Introducing Volt – the new supercharged service from Virgin Media O2

[Chris_K]

UPDATE: We've seem some repeat questions and common issues being raised. We've added an update here so if you're experiencing issues, please read this first and see our post-weekend update here too.

Good morning all. What a week this is going to be! This morning we have introduced Volt to the world, the new supercharged service from Virgin Media O2. Our press release was published here this morning with notes and sources, but I've copied the juicy bits below.

Whether you're an O2 customer, a VM customer, both, or none, you can check out our handy website here which will show you how you can get supercharged.

Can I get Volt benefits for everyone in my household who’s on O2?

If you have Virgin Media broadband in your name, you’ll be able to get Volt benefits for all O2 Pay Monthly plans in your name, in your household. But we’re expanding this. Soon, anyone in your household with their own O2 Pay Monthly plan will be able to get Volt benefits through the household’s Virgin Media broadband account. Keep an eye on My O2 and you’ll see the option to activate Volt benefits when it becomes available to you, and you can also stay up to date by visiting https://www.o2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2

First joint product gives customers the best of both brands, with even greater value on UK’s fastest major broadband provider and award winning mobile network

• Volt marks the first major launch since Virgin Media and O2’s £31bn merger earlier this year
• Gig 1 broadband available for the first time in a bundle, combined with an unlimited data O2 SIM and TV favourites
• Existing customers simply need to register to get their services supercharged – for free
• Volt brings faster broadband speeds, double mobile data and discounts

London, UK: Virgin Media O2 is today lifting the lid on its first ever joint product, Volt, bringing together award winning connectivity and amazing entertainment from both Virgin Media and O2, to give customers even more from their services – more speed, more data and more value.

Virgin Media and O2 customers can now supercharge their services and reap extra rewards simply by being customers of both brands. Volt offers double the broadband speed, double the mobile data and discounts on connected devices when customers have or choose to take a broadband service from Virgin Media and a Pay Monthly plan from O2. What’s more, customers with an O2 plan can access exclusive rewards, perks and experiences from Priority – one of the UK’s best loyalty initiatives.

The new joint offering comes less than 150 days since Virgin Media O2 launched, building on the company’s momentum of almost 13 million gigabit premises passed and 5G coverage from O2 expanded to 210 locations. Volt highlights Virgin Media O2’s commitment to offer more choice, convenience and innovation with seamless broadband, entertainment and mobile services all available under one roof.

Exclusive Virgin Media O2 Volt benefits include:

• A broadband speed boost to the next tier available (e.g. 100Mbps boosted to 200Mbps)
• Double mobile data on all eligible O2 Pay Monthly plans (e.g. 10GB boosted to 20GB)
• Up to £150 off a connected device such as a tablet or smartwatch when taking a new O2 Pay Monthly Custom plan
• WiFi Pods available to bolster connectivity around the home
• Roaming in 75 countries including USA, Australia and Spain with O2 Travel

Volt is available to both new and existing customers, offering exclusive benefits to account holders no matter what broadband package or eligible Pay Monthly plan they take. Those new to either Virgin Media or O2 will be able to upgrade to Volt when they add relevant services to their connectivity line-up, while existing customers of both Virgin Media and O2 simply need to enrol via MyO2 to get their services supercharged – at no additional cost.

Jeff Dodds, Chief Operating Officer at Virgin Media O2 said,

“With Volt, we’re combining the speed and reliability of Virgin Media’s broadband and O2’s mobile networks alongside a variety of incredible perks to give our customers more.

“The launch of converged services in less than 150 days as a business is a huge milestone moment and demonstrates the momentum we have behind our commitment to supercharge connectivity across the UK. This is just the start.”

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This exciting milestone for Virgin Media O2 means that consumers who do not currently take services from either brand can supercharge their package with Volt from the get-go, with new bundles containing an O2 SIM and Virgin Media broadband available on 18 month contracts. The new packages include the ‘Big Volt’ bundle, ‘Bigger Volt’ bundle and ‘Ultimate Volt’ bundle, all of which come with the exclusive Volt benefits and boosts to offer customers more. Pricing for Volt bundles start from £40 per month for 200Mbps Broadband (boosted from 100Mbps), Talk More Weekends and a 10GB O2 SIM (boosted from 5GB). The top Volt bundle (Ultimate Volt bundle) includes Gig1 broadband, an unlimited data O2 SIM, tonnes of TV favourites and two TV 360 boxes, available for £99 per month.

Supercharging small businesses

Small businesses and start-ups who take a Voom broadband service from Virgin Media Business and an eligible O2 Small Biz tariff can also supercharge their services, with 4G start-up and back-up, double mobile data and exclusive perks from Priority.

Virgin Media O2 is the leading converged challenger in the market, pairing O2’s award winning mobile network and the UK’s fastest major broadband provider to enhance connectivity for customers at home and on the go. With Virgin Media’s rapid gigabit broadband rollout and O2’s commitment to deliver 5G to half the UK population in 2023, Virgin Media O2 is just getting started.

[Martin-O2]

Thanks for the tag on this topic @madasaf1sh!

I've passed on the questions and issues to the team. I'll update you all here once I get a response and if I need any details to help us investigate I'll contact some of you directly via private message. 

[Chris_K]

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the delay but it's been a busy week with the launch of Volt, but I understand some of you are experiencing issues or had some questions, so I wanted to pop in and confirm some of what we've been seeing, and help clarify some things too.

Some repeat questions I've seen, with some FAQ's below

Q. In my household, one person pays the O2 bill and another pays the Virgin Media bill. Why are we not eligible for Volt benefits?

A. You will be soon. But right now, Volt benefits are only available when the Virgin Media and O2 accounts are under the same name. Keep an eye on My O2, you’ll see the option to activate Volt benefits when it becomes available to you, and you can also stay up to date by visiting https://www.o2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2

Q. Can I get Volt benefits for everyone in my household who’s on O2?

A. If you had Virgin Media broadband in your name, you’d be able to get Volt benefits for all O2 Pay Monthly plans in your name, in your household. But we’re expanding this. Soon, anyone in your household with their own O2 Pay Monthly plan will be able to get Volt benefits through the household’s Virgin Media broadband account. Keep an eye on My O2, you’ll see the option to activate Volt benefits when it becomes available to you, and you can also stay up to date by visiting https://www.o2.co.uk/virgin-media-o2

Q. Can I change the name on one account to become eligible for Volt?

A. O2 – You can transfer the ownership, but it’s subject to verification checks, including credit checks – we can’t guarantee it’ll be successful

Virgin Media – You won’t be able to transfer responsibility. You’d have to close your existing account and create a new one under the new name (this will require credit checks and a new contract). It also means you’d lose your Virgin Media service for up to 24 hours and lose any discounts you may have.

Q. I already have unlimited data from O2, how can I still benefit from Volt? I’m not benefitting. I get any benefits/can I downgrade my tariff.

A. There are many other benefits that come with Volt. From O2, you can also get O2 Travel Inclusive Zone to roam in 75 destinations. From Virgin Media, you can get a broadband speed boost to the next available level (if you aren’t already on the fastest speeds you can get in your area), and up to three free WiFi Pods.

Q. I’m already on the maximum Virgin Media broadband speed for my postcode, how can I still benefit from Volt?

A. There are many other benefits that come with Volt. From Virgin Media, you can also get up to three free WiFi Pods to remove any blackspots in our home. From O2, you can get double your mobile data on all O2 Pay Monthly plans in your name, in your household. You also get O2 Travel Inclusive Zone to roam in 75 destinations.

Some issues I've seen raised, that we're aware of and working on

Getting Volt on top of Oomph

For Oomph customers, you're getting TV, fixed line, broadband and Virgin Mobile. Volt is available for customers of both VM and O2, and as Oomph comes with Virgin Mobile - not O2 - then you won't be eligible, unless you also have an O2 mobile number in the same name and address as your VM account, then you can still benefit from Volt - though if you're already on the fastest available broadband speed in your area, you won't receive any speed boost there.

"You already have Volt benefits, or can't get them in your area"

We've seen a fair few reports of this and we realise the copy isn't great and it's something we're working on and hope to improve soon to make it clearer. In the majority of cases with this we have seen that Volt has already been applied for (perhaps you done this via the My O2 app or contacted O2 or VM to apply it) and will take up to 14 days for the benefits to be applied. If after the 14 days nothing has happened, it may be worth getting in touch with our CS teams to check.

Name/address mismatch

You may also see the above "You already have Volt benefits, or can't get them in your area" message if your name and/or address doesn't match across both O2 and VM accounts. We have built in some resiliency to recognise a lack of space between the two halves of a postcode for example, but Jim vs James or Charlie vs Charlotte for example are very different names and likely to prevent you being eligible for Volt, unless you're able to update your name to your official name and what you were credit checked against.

Getting sent around in a loop

If you're getting stuck in a loop of "Would you like your plan supercharged with Volt?" then this is something we're currently looking into. We have no further updates or ETA for a resolution, so please try again in a few days or wait for an update from us here.

[anticpated]

So far no correspondence from virginmedia about any of those. I guess my area has no support for faster speeds.

[madasaf1sh]

Thanks @Chris_K 

It's much appreciated and I think will curve a lot frustrations around the FAQ's and expectations. 

However :

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@Chris_K wrote:

Getting Volt on top of Oomph

For Oomph customers, you're getting TV, fixed line, broadband and Virgin Mobile. Volt is for customers of both VM and O2, and as Oomph comes within Virgin Mobile - not O2 - then you won't be eligible. IF however you also have an O2 mobile number in the same name and address as your VM account, then you CAN still benefit from Volt - you just won't get the broadband speed boost as you'll already be on the fastest available.

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Virgin Media are saying you get nothing for being on Oomph if you have o2 contract as well, from either Virgin or o2, so basically you pay top whack and get nowt....  

In my case I have 4 lines with o2 (mine and the missus, and a laptop and another data sim) as well as the VM Gig 1 Ooomph ( I work in IT :), thats my excuse and im sticking to it)... 

So as you can understand im more confused....

[TheRonin]

"For Oomph customers, you're getting TV, fixed line, broadband and Virgin Mobile. Volt is for customers of both VM and O2, and as Oomph comes within Virgin Mobile - not O2 - then you won't be eligible. IF however you also have an O2 mobile number in the same name and address as your VM account, then you CAN still benefit from Volt - you just won't get the broadband speed boost as you'll already be on the fastest available."

thats not correct, im on oomph and the fasted speed in my area in 1gig and im on the 600mb service. so are we saying i wont get the upgrade? totally misleading advertising from both virgin and O2.

[madasaf1sh]

@TheRonin 

Yep that is seemingly the case im afraid...  I upgraded to Gig1 on Ultimate oomph, and am on o2 but seems we get treated very badly

And still getting conflicting answers from VM and o2...

[Outthedoor]

OK, so as a 'pay as you go' big data bundle customer (x2 with two sims) you aren't eligible for Volt. Bit misleading as you have to pay for these pay as you go sims MONTHLY, but you don't count as being a MONTHLY customer.

[CarDex2020]

"For Oomph customers, you're getting TV, fixed line, broadband and Virgin Mobile. Volt is for customers of both VM and O2, and as Oomph comes within Virgin Mobile - not O2 - then you won't be eligible. IF however you also have an O2 mobile number in the same name and address as your VM account, then you CAN still benefit from Volt - you just won't get the broadband speed boost as you'll already be on the fastest available."

This is not true. I'm on m600. Gig1 is available in my area and I'm with O2 

Im happy for my vm sim to change to the O2 equivalent (all unlimited) but I refuse to pay extra when it states the speed boost is free 

I've enrolled via myo2 so I'm hoping O2 will feed through to vm and I get my speed boost to gig1 and hopefully hub 5

I have an open complaint with vm as they just keep trying to sell me a new package at a higher cost to me. Not just apply the speed boost as advertised will happen for being with vm and O2 

[madasaf1sh]

I opened one as well with VM last night....

So VM Social Media Team - You get nowt from anyone

o2 - You get some

Vmo2 - 

Can we get a definitive answer.............

[TheRonin]

You already have Volt benefits, or can't get them in your area

thats what i get which isnt correct. looks like they've made a right co*ck up of this.