UPC - old customer v. new customer - discrimination!!!

xoxyx

Somebody I know was on to UPC earlier about getting updating their digital package to get the the NTL box (they have a the really old boxless tv connection). They were told that they could get the basic 93 channels for €22, or else get it with HD and the pause/rewind thing for €25.75.

My current UPC package doesn't have the pause/rewind or HD option and I'm paying €27.75 for it. I'm assuming that I have the 93 channels (although I'm flipping well going to count them when I go home)!

So, I rang up UPC and asked to me put on the same package only to be told that it would cost me €5 on top of what I'm currently paying so that's €32.75! I'm disgusted! It would be different if it was a limited offer of €25.75 for the lot, but what they are saying is that for the foreseeable future, as long as I am a loyal UPC customer, they want me to pay €7 a month more for the exact same package as a newbie would get. That's €84 a year. In less than twelve years, that's a €1,000!!!!

I wouldn't mind if the guy even offered to meet me halfway, but nothing!!! Grrrrrrr!!! :mad:

Ok - I know it's not the biggest deal in the world, but this is really bugging me and I reckon I'm just going to move to Sky rather than effectively be discriminated against - and by UPC who I don't like that much anyway!

Rant over... for now...





(Stupid UPC.)

jor el

Broadband -> Cable TV

Differing pricing structures for existing Vs new customers are common place in all telecommunications companies, for all sorts of products and services. It's nothing to do with discrimination, it's to do with getting new customers. They already have your business, so no need to entice you with anything.

xoxyx

Ooops - sorry.

They obviously don't care about keeping my business because I am going to Sky today and then I am going to ring NTL and if they don't drop the price I am leaving!

miccy203

Its the same every where even with sky, if you move to sky and sign that contract and then u hear that they are offerin new cus something better for what your payin they wont care cause your in contract, every company does it.......

The pack your on is the select pack which 27.75
they now have 3 packs:
Basic value pack is 20.75
selec extra is 30.00
max pack is 33.75.

so if you were to go to the value pack with the hd it would cost you 25.75....
if you go to upc.ie it will be cheaper to do it online than goin through to cus services.

rebeve

jor el wrote: »

Broadband -> Cable TV

Differing pricing structures for existing Vs new customers are common place in all telecommunications companies, for all sorts of products and services. It's nothing to do with discrimination, it's to do with getting new customers. They already have your business, so no need to entice you with anything.

Except maybe to stay.This dual pricing is a mistake , and really annoy`s a lot of good customers .

xoxyx

miccy203 wrote: »

Its the same every where even with sky, if you move to sky and sign that contract and then u hear that they are offerin new cus something better for what your payin they wont care cause your in contract, every company does it.......

The pack your on is the select pack which 27.75
they now have 3 packs:
Basic value pack is 20.75
selec extra is 30.00
max pack is 33.75.

so if you were to go to the value pack with the hd it would cost you 25.75....
if you go to upc.ie it will be cheaper to do it online than goin through to cus services.

Thanks!

Ok - so the select pack is now unavailable as a new option is it? It looks like the value pack but without Film 4, etc - is that right? Total of approx 53 stations?
So if I just say that I want to change my package to the basic package and then get the hd, I'd save money. That certainly wasn't mentioned to me on the phone today, and I did ask what my options were.

What pisses me off on this is the fact that it seems to be a permanent discrepancy between what I pay and new users pay. If you sign up for a new credit card, you get a better interest rate for a year. With this, it seems as though they expect me to pay more than other customers for as long as I avail of their service.

If I switch to Sky, the one off expense is approximately €77. I'll get more channels than I have now by subscribing to three basic package options at a cost of €26 per months. Plus, I'll have the recording options.

If I go for the recording option with UPC, I'll pay €7 a month more than new customers and €6.25 a month more than with if I was with Sky.

If the double standards of UPC hadn't been brought to my attention, I'd never have noticed this. I suppose I should thank them really.

UPC - I am outta here!!!

miccy203

ya if you stay with upc u get the hd and value pack for 25.75 and that comes as standard with rewind, fast forward and record.

if you wanted to cancel i would ring customer service and just tell them u want to cancel your acc, they will put u true to the cus loyalty team and they will offer you a good deal alrit,

been der wore de t shirt lol,

i found if your really nice to dem on de phone u get way more out of dem,
i tried de angry root and it got me no were and den i called back in and tried de calm root and hey presto i got a really good deal.

ectoraige

Call them again; be polite and, when the sales person explains that the offers are for new customers only, ask to speak to somebody from the customer loyalty team.

I rang them last Friday looking to upgrade my Select Digital+ package to the value HD+. I didn't really care too much, but I'd noticed that they were selling it at the same price as what I'm currently paying and thought there's no harm in trying. Initially I was told the box was €60 and it would be an extra €5 per month. I then spoke to customer loyalty, and ended up being offered:

• an extra 5Mb on my broadband package;
• a €5 discount on the broadband for the next twelve months;
• €5 off my phone package for ten months;
• the HD+ box for free;
• the value+ HD package for what I'm currently paying;
• oh, and a €5 discount off the TV package that for the next twelve months too.

The installer arrived today, job done. Note, the Value HD+ only has one actual HD channel - BBC HD, so you're not really gaining much, other than being able to say you have HD, and James Nesbitt looking more stubbly than usual. I'm happy nevertheless; I've saved €170 over the next year, and after that I'll be paying what I'm currently paying, and a future-proofed system.

My only regret is I reminded the installer as he was leaving today that he'd forgotten to take the old box with him. About 1.5 milliseconds after I said this, my brain caught up with the thought "Hey! Free hard drive..." :rolleyes:

miccy203

de best way to get ne thing from upc is been really really polite on the phone they couldnt do enough for you,,, if u start off been mad dey just dont want to help,,

gin_and_tonic

ectoraige wrote: »

Call them again; be polite and, when the sales person explains that the offers are for new customers only, ask to speak to somebody from the customer loyalty team.


I rang them last Friday looking to upgrade my Select Digital+ package to the value HD+. I didn't really care too much, but I'd noticed that they were selling it at the same price as what I'm currently paying and thought there's no harm in trying. Initially I was told the box was €60 and it would be an extra €5 per month. I then spoke to customer loyalty, and ended up being offered:

• an extra 5Mb on my broadband package;
• a €5 discount on the broadband for the next twelve months;
• €5 off my phone package for ten months;
• the HD+ box for free;
• the value+ HD package for what I'm currently paying;
• oh, and a €5 discount off the TV package that for the next twelve months too.

The installer arrived today, job done. Note, the Value HD+ only has one actual HD channel - BBC HD, so you're not really gaining much, other than being able to say you have HD, and James Nesbitt looking more stubbly than usual. I'm happy nevertheless; I've saved €170 over the next year, and after that I'll be paying what I'm currently paying, and a future-proofed system.

My only regret is I reminded the installer as he was leaving today that he'd forgotten to take the old box with him. About 1.5 milliseconds after I said this, my brain caught up with the thought "Hey! Free hard drive..." :rolleyes:

Wait until your next bill arrives. I'd say it'll more expensive then you were told!

Expect plenty of headaches as you'll have to repeatedly phone them to fix their mistake.

NOGMaxpower

Are you insane, if you leave UPC for Sky its gona cost you a fortune. Sky for the same package as UPC is a bomb. their basic package has feck all in it, also they charge us Paddys a fortune for the same deals that are cheaper in the UK - ripping us off blind.

Top that with UPC offering ph and broadband for nothing you're losing out or you will cost yourself an extra 500 a year alone. thats 5k after 10 years instead of 1k if you stay with them.

jimmycrackcorm

Its a different story I'd you ring up and day you want to cancel and ask to ne put through to the calculation department. Then they will make the effort to win you back with offers.

techdiver

gin_and_tonic wrote: »

Wait until your next bill arrives. I'd say it'll more expensive then you were told!

Expect plenty of headaches as you'll have to repeatedly phone them to fix their mistake.

That is 100% correct.

I had the Digital+ Max pack and wanted to upgrade to HD. Their website states:

"Upgrade your main TV to Digital+ HD and keep your current Digital box in another room for just €10 extra a month and we'll connect you for FREE. Not only will you enjoy the superior picture quality of HD, you'll also be able to watch what you want in another room"

So I went for this offer. Although as is per usual it took some time for me to convince the customer care staff that HD was indeed available in my area, but that's another story. So the install came and went smoothly, apart from the fact that the HD channels were "turned off" for the first 3 or 4 days meaning I missed a number of world cup matches, but that was of little concern to the customer care staff once more, but then again that's another story too.

Now comes the best part of this experience. When I received my bill it should have been about €95 give or take a few euro, but of course it was €195. It seems the geniuses charged me full price for the HD installation €60 but only credited me €20 of that because I ordered on line. They also charged me a full "non-standard installation" fee for the second room even though there was no extra "non-standard" work required, (i.e., just plug the box into the socket present in the room). I was also charged a mystery "Equipment Activation Fee"?? So I proceeded to ring and explain the situation, to which I got excuses that I had a non-standard install, I didn't get HD in both rooms etc etc. The usual stuff you hear from the UPC staff who tend to make it up as they go along in the hope that you agree and leave them alone. I got a different definition of what a non-standard install was off every agent I talked to.

Long story short, after about 6 - 7 phone calls talking to 6 - 7 different agents I finally got all the appropriate refunds. I had to routinely quote their own website offer and their own terms and conditions to them and was constantly met with arguments until eventually they decided to "Call me back after they talk to their manager."

I would love to know how it is possible to run such a crap operation?? Every single time I have applied for a new upgrade to a service etc, something has gone wrong. It actually puts me off upgrading because I'm sure to be left pulling my hair out once more after something goes wrong!

Rant over!

gin_and_tonic

techdiver wrote: »

That is 100% correct.

I had the Digital+ Max pack and wanted to upgrade to HD. Their website states:

"Upgrade your main TV to Digital+ HD and keep your current Digital box in another room for just €10 extra a month and we'll connect you for FREE. Not only will you enjoy the superior picture quality of HD, you'll also be able to watch what you want in another room"

So I went for this offer. Although as is per usual it took some time for me to convince the customer care staff that HD was indeed available in my area, but that's another story. So the install came and went smoothly, apart from the fact that the HD channels were "turned off" for the first 3 or 4 days meaning I missed a number of world cup matches, but that was of little concern to the customer care staff once more, but then again that's another story too.

Now comes the best part of this experience. When I received my bill it should have been about €95 give or take a few euro, but of course it was €195. It seems the geniuses charged me full price for the HD installation €60 but only credited me €20 of that because I ordered on line. They also charged me a full "non-standard installation" fee for the second room even though there was no extra "non-standard" work required, (i.e., just plug the box into the socket present in the room). I was also charged a mystery "Equipment Activation Fee"?? So I proceeded to ring and explain the situation, to which I got excuses that I had a non-standard install, I didn't get HD in both rooms etc etc. The usual stuff you hear from the UPC staff who tend to make it up as they go along in the hope that you agree and leave them alone. I got a different definition of what a non-standard install was off every agent I talked to.

Long story short, after about 6 - 7 phone calls talking to 6 - 7 different agents I finally got all the appropriate refunds. I had to routinely quote their own website offer and their own terms and conditions to them and was constantly met with arguments until eventually they decided to "Call me back after they talk to their manager."

I would love to know how it is possible to run such a crap operation?? Every single time I have applied for a new upgrade to a service etc, something has gone wrong. It actually puts me off upgrading because I'm sure to be left pulling my hair out once more after something goes wrong!

Rant over!

Wow!!

You are describing virtually the exact same situation I had/have (hopefully past tense) with UPC!

I put it down to - UPC customer service must not have the authority to deal with any problems their customers call about - they seem to have to pass it on to somebody else.

If you have a problem with O2 or even Eircom, all it takes is one phone call and problem solved.

I've no problem with UPC making a mistake, it's trying to get that rectified which is the nightmare.

ectoraige

gin_and_tonic wrote: »

Wait until your next bill arrives. I'd say it'll more expensive then you were told!

Expect plenty of headaches as you'll have to repeatedly phone them to fix their mistake.

I had a run-in with them a few years ago, we were moving house and they handled it incorrectly. They ended up creating a second account for me, and billing me for both. It took about five phone calls over a few months before it was sorted, I received full refund plus three months free TV. That experience finely tuned my UPC/BS detector and I haven't had any problems dealing with them in the years since. Still, I'll pay close attention to my next bill. I'd kind of prefer that they do screw up, as I'd be able to get it sorted anyway, and get more off for the hassle

Izy

all this sounds about right! theay dont give a sh*t about EXISTING customers, and when you do order something they decide to take the piss out of you too...

i rang to change my broadband speed from 10Mb to 15Mb as it was the same price after the so callad FIBRE power broadband came available and wanted to take the hd+ box. after being told i have to pay a €60 set up fee i thanked them and just forgot about it. 3months later i tried again, this time online but there was some info missing in my order they rang me
got the hd+ box free, the broadband speed upgrade no problem!!! this all 2 days after i completed a questionare on thier web page telling them how crap they treat their customers.
after everything sorted two days later i get a text from upc sayin that i'm a loyal customer so they upgrade my broadband free of charge from 10 to 15mb.
rang them again to see if they are just having fun on my account and got offered a half year hd+ service for free...(normally a 5)

i still sent an email to their customer service to let them know that i'm far from happy with the the way thye treat existing customers...

the best for the end... they are sending a currier with my hd+ box to me and i have to install it my self(its only plug this here and this there but still) and were going to charge me €60:eek::eek::eek: wtf???

ectoraige

Izy wrote: »

all this sounds about right! theay dont give a sh*t about EXISTING customers, and when you do order something they decide to take the piss out of you too...

i rang to change my broadband speed from 10Mb to 15Mb as it was the same price after the so callad FIBRE power broadband came available and wanted to take the hd+ box. after being told i have to pay a €60 set up fee i thanked them and just forgot about it. 3months later i tried again, this time online but there was some info missing in my order they rang me
got the hd+ box free, the broadband speed upgrade no problem!!! this all 2 days after i completed a questionare on thier web page telling them how crap they treat their customers.
after everything sorted two days later i get a text from upc sayin that i'm a loyal customer so they upgrade my broadband free of charge from 10 to 15mb.
rang them again to see if they are just having fun on my account and got offered a half year hd+ service for free...(normally a 5)

i still sent an email to their customer service to let them know that i'm far from happy with the the way thye treat existing customers...

the best for the end... they are sending a currier with my hd+ box to me and i have to install it my self(its only plug this here and this there but still) and were going to charge me €60:eek::eek::eek: wtf???

So, you made an enquiry and declined their offer.
Then, after leaving it for three months, they offer a better deal, and this time you accept.
They then send a bulk text offering for free what you just received for free, you complain, and they give you a further €30 off.

The €60 includes having an engineer install it, I believe they always waive it for self-installs.

I'm not really seeing the problem here.

angel01

ectoraige wrote: »

So, you made an enquiry and declined their offer.
Then, after leaving it for three months, they offer a better deal, and this time you accept.
They then send a bulk text offering for free what you just received for free, you complain, and they give you a further €30 off.

The €60 includes having an engineer install it, I believe they always waive it for self-installs.

I'm not really seeing the problem here.

I had to pay it and I did the self install

ectoraige

angel01 wrote: »

I had to pay it and I did the self install

angel01 wrote:

they rang me got the hd+ box free, the broadband speed upgrade no problem!!! ... they are sending a currier with my hd+ box to me and i have to install it my self ... and were going to charge me €60 wtf???

I misunderstood, I thought that you had gotten the hd+ box free and were complaining that them waiving the €60 meant you had to install it yourself.

If they told you the hd+ box was free, what are they claiming the €60 is for? Courier fees?

Izy

my point was that i wasn't going to pay the set up fee off €60 for somethin new customers get for free...they didnt offer either i rang them to see if they offer me a good deal as a loyal customer but they didnt! until i completed(and boy did i give out:D)a customer questionere 3 months later and helllo what i wanted then i got now!!! maybe if i choose the giving out aproach back then i wouldve been enjoying hd+ for the past 3months :rolleyes:

and i did say to them that i have no problems with the technical side of things(tv and broadband workin fine)

ectoraige

Izy wrote: »

my point was that i wasn't going to pay the set up fee off €60 for somethin new customers get for free...they didnt offer either i rang them to see if they offer me a good deal as a loyal customer but they didnt! until i completed(and boy did i give out:D)a customer questionere 3 months later and helllo what i wanted then i got now!!! maybe if i choose the giving out aproach back then i wouldve been enjoying hd+ for the past 3months :rolleyes:

So did you pay the €60, or did they waive it for you? The standard argument companies give for this kind of thing is you would have already received a discount on the equipment you got when you first signed up. If you don't ask, you don't receive. The trick is making sure the person you are asking actually has the power to give you anything.

angel01

ectoraige wrote: »

I misunderstood, I thought that you had gotten the hd+ box free and were complaining that them waiving the €60 meant you had to install it yourself.

If they told you the hd+ box was free, what are they claiming the €60 is for? Courier fees?

They gave me the HD box rental free for 6 months, they told me the cost to self install was 60 Euro.

ectoraige

angel01 wrote: »

They gave me the HD box rental free for 6 months, they told me the cost to self install was 60 Euro.

:eek: That's mad, how much would they have charged for an engineer to do it?

Izy

i din't get it yet, corier suppose to deliver it tomorrow, i propably will end up gettin charged for it as mentioned in previous posts but will make sure i don't pay a penny for the box.
if you are an existing customer an order online you dont need to pay the €60 set up fee.

but in short NO i didnt pay it:D

angel01

ectoraige wrote: »

:eek: That's mad, how much would they have charged for an engineer to do it?

I don't know, I paid it anyway lol. I do love the HD+ box though

Izy

A month gone now enjoying watching my HD channels just for the bill to arrive and surprise I did get charged for the HD box:mad:!!! Just off the phone from customer services and a credit is being applied to my account.

Conclussion - if UPC/ntl tells you it's free they still charge you and you have to fight for everything!!!
At least it's a freephone service so it costs you nothin....

DRice

yer i can see why they do it but its VERY annoying. Another example is new customers on the 15mb or more packages get a free wireless router, existing cable modem only customers(me) from back in the day have to go to PC world and buy and install their own which if you are not tech savy and have a spare 100 euro handy is a major pain :mad: