UPDATE2 Virgin Media to Raise Broadband and Phone Prices on 24th Nov

New customers of cable operator Virgin Media (Liberty Global) look set to face higher prices after sources informed ISPreview.co.uk that a series of rises are due to be announced on Monday 24th November 2014.

The move, which follows hot on the heels of an August 2014 increase for existing subscribers (here), is expected to see Virgin Phone Line rental increase by around +£1 per month (possibly taking it to £16.99) and some broadband bundles are also anticipated to be hiked by a similar amount or possibly more.

In general we’re expecting that the increases will broadly mirror last year’s announcement (here) and thus represents somewhat of a seasonal change, which predictably mirrors the movements of other ISPs across the industry (Virgin Media are traditionally among the last of the big players to adjust what they charge).

Unfortunately Virgin Media weren’t yet willing to confirm the details and a spokesperson told ISPreview.co.uk that they hadn’t yet communicated any changes to customers, which usually occurs before the official announcement. We hope to have more details in the future.

UPDATE 19th November 2014

As promised yesterday. Virgin Media has just confirmed to us that they’re today writing to their customers to let them know of any changes that affect them as part of the annual review of prices. Some services remain unchanged, such as the home phone talk plans and call connection charges, however most customers will see their bills increase by 5.9% on average from February 2015.

Dana Strong, Chief Operating Officer at Virgin Media, told ISPreview.co.uk:

“Some of our prices are changing so we can continue to invest in giving our customers more of what they want – the best entertainment packages and unbeatable superfast broadband.

There are no changes to our call charges or talk plans. We’re doing everything we can to keep any increase as low as possible, especially for our existing customers.”

So what’s changing?

* There will be a £1 increase on Virgin Media landlines but no changes to call plans or call connection fees. The voicemail service remains free alongside free calls to Virgin Mobiles and directory enquiries.

* Pre-paid annual Line Rental Saver will change to £164 (i.e. the equivalent of £13.66 per month, which is up sharply from just £12 today).

* Big Bundles are increasing by £3, except for Big Kahuna and Big Daddy which are increasing by £4.50 – this includes the line rental increase. These remain outstanding value compared to other competitor alternatives.

* Existing broadband-only customers whose prices changed on 1st October 2014 are unaffected.

UPDATE 27th Nov 2014

Some of Virgin Media’s customers have been confused by the letters they’ve received, with a few complaining that Virgin doesn’t break down their charges (i.e. they can’t see where the changes are coming from) and others worried that they’re being charged more than the above stated changes suggest.

For example, we know that standard line rental is going up by +£1 and the Big Kahuna is going up by £3.50 (£4.50 combined), while line rental saver jumps to the equivalent of £13.66 per month. But some customers who take, for example, Big Kahuna, are told they’ll be charged £4.50 extra even though they’ve already gobbled pre-paid line rental at the existing / lower price (i.e. it should be £3.50 since the line rental increase wouldn’t apply.. yet).

A Virgin Media Spokesperson told ISPreview.co.uk:

“The new prices quoted in letter for customers who take our Line Rental Saver option will include the £1 increase to their line rental as the price of their underlying bundle is changes. We need to notify customers of this as this change will affect them when they come to the end of their Line Rental Saver period (unless they renew Line Rental Saver).

However, the letters also state if customers have Line Rental Saver, some of their price change won’t happen until the end of their Line Rental Saver period. This is explained in the ‘Things to note’ section of the letters.

To your question about how price changes are presented, previous customer feedback indicated our bills could be simpler and since then we’ve simplified our billing with positive feedback from our customers.”