Yahoo Finance Virgin Media customers can upgrade to its latest TV box for free
Users of Virgin Media will be able to upgrade to its newest set-top TV model for free from today.
A £20 “activation” charge for the V6 version has been scrapped in what Virgin describes as one of the “largest customer upgrade programmes” ever carried out.
About one in four customers already have the latest box, which has been available since December 2016 and lets viewers record up to six shows at once, while watching another recording at the same time.
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Anyone who pays for a Virgin TV and broadband bundle will be able to upgrade their older set-top box for Virgin TV’s new V6 box at no additional cost.
Virgin has about 5 million subscribers in the UK and Ireland.
David Bouchier, chief digital entertainment officer at Virgin Media, said: “We believe that our finest kit shouldn’t just be for new customers.
“So today we’re kicking off one of the largest existing customer upgrade programmes ever seen in the UK, accelerating the rollout of our best ever set-top box.
“Rightfully, our customers expect the best, and with top-notch TV to lightning-fast broadband, that’s exactly what they are getting.”
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The V6 box supports 4k Ultra-High Definition for those with the latest TVs and has built-in apps like Netflix, iPlayer and YouTube.
Eligible customers will be contacted in the coming weeks with details of how they can request their V6 box. Virgin believes the upgrade is simple enough that the majority will not need to call in an engineer to install it.
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The company has been criticised in recent days for charging customers hundreds of pounds in disconnection fees when they move to areas which Virgin does not cover.
Last year, it announced it was raising the price of bills for the “majority” of its customers by up to £48 annually.
