Time for a bit of a rant!

[Gern]

Those of a nervous disposition should look away now:

Any of you guys remember the concept of 'customer service'? If you have dealt with our John, you will know exactly what it means, but:

I've been a customer with Virgin for my Broadband, TV, home 'phone and mobile services for 25 years. Last week I got my usual annual email from them saying my special offer deal expires this month. Therefore the cost of those services was going up from £38 per month to £70 per month! $*&)$$£%^!

This happens every year, and every year I've had to contact them and re-negotiate my prices; and every year they give me the discount rates offered to new customers. Not so bad you might think. However:

I started to try and contact them on Wednesday this week. When I rang, I got a recorded message saying they were experiencing long delays so why didn't I try to deal with them online? They sent me a text with their customer service address - which only pulled up a 404 error message saying the site could not be found. $*&)$$£%^!

I tried the chat line on their main website and was eventually told I'd have to use WhatsApp to deal with my problem. $*&)$$£%^!

Back to the 'phone. Two 50 minute calls later, one of which went dead and the other unanswered, I gave it up as a bad job. $*&)$$£%^!

Tried again twice on Thursday, again no replies after almost an hour. $*&)$$£%^!

Got fed up with the lack of service so got in touch with Sky on Thursday afternoon. All my replacement services were set up in less than an hour - for exactly the same prices that Virgin have given me for the last year. Their engineer will be out on 22nd of this month and I received my new SIM card in the post this morning!

Went to my local shopping mall today to try and speak to someone in the Virgin shop - which their current web site advertises as being open daily - only to find it's been closed for years. $*&)$$£%^!

So back to the phone and finally got to speak to someone after about 30 minutes. Told them I wanted to cancel all my services. First thing they said was they could offer me the same package I've been paying £38 a month for - for £31 per month!! $&)$$£%^! $&)$$£%^!

So at best, they've been ripping me off for £7 per month for the last year, or they were planning to rip me off to the tune of £39 per month for the next year! And they're doing this to a customer who has not made a single late payment in the last 25 years! $&)$$£%^! $&)$$£%^! $*&)$$£%^!

Has the world gone totally insane while I've not been watching!?

I was extremely restrained and just told them they were too late with their offer - instead of telling them they could stick it where the sun don't shine!

That's it. Rant over.

[Mini Me]

The later if the two would be the most appropriate response of the two IMHO! Good to hear you have moved to a different service.....it is the only thing that will wake these goo goos up! :thumb2:

[Geoffers]

I feel your pain :confounded:

I seems to be standard practice now for any service provider to hike the cost of an annual renewal and offer “discounts” if you call up to renegotiate.

They must make millions of £s from people who don’t/can’t contact them to negotiate.

It’s probably why they make it difficult to actually speak to someone.

Just another little bit of modern life that is s#*t!

Geoff.

[Valeron]

I have Virgin and every year I have to prepare myself to ring up to threaten to cancel unless they significantly reduce the massive annual increase they insist on imposing.

It's very stressful and often takes multiple attempts.

Each year I'm really tempted to actually leave but I suspect other providers would adopts the same approach after a year.

My Virgin service is really good (I only have broadband) and I'm reluctant to move in case the alternative isn't as reliable.

They must make a fortune from all the people who don't ring each year as the annu increases are huge. I dread to think what they'll base next year's figures on, as inflation will be much higher than the last few years

[boatman]

Has the world gone totally insane while I've not been watching!?
(GERN Qoute)

YES Dave an its called GREED

I was extremely restrained and just told them they were too late with their offer - instead of telling them they could stick it where the sun don't shine!

That's it. Rant over.
(GERN Qoute )

AN yes Dave im with S*Y an it keeps losein connection an WELL DONE for sayin what you have as thats what I WOULD LOVE TO TELL THEM but it seems that this thing called 'customer services is a thing of the past im afraid but to my thinkin the whorld is goin to hell in a baskect lets go back to the 60's where a persons word meant something then
Chrisb

[Tim Marlow]

I must admit I’ve been with Sky for years. In my experience the customer service is excellent if you have problems, and I have never had a proposed price hike like that. Not only that, if you contact them at renewal they always seem to be able improve the package even if they can’t drop the price. Last year I got a five pound decrease for adding sky sports…..not something I watch, but I’ll take the money :thumb2:

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
I know exactly how you feel. Utility companies, GPs, supermarkets, garages etc etc don't give a damn. Dealing with them is a nightmare. Having said that exceptions are still to be found and when we do we must support them. The exceptions are almost always the small, independent establishments who are hanging on in there.
Jim

[The Smythe Meister]

Had exactly the same experience last year Dave.... Virgin are C**p IMHO!!
We gave up,rang Sky,got an instantly better deal,sorted out in one phone call with an excellent women who REALLY knew her stuff
Date for installation was set,chap turned up... Bang on time ,sorted within what seemed like just minutes and....... We've never looked back
Andy

[Tim Marlow]

Last year my older Sky box started failing. Phoned them and got a replacement organised. The engineer was here as and when expected, sorted out the new box, and showed me how to use it. He then checked my account and rearranged the deal for a pound less than I had been paying. Can’t fault them to be honest.

[BarryW]

I really would reassess what you want and look for alternatives.

Personally I am not interested in sport so I have streaming with Netflix, Disney and Prime, a Freeview PVR on which I record the few broadcast programmes I watch and Freesat tuned in to my TV (and YouTube) for casual watching, mostly GBNews I must say.

Total cost is a lot less than Virgin want you to pay (about £30pm) and I could reduce it by not subscribing to the 4K Netflix service.

[Dave Ward]

I don't bother negotiating - I just look for an alternative - I use TalkTalk now, but who knows which provider I'll be with next year. The changeover is pretty seamless. Sadly Fibre Broadband isn't an option in my area, so set ups aren't a problem. I use my own router, so I don't need a new one. Looking back at my bills - I find I'm actually paying less than I did two years ago.
My take is, if they want my custom, the provider must give good value - OK rises due to inflation can't normally be avoided, but anything more than that and I'm off. There are plenty of competitors - good introductory offers - just a matter of sitting down & do a little maths to get the best value ( surprise surprise )
Dave

[simontie]

Not so stunned!! Off on holiday with BA and couldn't check in on line tried calling all there service numbers even the emergency 24/7 line no answer just a recorded message! Also had to change the holiday insurance due to my resent bad luck what a nightmare finally wrote to ther complaints department requesting cancelation of the policy, they called me straight back makes you wonder how good they would be if you had a reall emergency while on the other side of the equator
it would be fair to say i can rant on this subject for hours but im sure we all have our issues frankly unless your dealing with a small company's there is no customer service as they don’t care!!, once they have a DD set up they just keep billing you at the rate they feel is acceptable no loyalty or service, pays to shop around…:angry::angry:

[Gern]

I appreciate business costs are rising all the time so I expect to pay more for my services, but a 58% increase (125% if you allow for the discounted rate they offered) is just totally ludicrous. Even so, if I'd been able to contact them, I'd have been perfectly happy to accept their offer and stay with them. But to give out a website address and a shop location, neither of which exist, strikes me as a deliberate policy of making things difficult for folks to change. I wonder how many just give up and accept the new terms?

I do know that at the end of my new contract with Sky, I'll be quoted some exorbitant rate which I'll have to negotiate, but as long as I can talk to them that's not a problem. If they don't offer a reasonable deal, there are plenty of alternatives available - especially seeing that I don't want anything special. I don't do online gaming or streaming so don't need extra fast broadband. I don't watch huge amounts of TV so don't need super size packages or extras like film or sport channels, and the only thing I do with my phone is make calls and messages.

In future, I'm going to allow my wallet to speak for me. There's nothing stopping me going with the company at the bottom of the greedy list!

[Guest]

The most annoying thing is when you ring up that message " our agents are all busy due to high volume levels " and so the wait begins.
As Simon says " makes you wonder how good they would be if you had a real emergency "

[Guest]

I appreciate business costs are rising all the time so I expect to pay more for my services, but a 58% increase (125% if you allow for the discounted rate they offered) is just totally ludicrous. Even so, if I'd been able to contact them, I'd have been perfectly happy to accept their offer and stay with them. But to give out a website address and a shop location, neither of which exist, strikes me as a deliberate policy of making things difficult for folks to change. I wonder how many just give up and accept the new terms?

I do know that at the end of my new contract with Sky, I'll be quoted some exorbitant rate which I'll have to negotiate, but as long as I can talk to them that's not a problem. If they don't offer a reasonable deal, there are plenty of alternatives available - especially seeing that I don't want anything special. I don't do online gaming or streaming so don't need extra fast broadband. I don't watch huge amounts of TV so don't need super size packages or extras like film or sport channels, and the only thing I do with my phone is make calls and messages.

In future, I'm going to allow my wallet to speak for me. There's nothing stopping me going with the company at the bottom of the greedy list!

Fully agree Dave, I recently received a renewal quote for breakdown cover . Gone up from £45 to £68.
When I eventually got through I was told " oh that's just a computer generated price , go on the web site for a new member and we will match " ."No I can't do it from here , can you do it and ring back ?" Did that and now paying £43 something !

Complained to Avira (PC protection) about the massive price against a new members price and was given 9 month extra .
This whole thing about renewals is a complete mess , seems no one pays the same when you check .It's no wonder price comparison sites are with us .