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.
I appreciate that it was discontinued by ITV. However it didn't stop Telewest, at the time, marketing it as an advantage over Sky. There were even poster hoardings advertising Telewest 2 - Sky 1, refering to Telewest having one more HD channel than Sky.
When I made my decision about which service to go for, Telewest CS told me that they had two channels with "more to come"
On that information I cancelled my Sky subscription.
Regarding the EPG. It does not update in real time. If programmes change that change is downloaded overnight. Consequently, if there is sport which over-runs, the V+ box just carries on recording the programme from its original start time. Sky, however reflect the changes, usually within 10 minutes ( i did give a lengthy example on these very forums). I have watched it happen. Sky EPG updated, V+ EPG showing the original schedule and recording as such.
This means that if you know a programme is following sport you hav to manually pad by 30 / 45/ 60 minutes, which invariably causes a clash somewhere else and makes the recording of three channels redundant. You need to be able to do that to ensure you get the two channels you wanted.
Which is a pity. Although I have have issues with the V+ box, it had the potential to be a great piece of technology.
Sky HD is not perfect, but it is a case of choosing a system with the fewer flaws.
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
If you think it is more focused from a customer point of view.........
Just renewed my sisters deal through retentions. Couldn't match the last deal 4Meg BB £12.50. However they gave her a 12 month deal at £17.50. They said it was as low as they were now allowed to go. Anyway my sister was happy with that so didn't push it any further. No new contract involved. (Confirmed it before anyone argues).
I got a retentions deal last year when I lost sky & they starting charging for BB faults Helpline
I was put on M Phone, M BB, XL TV for £30 (which is what they were offering new customers at the time)
I have had a V+ box installed this morning for £75. I also asked for a email from Virgin confirming that My bundle is stopping at £30 per month & that I wouldn't be paying anything extra for my V+ Box.
Initally the XL upgrade was for 12 months.
Wht do you think will happen when those 12 months are up? Do you think they'll change my bill to the full cost price of the XL Tv?
Will I be able to go through to retentions or will they say its tough as I have just ordered a V+ box, which I understand you have to have for a minimum of 12 months?
I confirmed I didn't sign a new 12 month contract when I took out the V+ Box.
What is the worst case scenario if my retentions deal comes to a end?
Will I have to pay full price for M Phone, M BB, XL Tv etc.. ???
Or if I drop to L Tv will I loose TV choice & have to pay for the V+ Box Monthly?
I got a retentions deal last year when I lost sky & they starting charging for BB faults Helpline
I was put on M Phone, M BB, XL TV for £30 (which is what they were offering new customers at the time)
I have had a V+ box installed this morning for £75. I also asked for a email from Virgin confirming that My bundle is stopping at £30 per month & that I wouldn't be paying anything extra for my V+ Box.
Initally the XL upgrade was for 12 months.
Wht do you think will happen when those 12 months are up? Do you think they'll change my bill to the full cost price of the XL Tv?
Depends what deal they put you on. Do you see two discounts on your bill (£10.50 & £9) or one (of £19.50)
If it is the first one it will go up by £9 after £12 months. If it is the second one it will stay for life
Will I be able to go through to retentions or will they say its tough as I have just ordered a V+ box, which I understand you have to have for a minimum of 12 months?
I confirmed I didn't sign a new 12 month contract when I took out the V+ Box.
The V+ IS a minimum 12 month contract for TV services only. Whoever advised you it wasn't is wrong
What is the worst case scenario if my retentions deal comes to a end?
Will I have to pay full price for M Phone, M BB, XL Tv etc.. ???
Or if I drop to L Tv will I loose TV choice & have to pay for the V+ Box Monthly?
What will be best?
Sorry if its difficult to understand...
Thanks
Rawy
You may be able to rengotiate to something that doesnt change, but again it would reset to a new minimum 12 month contract
Yes, if you drop to L for TV you would lose TV Choice and have to pay for V+ so it would only save you £4 per month
Just a quick note of thanks to those who replied to my original question. Guess I will have to wait and see what happens to my bill in the next couple months and go from there.
We phoned up today . . . .and he said "it doesn't look like your package deal is going to expire.....usually our computer says 6 months, or 12 months , but yours is just discounted. It looks like its an ongoing deal....and a pretty good one at that!"
If you want the Sky basics go to Sky.
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
The trouble is they didn't replace them with anything but their own rubbish.:mad:
They should have either reduced the price or replaced them with something decent.
We phoned up today . . . .and he said "it doesn't look like your package deal is going to expire.....usually our computer says 6 months, or 12 months , but yours is just discounted. It looks like its an ongoing deal....and a pretty good one at that!"
I hope that's the case - if they want more from us all they have to do is charge more for phone-calls (as I think they're doing already?)
What doesn't float anyone's boat is knowing they will be permanently paying more than other people for the same service.
Imagine how anyone would feel if Tesco charged them 50p for a litre of milk and the next person in the queue 40p.
Virgin seems base its pricing on confusing its customers. It's the same tactic employed by banks and it has an unpleasant bully boy feel to it in my opinion.
What doesn't float anyone's boat is knowing they will be permanently paying more than other people for the same service.
Imagine how anyone would feel if Tesco charged them 50p for a litre of milk and the next person in the queue 40p.
Virgin seems base its pricing on confusing its customers. It's the same tactic employed by banks and it has an unpleasant bully boy feel to it in my opinion.
Funny that, cos last time i looked to receive all of Sky's mixes compared with VM's top package Sky comes out most expensive. Plus there is the cost of installation, insurance and then you have to pay to ring customer services. Then Sky advertise see speak surf for a lot less than £37 which is ther actual cost. Who confuses their customers? They both do.
Neither offer a truly flexible pricing system geared towards the consumber but I think Sky has the edge as they take a modular approach but I think this only sticks if you have TV, Phone and Broadband take anything away and the price doesn't change.
With VM you only have two for £20 you only pay £20 take 3 and you pay £30 which is fine but when you decide to up your broadband or TV it isn't like £35, they charge you seperate and before you know it's £70+. I think this is the real area where VM needs to sort their prices. There deals are good but general pricing is excessive hence why so many of us are on retention deals.
I'm on one but they was only becuase I was paying £75 each month for XL TV, M Phone & M Broadband. This retention brought me in line with competitors prices and for that I am happy but still feel they have there problems and can only sympathise with those that really wanted Sky 1, HD etc. For me I get everything I need at a price I feel is fair but unless VM can offer something above and beyond the competition they are not going to retain their customers.
I just hope they either realise what consumers what and provide it rather than promising and never delivering. It's like politics so it's just a matter of who offers the best package for your particular needs.
With VM you only have two for £20 you only pay £20 take 3 and you pay £30 which is fine but when you decide to up your broadband or TV it isn't like £35, they charge you seperate and before you know it's £70+.
That's not true. I took the 3 for £30 deal and I pay an extra £7 a month to upgrade from broadband M to L, which is the price difference between the two. I pay about £13 less than if I was billed for each service separately.
Here I go, apologising again but I just don't believe that you were paying £75 per month for those three services.
Until 10 minutes ago, I was paying £74.50 a month but that included the Sports package. Just got off the phone to them and they've knocked £21/month off that for 12 months.
My mobile contract ends soon and I'm seriously considering the £10/month SIM only offer.
well i just received my dd email showing £45 then theres another £25 for the BB so im now being expected to pay £70 for xltv,v+,talk evenings an weekends phon (which we very rarly use) and 4mb BB..all this whilst they offer new customers the same for about £38 (think its 3 for 30 plus bb upgrade is another 8 for bb upgrade plus £75 for v+ on-off. which is over £150 LESS for a F* new customer
Oh and i was SUPPOSSED to be on the discount for life.....
well i just received my dd email showing £45 then theres another £25 for the BB so im now being expected to pay £70 for xltv,v+,talk evenings an weekends phon (which we very rarly use) and 4mb BB..all this whilst they offer new customers the same for about £38 (think its 3 for 30 plus bb upgrade is another 8 for bb upgrade plus £75 for v+ on-off. which is over £150 LESS for a F* new customer
Oh and i was SUPPOSSED to be on the discount for life.....
Apparantly I was "upgraded to 20mb on 30/1/08" - well i didnt notice the difference and I DIDNT ASK FOR IT - so the extra was cos i wa on 20mb :rolleyes: so let me see....xl tv, l phone, l bb, v+ box £45 or same but xl bb for £70 ffs as if i wanted to spend that sort of without movies, without sports , without free phone calls.....would ANYONE spend £70 for that package?????
Until 10 minutes ago, I was paying £74.50 a month but that included the Sports package. Just got off the phone to them and they've knocked £21/month off that for 12 months.
My mobile contract ends soon and I'm seriously considering the £10/month SIM only offer.
I have been using the sim only since about april last year, its fantastic.
300 mins, 300 texts and what you dont use is rolled over to the following month plus just dial 789000 and you get an up to date always working balance of minutes and texts left.
Unlike crappy Orange.
when i got a retentions deal during the whole stupid sky thing they never mentioned anything about it lasting 12 months only that i couldn't remove my v+ service for 12 months as i started a new contract when i had it installed.
so is it safe to assume it will stay the same price for me? thanks
nope - i didn't enter into a 12 month contract either (it didn't start till much later) - but it hasn't stopped them nibbling away at all my discounts
started a couple months ago when they just removed a £10discount off my bill - when i called they gave me some tripe about the new computer won't accept so many discounts - she seemed to expect me to say "Oh - well that's OK then" and pay an extra £10 - i did get that back on next bill
this month they have knocked 2 x £10 discounts off my bill - after calling them they will only give me one back
i went thru to retentions but they will only offer std deals and don't understand why i'm complaining - like i shouldn't expect them to stick to their agreement
i'm pretty sure VM are now breeching our 'agreement' and the law
nope - i didn't enter into a 12 month contract either (it didn't start till much later) - but it hasn't stopped them nibbling away at all my discounts
started a couple months ago when they just removed a £10discount off my bill - when i called they gave me some tripe about the new computer won't accept so many discounts - she seemed to expect me to say "Oh - well that's OK then" and pay an extra £10 - i did get that back on next bill
this month they have knocked 2 x £10 discounts off my bill - after calling them they will only give me one back
i went thru to retentions but they will only offer std deals and don't understand why i'm complaining - like i shouldn't expect them to stick to their agreement
i'm pretty sure VM are now breeching our 'agreement' and the law
If the agreement offered is not part of Virgin's standard prices and was not a new contract, I'm not sure what part of the law Virgin broke. If the price quoted HAD been part of a new minimum term contract, then yes, they would have broken the law, and should (and would) honour the price quoted
If you do not like the adjusted price you can cancel your services with 30 days notice, as per the T&Cs you signed
The reason they gave is not 'tripe'. the new billing system will only allow pricing on Virgin's official price list. The old billing system you were on would allow discounts that were not valid. e.g you could put a broadband discount on an account that didn't have broadband.
Where do you think ntl got their reputation for bad billing from?
If the agreement offered is not part of Virgin's standard prices and was not a new contract, I'm not sure what part of the law Virgin broke. ....
Well I 'am' sure - It's called 'breech of contract' - we (VM & I) had 'agreed' upon x services @ x price - hence the term 'agreement' (a meeting of the minds) - Breaking an agreement is against the law
If the price quoted HAD been part of a new minimum term contract....
agreements don't have to be written - verbal agreements have exactly the same legal binding - they are just more difficult to evidence - but that's not a problem for me
...yeah and Dicky Bransons new puppy pooped on the main server and..... nobody is remotely interested in why VM can not adhere to their agreement - the law certainly isn't
Comments
I appreciate that it was discontinued by ITV. However it didn't stop Telewest, at the time, marketing it as an advantage over Sky. There were even poster hoardings advertising Telewest 2 - Sky 1, refering to Telewest having one more HD channel than Sky.
When I made my decision about which service to go for, Telewest CS told me that they had two channels with "more to come"
On that information I cancelled my Sky subscription.
Regarding the EPG. It does not update in real time. If programmes change that change is downloaded overnight. Consequently, if there is sport which over-runs, the V+ box just carries on recording the programme from its original start time. Sky, however reflect the changes, usually within 10 minutes ( i did give a lengthy example on these very forums). I have watched it happen. Sky EPG updated, V+ EPG showing the original schedule and recording as such.
This means that if you know a programme is following sport you hav to manually pad by 30 / 45/ 60 minutes, which invariably causes a clash somewhere else and makes the recording of three channels redundant. You need to be able to do that to ensure you get the two channels you wanted.
Which is a pity. Although I have have issues with the V+ box, it had the potential to be a great piece of technology.
Sky HD is not perfect, but it is a case of choosing a system with the fewer flaws.
If you think it is more focused from a customer point of view.........
tis all i am going to (not) say
I was put on M Phone, M BB, XL TV for £30 (which is what they were offering new customers at the time)
I have had a V+ box installed this morning for £75. I also asked for a email from Virgin confirming that My bundle is stopping at £30 per month & that I wouldn't be paying anything extra for my V+ Box.
Initally the XL upgrade was for 12 months.
Wht do you think will happen when those 12 months are up? Do you think they'll change my bill to the full cost price of the XL Tv?
Will I be able to go through to retentions or will they say its tough as I have just ordered a V+ box, which I understand you have to have for a minimum of 12 months?
I confirmed I didn't sign a new 12 month contract when I took out the V+ Box.
What is the worst case scenario if my retentions deal comes to a end?
Will I have to pay full price for M Phone, M BB, XL Tv etc.. ???
Or if I drop to L Tv will I loose TV choice & have to pay for the V+ Box Monthly?
What will be best?
Sorry if its difficult to understand...
Thanks
Rawy
Depends what deal they put you on. Do you see two discounts on your bill (£10.50 & £9) or one (of £19.50)
If it is the first one it will go up by £9 after £12 months. If it is the second one it will stay for life
The V+ IS a minimum 12 month contract for TV services only. Whoever advised you it wasn't is wrong
You may be able to rengotiate to something that doesnt change, but again it would reset to a new minimum 12 month contract
Yes, if you drop to L for TV you would lose TV Choice and have to pay for V+ so it would only save you £4 per month
xl tv
xl phone
l bb
sky sports / movies
v+
standard box
phoned them today and the best they could do was £63 for same package minus movies
haven't accepted this yet, as not sure if i can get a better deal
just thought i would post the now for anyone how's 12 month deal is coming to an end
v+ box (one off payment of £75 so no line rental for as long as I stay on xl tv)
xl tv (setanta and celtic tv)
l bb (going up to 10 meg soon)
m phone (free weekends) I have virgin 300 min 300 texts so have no real need for phone anyway
for £37 a month on a new 12 month deal,
I think thats a very good deal for what you get above:)
I am going to go to sky for my sports so that i can take advantage of the interactive facility as well as being able to get sky one back.:D
The trouble is they didn't replace them with anything but their own rubbish.:mad:
They should have either reduced the price or replaced them with something decent.
I hope that's the case - if they want more from us all they have to do is charge more for phone-calls (as I think they're doing already?)
Personally I think Sky News, Sky Sports News and Sky Travel are pretty rubbish
However, Virgin 1 shows DS9 which I love
All about what floats ya boat lol
What doesn't float anyone's boat is knowing they will be permanently paying more than other people for the same service.
Imagine how anyone would feel if Tesco charged them 50p for a litre of milk and the next person in the queue 40p.
Virgin seems base its pricing on confusing its customers. It's the same tactic employed by banks and it has an unpleasant bully boy feel to it in my opinion.
Funny that, cos last time i looked to receive all of Sky's mixes compared with VM's top package Sky comes out most expensive. Plus there is the cost of installation, insurance and then you have to pay to ring customer services. Then Sky advertise see speak surf for a lot less than £37 which is ther actual cost. Who confuses their customers? They both do.
With VM you only have two for £20 you only pay £20 take 3 and you pay £30 which is fine but when you decide to up your broadband or TV it isn't like £35, they charge you seperate and before you know it's £70+. I think this is the real area where VM needs to sort their prices. There deals are good but general pricing is excessive hence why so many of us are on retention deals.
I'm on one but they was only becuase I was paying £75 each month for XL TV, M Phone & M Broadband. This retention brought me in line with competitors prices and for that I am happy but still feel they have there problems and can only sympathise with those that really wanted Sky 1, HD etc. For me I get everything I need at a price I feel is fair but unless VM can offer something above and beyond the competition they are not going to retain their customers.
I just hope they either realise what consumers what and provide it rather than promising and never delivering. It's like politics so it's just a matter of who offers the best package for your particular needs.
Here I go, apologising again but I just don't believe that you were paying £75 per month for those three services.
The MAXIMUM price you could pay would be TV XL (£20.50) + Phone M (£11) + BB M (£18) = £49.50. So what else was on your bill?
Until 10 minutes ago, I was paying £74.50 a month but that included the Sports package. Just got off the phone to them and they've knocked £21/month off that for 12 months.
My mobile contract ends soon and I'm seriously considering the £10/month SIM only offer.
Oh and i was SUPPOSSED to be on the discount for life.....
Apparantly I was "upgraded to 20mb on 30/1/08" - well i didnt notice the difference and I DIDNT ASK FOR IT - so the extra was cos i wa on 20mb :rolleyes: so let me see....xl tv, l phone, l bb, v+ box £45 or same but xl bb for £70 ffs as if i wanted to spend that sort of without movies, without sports , without free phone calls.....would ANYONE spend £70 for that package?????
I have been using the sim only since about april last year, its fantastic.
300 mins, 300 texts and what you dont use is rolled over to the following month plus just dial 789000 and you get an up to date always working balance of minutes and texts left.
Unlike crappy Orange.
nope - i didn't enter into a 12 month contract either (it didn't start till much later) - but it hasn't stopped them nibbling away at all my discounts
started a couple months ago when they just removed a £10discount off my bill - when i called they gave me some tripe about the new computer won't accept so many discounts - she seemed to expect me to say "Oh - well that's OK then" and pay an extra £10
this month they have knocked 2 x £10 discounts off my bill - after calling them they will only give me one back
i went thru to retentions but they will only offer std deals and don't understand why i'm complaining - like i shouldn't expect them to stick to their agreement
i'm pretty sure VM are now breeching our 'agreement' and the law
If the agreement offered is not part of Virgin's standard prices and was not a new contract, I'm not sure what part of the law Virgin broke. If the price quoted HAD been part of a new minimum term contract, then yes, they would have broken the law, and should (and would) honour the price quoted
If you do not like the adjusted price you can cancel your services with 30 days notice, as per the T&Cs you signed
The reason they gave is not 'tripe'. the new billing system will only allow pricing on Virgin's official price list. The old billing system you were on would allow discounts that were not valid. e.g you could put a broadband discount on an account that didn't have broadband.
Where do you think ntl got their reputation for bad billing from?
Well I 'am' sure - It's called 'breech of contract' - we (VM & I) had 'agreed' upon x services @ x price - hence the term 'agreement' (a meeting of the minds) - Breaking an agreement is against the law
agreements don't have to be written - verbal agreements have exactly the same legal binding - they are just more difficult to evidence - but that's not a problem for me
you're not quite following this yet
Oh sure it is - I don't give a rat's azz about V.M. administrative issues - but for sure they can not visit these issues on a customer
You're confused between VM internal issues and their legal/ethical obligations - i don't give a rat's about the former
...yeah and Dicky Bransons new puppy pooped on the main server and..... nobody is remotely interested in why VM can not adhere to their agreement - the law certainly isn't
i hope VM are paying you for this
.