How I Saved £252.72 on my Virgin Media Broadband Bill

Nick Saving Money 4 Comments

I just saved £21.06 a month (equivalent to £252.72 a year) on my Virgin Media Broadband bill, all by making a quick phone call. Here’s the full story…

I have a broadband-only contract with Virgin Media (I use the internet-based Vonage for my home phone service and am happy with Freeview for the TV). I have had this for several years, and the price has kept nudging upward. When it went over £50 a month I realised I really had to see if I could get a better deal, or else switch to another provider. I was reluctant to do the latter, though, as I have cable broadband from Virgin and switching suppliers would have involved getting a landline phone reconnected. And anyway, I’ve had good service from Virgin and my broadband connection is fast and stable.

So not without some trepidation I phoned up Virgin’s customer relations department (the number is 150 from a Virgin Media phone or mobile or 0345 454 1111 from any other phone). I told them I was unhappy with how much I was paying and was thinking of switching. Their operative didn’t seem the least surprised. He explained that I was on ‘an old contract we don’t offer any more’. And he immediately offered me a new, cheaper contract, with a faster connection and a £3 a month ‘loyalty bonus’ (until October 2018).

So I am now paying £29.25 a month for my high-speed broadband service. I guess I could have saved a little more by switching to someone like Plusnet, but I didn’t want the hassle, and anyway the connection would have been slower.

I did think at the time that it would have been nice if Virgin Media had alerted me themselves to the fact that I was on an obsolete contract. It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that they were happy enough to go on taking my money so long as I was happy enough to go on paying it. But then again, it’s my fault as well for not reviewing how much I was paying sooner. As a money blogger I really should have known better!

Top Tips for Cutting Your Broadband Costs

Here then are my tips for reducing your broadband bill if you find yourself in a similar position to the one I was in…

• Don’t be afraid to phone up your ISP and see if you can get a better deal. The companies are well used to this and will often be happy to offer you a better rate rather than lose your custom entirely.
• Remember that broadband has become a commodity a bit like energy or mobile phone services. All the main ISPs have special offers and discounts running all the time. If you reach the end of an offer and are put on their ‘standard tariff’, call them up and ask if they have any better deals going. They almost certainly will, the only downside being that you may be tied in to using their service for another 12 or 18 months.
• But if you can’t get the deal you want, it’s easy enough to switch. In most cases you just sign up with a new supplier and they will make all the arrangements for you, including contacting your old ISP and arranging a changeover date. I recently helped a couple of friends switch from BT to Plusnet. It all went smoothly and they cut their monthly bill by more than half as well as getting £50 cashback. They are even still using their old BT modem/router, although I have tried hard to persuade them to switch to the more modern one provided by Plusnet!
• Be aware that in some cases it can actually work out cheaper to have a broadband and telephone service from one supplier than broadband alone. My own circumstances are a bit unusual. I do like the Vonage (VoIP) service, as it includes various free features that other suppliers charge extra for. But if I was starting over again now I could undoubtedly save money overall by buying my phone and broadband services from the same company.
• Make a point of reviewing your broadband costs at regular intervals and also any time your bill goes up or you reach the end of an offer. Don’t rely on the internet for this. There really is no substitute for phoning up your supplier’s sales or customer services department and negotiating politely but firmly.
• And finally, if you decide to switch, bear in mind you may be able to save even more money by joining your new provider via a cashback site such as Quidco or Top Cashback. You can read my recent blog post about cashback sites here.

Good luck, and if you have any comments, tips or questions about Virgin Media or switching broadband suppliers, please do post them below!

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