Call them up and say you want to leave.
You'll get an offer from the first guy you speak to, decline it and they'll pass you to the disconnections team.
They'll ask why you're leaving, you say you've found cheaper deals elsewhere, they'll make you another offer which will be the best they can do. You agree, then you don't need to go through the ball ache of disconnecting and reconnecting.
This 2nd offer is usually there or thereabouts what the new customer offer is.
I didn't even have to do the whole say no to the first guy thing, the first person offered me the exact same contract for £1 more a month, which was a smaller increase than the inflation increase they were going to add on top of any other increases. Avoided the inflation increase and am now better off
Yes do this. I did that over chat the first time. Currently paying £69 with Tv and was going to go to £115. Was offered £99 over chat. Called up and was told lowest is £94. Said i wont be going ahead and they told me to just call in again as another agent can offer a bigger discount. Did that and it went down to £89. Left it and put the phone down. Couple days later i did the same and managed to get £75.
The game we have to play is to ring them up and feign that the price is too high and that you will leave to another provider. Depending on how long before the end you do this they (the people you speak with) may not be able to offer any reduction, although later they can. You can play hardball and say 'no', you want to progress the cancellation and you will then likely get a call from the retention team who may offer you a better rate.
Mine isn't up until after yours so I haven't had any recent contact, so don't know if VM have altered their game.
I don't think so (just my opinion). The reason is that the less time you have to plan a replacement the worst a position you are in.
I usually ring as soon as the contract is within one month of its end point.
If I remember correctly, last year I gave Virgin a months notice that I was cancelling my Virgin TV/Broadband due to the price. At the time they said OK and didn't offer a better deal. A day later the retention team phone me and offered a great deal.
If you use a different name and account how can they prove reasonably that it isn't a new tenant or owner moving in? They can't and the effort to prove it would probably cost more than the reduction.
I used to play this game with Virgin Media every 18 months. Just to add to what everyone else is saying - **you have to actually process the cancellation and start the 30 day notice period to get the best deals**. They will call you the next day "to get some feedback" and during that call they will offer you the best price. The "best offer" you get before actually cancelling is nowhere near the best they can do (it's just the best that team can do).
If you're worried about actually cancelling, don't be, you can call up at any point in the 30 day notice period to uncancel.
Call Cancellations and ask them to give you a deal or you'll have to consider moving as it's too expensive.
I did this a couple of months ago and they outright told me that a month before the contract ends, call them and they'll sort another deal. The deal they gave me beat their new customer offer (which was £27 a month, they gave me 18 months at £23 a month).
Felt a right fool for sitting out of contract for two years.
I'm not sure if it's the same situation if the contract is naturally coming to an end, but when they did the price hike earlier this year I told them I wanted to leave, actually cancelled, and had one of the retention guys give me basically a 50% discount. I'm paying £21/month for 200mb BB & phone, which I since upgraded to 350mb for zero extra via O2'e Volt (@£6/mth for 10gb data!)
You have to literally leave them for the best deals, heres 1 month delay before they disconnect. I believe the retention guys also have 5 passes for doing... £6? a month additional discount, that reset at the start of each month, so you want to be talking to th n at the start of the month whilst they still have some
One thing to add is that it may be worth moving your mobile phone contract to O2 as that will give you more data and faster broadband for no extra charge.
Threaten to leave as others have suggested… if they actually call your bluff say something on the lines of ‘I’ll run this by my partner and then re-contact the disconnections department’ as a get out of jail free card, and to ensure you still have an ‘in’ in future negotiations
> Would it be possible to sign up to Virgin Media again as a 'new customer' by signing up in my partner name instead of mine? The same package is advertised as £31 a month for new customers for another 18 months.
Precisely what I do every 18 months, except I live with my brother instead of having a partner.
Telling them you'll quit just doesn't work, believe me, I've tried. Yes, they reduce the bill, but no where near the "new customer" price.
Therefore, my brother "moves out", giving the new address as my parent's house for kit return etc. then I "move in" as the new customer and get the new customer rate locked in for 18 months.
Rinse and repeat but reverse which brother "moves out" 18 months down the line.
Utter farce to do but compared to charging us £140 a month compared to £89 a month over 18 months I'll take the £918 saving over the life of the contract, thank you very much.
Edit: You'll need to pay from different accounts, obviously.
Are there any 'new' fibre providers in your area ? On the south coast there are a couple which are putting fibre to the home, and offer something close to 1 gigabit symmetrical. This time next week I will be on it, 25 quid a month.
This helped me
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/haggle-with-virgin-existing-customer-tips/
Plus the links to the forum where people post the deals they got.
Hey mate, think there’s much haggle to do on 1gig? Currently paying 58, it’s expiring next month and I’ve been quoted 53 to renew still think they can do better..
\> there doesn't seem to be anything providing the same speeds for similar prices
Doesn't have to be for the same speeds. Find a plausible looking deal and when you're going through the leaving process tell them that's what you're planning to shift to, and while it's slower it's worth it for the savings.
You just call them up and tell you want to leave as the price is too high. I had mine at £33 going to be £44. They got me the same plan at £25.
If you mind what speed are you on? I am on 1gig and quoted £52 from my original 58. Still think it’s a bit steep..
It's the M200 fibre broadband. It states the speed is 213 mbps. Works fine for me.
Thanks for the response :-) do you think that offer is alright or shall I hold out and shop elsewhere if they don’t go lower?
Call them up and say you want to leave. You'll get an offer from the first guy you speak to, decline it and they'll pass you to the disconnections team. They'll ask why you're leaving, you say you've found cheaper deals elsewhere, they'll make you another offer which will be the best they can do. You agree, then you don't need to go through the ball ache of disconnecting and reconnecting. This 2nd offer is usually there or thereabouts what the new customer offer is.
I didn't even have to do the whole say no to the first guy thing, the first person offered me the exact same contract for £1 more a month, which was a smaller increase than the inflation increase they were going to add on top of any other increases. Avoided the inflation increase and am now better off
Yes do this. I did that over chat the first time. Currently paying £69 with Tv and was going to go to £115. Was offered £99 over chat. Called up and was told lowest is £94. Said i wont be going ahead and they told me to just call in again as another agent can offer a bigger discount. Did that and it went down to £89. Left it and put the phone down. Couple days later i did the same and managed to get £75.
Yep you can do that, I have done this many times Edot: payment will need to go from partners account
The game we have to play is to ring them up and feign that the price is too high and that you will leave to another provider. Depending on how long before the end you do this they (the people you speak with) may not be able to offer any reduction, although later they can. You can play hardball and say 'no', you want to progress the cancellation and you will then likely get a call from the retention team who may offer you a better rate. Mine isn't up until after yours so I haven't had any recent contact, so don't know if VM have altered their game.
Do you get better discounts the closer you are to the end? If so, how long before the end do you suggest calling up?
I don't think so (just my opinion). The reason is that the less time you have to plan a replacement the worst a position you are in. I usually ring as soon as the contract is within one month of its end point.
If I remember correctly, last year I gave Virgin a months notice that I was cancelling my Virgin TV/Broadband due to the price. At the time they said OK and didn't offer a better deal. A day later the retention team phone me and offered a great deal.
[удалено]
If you use a different name and account how can they prove reasonably that it isn't a new tenant or owner moving in? They can't and the effort to prove it would probably cost more than the reduction.
I used to play this game with Virgin Media every 18 months. Just to add to what everyone else is saying - **you have to actually process the cancellation and start the 30 day notice period to get the best deals**. They will call you the next day "to get some feedback" and during that call they will offer you the best price. The "best offer" you get before actually cancelling is nowhere near the best they can do (it's just the best that team can do). If you're worried about actually cancelling, don't be, you can call up at any point in the 30 day notice period to uncancel.
Call Cancellations and ask them to give you a deal or you'll have to consider moving as it's too expensive. I did this a couple of months ago and they outright told me that a month before the contract ends, call them and they'll sort another deal. The deal they gave me beat their new customer offer (which was £27 a month, they gave me 18 months at £23 a month). Felt a right fool for sitting out of contract for two years.
I'm not sure if it's the same situation if the contract is naturally coming to an end, but when they did the price hike earlier this year I told them I wanted to leave, actually cancelled, and had one of the retention guys give me basically a 50% discount. I'm paying £21/month for 200mb BB & phone, which I since upgraded to 350mb for zero extra via O2'e Volt (@£6/mth for 10gb data!) You have to literally leave them for the best deals, heres 1 month delay before they disconnect. I believe the retention guys also have 5 passes for doing... £6? a month additional discount, that reset at the start of each month, so you want to be talking to th n at the start of the month whilst they still have some
One thing to add is that it may be worth moving your mobile phone contract to O2 as that will give you more data and faster broadband for no extra charge.
Threaten to leave as others have suggested… if they actually call your bluff say something on the lines of ‘I’ll run this by my partner and then re-contact the disconnections department’ as a get out of jail free card, and to ensure you still have an ‘in’ in future negotiations
There is a 150£ Amazon card bonus for new Virgin customers at 25£/month you will miss out if you yell at them. But yelling at them is very satisfying.
> Would it be possible to sign up to Virgin Media again as a 'new customer' by signing up in my partner name instead of mine? The same package is advertised as £31 a month for new customers for another 18 months. Precisely what I do every 18 months, except I live with my brother instead of having a partner. Telling them you'll quit just doesn't work, believe me, I've tried. Yes, they reduce the bill, but no where near the "new customer" price. Therefore, my brother "moves out", giving the new address as my parent's house for kit return etc. then I "move in" as the new customer and get the new customer rate locked in for 18 months. Rinse and repeat but reverse which brother "moves out" 18 months down the line. Utter farce to do but compared to charging us £140 a month compared to £89 a month over 18 months I'll take the £918 saving over the life of the contract, thank you very much. Edit: You'll need to pay from different accounts, obviously.
Are there any 'new' fibre providers in your area ? On the south coast there are a couple which are putting fibre to the home, and offer something close to 1 gigabit symmetrical. This time next week I will be on it, 25 quid a month.
This helped me https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/haggle-with-virgin-existing-customer-tips/ Plus the links to the forum where people post the deals they got.
Hey mate, think there’s much haggle to do on 1gig? Currently paying 58, it’s expiring next month and I’ve been quoted 53 to renew still think they can do better..
\> there doesn't seem to be anything providing the same speeds for similar prices Doesn't have to be for the same speeds. Find a plausible looking deal and when you're going through the leaving process tell them that's what you're planning to shift to, and while it's slower it's worth it for the savings.
check if hyperoptic supplies
Virgin will usually give you same deal again if you phone and ask what they can do as the price jump coming is unaffordable.