New Customer Deals

[FortyTwo2]

I have been with Virgin for over 10 years and thinking about a move to sky.  I don’t know what (Virgin) speed I am paying for but I am getting around 140mb.  I have two boxes and sports added and after the annual increase next month I will be paying £88 a month.

I put a Sky ‘bundle’ together on-line starting with the 154mb Ultrafast internet speed, added the sports (£20) the ‘whole house’ (£11) ‘Talk Anytime’ (£12.5) – that came to £56.50 (because, for some reason the TV and Netflix was £0 but beneath that it says ‘offer valid for one month (I am guessing that means that the whole TV package is free for one month and then goes to £26?)).  If that is correct that would bring it to £82.50?  And then there is the question – do I need WiFI max (£6.50)?  If I do need that (how do I know if I need it) that would come to £89 a month (which is more than I am paying Virgin!)

I called Sky to try and get answers to my question and the guy on the other end was lazer focused on getting my personal detail down and signing me up for a package (I do understand that he is probably paid on commission but at this point I just want clear answers before making a decision to jump or not.

Are my numbers above correct £89 a month (is that the best deal I can get)?

Will it stay at £89 for 18 months or will it go up every 6 months?

If it does go up 6 months later does that break our contract allowing me to leave?

Do I need WiFi Max

[MarkGoldsmith]

No one can really answer if you need WiFi Max, personally id suggest starting without it and if it looks like you need it because you aren't getting a good WiFi signal across your property, add it at a later date.

Prices are not fixed for the 18 month contract, so whilst you would avoid the pay rise for next month as you are just joining, you would see a price rise in April 2025 if based on the UK. Sky currently allow broadband customers to leave penalty free within 30 days of being notified of the annual price rise however this doesn't apply to the TV subscription.

[twilight+princess]

If you're currently within 30 days of the contract ending you could see if Virginmedia will offer a retention deal. If not then you can cancel & hopefully you'll receive a call offering you an even better deal in order to keep your custom. Doing this you'd have to be prepared to leave though.

Netflix requires the Ultimate package & gives you Netflix basic (with ads) but you can upgrade to ad free for a price. Signature itself doesn't come with Netflix so that part of the package would require cancelling otherwise you may be charged for Ultimate.
The cost will rise every April so ensure the price shown includes the 2024 price rise, if not then you'll be paying more than with VM. No a use cannot cancel TV due to the price rise - Broadband yes though.

[FortyTwo2]

Thanks for the helpful replies  . . . . 

of course know I can haggle with Virgin and I know if I switched to Sky 18 months later I would be 'haggling' with Sky, the last time I haggled with Virgin I promised myself I would not do tha next time II would just switch . . . the question . . .  is switching going save me moeny or cost me more money?

On the question of do I need WiFi Max and the answer switch first and find out later is not an ideal solution - I have to admit that the fact that they are selling a system that might not work unless I pay more to make it work is not sitting well with me; I know from experience (my son with Virgin) had connectivity issues and they sent him an upgraded router and when that did do the job theysent him free Mesh.

[FortyTwo2]

One other question that has just popped into my head when thinking about what TV I watch and I do tend to record a lot of stuff and watch it later . . . does the Sky Stream had a record feature / ability?

[Mark39]

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@FortyTwo2 wrote:

On the question of do I need WiFi Max and the answer switch first and find out later is not an ideal solution - I have to admit that the fact that they are selling a system that might not work unless I pay more to make it work is not sitting well with me; 

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It may be prudent to budget on the basis that it IS required, since nobody can know one way or the other.

[Mark39]

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@FortyTwo2 wrote:

One other question that has just popped into my head when thinking about what TV I watch and I do tend to record a lot of stuff and watch it later . . . does the Sky Stream had a record feature / ability?

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No, no local recording facility. Everything is streamed, so if there's a programme you might previously have recorded, you'll be reliant on in being available for streaming 'on demand'.