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What Happens When Our 12 Month Retention Deals Run Out?
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It's almost coming up to 12 months since Virgin lost the Sky Channels. At that time, many of us got retention deals. Some of those were done on a 12 month contract, so my question is, what happens when those 12 months run out?
Do they just start charging you full price, do they keep the price the same, or do they get in touch to negotiate a new pricing structure?
Do they just start charging you full price, do they keep the price the same, or do they get in touch to negotiate a new pricing structure?
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Hi, AFAIK the price will automatically go back up and the Retentions department will not give the same deal again, thats as much as I know.
Except, I think I was one of the first to get a retention deal as I lumped it in with the continuing failed promises of extra HD.
Sure enough, my bills have gone back up. BUT CHECK CAREFULLY. In a tortuous conversation it appears that some of my loyalty discount still applied on the full price. So I ended up paying more than the price of the VIP service for a lower service package.
And still no HD. Still an EPG that can't reflect late programme changes and still no Sky.
In April 2006 I jumped ship to Telewest with the thought that I could give them a try, after all what was the worst that could happen .........
Without wishing to start a Sky v Virgin war, I can tell you that Sky HD is every bit as good as V+ and Virgin come to collect all their equipment on 27 Feb.
There are limits to my loyalty.
I suppose that I'm in the middle of a protracted re location to Cornwall also forced my arm
I was only replying to the question.
Indeed. My point being to expand on both yours and Mossy's question.
It was asked if they did offer a re-retention deal. You pointed out that they probably wouldn't. Mossy pointed out that they were under no obligation to do so.
My experience is that they don't, and as a consequence haven't retained me.
To save a customer.
It never hurts to ask if they can do a better deal for you when it comes to the end of your contract. I have found getting stroppy with them doesn't work, but being nice and friendly seems to have paid off for me.
Sarah
If they have given you an 'extra' discount on top that does expire after 12 months, then they won't reapply that
As for SKY HD after a week of use I can wholeheartly say its great. The HD pic quailty is superb and even its upscaled SD channels are as good if not better, then my V+ box. The one thing that does let it down is the EPG, even tho the virgin one had its faults, Skys is worse! However a new one is promised..........now where have I heard that before
If you want the Sky basics go to Sky.
As I said, virgin will honour any of the sales or customer relations bundles for as long as you have the services. any extra stuff they may have done for the sky loss won't be repeated
Virgin shouldn't have to apologise indefinately for the removal of the Sky channels. They did for all those people who signed up before they were removed because people signed up on the basis of the Sky channels being part of the package
Now everyone knows they are not included, and anyone signing up for TV services since March have done so on the basis on them not being on Virgin
I don't want the bloody Sky basics:rolleyes: I never said i did. But there are going to be a lot of customers calling up expecting a similar deal to stay. If they don't then they will just a get a late massive defection of customers to Sky. A lot of people have said on the forums time and time again that they only stayed because they got a good deal.
I am more than happy with my service and never moaned when the Sky basics went in the first place. I never really watched Sky one all that much and i get Sky three on freeview anyway.
I agree that VM should take a stand against these customers taking advantage otherwise they will never have customers paying the going rate and all they will do is continue to lose money.
I just feel all these customers will just try it on again when the contracts comes up renewal. And there was a mass of them renewing all at the same time when the Sky basics withdrew and VM offered out all these new rententin deals!
Which is why now the customer relations bundles don't expire
All of the deals offered March of last year are the same as now. If fact there is less leeway than there was then.
So yes, Customer Relations may get busy, but anyone they do keep now, will lose the 'it has been 12 months, what are you going to give me' argument in the future
Of course if Customer Relations change anything, it is an automatic new 12 month contract as well
Well that is good news. VM have more than made up for the loss of the Sky basics with the amount of discounts these chancers were offered. Then there is all the new additions to the service they have all been given.
I just think that they will try it on again as they got it last time and vm will stand their ground and therfore lose an awful lot of customers. They cannot afford to lose all the customers but then i suppose it can be argued that they can because they are getting significant discounts anyway.
Either way it could have huge implications on churn and subscriber growth.
Chancers is a bit rich.
I moved to Virgin (Telewest) on the promise of two HD channels (with more to come) and the knowledge I could watch Sky One.
Then an HD channel was removed, then Sky One. Couple that with a fatally flawed EPG and intermittently working VOD and you could argue that that you needed the discount as compensation.
And you had the oportunity of cancelling without penalty when the Sky channels were removed, as were ALL Virgin customers (whether in contract or not), or negotiating a new bundle.
The HD channel you are on about was ITV HD which was discontinued by ITV, had nothing to do with Vrign media removing it. It became non-existant.
Not quite sure what you mean by fatally flawed EPG.
Any loss of service is dealt with as and when it occurs.
so is it safe to assume it will stay the same price for me? thanks
I don't mean everyone is a chancer. But there are lot's of people that have called up VM who have no intention of leaving but have threatened so just because they know they can get a squirming VM to give them a good deal.
I think this time round VM will call their bluff and those people serious about leaving will do so and the chancers will stay. I can't say i blame them though for trying to get a better deal lol.
Some of them are fair points Ben but when the full facts are related then not as clear as you say
1. Individuals were allowed to exit their TV contracts, However where you had contracts for broadband and Telephone they were a little more inflexible of removing those. Remember tht most people come to Sky or VM as a package as it financially more sense that split providers and cancelling your TV but skeeping the others would be an expense!
2. Correct ITV removed the HD ervie. However Customer Services since the introduction of TVDRive have been sayign that more HD channels are "coming soon" it is only recently that NB has openly poured scorn on that with his "people want VOD HD" lets also remember that Channel 4 HD has been there for over a month now and ITV HD is shortly to return but VM have done nothing to secure these low-cost options and make the point that Bandwidth is not an issue ( which is contrary to most understandings before and does not seem to make sense!)
3. The fatally flawed is a strong term but referred to a EPG facility which seemingly works on a go-slow basis when channel surfing much slower than freeview and "I can't say their name" boxes
4. Loss of service is meant to deal with unexpected and unplanned events outside VM ability to resolve. Not as the case with a lot of the issues such as red button, and VOD when the faults seem to be the result of poor software, management and or maintenance/ investment rather than unexpected power failures
VM have a lot of good points but to infer everyone who agreed a retention deal or a VFM deal is a chancer ( which to be fair was not your inferral but you have to understand why the previous poster took exception) no more than anyone who looks around for the best insurance, electricity, gas supplier and then is offered a realistic package by their original supplier to stay.
Some might say that in that case the supplier is a rip-off merchant for charging an extraordinary high price based on customer inertia rather than pricing realistically first off
But they are not
They are a business looking to obtain the best proift they can and maintain customers and
Customers are becoming more price savvy especially on the internet ( this forum and other such as hotukdeals have shifted the balance from a poor uninformed solitary cusotemr to a group of likeminded individuals )
Valid point
I suspect that VM will do that if the person is a chancer but where
a. The individual at least research the options and the costs
b. If hey have a average monthly bill above VM ARPU
I suspect that a little effort will be made to retain your servces but probably not throw away lots of unrealistic deals
and they probably dont need to .. The Triple XL , the VIP and some of the other packages which are not common knowledge are probably enough fro 95% of people of they were open to all and well advertised
And at the time the Sky channels were removed, Customer Relations deals were not recontracting, so you could cancel the TV, get a better deal for phone and broadband and still be under your original contract.
The recontracting of customer relations bundles didnt start until about May last year
I agree on that one, but was just saying that it wasn't Virgin's decision
And I have no problem with that, which is why customer relations still have their options.
But it is unlikely that Customer Relations will 'improve' their offer if someone is already on a loyalty bundle.
I.E if someone is on a loyalty bundle that for £40 gives them XL tv, L BB and phone, you couldn't get customer relations doing it for £30 instead for no reason
If you agree to pay £50 to virgin instead of £40 however, Customer Relations may say well we can give you services that should normally cost £60
They definately won't year on year, make the same stuff cheaper!
Especially as some of the 'standard' customer bundles are better value that the Customer Relations ones
Agreed that Chancers asking for a ferrari for the price of a mondeo should be quietly let go butcustomer who want to stay with VM but the S** and BT option look better should be at least addressed rather than simply told to do one!
A lot of campany take exception that the customers know the prices and the deals out there not just there but in shops as well. Comet are a classic only price match against someone large in the same postcode but why would you buy it there if you could get it from b anyway. simply as it is a piece of marketing which does not actually mean anything
On the first point I think we still have a difference, albeit slight. whilst you could have renegotiated if you were out minimum contract if you were in the 12 month minimum contract for all services VM did not allow renegotiation on Phone and BB and certainly did not renegiate on the basis that the VM package would be previous price for all three services at VM less the cost of getting Sky TV (customer no worse off!) unless individuals went to cisas
so in effect they had little option to stay for teh twelve months so I expect that the last twelve month has seen a trickle of losses
Also lets no forget that VM offered nothing and felt it did nothing wrong until the NCC and probably OFCOM had a little word in their shell-like
Either way, 12 months AFTER it all happened is a different place
Agree to disagree although where probably not that far apart in terms of views just points
On your either way I hope so but VM certainly needs to improve on a lot of things incuding PR and delivery but since NB took over it does appear a little more focused if not delivering yet