Downgrading to broadband only

[badhairday]

As this Depression bites I,(like many others), have no choice but to look for ways to save cash.
I never use my phone so see no need for the £13.90 a month expense.
The TV I need can be seen with Freeview.
So all I really need is my broadband connection with which I can use voip telephone services.
I am sure I am not the only one considering these options.

Has anyone been able to downgrade to Broadband only with VM ?
If so was it/is it hassle free ?

I did phone VM customer services a few months ago and got the impression that it was not possible, even if I cancelled then returned.
However I did wonder had I taken it further and asked at Retentions would they have told me something differant.

I would be grateful for anyones experiences with this as time is pressing and I have to start making cuts asap.

Thanks

[Nopanic]

Are you in a contract ? if not, I dont see why not ..

[badhairday]

I've been with VM for years so I'm outside the original contract period.
I just would like to know if anyone has made such a change and how it went.

[FairyFairy]

Having the three together gives a discount.

I bet stand alone Broadband would be expensive.

Might be worth trawling the net to find other ISPs and their costs as well

[Kymmy]

10Mb BB on it's own is only about £6 cheaper than with a phone.. Is it worth while dropping your number just for that?

[kwikbreaks]

I took the phone along with broadband to get the free install, free months, and some cashback. As soon as the year was up I cancelled the phone. It was no problem at all. As usual I avoided normal CS by taking the I'm thinking of leaving option.

You won't save £13.90 by dropping the phone though because the BB cost goes up. You'll save ~ £3. 10m BB only costs £21. I did it and swapped to Vonage VOIP instead because we do use the landline and VM telephony isn't competetive.

[badhairday]

I phoned VM retentions

I was given two options:
1/ basic phone,basic TV(black and white)(joking), removal certain features from the V+ box,I have no idea which. And keep my 10meg U/L BB £32 a month approx.(30 days notice)
2/ Basic phone and 10meg U/L BB £21.40 a month(18 month contract,£49 reconnection fee if I wished to upgrade back)

Which begs the question what if I could ditch the phone, my original wish. I did not ask as I doubt if they would break the £20 barrier but there may be wiggle room there for anyone wishing to go further.

I must not forget of course that for me VM has provided an excellent service over the years and for what could be £7.50 a week for phone,tv and broadband services I cannot complain.

£21.40 is fine for me as I can get freeview and use my PS3 for bbc,itv and Ch 4 catchups.
However and this is more info for others coming this way. I don't have a roof aerial for the freeview so taking this expense (£110 supply and fit) into consideration, it would be best long term wo go that way however as I don't expect to be here for another year its probably my best solution to take option 1.

[Peter_]

I phoned VM retentions

I was given two options:
1/ basic phone,basic TV(black and white)(joking), removal certain features from the V+ box,I have no idea which. And keep my 10meg U/L BB £32 a month approx.(30 days notice)
2/ Basic phone and 10meg U/L BB £21.40 a month(18 month contract,£49 reconnection fee if I wished to upgrade back)

Which begs the question what if I could ditch the phone, my original wish. I did not ask as I doubt if they would break the £20 barrier but there may be wiggle room there for anyone wishing to go further.

I must not forget of course that for me VM has provided an excellent service over the years and for what could be £7.50 a week for phone,tv and broadband services I cannot complain.

£21.40 is fine for me as I can get freeview and use my PS3 for bbc,itv and Ch 4 catchups.
However and this is more info for others coming this way. I don't have a roof aerial for the freeview so taking this expense (£110 supply and fit) into consideration, it would be best long term wo go that way however as I don't expect to be here for another year its probably my best solution to take option 1.
The V+ features will probably be disabled preventing recording of new content and playback of any existing recordings.

[badhairday]

Fairyfairy,thanks for the advice.
I have done a lot of research on what other isps had to offer. None could beat what I already have.
Sky looks good but have download limits.
Bt the same.
The cheapies talktalk and plusnet have terrible reputations for service, and if it sounds to good to be true...it is !

I am sure these companies think we are all quite daft, they flash these fantastic offers in our faces each day hoping we won't read the small print,the minutiae that really matters.

---------- Post added at 15:28 ---------- Previous post was at 15:24 ----------

Thanks Masque, small but very important changes.

[New to cable]

The V+ features will probably be disabled preventing recording of new content and playback of any existing recordings.

Let me get this straight, he (assuming OP is male) will be paying for a service from VM but they won't let him use the recording features unless he pays extra.

But will be classed as a paying VMtv customer?

Also for £32 a month Sky would give you unlimited upto 20Mb internet truly unlimited unmanaged, a lot of tv including Sky1-Sky atlantic-Sky living, you can also record and get skyanytime and sky anytime+ a phoneline and all free to air HD channels.

[badhairday]

Update.

I asked VM for the basic TV(freeview) etc...£28.90 not £32 as previously mentioned.

I did ask about removing the phone completely and its as Kwikbreaks said, BB rises beyond any significant saving.
However the move to broadband only is smooth and hassle free but watch out for the minutiae ;)

I am very grateful for everyones input :)

[Peter_]

Let me get this straight, he (assuming OP is male) will be paying for a service from VM but they won't let him use the recording features unless he pays extra.

But will be classed as a paying VMtv customer?

Also for £32 a month Sky would give you unlimited upto 20Mb internet truly unlimited unmanaged, a lot of tv including Sky1-Sky atlantic-Sky living, you can also record and get skyanytime and sky anytime+ a phoneline and all free to air HD channels.
If you downgrade your V+ into a standard box then you cannot use the V+ features, this is nothing new and has been mentioned many times before.

One thing you obviously forget about SKY is that after 12 months all technician visits are chargeable and you own the equipment unlike Virginmedia where all that is free for the whole period that you are a customer.

[jimpy0]

Bit late on this, but can i add my 2 penneth. I too once considered dropping my phone during a cash crisis, but was persuaded to keep it as i have health issues which occasionally require an ambulance. If ringing 999 off a mobile they [emergency services] cannot find your if unable to speak, wheras with a landline they can. Which made sense to me, so i found other ways to save.

Jim

[Tuvoc]

One thing you obviously forget about SKY is that after 12 months all technician visits are chargeable and you own the equipment unlike Virginmedia where all that is free for the whole period that you are a customer.

Incredibly important this in my view. With Sky you either pay for technician visits after the 12 mths and pay to replace the equipment if it fails, or you can pay an extra monthly fee for cover for your equipment. No thanks, Virgin wins hands down in this respect ;)

[Peter_]

Incredibly important this in my view. With Sky you either pay for technician visits after the 12 mths and pay to replace the equipment if it fails, or you can pay an extra monthly fee for cover for your equipment. No thanks, Virgin wins hands down in this respect ;)
The monthly fee can be an extra £10 just in case you need an engineer which in my eyes is extracting the urine.;)

[greeninferno]

Incredibly important this in my view. With Sky you either pay for technician visits after the 12 mths and pay to replace the equipment if it fails, or you can pay an extra monthly fee for cover for your equipment. No thanks, Virgin wins hands down in this respect ;)

no you don't.

you phone up and tell them that if a replcacement is not forthcoming you'll be offski.

these corporations are relying on you being too lazy to move.

i'll wager there are hundreds of thousands of people paying various levels of discount

haggle. these corporations are not doing you a favour.

[Peter_]

no you don't.

you phone up and tell them that if a replcacement is not forthcoming you'll be offski.

these corporations are relying on you being too lazy to move.

i'll wager there are hundreds of thousands of people paying various levels of discount

haggle. these corporations are not doing you a favour.
It still does not mean that an engineer will arrive any quicker which is a joke with regards the SKY service.