Virgin Media rant

Phil99 · 17 Sep 2008 at 13:56

I've been having a bit of hassle with them recently as well. We're in a student house for another 10 months, went to upgrade back from 2Mbps to 10 or 20Mbps (downgraded over the summer when we weren't using it). Apparently to get the (non-offer) prices listed on the website we need another 12 month contract having just finished our original 12 months :rolleyes:

Not particularly happy with them, but it doesn't leave a lot of options as nowhere really does non-12 month contracts for new customers, let alone BT with the line rental

WillyNelson · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:01

[SKR]Phoenix;12522490 said:
Sky+
All Channel Mixes
8mb Unlimited Broadband
Free Wireless Router
£50 M&S Vouchers for me & friend
Free Telephone

£32 a month

How did you get that deal? Not a standard one I assume.

Dist · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:01

Personaly i like VM. £60 a month for 20Mb broadband, XL TV including V+ box and phone line. I get exactly what i pay for, im in a good cable area so my broadband is always at the speed its ment to run at.

Its not supprising if you go up in price for removing certain services. If you buy a packaged deal, and remove a service, then its no longer a package deal and so you will pay full price for each service.

Jez · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:02

msm722 said:
£95 a month! Holy hell.

Freeview - free
8mb unlimited broadband - £7.50 a month
BT anytime - £18 a month

Freeview isnt fantastic, and the sort of broadband you get for £7.50 is not the sort that is comparable to 20mbit cable. Who even does dsl for £7.50?

LiE · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:08

Jez said:
Freeview isnt fantastic, and the sort of broadband you get for £7.50 is not the sort that is comparable to 20mbit cable. Who even does dsl for £7.50?

It's for O2 mobile customers, the broadband is spot on. The only difference is of course speed - I guess if you need 20mb then 8mb won't do. Freeview is fantastic for your average TV watcher and you get over the fact you don't have Sky 1.

Phil99 · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:12

Thanks to Virgin and Sky's fallings out we don't get Sky 1 on cable either, so the switch isn't that hard

Knubje · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:18

Virgin media, the best thing to do at them is go a bit mental and threaten to leave.

Then get put through to cancellations, they will realise you are worth £100 a month and start bendnig over backwards to help you.

If they don't, just ask to speak to their supervisor, and so on until you get a better deal.

LiE · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:18

It depends entirely on your usage. The only movies I watch are either at the cinema or discounted dvds, so sky movies doesn't appeal to me. Major sports games I watch down the pub and normal tv shows are covered by freeview. If you miss the Sky+ recording feature, invest in a freeview box with hdd. Downloading I find 500kb/s just fine for streaming. There is only limited use for a 20mb connection unless you pirate a lot of material. BT anytime covers all my land line calls.

That's me, but obviously the OP has different needs. I just wanted to highlight that it may be worth looking at altenatives.

Morba · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:20

I pay £84 a month on VM

20mb bb
XL tv + sports and movies
V+ HD

movies was only £3 more a month, it gets used enough to warrant that.
having the on demand music and stuff for free is a big bonus, i think a lot of this would be chargeable if not on XL.

Deleted User 234324 · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:23

Jez said:
Freeview isnt fantastic, and the sort of broadband you get for £7.50 is not the sort that is comparable to 20mbit cable. Who even does dsl for £7.50?

20mb cable isnt all its cracked up to be, with so many restricutions on bandwidth use with VM its certainly not worth the 37 a month you pay for it.

In a house share with 5 people using the connection getting capped happens on a daily basis.

[SKR]Phoenix · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:34

WillyNelson said:
How did you get that deal? Not a standard one I assume.

Standard package - available to everyone!

ScarySquirrel · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:36

I don't like VM.

I was paying £85 a month for TV, Internet and phone.

I have moved house now and I now pay:

£10.50 BT line rental
£10 O2 broadband
£0 Freeview.

£65 odd saving

Dist · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:40

ScarySquirrel said:
I don't like VM.

I was paying £85 a month for TV, Internet and phone.

I have moved house now and I now pay:

£10.50 BT line rental
£10 O2 broadband
£0 Freeview.

£65 odd saving

Did you pay for the TV, Internet and phone seperately? because i got the top TV and Internet services and an average phone server for only £60.

Also someone mentioned getting a freeview box with a HDD if you like the pause/record TV thing. Well i havn't seen a freeview box that can record 2 channels at the same time, while watching a 3rd which can also be paused and such too just like the V+ box can.

WillyNelson · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:41

[SKR]Phoenix;12522855 said:
Standard package - available to everyone!

*looks furtive* Show me.

[SKR]Phoenix · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:44

WillyNelson said:
*looks furtive* Show me.

trying - their site is down for me. Well, the part I need is anyway.

You build your own package to get that deal.

ScarySquirrel · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:44

Dist said:
Did you pay for the TV, Internet and phone seperately? because i got the top TV and Internet services and an average phone server for only £60.

Also someone mentioned getting a freeview box with a HDD if you like the pause/record TV thing. Well i havn't seen a freeview box that can record 2 channels at the same time, while watching a 3rd which can also be paused and such too just like the V+ box can.

I can't remember, it was some VIP package for £85. Top TV, Internet and phone.

There are plenty of twin tuner PVR's out there, so you can record 1 channel and watch another, or record 2 channels and play back another recording. Not quite recording 2 whilst watching another, but for saving £60 a month I don't mind

Saying that I am still researching which Freeview PVR to get. The Humax 9150 or 9300 look good.

LiE · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:47

Dist said:
Did you pay for the TV, Internet and phone seperately? because i got the top TV and Internet services and an average phone server for only £60.

Also someone mentioned getting a freeview box with a HDD if you like the pause/record TV thing. Well i havn't seen a freeview box that can record 2 channels at the same time, while watching a 3rd which can also be paused and such too just like the V+ box can.

I've seen a twin-tuner hdd freeview box, I'm not sure if they do triple or quad tuners.

In my post I also mentioned that people have different needs like you with your triple tuner. If you find yourself with 3 tv shows on at the same time a lot then freeview isn't for you

Shoseki · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:50

Not that I'm bragging, but I have virgin broadband 2Mb £10 per month, and mobile phone £35 a month - nothing else. No TV, no TV licence - everything on broadband. I also pay some £80 for linux developer fasthosts package PER YEAR with unlimited bandwidth and full LAMP server (about 2G space).

Is it really worth it for sky sports? Just go to a pub XD

ScarySquirrel · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:50

msm722 said:
I've seen a twin-tuner hdd freeview box, I'm not sure if they do triple or quad tuners.

In my post I also mentioned that people have different needs like you with your triple tuner. If you find yourself with 3 tv shows on at the same time a lot then freeview isn't for you

Do you have a freeview PVR? any recommendations? I hear Humax are really good, but I am a sucker for a sexy looking EPG and the screenshots I have seen of the Humax one are really really ugly. Can you get skins for them do you think?

Slightly off topic now, sorry to the thread starter

WillyNelson · 17 Sep 2008 at 14:58

[SKR]Phoenix;12522926 said:
You build your own package to get that deal.

Does that include sports or movie channels? I came up with £59 with only Variety, knowledge & style and only the mid BB service, but that had the sprts mix in it too.