Last Updated on 23 June 2026 by Dan Wilderness
Hello everyone! One big change I made which saved me a lot was going a TV audit of what I was actually watching. On the back of that I cancelled Sky, and saved quite a bit by doing so. However in the past I’ve managed to get bills down quite considerably with both the major TV providers in Sky and Virgin Media, and today I’m sharing my strategies for doing so.
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Both Sky and Virgin Media maintain a number of deals which they’ll offer to customers who enquire about them! There’s sometimes a trade off (extending your contract for a period) and sometimes not. This one really is a case of “don’t ask don’t get.”
I’m actually a believer that both companies offer a pretty good product – but they should be considered a premium offering as they’re not cheap. One of the key tenets of The Financial Wilderness is to challenge your spending to make sure you are actually using something, and Sky and Virgin Media are a prime example!
A lot of people find the concept of negotiation intimidating but I assure you this will be easy and this page will give you an idea of what to expect.
I can only say that my experience with both Sky’s and Virgin’s customer services was always very positive and they’re by and large a very cheery bunch, even when you’re calling to cancel – especially when you’re speaking to the retentions teams who’s literal aim is to try and stop you cancelling no matter what.
At the end of this guide, you should have the confidence to haggle with Virgin Media or Sky!
How to haggle and negotiate with Sky and Virgin Media
Step 1: Research available deals from both Sky and Virgin Media
In order to negotiate effectively with a customer retentions team, you need to know what a good deal looks like.
In the case of Sky and Virgin Media they’re going to do all the work for us – as they try so so hard to bring in new customers but don’t reward loyalty quite so well…..
So whichever provider you’re with, go to the website of their rivals. Try and work out what package is closest to what you have now vs. what the rival offering and what the price difference is. It’s also worth looking at what your own provider is offering to new customers.
For ease:
Sky’s new customer deals page can be found here (it may not appear if you’re logged in) and Virgin Media’s new customer deals page can be found here.
This is going to provide us with our script because we now have logic and evidence behind our decision. You’ve got the means to say something like this:
“I’ve been a loyal Sky/Virgin Media customer for 5 years! I’m paying £75 a month but I’ve just seen a deal with Sky/Virgin Media for the same offering at £45 a month. I’m going to have to switch with that difference unless we can do something…..”
This sends a few signals. It tells the person we’re negotiating with we’re serious because we have hard information.
It also sets a clear dividing line between what they’re offering and what you’ve got – you see a gap and you’re trying to bridge it.
Step 2: Understand how Sky and Virgin Media’s retention teams referrals work
Now Sky and Virgin Media may potentially play a clever little trick at this point. They’ll ask to understand what services you use and what you watch. It’s all psychology.
This is partly to understand where they can honestly save you money, but also a way of getting you feeling nice and happy about those shows you watch on Sky/Virgin Media! If you love Game of Thrones for example, they’ll probably note this is on Sky Atlantic and you won’t be able to get it on Virgin Media….
Or with Virgin Media, they might run through included perks like O2 Priority and ask if you use them.
They’ll then run through a summary of what you’ve just told them and ask if they’ve got that right and you want to continue. Stay hard hearted and say yes!
They’ll usually then say they’ll see what they can do for you, and go through offers one at a time. If you’re looking for relatively low levels of hassle, most of these deals are usually pretty good – often 20% odd off for a year of extending your contract.
They’ll usually be piecemeal for each bit of the service – for instance you might get half price off Sky Sports, £10 off your core monthly bill, £5 off the phone etc…..
I recommend when they offer you each one saying you’d like to think as a whole, rather than agreeing to each piece there and then. It helps to make notes as you go so you can work out a total saving and if something is a good deal or not.
Finally they’ll ask you how it sounds. You may choose to say yes as the deal likely sounds good. However you can usually do better if you’re willing to hold your nerve. Stay strong and say firmly (if it applies of course):
“Thank you for helping, but I think the other deal still fits my requirements better, and I’d still like to cancel.”
Sometimes you’ll deal with the same person, but more often you’ll be transferred to retentions and cancellations, and this is where you can really do well.
(FYI – if you are legitimately interested in what they have now, walking away to “think about it” seems a sensible strategy but can backfire. The deals Sky/Virgin Media offer generally last for a couple of weeks – something else will be on, but it may not be the same thing you just got offered and will have to go through the process again. If you’re doing this, ask when an offer is valid until and ask them to note in their call system what you have been offered.)
Step 3 Haggling with Sky and Virgin Media Cancellation team / Customer Retention
By name, the cancellation department sounds like it should be simply there to guess what….. help you cancel! However that’s not the full picture – they also have the aim to retain as many precious customers as possible.
They’ll usually ask you to go over the reason again why you’re leaving, and acknowledge it. Reaffirm you’re sorry, but you just want to go.
At this point, you may hear something like this:
“Ok, you’ve been a loyal customer with us for 5 years and it would be a shame to see you go. I’ve had a look and we could do £x for the services you have now. How does that sound?”
This is likely to be the best offer you’ll get – when I was leaving recently, the offer at this stage was half what I was paying monthly. I was absolutely determined to cancel properly in my case but I have to admit – I was tempted.
If it sounds good, you probably want to think about taking this. If not, saying no will likely result in your cancellation going ahead. You may still get lucky with pushing things further, but this is usually an end point in your ability to haggle with Sky or Virgin Media without at least starting the cancellation process.
Step 4: Negotiate with Sky and Virgin Media Post-Cancellation Retention
About a week after you’ve cancelled, you may start getting calls on your registered number – try and pick these up if possible. This will be Sky/Virgin Media‘s last ditch attempt to try and get you back, and some people have had great deals.
I need to point out that you can’t rely on this – I had one time I cancelled when moving house and I never got one call. The most recent time I cancelled Sky I was bombarded with calls!
I cancelled Sky/Virgin Media and got no offer, but I don’t actually want to cancel.
First of all, make sure you’ve given it at least a week and ideally longer to see if you can pick up one of those magic post-cancellation calls from Sky or Virgin Media.
Sky and Virgin Media can er, cancel the cancellation process pretty quickly and be only too happy to keep you as a customer – just call their usual customer service line and tell them you’ve had a change of heart. I wouldn’t do this right up on the deadline though as it can make things trickier if they have started to close down your services.
What NOT to do to negotiate with Sky or Virgin
There’s a couple of things that can cause you to potentially miss out on the best deals with Sky or Virgin.
Switching without speaking to your existing provider
The UK Government introduce a new one touch switch rule which allows you to switch provider without speaking to your existing provider – only your new one.
This is a helpful consumer law, but it’s not necessarily the most effective way of saving money. If you’re absolutely set on moving to a new provider, it’s not a bad way to do it.
However if you think you would stay with your existing provider if a better cost exists, you miss out on speaking to the retention team – and as per the above, this is where all the good deals are sitting.
Taking an end contract deal
Sometimes Sky and Virgin Media will try and pre-empt a cancellation discussion by sending you some deals when you’re nearing the end of your contract. These are designed to lock you in again early.
And these are often pretty good – but they’re not the best deals you can get, and just for a little bit of extra effort that threat of actually leaving is enough for us to get something every better.
What is the best time to negotiate with Sky or Virgin Media?
The best time to negotiate with Sky or Virgin Media is when you are in a contractual position that means you’d face no penalty for leaving.
This is nearly always at the end of your contract with either provider with one exception.
The Sky 30 day Contract Price Rise loophole
It’s worth noting that if the price of your contract with Sky increases (even where expected) you have 30 days where you can exit penalty free.
If you’ve had a particularly large price rise, this is a great time to speak to the retentions team and see if you can offset it.
FAQ’s on Sky and Virgin Media Retentions
Yes, their retention and sales teams will welcome you back with open arms – just be aware there can be a point of no return if changes like removing a physical connection have been put in place.
While live chat is convenient, you will almost always secure a better deal by calling. Telephone agents in the retentions (or “thinking of leaving”) departments usually have higher authorisation limits for applying discounts and waving fees compared to standard front-line live chat agents.
Not at all, your customer service will remain exactly the same.
It’s possible, but it’s not an optimal position as you have less leverage given you’ll likely face a cancellation fee for leaving.
It is possible, but expect smaller discounts with an expectation of refreshing your contract to effectively start again.
Telecom companies rely heavily on “acquisition offers” (often sold at a loss) to get you through the door, banking on the fact that most customers are too busy or forgetful to switch when the price jumps up 18 months later. This “loyalty penalty” is exactly why existing customers have to proactively haggle at the end of every contract to get their bills brought back down to the new-customer rate.
Any questions/results from haggling with Virgin Media or Sky?
If you’ve had some success using this guide and managed to get a good deal with Sky or Virgin Media I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
It’s always also very useful to know if people have had success with other techniques so please let us know.
And if you have any questions on approaching Sky and Virgin Media, just leave them in the comments below.
And that’s it!
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I had this exact issue with Sky a few years ago. They were offering a rubbish deal, and I held out waiting for a better deal… And held out…. And then held out some more. Before I knew it, they had cancelled my package. I was a bit gutted, but had found a backup offer on BT. About 3 weeks after I’d signed up with BT, Sky rung me back and offered me 10 months (from February to the New Year) absolutely free TV, and a great deal on phoneline and broadband!! I was gutted as I had to turn it down at that point – typical!!
Ah it’s so annoying when they don’t bite! They literally said to me one time when they called too late ‘would you have taken a deal if we’d offered it’ and it was a yep!
Thanks for commenting!