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The annual Virgin Price increase

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    #32
    deravarra
    Registered Users Posts: 1,814 ✭✭✭deravarra


    Deleted User wrote: »
    ... Which they agreed to do, and were fairly polite about it. Tried hesitantly to push me to a more expensive package, but rescinded fairly quickly. Overall phone call (including waiting, putting my account number in, etc) was 5mins 58secs and has saved me €48 per year. :)

    Their automated phone service is horrible. Why? Some parts are played so low you need to turn up the volume quite a bit, and then it blasts out at a huge volume.

    My ears are destroyed


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    #33
    Saudades
    Registered Users Posts: 378 ✭✭Saudades


    Auld Jim Halpin wrote: »
    Anyone have any historical data on their price increases?

    Usually comes into effect from February each year. Perhaps they delayed it this year due to Covid.

    August 2021 - €4 (€48pa),
    February 2020 - €3.50 (€42pa),
    February 2019 - €3.50 (€42pa),
    February 2018 - €3.50 (€42pa).


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    #34
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Saudades wrote: »
    Usually comes into effect from February each year. Perhaps they delayed it this year due to Covid


    I'm presumably mistaken, but i thought they said originally they werent gonna do a price increase in 2021 as the vat reduction worked in their favour.


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    #35
    deravarra
    Registered Users Posts: 1,814 ✭✭✭deravarra


    Saudades wrote: »
    Usually comes into effect from February each year. Perhaps they delayed it this year due to Covid.

    August 2021 - €4 (€48pa),
    February 2020 - €3.50 (€42pa),
    February 2019 - €3.50 (€42pa),
    February 2018 - €3.50 (€42pa).

    Just spoke with someone in VM a short while ago, and asked why the big difference in price between Siro offerings and VM for 1 gig broadband.
    I was told that none of the Siro providers own the lines, and it could take days for them to answer a call out.
    Is that worth an approximate extra 400 euro a year? And isnt there a customer charter where the supplier has to ensure you aren't waiting 10 days for a repair?


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    #36
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    CoBo55 wrote: »
    The minimum they give off is 15, you could have gotten that in a heartbeat. Are you tied to a new contract now? Power is off here for the day Siro are working strong, one of the lads was telling me it should be live within 2 months as they're the final crew to be used.


    No Siro near me anytime soon, it seems.


    To be honest, I would probably have gotten more off, or half price for X amount of months and all that. But I have €60 set aside for internet each month and it suits me down to the ground.


    That said, the day they don't agree to €60 is the day I'll cancel.


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    #37
    CoBo55
    Registered Users Posts: 8,867 ✭✭✭CoBo55


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    No Siro near me anytime soon, it seems.


    To be honest, I would probably have gotten more off, or half price for X amount of months and all that. But I have €60 set aside for internet each month and it suits me down to the ground.


    That said, the day they don't agree to €60 is the day I'll cancel.

    30 a month for 6 or 9 months would be better. My 6 months is ending full price from next month, hopefully not for much longer.


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    #38
    Gadgetman496
    Registered Users Posts: 8,370 ✭✭✭Gadgetman496


    Deleted User wrote: »
    I'm presumably mistaken, but i thought they said originally they werent gonna do a price increase in 2021 as the vat reduction worked in their favour.

    No, you are correct.

    "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."



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    #39
    Buddy Bubs
    Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭Buddy Bubs


    69 euro going to 73. Too high anyway. What's the best approach here, call and threaten yo leave and hopefully get a discount? If I fail to get a discount and leave, what's the procedure for coming back as new customer?
    Can I ever be a new customer again or does new mean first time?


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    #40
    HBC08
    Registered Users Posts: 3,349 ✭✭✭HBC08


    Jaysis ye are getting rode for internet!

    Vodafone €35 per month.

    They are allowed do the price increase to certain % each year,I think it could be 4% but not sure.Sky do it every year too.


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    #41
    Saudades
    Registered Users Posts: 378 ✭✭Saudades


    HBC08 wrote: »
    Jaysis ye are getting rode for internet!

    Vodafone €35 per month.

    Fibre or mobile? Any download limits?


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    #42
    Sheep Shagger
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 6,262 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sheep Shagger


    Buddy Bubs wrote: »
    69 euro going to 73. Too high anyway. What's the best approach here, call and threaten yo leave and hopefully get a discount? If I fail to get a discount and leave, what's the procedure for coming back as new customer?
    Can I ever be a new customer again or does new mean first time?

    Is that for BB only without TV, if so thats nuts even at the old price.

    To get any new customer rate you need to put in another name at your home address.


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    #43
    Saudades
    Registered Users Posts: 378 ✭✭Saudades


    Deleted User wrote: »
    I'm presumably mistaken, but i thought they said originally they werent gonna do a price increase in 2021 as the vat reduction worked in their favour.

    Around September 2020, Virgin said rather than pass on the reduction in VAT to its customers, it was cancelling a planned increase later on that year.
    They usually announce the increases around October (the 'later on this year' part), and then implement them from January/February.

    So technically, they haven't cancelled the planned increase, they just delayed it by 6 months from February 2021 to August 2021. And added an extra 50 cents on top of their usual increase rates.


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    #44
    Buddy Bubs
    Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭Buddy Bubs


    I have a few alternatives to virgin in my area, all offering max 100 mbps. Now that could be anywhere between 0 and 100. But they are much cheaper. In practice, what speeds would I need to achieve for streaming of Netflix etc to be the same user experience as virgin I have now? I can get speeds up to 500mbps sometimes, but if all it takes to run it perfectly is 50mbps, what's the point?

    Also, before canceling virgin, could I get an alternative provider in on trial and cancel in my cooling off period if not happy with it, and then push for discount with virgin?

    I do think they are price gouging now, it's getting expensive. I have only recently started paying big attention to all the standing orders and direct debit amounts coming out of my account and got better value. The difference though is with the likes of electricity and gas, it's exact same product, broadband isn't.


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    #45
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,749 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    I did this dance with virgin for years, every year getting discounts.
    Bit the bullet this year, left completely. Now I'm with Eir for 29.99 a month, less than half my virgin cost.
    It's been perfect for everything I do, streaming, general browsing and I had a few days online college and exams. No issues.
    Sorry I didn't do it years ago!
    I'm in Dublin city.


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    #46
    Wanderer78
    Registered Users Posts: 28,949 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    Buddy Bubs wrote:
    I have a few alternatives to virgin in my area, all offering max 100 mbps. Now that could be anywhere between 0 and 100. But they are much cheaper. In practice, what speeds would I need to achieve for streaming of Netflix etc to be the same user experience as virgin I have now? I can get speeds up to 500mbps sometimes, but if all it takes to run it perfectly is 50mbps, what's the point?

    It's hard to tell what limits you need, but I was testing a new home network setup during the week, on a 240 virgin line, over home plugs with network switch. I had 4 devices streaming on the one switch over the home plug that was only giving me about 30mbps at the time, so my network was effectively only a 30mbps line, and it worked flawlessly, so.......


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    #47
    Buddy Bubs
    Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭Buddy Bubs


    Wanderer78 wrote: »
    It's hard to tell what limits you need, but I was testing a new home network setup during the week, on a 240 virgin line, over home plugs with network switch. I had 4 devices streaming on the one switch over the home plug that was only giving me about 30mbps at the time, so my network was effectively only a 30mbps line, and it worked flawlessly, so.......

    1 tv in the house, soon to be 2. 2nd TV will be in kitchen and just used for around cooking dinner time, nothing major at all. Main TV is streaming only from firestick/ps4.

    2 smartphones in house, usually not 2 heavy users together. Herself can be a nightmare for phone use at times, even when watching a movie or TV. Don't know how she concentrates on both, but for me it's either one or the other at a time.

    I'll look up alternatives and see what the cooling off period is like with them, I know its mandated by law I just forget if it's 14 or 30 days, either will be long enough to tell anyway.


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    #48
    DaveyDave
    Registered Users Posts: 6,209 ✭✭✭DaveyDave


    I wish there was cheaper internet. I don't understand why they all have to offer €60+ packages for 250-500Mb. I'm a household of two, and aside from downloading updates for PlayStation games I don't need anything more than 100Mb and even that is more than enough.

    I'm paying €30 a month for 500Mb Vodafone half price then will probably switch to Sky if they're on offer next year but after that we will have used up all our new customer offers, I don't want to spend €60+ on internet.

    Why is the price constantly going up? Customer service is a joke and Virgin Media's equipment is awful. For a lot of people Virgin is the only viable option, it's ridiculous.

    On an unrelated note, customer service with Vodafone has been great. A month in my speeds randomly dropped to 4-5Mb for a few days after connecting a Powerline. They offered to pay for me to buy Cat 6 cables, then knocked €10 off my bill even though it seemed to resolve itself. Eir, Virgin, Permanent TSB, only ever had abysmal customer service and they fight you over everything if you want a discount...


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    #49
    dubrov
    Registered Users Posts: 3,559 ✭✭✭dubrov


    Buddy Bubs wrote: »
    1 tv in the house, soon to be 2. 2nd TV will be in kitchen and just used for around cooking dinner time, nothing major at all. Main TV is streaming only from firestick/ps4.

    2 smartphones in house, usually not 2 heavy users together. Herself can be a nightmare for phone use at times, even when watching a movie or TV. Don't know how she concentrates on both, but for me it's either one or the other at a time.

    I'll look up alternatives and see what the cooling off period is like with them, I know its mandated by law I just forget if it's 14 or 30 days, either will be long enough to tell anyway.

    HD Netflix needs about 5Mbps. UHD would be 25Mbps. YOutube on a phone would be the same but most videos would be in SD so about Mbps or less. hone browsing uses nothing.

    So I'd say worst case, anything above 60Mbps would make no difference to you. YOur problem is that even though the new provide says 100Mbps, that might mean 100Mbps at midnight and 10Mbps at 6pm.


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    #50
    Wanderer78
    Registered Users Posts: 28,949 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    Buddy Bubs wrote:
    I'll look up alternatives and see what the cooling off period is like with them, I know its mandated by law I just forget if it's 14 or 30 days, either will be long enough to tell anyway.

    I've no idea if others will be able to supply you with the minimum you require, as its very area dependent, but I suspect you ll be just fine, competition has improved a lot. I was very surprised with my own test, I was expecting something to break, but nothing did, all 4 devices worked perfectly
    DaveyDave wrote:
    Why is the price constantly going up? Customer service is a joke and Virgin Media's equipment is awful. For a lot of people Virgin is the only viable option, it's ridiculous.

    It's hardly to do with maximising profits, is it, and by largely privitising our infrastructure, this would hardly lead to similar outcomes, would it?


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    #51
    Buddy Bubs
    Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭Buddy Bubs


    dubrov wrote: »
    HD Netflix needs about 5Mbps. UHD would be 25Mbps. YOutube on a phone would be the same but most videos would be in SD so about Mbps or less. hone browsing uses nothing.

    So I'd say worst case, anything above 60Mbps would make no difference to you. YOur problem is that even though the new provide says 100Mbps, that might mean 100Mbps at midnight and 10Mbps at 6pm.

    Yes, I agree. I'll try the new one during cooling off period. 14 days or 30 days will be enough to tell, hopefully. Fingers crossed. I'll do some research on alternatives.

    So far this year I've moved my mobile to a company mobile which is saving me 30 a month, life insurance provider saving me 20, gas and electricity saving me about 30 depending on use. Got diesel card in work more as a pay raise than anything but that's 100 a month. Netflix and YouTube premium are in far flung destinations so they cost nothing really now, Amazon prime is on work account now because we use it for deliveries, I use the video service. Spotify and Disney plus are shared family accounts with people on boards. Motor insurance I left my long standing broker and got the cheapest no frills policy (kept bonus protection but not breakdown cover and add ons etc...)
    Started using supermarket loyalty cards and use lidl/Aldi more. Make my lunch for work instead of a deli sandwich and crisps every day. Oh, forgot that I also changed my mortgage to a green energy rated mortgage down to 2.25% fixed now instead of 2.95% saving me 60 a month.

    It's all saving me about 5000 a year. And I'm no worse off for any of it, not all available to everyone I agree but plenty of it is.

    Very liberating for anyone still reading and not bored with my rant, serious savings to be made and put elsewhere to better use if you have the will and the want.

    Broadband and bank charges next in the firing line.


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    #52
    dam099
    Registered Users Posts: 1,088 ✭✭✭dam099


    Buddy Bubs wrote: »
    Also, before canceling virgin, could I get an alternative provider in on trial and cancel in my cooling off period if not happy with it, and then push for discount with virgin?

    You don't really need to trial it to push for discount, they wont be able to validate what you can get, tell them your neighbour gets 80/20 and that's good enough for you if they use the speed issue to try and scare you off.

    If you cant get a satisfactory deal then by all means trial VDSL and cancel if it meets your needs.


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    #53
    Sheep Shagger
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 6,262 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sheep Shagger


    Note for anyone cancelling don't bother wasting your time on the phone to Virgin....email cancel@virginmedia.ie and you get an immediate confirmation by return email.

    You can if you need to, cancel your cancellation request if a new supplier you with doesn't work out.


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    #54
    CoBo55
    Registered Users Posts: 8,867 ✭✭✭CoBo55


    Sheep Shagger wrote: »
    Note for anyone cancelling don't bother wasting your time on the phone to Virgin....email cancel@virginmedia.ie and you get an immediate confirmation by return email.

    You can if you need to, cancel your cancellation request if a new supplier you with doesn't work out.

    Works perfectly, that's what I did when my father went into residential care, no hassle, no trying to understand someone on the phone.


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    #55
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,749 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    CoBo55 wrote: »
    Works perfectly, that's what I did when my father went into residential care, no hassle, no trying to understand someone on the phone.

    That old Cork accent can be tough sometimes!


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    #56
    CoBo55
    Registered Users Posts: 8,867 ✭✭✭CoBo55


    bubblypop wrote: »
    That old Cork accent can be tough sometimes!

    Unfortunately I never got a cork one yet....


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    #57
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 18,749 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    CoBo55 wrote: »
    Unfortunately I never got a cork one yet....

    I got cork people every time I rang, for years.


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    #58
    Auld Jim Halpin
    Registered Users Posts: 349 ✭✭Auld Jim Halpin


    Saudades wrote: »
    Usually comes into effect from February each year. Perhaps they delayed it this year due to Covid.

    August 2021 - €4 (€48pa),
    February 2020 - €3.50 (€42pa),
    February 2019 - €3.50 (€42pa),
    February 2018 - €3.50 (€42pa).


    Thank You Saudades! :)


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    #59
    Auld Jim Halpin
    Registered Users Posts: 349 ✭✭Auld Jim Halpin


    DaveyDave wrote: »
    I wish there was cheaper internet. I don't understand why they all have to offer €60+ packages for 250-500Mb. I'm a household of two, and aside from downloading updates for PlayStation games I don't need anything more than 100Mb and even that is more than enough.


    Good point Davey Dave, I'd say that is the case for many households. As usual our quango agencies like ComReg and CCPC are just not proactive in protecting us and when we call them on it it takes years to address.


    From the point view of telecom companies if they can get away with selling you 10 carrots when you just want 1 they will do it all day long. There should be more options to suit ones requirements and budget.


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    #60
    deravarra
    Registered Users Posts: 1,814 ✭✭✭deravarra


    Auld Jim Halpin wrote: »
    From the point of Virgin Media, if they can get away with selling you 10 carrots when you just want 1 they will do it all day long. There should be more options to suit ones requirements and budget.

    Or at least sell you 10 carrots for a reasonable price. It's like going into a German low cost retailer and paying M&S prices for their product


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    #61
    Auld Jim Halpin
    Registered Users Posts: 349 ✭✭Auld Jim Halpin


    Doh


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