Buy V+ box, get charged for V box too!

girl friday · 06-05-2008, 20:36

I am so annoyed. I got a half price V+ box offer last month and just got my first bill to discover that I am being charged £5 to rent my V+ box (as expected) then an extra £15 to rent my original cable box which was previously free. When I rang to ask about V+, I was assured I would only see a £5 a month increase on my bill and now...

I rang customer services and the lady kindly reduced the original box rental to £9.50 (big deal). I tried to extract from her as to why something that was free before was suddenly chargeable when I had just paid £75 to have a V+ box installed and am now paying them an extra £5 to rent it (hence they are the ones laughing all the way to the bank). She said that was just the way it is. However, on the website it clearly states that you get your first box free with your tv service.

I have also been charged £30 for advance rental, yet I paid advance rental on my previous bill for my current service (minus V+ obviously) which covered most of that period. I see no discount applied to my bill to account for that.

I have now emailed a complaint as I am not happy. It has boosted my bill by £14 a month and I only wanted to pay an extra £5.

Am I in the right or have I got terribly confused somewhere?

Joanne

Jonnymeg · 06-05-2008, 20:52

You have got confused.

The V box was originally free, if, i am assuming you were on the lowest package.

Now when you took the V+ package you would ten be liable for an additional £5 per month to use the recording features as you are only on the lowest package.

Because you kept the original box you now have two boxes in your house which incurs the extra rental (£15). The original box is only free if that is the ONLY box you have.

Trent · 06-05-2008, 21:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonnymeg

You have got confused.

The V box was originally free, if, i am assuming you were on the lowest package.

Now when you took the V+ package you would ten be liable for an additional £5 per month to use the recording features as you are only on the lowest package.

Because you kept the original box you now have two boxes in your house which incurs the extra rental (£15). The original box is only free if that is the ONLY box you have.

What Jonnymeg is trying to say is that VM have, again, ripped off their customers. I cant help wondering if VM are aware that the immergance of freesat + sky + freeview is going to fast make the service they offer untennable unless they stop charging so much or unless they make all the charges crystal clear to their customer cos we wont put up with this for much longer

MrB · 06-05-2008, 21:56

Unless I am mistaken, you get charged £5 per month for the V+ service (on M or L, free if XL TV - £75 install charge regardless) plus you get charged £5 per month for the additional box (on my bill it appears as £15 charge with a £10 Additional Box discount) - you would get charged £9.50 for the additional box if it was a V box on top of an existing V box?

MrB

BenMcr · 06-05-2008, 22:33

Yup. Mr B is 100% correct for any V+ box taken out after June 2007.

If you are being charged anything else you need to phone Virgin up again

girl friday · 07-05-2008, 15:34

That is so unfair! Why does their website say you get your first box free with your tv service if actually you don't? That is blatantly misleading advertising.

Thanks for all your explanations.

BenMcr · 07-05-2008, 15:37

You get your first V box included in the rental, not the V+

And from the V+ page http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/dtv/vplus/faq.html

Quote:

How much does your V+ service cost?
There's a one-off upfront cost of £150 to install your V+ set top box. Then just £5 a month if you’re on TV M or L. If you're on TV XL, the subscription is included so there’s no monthly charge at all.

girl friday · 07-05-2008, 16:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenMcr

You get your first V box included in the rental, not the V+

I guess I interpreted that as you get your first V box included free in the rental therefore you only pay for your V+ box if you have that as an additional service later on. I find it hard to accept that my V box was free before my V+ installation but is now costing me £9.50 a month to rent as it's suddenly been classifed as a second box, even though the V+ box is in my bedroom.

King Of Fools · 07-05-2008, 17:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by girl friday

I guess I interpreted that as you get your first V box included free in the rental therefore you only pay for your V+ box if you have that as an additional service later on. I find it hard to accept that my V box was free before my V+ installation but is now costing me £9.50 a month to rent as it's suddenly been classifed as a second box, even though the V+ box is in my bedroom.

You have to look at it this way, the options are:

1 V box - included in TV subscription
1 V+ box - £5 per month or free (depending on TV pack)

2 V boxes - first included in TV subscription, second £9.50 per month
1 V+ box and 1 V box - V+ box £5 per month or free (depending on TV pack), V box £5 per month

The V+ fee is a rental for the box itself, the second box fee is a charge for the service to be able to watch different channels in different rooms (not rental for the box which is free).

Keggsy · 07-05-2008, 17:34

If you don't want to be charged for the 2nd box then can you ask them to take it back? When I upgraded they asked if I wanted to keep the old V box and I asked if it cost anything. They said £5 per month so I said I didn't want it and they took it when they installed the V+

JethroUK · 11-05-2008, 23:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by girl friday

I guess I interpreted that as you get your first V box included free in the rental therefore you only pay for your V+ box if you have that as an additional service later on. .

Of course you are quite right

1st std V box = free
2nd V+ box = £5 rental

Quote:

Originally Posted by girl friday

..I find it hard to accept that my V box was free before my V+ installation but is now costing me £9.50 a month to rent as it's suddenly been classifed as a second box, even though the V+ box is in my bedroom.

You mean VM like to see it as

1st V+ box = £5
2nd (formerly 1st) std V box = £15

it suits VM's wallet to consider your primary box as an extra one so they can stitch you up a bit more

girl friday · 12-05-2008, 06:55

Yes, exactly! The irony is that I live in a shared house with three other people and was so fed up of never being able to watch what I wanted that the standard V box is in the living room and the V+ box is the extra box which I've got in my bedroom. Also, as the V box came first, I didn't realise that Virgin would conveniently not see it that way. Grrr.

**Graham M** · 12-05-2008, 07:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by girl friday

Yes, exactly! The irony is that I live in a shared house with three other people and was so fed up of never being able to watch what I wanted that the standard V box is in the living room and the V+ box is the extra box which I've got in my bedroom. Also, as the V box came first, I didn't realise that Virgin would conveniently not see it that way. Grrr.

I still don't think you're getting it

WHISTLED · 12-05-2008, 08:24

Quote:

it's suddenly been classifed as a second box, even though the V+ box is in my bedroom.

Your joking??!! Those craaazy VM people with their craaazy maths!?

1 box + 1 box = 2 boxes - ??? Its like something Stephen Hawking would come up with!

**Stephen** · 12-05-2008, 08:32

Not sure you understand it....

You had a Standard V box which was your only box and cost no extra. So you added the V+ which becomes the main box and is £5 a month for using the features of the box.

You kept the original V box which then becomes your second box so incures a monthly charge.

Its not rocket science.

Either way you have more than one box. I think you think that due to having the standard box first its classed as the first stb, this is not the case.