sky i hate them

Surfer · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:20

Had a problem with sky tv today. Was coming up "no satellite signal is being recieved" when i switch it on.

So i switch everything off and unplug everything. Plug back in and switch on - still same problem. Phone sky up and after going through the usual support script for solutions the guy books an engineer to come out this saturday.

So no sky for 3 days hrmm ok annoying but i'll live with it.

Hang up.

I phone them back because i forgot to check if there would be any charge for the engineer coming out.

Speak to this woman. There is no charge for an engineer to come out to fix your sky if you are within the years warranty. Luckily i am within the warranty. Although i am a tad surprised that sky charge you for fixing their service.

Anyway - while im on i ask the lady to check to see if my credit has went through yet. When i initially had the sky installed the engineer says to me that he will give me a refurbished(as opposed to new) box but that i would be credited with £20 ish pounds because of this. I think ok no problem.

The lady comes back and says there is no record of the credit to my acccount and no note from the engineer about it.

Is it legal that sky can sell you a refurbished sky box the same as a new one?? What i mean is: because you only get 1 year warranty before they start charging you for fixes to the box then obviously it would be better to get a new box rather than a refurbished/reconditioned one.

At this point im just about ready to cancel all of sky inc the broadband saving £41 a month so i hang up before i do...she did advise me to write a letter explaining this situation (about the alleged credit to my account).

:mad:

Sp00n · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:26

See this is the interesting thing with sky, a lot of people don't realise that they actually own the box and outside of the 1 year warrenty you have to pay for it to be fixed.

Found this out yesterday from a guy who sells sky warrenty's!

Dr_Evil · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:26

just threaten to cancel if they don't fix it.

Jonny · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:28

Write in mate, I'm sure they'd rather pay you the £20 credit then lose nearly £500 per year from you. You might even end up with more than £20 with a well written letter

Archangelus · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:30

Sp00n said:
See this is the interesting thing with sky, a lot of people don't realise that they actually own the box and outside of the 1 year warrenty you have to pay for it to be fixed.

Found this out yesterday from a guy who sells sky warrenty's!

That's interesting. I always thought that when you cancel your sky agreement, they come and collect the box from you, as it's their equipment. I'll have to check my sky T&C's.

EDIT:: just checked on sky's website, and indeed, the box is the subscribers property

Surfer · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:30

so what can i do with a sky box?? Can i recode it or retune it so i get other channels or something? Dont have a sky satellite dish because its a communal dish.

Seems a bit strange that they can sell you something which is yours but you can only use it with their service....hrmm i smell something fishy here

Thats the thing though if i was given a refurbished box then its not new so therefore its more likely to fail quicker no?

I'm sure i read about a court case whereby the conclusion was products have to have a reasonable lifespan not just 1 year. Even though sky say its only 1 year warranty im sure manufacturer warranties or smt are longer. Im not making much sense here i know....ill look into it further if need be.

Surfer · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:34

Jonny said:
Write in mate, I'm sure they'd rather pay you the £20 credit then lose nearly £500 per year from you. You might even end up with more than £20 with a well written letter

yeah. Ill fax them. I cant be bothered sending letters recorded delivery all the time (otherwise they say they havent received it etc blah). But i have access to a fax at work. So no faffing about by them i'll fax off to their head office or smt.

Adam · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:43

I kicked up an absolute stink with Sky who kept giving me refurbished digibox's which would fail within a month with sound or picture issues. Some were battered, others didn't work properly from day 1. However, out of principle, why should I receive a refurbished box because my original failed after 1 month.

Got what I wanted in the end, they let me choose which one I wanted etc. Just have to be persistant. Wouldn't have time to do this anymore though now i'm working and not a student

Admiral Huddy · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:47

I hate Sky.. I've just switched to Virgin Media.. I know it's a little more but i'd rather have a better service than none at all.

Box arrived today

Siliconslave · 22 Mar 2007 at 15:55

once your out of the sky contact you can get "free sky" through it - basically its the main tv channels, although there are some notable channels missing vs freeview (naimly E4 & more 4 plus some other random ones) on the up side you do get all sorts of random junk no-one would ever watch....

Visage · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:06

Sp00n said:
See this is the interesting thing with sky, a lot of people don't realise that they actually own the box and outside of the 1 year warrenty you have to pay for it to be fixed.

Found this out yesterday from a guy who sells sky warrenty's!

So a man who makes a living from selling Sky warrantys tells you something about sky boxes that isnt actually true?

What a shocker.....

Sp00n · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:21

Visage said:
So a man who makes a living from selling Sky warrantys tells you something about sky boxes that isnt actually true?

What a shocker.....

Please elaborate...

Visage · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:27

Sp00n said:
Elaborate...

No. Quite simple, actually.

Sp00n · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:28

Helpful

wizard91 · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:29

A little quick to change your provider over a little sum of money to repair a broken box. Youd be better off paying the money and getting it done and dusted than canceling.

trojan698 · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:30

The information is true, once the box is outside the 1 year warranty period Sky will charge you to get it fixed. Or at least they can, whether they will or not depends on the operator and your willingness to cancel.

That's the trade off of actually owning the box - you're responsible for it.

With Virgin, they own the boxes and will fix it for free if it breaks down. You only get charged if you've damaged the box or want it moved by an engineer.

T16 · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:32

Right, can my tight arsed parents get a 2nd hand sky+ box and dish, and use it to watch the free channels without a subscription?

Would make a nice prezzie for the olds, they are soooo against any sort of monthly payment for TV, plus they are skint!

shine · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:34

Visage said:
So a man who makes a living from selling Sky warrantys tells you something about sky boxes that isnt actually true?

What a shocker.....

Everything the OP was told is true. Where is the shock value?

trojan698 · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:34

T16 said:
Right, can my tight arsed parents get a 2nd hand sky+ box and dish, and use it to watch the free channels without a subscription?

Would make a nice prezzie for the olds, they are soooo against any sort of monthly payment for TV, plus they are skint!

Holy blatant highjack batman.

Visage · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:36

T16 said:
Right, can my tight arsed parents get a 2nd hand sky+ box and dish, and use it to watch the free channels without a subscription?

Would make a nice prezzie for the olds, they are soooo against any sort of monthly payment for TV, plus they are skint!

They'll be able to get the FTA channels but not the FTV.