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Virgin Broadband should I go elsewhere?

T

twotone

pfm Member
Hi guys, I know this has probably been done to death but here goes.

I'm currently with Virgin Media who are absolutely fine however their price rises are murder so every year or every so often I have to go on the phone to them and try to re-negotiate our existing deal/price rise.

Well just last week they sent an email saying that from May 1st they're increasing our monthly charge from £33 a month to £40 then it will be increased again in September when the current contract comes to an end, before this latest email it was going to be £44 in October but I'm presuming that it will rise to at least £52 and probably a wee bit more which is frankly taking the piss IMO.

We're currently on their M125 package but they've offered me their M250 package for £36.50 a month and that will increase in April 2024 as far as I can make out from the email that they sent.

I was also concerned about cancelling the contract early to be able to go with another company but it appears we can cancel before the 24th March without having to pay a cancellation fee per the below text.

I've been with Virgin Media for about five years now and don't really have any complaints but I couldn't go anywhere else except to go back to BT who were using the old tech/copper wires and really slow speeds but now we can apparently get FTTP from BT or any number of other companies who use BT's infrastructure so BT or EE or Vodaphone etc and even Andrews & Arnold who I use for Voip services but their BB service isn't really competitive as there's a download cap with them, so far Vodaphone and BT appear to be the best bet as far as pricing is concerned, BT are £30 a month for the same speed as M250 and Vodaphone are £23 a month for similar plus EE will discount my mobile bill by 10% if I sign up to them plus there's other benefits such as ATV+ thrown in too.

There's no connection charge with BT/Openreach but they'll have to install the cable which shouldn't be an issue however they can't use Virgin's cable which is coax, I believe, so a new fibre cable needs to installed so that might be worthwhile given that I'll have a Virgin cable and a BT cable so can jump between them if need be in the future.

I'm wondering if I should just stick with Virgin though? Anyone else changed from Virgin to BT or vice versa?

I've no landline BTW but do have a landline number which I ported from BT business when I moved from them to A&A about five years ago I just use a VOIP set up to divert incoming calls to my mobile which only costs about £2 a month so we don't need a 'landline' or TV services either.



"What are my options now
We understand these are tough times. And if you’re struggling, we’ll do everything we can to help you. That could be giving you extra time to pay your bill, reviewing your package, or working out a payment plan.

If you're not happy with any of the changes announced in this email, including those to our out of home WiFi hotspots and pricing terms and conditions, you can change or cancel your package, any time before 24th March 2023, without paying any cancellation fees."
 
Hi,

It took me an age yesterday, ended up going from web chat to whatsapp, they sent me a mail saying they wre putting that up by £12, which I found a little excessive (I have BB/TV/Phone package).

Anyways I went through the mill of them wanting to sell me a new contract etc, and pointed out I wanted to pay less, not more and did not want to be in another contract. Anyways after much whatsapp chat they have bizarrely discounted my package by £12, so when the price hike goes on its just what I pay now. So if you don't fancy the upheaval of changing suppliers get on the chunter button :)

I'll see what happens when it comes to renewal time in December, I'm pretty much stuck with them as the copper feeds into the house are dodgy for ADSL.

S

PS I've always been happy with the service, its pretty reliable.
 
snowflake said:
Hi,

It took me an age yesterday, ended up going from web chat to whatsapp, they sent me a mail saying they wre putting that up by £12, which I found a little excessive (I have BB/TV/Phone package).

Anyways I went through the mill of them wanting to sell me a new contract etc, and pointed out I wanted to pay less, not more and did not want to be in another contract. Anyways after much whatsapp chat they have bizarrely discounted my package by £12, so when the price hike goes on its just what I pay now. So if you don't fancy the upheaval of changing suppliers get on the chunter button :)

I'll see what happens when it comes to renewal time in December, I'm pretty much stuck with them as the copper feeds into the house are dodgy for ADSL.

S
Click to expand...

Thanks, aye I was surprised when I discovered that BT/Openreach have now installed FTTP here which really opens things up for us.

The really annoying thing is that the M250 package is available for £25 a month to new customers

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/c...nMb=100Mb&tab=alldeals&tvChannels=&unbundled=
 
We go through this every year

I argue with them every year and nigh on end the call saying cancel the contract; we'll go elsewhere

Every year they fold and we get a decent deal; but it shouldn't be this way & they're shite at giving back (we've been with them since 2008)!

We've got Max TV, 350Mbps broadband and phone (that we don't use/don't have connected) for £65 a month 'reduced' from £100 until sometime 2024

The biggest issue for me is dealing with the shit Indian call centres; with 'Brian' that's just reading off a placard, trying to upsell & doesn't listen to what you say at all; language barrier as well as not really understanding what we're trying to get across (ie they're taking the piss with prices etc)

Keep fighting the fight; you'll get a better deal in the end
 
Yes mil is with bt .i am sick and tired of them texting me to say an engineer has to visit because its not working well .prob 4 times now since nov 22 .

Yes vm are costly but i dont get that hassle .i like them
 
hifilover1979 said:
We go through this every year

I argue with them every year and nigh on end the call saying cancel the contract; we'll go elsewhere

Every year they fold and we get a decent deal; but it shouldn't be this way & they're shite at giving back (we've been with them since 2008)!

We've got Max TV, 350Mbps broadband and phone (that we don't use/don't have connected) for £65 a month 'reduced' from £100 until sometime 2024

The biggest issue for me is dealing with the shit Indian call centres; with 'Brian' that's just reading off a placard, trying to upsell & doesn't listen to what you say at all; language barrier as well as not really understanding what we're trying to get across (ie they're taking the piss with prices etc)

Keep fighting the fight; you'll get a better deal in the end
Click to expand...

I was speaking to an EE CS guy earlier on and he was saying they're all at the price rise thing, think he said EE/BT have increased prices by about 14% this year, think VM are roughly the same.

BTW, BT will pay 'up to' £300 for cancellation fees with EE it's up to £50.

I'm seriously thinking about going somewhere else but I had terrible problems with BT domestic services when I was last with them however their business section were very good, the customer service from the two different depts was night and day having said that though I've rarely have to contact VM CS and when I have they've been very good.
 
twotone said:
I was speaking to an EE CS guy earlier on and he was saying they're all at the price rise thing, think he said EE/BT have increased prices by about 14% this year, think VM are roughly the same.

BTW, BT will pay 'up to' £300 for cancellation fees with EE it's up to £50.

I'm seriously thinking about going somewhere else but I had terrible problems with BT domestic services when I was last with them however their business section were very good, the customer service from the two different depts was night and day having said that though I've rarely have to contact VM CS and when I have they've been very good.
Click to expand...

VM broadband is fibre here, so it's as good as it gets, more so with me always working from home & the wife/2/3 times a week and with video-meets coming out of our ears (I'm onto San Fran & Dublin, a LOT)!

Plus we stream a lot etc

No other provider offers anywhere near as good a service; we've tried Three 4/5G and it was crap; great one mine, shite the next, literally!

I'll just fight the fight every 18months with VM
 
hifilover1979 said:
VM broadband is fibre here, so it's as good as it gets, more so with me always working from home & the wife/2/3 times a week and with video-meets coming out of our ears (I'm onto San Fran & Dublin, a LOT)!

Plus we stream a lot etc

No other provider offers anywhere near as good a service; we've tried Three 4/5G and it was crap; great one mine, shite the next, literally!

I'll just fight the fight every 18months with VM
Click to expand...

pretty much the same here. VM broadband is rock solid for us - just checked and there are 62 active devices on my network. the extra we pay is for the footie. Even with an annual price rise, i still think for what we get it is reasonable
 
Aye *Fibre* BB here too with VM and there's no denying the service is good, we very rarely have drop outs etc but BT/Openreach are here now too and that's fibre from the exchange to the premises (FTTP) so that's one of the reasons I'm thinking about moving back to BT plus I've been with EE for about 20 years plus and their CS is excellent can't say the same for BT's CS however.

*Virgin Media is Fibre to the Virgin Box/cabinet in the street and then Coax (copper) to the
property.

  1. Home
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FTTC vs FTTP broadband: What is the difference?
By Dan Howdle | Monday, January 9th 2023


  1. What is FTTC broadband?
  2. What is FTTP (or FTTH) broadband?
  3. FTTC versus FTTP speed comparison
  4. Which providers offer FTTC broadband?
  5. Which providers offer FTTP broadband?
  6. Frequently asked questions

If you've heard these two terms bandied about recently (FTTC and FTTP), it's because they are the rather technical-sounding abbreviations for the type of broadband we currently have, and the type of broadband the UK is slowly migrating to in future.



The technologies aren't all that different. Nevertheless, in this guide we'll discuss those differences, both in terms of the technologies themselves and in terms of what they can deliver. We'll also look at which providers offer FTTC and FTTP broadband, and whether or not now is a good time to upgrade from one to the other, if indeed you can.

To start with, though, we'll thrash out some basic definitions so we all understand exactly what it is we are talking about. We will be keeping this as jargon-free as possible, because although technical, it's not actually all that difficult to understand.



What is FTTC broadband?
FTTC stands for 'fibre to the cabinet'. The fibre part of the equation is fibre broadband, which is defined as a broadband connection which is delivered over fibre optic cables. Unlike copper cables, fibre has a glass core, which enables information to be transmitted through them using light rather than electrical signals. Fibre optic cables can deliver data at rates thousands of times faster than copper cables.

The 'cabinet' in that abbreviation refers to the green cabinets you will have seen on street corners and pavements. Fibre optic lines are routed into these cabinets, but then the remaining distance between the cabinet and your home is covered by slower, copper cables. Fibre to the cabinet (FTTC), then, really means 'fibre cables only as far as the cabinet', with the copper element covering the final distance, slowing down the potential top speed of your broadband significantly.

There are currently two major broadband networks that use FTTC. They are:

  • Openreach – This network, run independently of but still owned by BT, is the one that delivers broadband to most homes in the country. Openreach isn't just for BT. Most other providers lease Openreach infrastructure to provide broadband to their customers. Other providers, besides BT, that you'll find on the Openreach network include TalkTalk, Sky, Plusnet, EE and others
  • Virgin Media – If you've ever compared broadband speeds from various providers you may have noticed that Virgin Media is miles ahead of anyone else on speed. This is because it operates its own network, which uses a different type of cabling that allows for much faster speeds than Openreach's FTTC network. The Virgin Media network still technically fits the description of FTTC provision because the connection from the street cabinet to the property is a modern multi-core copper, rather than fibre optic. But this substantially different cable technology allows it to offer speeds that are even quicker than FTTP pure fibre. Consequently, most Virgin Media Broadband customers can access speeds up to 1,130Mbps


https://www.cable.co.uk/broadband/guides/fttc-vs-fttp/
 
We left virgin after many years.
We contacted them to do the usual negotiations, what they offered was not good value
(just broadband)
So we went to Vodafone.
For the next two months we were contacted by virgin, offering deals that we would have taken if offered at the time. stuff them.
Vodafone deal was £18, which hasn’t changed so far.
 
I rang 150 to make an appointment for changing the home phone to the Internet.
As per their letter, it will be cut off from the PSTN by the end of March and I have to ring 150.
There was nothing in their bot / menu system for this so ended up on the "thinking of leaving" line.

There was a nice Indian man answered but he didn't understand what I wanted.

I ended up with a 360 TV box for less than I was paying before.

A couple of days later I got a call from Sheffield about a phone changeover appointment.
 
Tony, every year I've had a barney on the phone, usually to an incomprehensible Philippines accent; sore throats every time. Found the Virgin forum and so far (and very recently) have had success in renegotiating, getting refunds and having questions answered.

Our TV/Ll/BB package (125) was £38 p.m., on an 18 mth contract and they tried to hike it last April; Via a lengthy discourse via their forum, I avoided the hike. My contract ran out a few weeks ago and was hiked to £53 mth. I phoned and surprisingly got through to an English person quite quickly, who offered me a new 18 mth contract at £39. ALSO, because it was a new contract, it won't be affected by the April hike (but will be in '24 !!)

Other media companies are allowed to hike fees by CPI inflation + 3.9%. Virgin uses RPI inflation (no idea why they're treated differently. Whoever you're with, hikes will happen, and, like others here, have found their services pretty reliable these past 2 or 3 years. Engineer call-outs (mine to change box or re-route failed l/l phone) are free.

Suggest you phone 150, go through the menus to cancel/change etc. and ask what cheaper package is available (or you'll migrate). Only change in mine was that I can no longer get 0843/0870 numbers free; I didn't even realise I could beforehand !

I'm kind of wedded to Virgin as their box is just outside my front garden; Seriously, I went from BT a decade + ago and simply don't trust Sky and BT but mainly the hassle/uncertainty of changing horses.


Unfortunately, Virgin are way ahead of time in changing l/lines to VOIP (nasty potential consequences (as I don't have a viable mobile) but that shouldn't bother you if you're on VOIP already.
 
Mike Reed said:
Tony, every year I've had a barney on the phone, usually to an incomprehensible Philippines accent; sore throats every time. Found the Virgin forum and so far (and very recently) have had success in renegotiating, getting refunds and having questions answered.

Our TV/Ll/BB package (125) was £38 p.m., on an 18 mth contract and they tried to hike it last April; Via a lengthy discourse via their forum, I avoided the hike. My contract ran out a few weeks ago and was hiked to £53 mth. I phoned and surprisingly got through to an English person quite quickly, who offered me a new 18 mth contract at £39. ALSO, because it was a new contract, it won't be affected by the April hike (but will be in '24 !!)

Other media companies are allowed to hike fees by CPI inflation + 3.9%. Virgin uses RPI inflation (no idea why they're treated differently. Whoever you're with, hikes will happen, and, like others here, have found their services pretty reliable these past 2 or 3 years. Engineer call-outs (mine to change box or re-route failed l/l phone) are free.

Suggest you phone 150, go through the menus to cancel/change etc. and ask what cheaper package is available (or you'll migrate). Only change in mine was that I can no longer get 0843/0870 numbers free; I didn't even realise I could beforehand !

I'm kind of wedded to Virgin as their box is just outside my front garden; Seriously, I went from BT a decade + ago and simply don't trust Sky and BT but mainly the hassle/uncertainty of changing horses.


Unfortunately, Virgin are way ahead of time in changing l/lines to VOIP (nasty potential consequences (as I don't have a viable mobile) but that shouldn't bother you if you're on VOIP already.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike, Andrews &Arnold are brilliant, I'd go with them in a heartbeat but they're expensive, I was with BT business and paying £56 a month just for a phone line and unlimited diverted calls from my landline to my mobile then a random thread on here appeared and eventually I was advised to go to A&A by Mark Grant, I now pay A&A £2 a month for the phone 'line' including calls and divert.

Looks as though I'll probably stay with VM but I'll call them tomorrow and see what happens at least now I can cancel and go somewhere else so that should help to get the price down.
 
Been with Telewest/Virgin for ages. No problems up to about 18 months ago: network/service issues, increasing costs, endless communication to resolve issues. Considered moving but it seems BT and Vodafone have fair their share of problems too so I am staying put for now - the devil you know. BT have been laying fibre my area so I might take a look at them again when my Virgin contract expires. Sky are another option.
 
Kirk said:
Been with Telewest/Virgin for ages. No problems up to about 18 months ago: network/service issues, increasing costs, endless communication to resolve issues. Considered moving but it seems BT and Vodafone have fair their share of problems too so I am staying put for now - the devil you know. BT have been laying fibre my area so I might take a look at them again when my Virgin contract expires. Sky are another option.
Click to expand...

Aye there's a mob here installing fibre cable, Cityfibre it says on the box on the pavement, they're causing chaos with closed roads etc but they're pretty quick.

I had a look at the cable yesterday, green with about ten cores, they've terminated at one of those underground boxes just the engineer to connect the junction now.

I did see an OR engineer along the road at one of their cabinets in the street.

https://cityfibre.com/
 
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