Not exactly fined, but there is a penalty in the contract you sign if you unplug the equipment from a working phone line in the first year (if memory serves).
It is (or was) one of the conditions under which they supplied subsidised hardware (the Sky box).
Your quite right there - for the first twelve months of your initial contract the Sky system must be connected to a working telephone line - this allows you to use the interactive services and allows Sky to upload any information from the hard drive on your system in reference to what (if any) box office movies/events you've watched.
After the twelve months it's upto you if you want to disconect this or not - if you do you'll have to phone up every time you want to book a movie or box office event and this will occur an additional cost.
If you have multiroom then both boxes must be connected to the telephone line at all times - Sky do call backs to the boxes once a month and you will be charged the full amount if they're not connected.
Moving back onto topic - this is basically Sky's new privacy policy which was issued (or hidden if you prefer) in the monthly Sky magazine - which most people (myself included) throw in the bin.
For anyone that has not received:
- How information we hold about you can be used
By continuing to be a customer, you agree that any member of the BSKYB group, which includes Marketing Contributions Ltd and any company which may succeed our businesses, may use and share the information you provide and other information we hold about you for account management, market research and the marketing of Sky's and third parties' products and services. This may include contact you by post, telephone, email or SMS unless you tell us you don't want to be contacted in any of these ways by calling us on 08702 40 40 40.
We may also share such information with credit reference agencies and other companies including for use in credit decisions, for fraud prevention and to pursue debtors.
If you benefited from an interactive discount contract from Marketing Contributions Ltd, (i.e. to get a free dish and box), Marketing Contributions Ltd can also use and share your information and information about your Digital Satellite System, with those companies that offer Interactive Servicesl and those companies may use your personal details for marketing and market research purposes relating to both these Interactive Services and associated products.
Information held by the Sky group about you may also be shared with other companies outside the group, including for sales, marketing and market research purposes by such companies, unless you indicate you wish to be excluded from such uses by contacting us on 08702 40 40 40.
In addition to this Sky have also made a statement about these changes on their mysky website:-
Recent Data Protection Notice
Recent Data Protection notice which customers received with their Sky magazine (Skymag) - your questions answered.
Sky takes its obligations under data protection law seriously and it is important to us that our customers' privacy is respected.
We recently enclosed a letter headed "Important Information - Notice of changes to how we use your information" with the Sky customer magazine. The notice advised customers who consent to marketing of some changes to the text of our data protection wording intended to clarify their existing terms including how they may opt-out of marketing.
This has regrettably caused some confusion. We would like to clarify that the notice does not affect the position of customers who have previously told us that they do not wish to receive direct marketing. Those marketing preferences remain unchanged. Customers who do not receive the Sky magazine (Skymag) also remain subject to their existing contract terms.
We understand that the issue of how personal data is used is a very important one and we would like to reassure our customers that we do not sell data for marketing purposes without their consent. Our records tell us whether or not a customer has previously instructed us of a marketing preference and their records remain completely unaffected by this notice.
If you have any concerns or wish to update your marketing preferences please do not hesitate to contact us at
[email protected] or write to us at:
Sky Subscriber Services Ltd,
1 Mackintosh Road,
Kirkton Campus,
Livingston,
West Lothian,
EH54 7BW
Or call us on 08702 40 40 40.
What do the changes mean?
When a customer first joins Sky they are advised of the terms on which we may use their data. All our contracts include details on how information may be used and by becoming a customer they agree to those terms. Customers have always been able to opt-out of marketing at any time by contacting us.
The most recent version of these terms identifies some of the companies the British Sky Broadcasting group includes and makes customers' rights to object to marketing clearer. These are the some of the important clarifications.
When can I exercise my right to object?
Now. Sky is committed to the provision of information and opportunities to our customers that will be of interest to them. The revisions explain how customers can update their preferences.
Do I need to opt out again if I had previously chosen to be excluded from direct marketing?
No. All previous requests by our customers to be excluded from receiving marketing communications will continue to be honoured.
How do I know that my marketing preferences will be respected?
At Sky we think that our customers should be in control of what information they receive from us. Whilst we wish to make sure that all of our customers benefit from our offers and services, customers may choose to be excluded from receiving this information at any time.
Probably the longest post i've ever made here
Am sure it clears up any confusion though
Not as easy as the old analogue system - I thought the modern system was pretty much uncrackable?