Thread: New customers vs Old customers
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Old 01-11-2009, 10:23   #18
Sir John Luke
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Re: New customers vs Old customers
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sephiroth View Post
No Ben - the customers here nearly ALL disagree with you. They want transparency. They want their bills to show the current headline price at each reduction point. The customers don't want to see artificial discounts applied.

It isn't even difficult to understand how VM got into this pickle.

VM have an arbitrary process for granting discounts over the telephone to disgruntled customers. This gets mixed in with bundkle discounts whichcan/should properly be shown in the bill.

So, VM understandably (but wrongly) wish to avoid hassle with customers who want to see their loyalty discount (that's what it might well say on the bill) protected in addition to the headline price.

If VM offer on their web site a headline price to customers irrespective of whether or not they are new or three months old, then a true loyalty discount should survive all price changes. Of course this is economically unsustainable for VM and hence this unfortunate pickle and hence the weasel worded duplicity.

To put this right, VM should revise its discount policy and description. The terms & conditions should make clear that users may remain on their existing contract (with prices and discounts) or move to a new contract at the current prices for the minimum 12 month period. Customers can argue the detail of this, but the principle is sound; an entitlement to move to new pricing according to what suits your pocket best.

VM has got itself into this disreputable mess and needs to honourably extract itself. BT will soon get its act together and they have wider coverage than VM and eventual desertion is the final option available to p*ssed off customers. P*ss off too many and VM is under threat.

Simples.
Excellent post - but will anyone take any notice? I doubt it. However the upcoming OFT review on pricing may help.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2009/126-09
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