Pricing Increase | Agree and dis-agree

[jmcleandavis]

I've been reading a lot about these 'pricing' increases. While, of course, I don't want to pay anything more than I have to. Saving money is always a good thing. I can understand why the prices are going up. It's part of a business model to make money. There is no going around it. If a profit is not made, the company can-not thrive and we would be back at the larger companies. Also, with the CRTC not assisting companies like VMedia in protecting them from the increasing fees while doing business in this sector.

VMedia keeping there prices static and not raising it is like us only making a $12 per hour, no matter how much inflation goes up. Very unreasonable, right? Anyone not understanding that, needs to read online to understand how a company survives.

Now, with that said. I've always been an advocate on your side, VMedia. But, the lack of any notice above 4 days is very unprofessional. Understand this, I have no problem paying a little bit extra, while approx. 20% is a rather large overhaul, I understand the industry and accept it. But, we as customers should get the respect of notice. While you are increasing your costs to provide for your company, and keep up with the expenses, don't forget - we pay those expenses via out monthly bills.

I work with a company that prides itself in a "customers first" value - to be honest, that is the only way to survive.

If I would have read the SAME email 15 days earlier - I honestly wouldn't have cared and continues like nothing happened. But only 4-days notice and no 'real' responses to many serious concerns (although, a lot of non-sense is being said as well), unacceptable.

Again, I have no issues paying more if it means (a) VMedia stays in business (b) it is a reasonable increase (c) helps improve out service, but please, next time a project/initiative like this is done, ensure you choose a prime that understands the value of the customers paying for said services.

Just my 2-cents...

NOTE: It would be great if I had a personal response via email from a higher management.

[Illegalincrease]

Know your rights as a consumer.

1. The crtc has ruled that a material change to a consumer Agreement (such as a large price increase) when done unilaterally must be conveyed to the consumer with no less than 30 days written Notice. That bring said, the Notice received today does not conform to acceptable standards and is void.

2. In January of 2015 the CRTC ruled that consumers are no longer required to provide 30 days notice or to exit a contract. Notice may be given on the same day that service is being requested to be cancelled.

What are your options?

1. Switch vendors (which I recommend, as this company is clearly on their last leg and has no clear business plan) by cancelling service, effective end of February. No additional notice is required nor shall any additional fees be levied.

2. Ignore the fare increase as they must provide 30 days notice, which they have failed to do. The earliest this increase can come into existence is April 01. You could cance the service effective that date and use all of March under your old rate.

If Vmedia contest option 2 then you can file a motion with the CRTC and Vmedia will lose and be sanctioned.

This company deserves to go out of business. Completely unacceptable standards for communicating such material changes to pricing.

[katburglars]

thinking Vm might have under-estimated their consumers... short memories, no other viable choices, forgiving, short of cash to switch, not very resourceful - HUGE mistake...this backlash will be felt for a VERY long time and be their final undoing - we, Canadians, don't have the same mentality as those (customers) in the eastern block - we do NOT accept these unfair tactics, sitting down.

[gflogic]

Know your rights as a consumer.

1. The crtc has ruled that a material change to a consumer Agreement (such as a large price increase) when done unilaterally must be conveyed to the consumer with no less than 30 days written Notice. That bring said, the Notice received today does not conform to acceptable standards and is void.

2. In January of 2015 the CRTC ruled that consumers are no longer required to provide 30 days notice or to exit a contract. Notice may be given on the same day that service is being requested to be cancelled.

What are your options?

1. Switch vendors (which I recommend, as this company is clearly on their last leg and has no clear business plan) by cancelling service, effective end of February. No additional notice is required nor shall any additional fees be levied.

2. Ignore the fare increase as they must provide 30 days notice, which they have failed to do. The earliest this increase can come into existence is April 01. You could cance the service effective that date and use all of March under your old rate.

If Vmedia contest option 2 then you can file a motion with the CRTC and Vmedia will lose and be sanctioned.

Thank you, this is very informative. Would you mind attaching links to your points ? I intend to bring this up to customer service.

Best.

[HMR6518]

I have been reading the comments here, with great interest. Normally I do not post to forums, but I thought, in this case, I should weigh in here. I do (almost) apologize for the length of this post. I have been a customer of Vmedia since May 2014 and have, for the most part, been quite satisfied with the service. There have been problems (most notably the December issue) , but nothing to the scale I have seen other customers complaining about. My Internet speeds have been fairly consistent, never dropping anywhere near the levels others have posted on this forum. Maybe I have been lucky. TV works when I need it.

If asked whether I receive value for the money I pay, the answer would be yes. My decision to completely break ties with Rogers stemmed from pricing, pixelated TV reception (weekly), the misrepresentation about discount duration and pricing and the customer support people who constantly blamed my equipment for Internet problems that originated with them and on and on.
Does the price increase bother me? I would have to say, not that much. It is a fool’s paradise to think increases would never occur and $10 is not that big a deal, to me anyway. Do I think the lead time provided for the increase could have been handled better, of course, but it is what it is. Life is too short to get an ulcer over something like this. Hopefully they learn from this. Yet, I read about a few people, threatening to leave, have in fact been with a number of providers and have never been happy enough to stay with any of them. I guess Utopia does not exist. It’s sad that I have to put that on the shelf with Santa and the Easter bunny.

It always amazes me how passionate people become when their personal tech is tampered with, but don't seem to get as excited about governments wasting billions of dollars. I wonder how many people complaining about their TV and Internet service have, at the very least, contacted their MPP to voice their displeasure over wasted taxpayer dollars. I know I have. Funny how they won’t take this lying down, but will bend over for our politicians and even provide the lubricant.

Do I want Vmedia to fix the current problems for everyone, of course I do. In fact, as a customer I expect it. Do I get really angry when glitches do occur, not so much. Annoyed maybe, but Rogers annoyed me and I paid extra for the privilege. Having spent most of my working career in the IT field I understand that problems occur no matter how hard you try to prevent them. It is the nature of the beast. Fix them and get on with it. In my opinion Vmedia has been listening too much to the complaints of customers on this forum and instead of taking the time to correct issues properly, have been applying bandade patches, hoping to quell the constant uproar. Hmmm, sounds like an NHL team in Toronto, but I digress.

For those that will comment about me being an employee of Vmedia, I can asure you I am not. I am a customer, just like almost everyone on this forum. If that is too hard to believe, first, I don’t care and second, I could also put forward some thoughts in the other direction. It just seems a bit curious that there are those that seem to be stirring the pot here, just a little too hard. I could postulate there are forum members with multiple accounts attempting to get a rise out of the members. I understand that people are upset and would leave Vmedia, that's their right. But attempts to incite an exit "en masse" seems a bit suspicious. When I left Rogers, I could care less who left or who stayed. Tech Savy seems to get some airplay here, even to the point of quoting prices. In addition, these people must have some very significant inside knowledge about Vmedia to suggest they have no business model, are going under or ready to be sold. WOW, I would like some quality time with that crystal ball. That's my perception, based on some recent posts.

By the way, I noted a post that , while not offering their name, said Vmedia’s direct competitor is offering a $100 refundable deposit. I checked it out and it’s true. Their TV and 10/1 internet package is free for one month. They will give you your $100 deposit back if you don’t like it. Be still my heart. Their other packages are no bargain when factoring a comparable set of services. So that is out for me.

One last note. Just out of curiosity, I called Rogers yesterday to get a quote for all of the TV/Internet services I now get from Vmedia (not that I would actually switch back). This means subscribing to a tier package that has most of the channels I now receive, adding in TMN/HBO of course. Since I don't want to lower my Internet requirements I have to move up to the 60/10 package (120 gigs download)from my current 45/4. They were very happy to offer me a 10% discount for two years on TV, Internet and equipment rental. Sounded good, but I already knew what was coming next. Quoted price (discount and tax included) was $60 dollars a month more than I am paying now. Thank you and goodbye. If I am going to get screwed, I refuse to pay for the lube.

Anyway, that's about it. Just my own thoughts and opinions. I apologize for the length of this post. Have at it if you are so inclined. I have no interest in getting into a pissing contest since that, aside from being unhygienic, leads nowhere.

Just one last thought. I would suggest that Vmedia restrict this forum to customers only. Having seen rants from those that are no longer customers is actually irritating and counterproductive.

Enjoy your stay or departure, whatever.

[BladeZX]

Very nice post HMR6518.
I agree that I am not upset about the $10 increase. I am annoyed that we did not get 30 days notice. My experience has been the same as yours... internet works fine (DSL) and my TV is 95% perfect for the most part.
I do agree they should restrict the forum to actual customers.

[whitby]

I am not impressed with the VERY short notice, did somebody just all of a sudden wake up at Vmedia and realize "HOLY SH*T WE NEED MORE CASH RIGHT NOW!!"?
But the increase for me works out to less than the price of one pizza a month and I really should be eating less pizza anyways
I am not ready to jump ship just yet even though I feel the way in which they implemented this price increase was horrendous, it is still a slightly better deal for me than the other guys.
This increase may actually help us out a bit, the increase is bound to slow down the influx of new customers and maybe give Vmedia some breathing room to deal with the bandwidth issues.
I just hope they learned how disappointed we are with the way they treated us and treat us better in future.
I also hope that they use this extra revenue wisely to give us better service.

[ch00ch]

I've already cancelled my account and am switching providers, they better give me the pro-rated amount on my bill. If I receive a bill for the full amount, I'll be fighting it tooth and nail.

[pbeaul]

Very good post HMR6518, I largely agree and find it a little funny that people are so delusional to think that Rogers might give a shit about them... Or that any of the Big three value "loyal" customers.

But I simply can't understand why/how Vmedia keeps doing these things to themselves. I've watched George Burger on TV a handful of time and all signs point to a guy that know his stuff and someone that has been around the block a few times, but then we constantly see vmedia initiating these completely avoidable PR disasters. VMedia is constantly shooting themselves in the foot for no good reason, and worst of all I'm not even sure they're learning from the mistakes.

This latest debacle largely could have been largely avoided by giving people time to digest the info. From my impression, many here on the forums were extremely frustrated in the service they've been receiving and anyone with a brain should have known that many of these people were very close to the edge and didn't need VMedia to push them off (unless that's the ulterior motive...) by basically giving them more bad news and then trying to cram it down their throat with a 4 day notice...

Like you, my service has been fairly stable and reliable and on the whole I think I get a pretty decent value for what I'm paying for, and I also would be lying if I said I didn't see something like this coming... But I'm also not one of the people experiencing 10 - 15% of my speeds during prime-time. If I was one of those people I'd probably be a little pissed, which makes it easy to understand why there is so much anger and resistance from people that already feel like they've been under served and most likely feel they deserve a rebate not a price hike.

So in the end I get all the anger, and I hope that people do vote with their wallets as that's likely to be the only way VMedia learns from these kinds of missteps. But anyone that feels the need to incite a quit mob really needs to evaluate the priorities in their lives. VMedia isn't a cabal of billionaires trying to screw you over so that they can take over the world, they're a tiny company trying to compete against the largest corporations in Canada to hopefully give us consumers more/better choices.

[giggabotch]

HMR6518 you are spot on with your post, I agree.

[Paradyme]

I'll be sticking around. All these people leaving means I might finally get my moneys worth in bandwidth and it will be cheaper then Robbers and Bell!

[GeorgeBurger]

Thank you for your gracious comments, HMR6518, and the support of others. I could not agree more with the criticism expressed by jmcleandavis, whitby, BladeZX and many others about our timing. I can assure you that it was not our preference to shorten the notice period as we did, and would have avoided it as much as possible. We are very aware of the expectations of our subscribers, and the foundation of our business strategy is to not insult our subscribers' intelligence or take advantage of their good nature and support by engaging in unprofessional business practices.We were simply and suddenly confronted with a major bump in our internet costs, and knew we had to finally raise our prices, for the first time in two years, in March. Unfortunately the implementation of the adjustment process in our admin took longer than we expected, but despite the delay, and the awareness of its impact on our subscribers, we could not put off the notice to next month.The anger is understandable, and it stings, but it is deserved. We will do better.

[Swift]

I was also about to jump on here with my appreciation of the more thoughtful and balanced recent comments.

Long term price rises were inevitable, as anyone who has paid attention to VMedia's own lobbying will have observed. VMedia have long been on the side of a fairer playing field in the industry, and that in turn should flow through to the customer. I appreciate George standing up and taking it in public once again. Who else in this industry says the anger is deserved and stings no matter how obviously true?

I have been a customer since August 2013. I know the frustrations with IPTV especially which forced me to drop the service.

However, since I am now using substantially less Gigs than with 3 IPTV connected Vboxes, why should I, and customers like me, be singled out for paying a $10 internet increase and not a $5 internet increase which applies to all the others?

I get that the CRTC requires the tying of IPTV with internet and that CBB was designed to hit you hard and has, but why punish those loyal customers who tried your IPTV and it failed them? Your cost base is lower now for such customers, please reflect that in how you treat them. Thanks.

[katburglars]

Thank you for your gracious comments, HMR6518, and the support of others. I could not agree more with the criticism expressed by jmcleandavis, whitby, BladeZX and many others about our timing. I can assure you that it was not our preference to shorten the notice period as we did, and would have avoided it as much as possible. We are very aware of the expectations of our subscribers, and the foundation of our business strategy is to not insult our subscribers' intelligence or take advantage of their good nature and support by engaging in unprofessional business practices.We were simply and suddenly confronted with a major bump in our internet costs, and knew we had to finally raise our prices, for the first time in two years, in March. Unfortunately the implementation of the adjustment process in our admin took longer than we expected, but despite the delay, and the awareness of its impact on our subscribers, we could not put off the notice to next month.The anger is understandable, and it stings, but it is deserved. We will do better.

it is what it is, im trying to look at all angles - your current customer base has every right to air/vent their displeasure with this, "yet another bungled communication" - we (loyal customers) are not sure what to make of this and/or which was worse - the amount or the short notice? either way it smacks as insulting. you can disagree and offer apologies till the sun don't shine...

no way this was going to be accepted by the majority without this backlash..will you be around in a year's time and have 24/7 tech support , having fixed all the S/W issues, etc? time will tell, just give us what we pay for, THAT is all customers expect, no more no less, jeez i sound like a broken record...lol

[Illegalincrease]

Thank you for your gracious comments, HMR6518, and the support of others. I could not agree more with the criticism expressed by jmcleandavis, whitby, BladeZX and many others about our timing. I can assure you that it was not our preference to shorten the notice period as we did, and would have avoided it as much as possible. We are very aware of the expectations of our subscribers, and the foundation of our business strategy is to not insult our subscribers' intelligence or take advantage of their good nature and support by engaging in unprofessional business practices.We were simply and suddenly confronted with a major bump in our internet costs, and knew we had to finally raise our prices, for the first time in two years, in March. Unfortunately the implementation of the adjustment process in our admin took longer than we expected, but despite the delay, and the awareness of its impact on our subscribers, we could not put off the notice to next month.The anger is understandable, and it stings, but it is deserved. We will do better.

Did your firm ever consider to make the cost increase effective March 1 but to only charge the cost difference effective April with an accrual in charges for the month of March 1? This gives people time to move to another provider without holding a gun to their head. VMedia's only advantage was that it was cheaper. For 10 dollars more I can move to Rogers and have 150 mbps instead of the 60 with Vmedia.