New Virgin Media packages pass on price rises

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Only the VIP Bundle - which offers everything Virgin Media do in terms of TV - has remained the same in content and name, although it's risen in price by £2.

People looking at getting one of the smaller bundles will need to look closely to see the differences - but those who want more from Virgin could find themselves surprised by how much prices have changed since yesterday.

Existing customers are also being told of the new prices they can expect to be paying come November 1st - but they do at least have the option to leave if they don't like the news.

Farewell "Big" bundles

The new triple play bundles look like this:

	Package	Includes	Contract term	Upfront price	Monthly price
	Player Bundle	50Mb fibre + 70+ channels + weekend calls	18 months	£35	£38
	Mix Bundle	50Mb fibre + 150+ channels + weekend calls	12 months	£25	£45 for 12 mths, then £58
	Fun Bundle	100Mb fibre + 190+ channels + weekend calls	12 months	£20	£49 for 12 mths, then £57
	Full House Bundle	100Mb fibre + 245 channels + weekend calls	18 months	£35	£40
	VIP Bundle	200Mb fibre + 245+ channels plus Sky Sports in HD and Sky Cinema + V HD box + anytime calls	12 months	£25	£99 for 12 mths, then £139

After offering all their products, even the triple play deals, on 12-month terms for a while, Virgin have decided to bring back the 18-month contract for both these bundles and any broadband plus phone bundles sold from today on.

Only the VIP Bundle looks to have come through relatively unscathed, as it offers everything it's possible to get from Virgin in TV terms.

Drawing broad parallels with the old bundles gives us some idea of what's changed beyond the names, and what's stayed the same.

The first thing to note is that compared to the old packages, all bar the VIP Bundle offer more channels. It's not just the number of channels that's changed, but in some cases the channels themselves have moved around.

What else has changed

Virgin told us the intention was to "make it simpler and easier for people to buy TV... based on the genres they love".

But they also say themselves that the 70 or so channels people will get with the Player Bundle are "all the essential free to air channels", and that the catch up services are also only those found on free TV.

To get any of the Sky channels Virgin offer requires getting the Mix Bundle at the very least - although there are far more paid for channels alongside them now. The Mix Bundle looks cheaper than its predecessor too - but note that Virgin have downgraded the broadband from 100Mb to 50Mb.

The Fun Bundle has more channels than the old "Big" version, for not much more per month; it looks like a similar story with the Big Kahuna to Full House transition.

It's a different story when it comes to the offshoots of the Full House Bundle however.

	Package	Includes	Contract term	Upfront price	Monthly price
	Full House Movies Bundle	200Mb fibre + 245+ channels plus Sky Cinema + weekend calls	18 months	Free	£65
	Full House Sports Bundle	100Mb fibre + 245+ channels plus Sky Sports + weekend calls	18 months	Free	£70
	Full House Sports & Movies Bundle	200Mb fibre + 245+ channels plus Sky Sports and Sky Cinema + weekend calls	18 months	£35	£81 for 12 mths, then £113.50

Compare those prices with their Big Kahuna equivalents:

The big shock is in the difference in price between the Big Kahuna Movies and Full House Movies Bundles - an increase of £17 per month.

Being generous, it's possible that a good £8 or so of that price rise is because the Full House Movies package comes with 200Mb broadband as standard.

Virgin referred to the Big Kahuna Movies deal as a "limited edition", as the standard and Sports versions of the package came with 100Mb fibre - as do their new Full House equivalents.

Even so, it's a steep increase to swallow.

When we asked Virgin about the size of those increases, they told us that the new deals were being priced to fall in line with those that'll be paid by existing customers after November 1st.

Price rises for existing customers

The observant may have noticed that in the top table above, the price of the bundles including line rental is £19 higher than without.

What new customers face now, existing Virgin Media phone customers will experience from November - Virgin's line rental will be increasing from £17.99 per month to £19, even more expensive (just) than BT's line rental (which is £18.99).

Line Rental Saver will also be increasing, from £184 for 12 months to £196.

All broadband-only packages will increase in price by £2.99 per month - but those who take broadband with phone, or a triple play bundle, will see their entire bill go up by £3.49.

Customers whose bundle or package was sold to them on special offer terms - most likely those still within their minimum contracts - will see their monthly bills rise in line with the terms of their special offer.

Say they signed up to the Big Fun deal for £30 instead of £40, with the discount in place for 12 months.

Their bundle costs 75% of the usual price - so from November, as long as they're still within that discount period, their bill will rise by 75% of £3.49 per month (about £2.60 a month).

Everyone affected should be receiving letters explaining how their bills will change - and those who really don't like what they're being told have two choices.

The first is the simplest: under Ofcom rules, they have 30 days from being notified to cancel their contract without penalty - and if that's the case there are plenty of alternatives to choose from here.

The other is for the braver out there: stay put but be willing to haggle a better deal. We've a guide to tactics here.