on average.
I've just tried to negotiate a deal and they tried to offer me £47 for just the broadband and phone with unlimited calls to landlines... can't understand how that's an offer for a customer who's been with them since 2012. I've given them my 30 days notice as there are so much better deals out there. I use to get friends&family discount for Sky which was £50 odd with all channels, broadband etc. Surprised they didn't fight to give me a better deal Virgin. Waiting for them to crawl back when it nears the 30 days.
Virgin (don't know about others) can only offer their best deals, when your contract is within 30 days of expiry. I rang a couple of weeks ago and they told me to ring back today.
My full TV package, plus Sky Sports, Super fast Broadband and line rental is up for renewal next month. The full cost is approx £102 pm. I always haggle and last year paid £88 pm. I saw an advert for Sky charging £62 pm for a similar deal. They just agreed to charge £61 pm.
Bish, bash, bosh, back of the next, well pleased with that, as we use the TV and/or broadband for about 18 hours a day on average.
I've just tried to negotiate a deal and they tried to offer me £47 for just the broadband and phone with unlimited calls to landlines... can't understand how that's an offer for a customer who's been with them since 2012. I've given them my 30 days notice as there are so much better deals out there. I use to get friends&family discount for Sky which was £50 odd with all channels, broadband etc. Surprised they didn't fight to give me a better deal Virgin. Waiting for them to crawl back when it nears the 30 days.
Virgin (don't know about others) can only offer their best deals, when your contract is within 30 days of expiry. I rang a couple of weeks ago and they told me to ring back today.
We're out of contract that's the thing. So I've given them the 30 days cancellation notice. I did ring at 8:30 and the girl probably was just counting down the minutes till she goes home rather than fight for the business.
The one thing I would say is you can always ring again. If you have some plonker on the other end of the phone end the call and try somebody else later. Virgin have some staff with great customer service skills and some with awful ones! You are not compelled to deal with the poor ones. Even though their number seems to be increasing.
If you give an ultimatum - if you don't give me on this call this deal I will leave for the better Sky offer I have - which I have done once or twice with success - you can always ring back having changed your mind.
8 months ago Virgin Media availability was extended to the 15 homes in my cul de sac. Bombarded almost weekly with postal marketing to transfer. After recent BT and Sky price rises and indifferent connectivity I took the plunge and invited the salesman in and signed up Vivid 350 full house etc, everything they could offer and half price vs BT/Sky. Signed up, survey undertaken, now been advised too expensive to install. Since had 4 sign up promotions. Shambles
My full TV package, plus Sky Sports, Super fast Broadband and line rental is up for renewal next month. The full cost is approx £102 pm. I always haggle and last year paid £88 pm. I saw an advert for Sky charging £62 pm for a similar deal. They just agreed to charge £61 pm.
Bish, bash, bosh, back of the next, well pleased with that, as we use the TV and/or broadband for about 18 hours a day on average.
Following the above I was e mailed a contract for £94 pm. I phoned them and explained that I wasn't going to sign a contract stating £94 pm, when I had agreed £61pm.
They explained that any agreed reductions by the retention team, could not be reflected in the contract and furthermore they couldn't send anything to confirm my agreed deal by e mail. I told them what I thought and "gave up".
The next day I thought I'm not having this and phoned again. I spoke to someone who explained matters a little better, but with the same outcome. I asked for full clarification if they weren't going to send me a correct contract and then discovered that the "deal" didn't include line rental as I had previously paid in advance for a year (value approx £240 pm). So my £370 saving was now looking like £130.
Once again I said I'm not paying for line rental on top, as that wasn't what I had agreed. She had a word with her manager and then agreed to my whole package for £61 pm. I asked her to confirm by e mail and she did.
The moral of the story, is don't take someones word for something. Get it in writing and don't be fobbed off and give up.
Comments
For example, a term that allows the trader to fundamentally change the goods or services to be supplied under the contract, and at the same time gives the consumer no way out of the contract if they're not happy with the changes, would be considered unfair under the Regulations.
Post Oct 2015 the Consumer Rights Act applies. There's an extra bit here covering "digital content" which must be as described by the seller. (Virgin bang to rights on that I'd have thought.) Then the bits about unfair contract terms is broadly similar.
As I understand it Ofcom has already concluded Virgin's £240 exit charge is unlawful if you move to an area where their service is not available and are now expressing concerns about the latest fiasco.
In a nutshell, a company can put whatever it likes in its t&cs but that doesn't matter a hill of beans. The merest threat of court action and the precedent that would set is highly likely to make them roll over and have their tummy tickled while you cancel for free. It is reported that some already have.
Deal now agreed with ITV
Tell her I said hello
The full cost is approx £102 pm.
I always haggle and last year paid £88 pm.
I saw an advert for Sky charging £62 pm for a similar deal.
They just agreed to charge £61 pm.
Bish, bash, bosh, back of the next, well pleased with that, as we use the TV and/or broadband for about 18 hours a day on average.
I rang a couple of weeks ago and they told me to ring back today.
If you give an ultimatum - if you don't give me on this call this deal I will leave for the better Sky offer I have - which I have done once or twice with success - you can always ring back having changed your mind.
I phoned them and explained that I wasn't going to sign a contract stating £94 pm, when I had agreed £61pm.
They explained that any agreed reductions by the retention team, could not be reflected in the contract and furthermore they couldn't send anything to confirm my agreed deal by e mail. I told them what I thought and "gave up".
The next day I thought I'm not having this and phoned again.
I spoke to someone who explained matters a little better, but with the same outcome.
I asked for full clarification if they weren't going to send me a correct contract and then discovered that the "deal" didn't include line rental as I had previously paid in advance for a year (value approx £240 pm).
So my £370 saving was now looking like £130.
Once again I said I'm not paying for line rental on top, as that wasn't what I had agreed.
She had a word with her manager and then agreed to my whole package for £61 pm.
I asked her to confirm by e mail and she did.
The moral of the story, is don't take someones word for something. Get it in writing and don't be fobbed off and give up.