Digital TV Cost Cutting Article - Discuss What You've Been Offered

echo · 29 August 2006 at 7:59PM

the freefone number not working @ this end 4 CS and hasnt 4 days.tells me 2 ring 0870-but using the 01506 number works.i was on the line 45 mins yesterday ( after being told my call wud b answered in 19 mins).put the fone down in the end cos i didnt get 2 speak 2 nebody ( only rang 4 a pin).got straight thru this morn ( india) and complained.was told that it had been bank holiday and not enuff staff.not gud enuff and told the guy that they shud update their system.

troublesome · 30 August 2006 at 1:16AM

Thanks monstermind for clearing this up for me, its such a relief that it wasn't me. I actually have been using telewest ever since i stopped subscribing to sky and am paying:
off peak/weekend tel - £17
broadband 4mb - £25
starter TV - £5.50
Total is approx £47.50

I was thinking of dumping cable in favour of BT line and 18 month call package with 2 mix sky and sky broadband as I was a BT customer prior to moving to cable as this lot came to:
off peak/weekend tel - £11 + £1.32
broadband 8mb - £5
2 mix TV - £15
Total is approx £32.32

Thats £15 cheaper than telewest but then I discovered that because my BT cable terminates outside my house it could cost between £0 & £150 to be reconnected. The exact price will not be determined until an engineer arrives on site !!! I was assured that as I want to keep my number they would send a request to telewest for a transfer date on the date that the engineer makes a visit (18/09/06). If for any reason I'm not happy with reconnection price then I'm supposed to make a call to BT and tell them not to go ahead with the transfer.

I next contacted Telewest to cancel all my services telling them of the above deal and she started giving me advantages of fibre optic technology over copper based transmission. The max bandwidth my line can carry is apparantly 6MB so I would not be able to utilise the whole bandwidth being offered.

She then offered 25% discount for 3 months on my broadband. I refused as it was still dearer than BT/Sky combo. She then offered 50% for 6 months - no tie in as I'm already out of contract. When I agreed she informed me that BT had put a request in that I was moving my number over to them on the 18/09/06 and that from that date I would not have any service with Telewest so the offer was meaningless.
She then stated that in my case they would charge £150 to reconnect on that date and did not agree to BT's version of what would happen on that day as I had explained to her. She kept insisting on this and said the only guarantee that I would have to keep Telewest service was for her to cancel the engineer. I agreed as my monthly bill was now £12.50 cheaper at £34 and their prices are to be reviewed within the next 3 months as they've taken over NTL and Virgin ???

I just thought I would pass on my experiences see if anyone has experienced anything similar, the BT reconnection process being one. When I normaly call a company to get a quote for some work they will arrange an appointment without any obligation and I would proceed to agree terms after agreeing to the quote. Obviously BT is not any normal company.

Thanks for looking

WestEndGirl_2 · 30 August 2006 at 11:53AM

I'm trying to reduce some ridiculous debts, and am wondering what to do about Sky. We got SKY+ in April, so are in a new 12 month contract, paying £36 for everything but Movies. I can't ring to cancel, just to reduce subs, to a max of £25 (£15 mixes plus £10 SKY+ fee) but my hubby will be devastated if we lose sports 'cos it's all my fault these debts have built up.
Does anyone know what are the chances of getting a 3/6 months reduction off current subs but maintaining package? I've never thought of Sky being nice to people before, so presume it's pretty unlikely....

Tyger · 30 August 2006 at 1:01PM

Just phoned Sky, trying to get Sky+ for free out of them....
Told them that my regular sky box was playing up (which it is!),and said I wanted to cancel, as I didn't want to pay for an engineer to come out to fix box. Mentioned Sky+, and explained that £159 was far too much to pay, and as I already have a TV with freeview built in, and not have to pay any subscriptions for that, then I could live without Sky
Best the advisor could offer me was a free visit from engineer to sort out my existing sky box, or Sky+ for £79 (£49 for sky+ and half price installation)
I told him I could pick up a dvd recorder, or Humax box off ebay for less than that, and £79 was still too much. He wouldn't budge tho..... said he couldn't go any lower, and my best bet was to have an engineer out with a new sky box
So I told him I would ring back later....

Anyone got any tips on what else I can say to wangle Sky+ out of them (preferably free, or cheaper than £79) ??

stiffnuts69 · 30 August 2006 at 1:07PM

yeah tell them you want to cancel make sure you go through to that department.

Tyger · 30 August 2006 at 1:20PM

yep..... I was through to the cancellations department

Should I just phone back and say I definately want to cancel..... and then try and get Sky+ as part of a reinstate package after 30 days.....??

nhp · 30 August 2006 at 1:39PM

troublesome wrote:

Hi nhp,
I also called up sky to cancel a few days ago as my 66p offer was coming to an end on 8 Sep but was told that I was in a 12 month contract and the minimum I would have to pay is £15 per month for the next 10 months !!! I could not believe this as the only reason I took up the offer (I have not been subscribing since my initial 12 months were up almost 2 years ago) was because my sis in laws kids were over from the States and we needed to get cartoons package and there was no commitment as far as I can remember on the snail mail flyer I recieved back in Apr/May.
As soon as I accepted the offer they sent me a standard letter with my account details as they had to set up a new account for me as my previous one was too old. The letter contained nothing about any tie-in/contract committing me to anything. Unfortunately I must have thrown the promotion flyer I got from them which I wanted to read each word again to double check if there was any reference to any committment although I'm 99% certain there was not otherwise there was no way I would have agreed.
I'm so annoyed but sure that I'm right and they're trying to con me that I cancelled my direct debit immediately. Would anybody who has taken up this offer or who knows what the small print says guide me as to exactly whats going on here.
I'm a little more encouraged after reading a few entries in this and other threads that there is no such obligation with this offer. If it does turn out that Sky are lying to me where do I stand legally to make a claim against them and/or report them to trading standards/watchdog as if they've tried this with me is it a sinister plot or just a major training issue.

Please help !!!

Hi Troublesome - I definitely checked (As I always do) when I took the 66p per month for 2 months offer that there was no tie-in. They said, no tie in beyond the special offer period (ie 2 months, which I didn't mind being tied in to as it was a trifling 66p per month!), they said all I have to do to cancel is call 30 days before the offer period ends to cancel my subscription if I wished. Did you keep the postcard with the 66p per month offer on? It normally says whether there's a tie in on the offer details. mine definitely said no tie in. You're right, they're wrong. I'd have no qualms in telling them that you'll contact trading standards if they pursue the matter with you.

nhp · 30 August 2006 at 1:41PM

Tyger wrote:

Just phoned Sky, trying to get Sky+ for free out of them....
Told them that my regular sky box was playing up (which it is!),and said I wanted to cancel, as I didn't want to pay for an engineer to come out to fix box. Mentioned Sky+, and explained that £159 was far too much to pay, and as I already have a TV with freeview built in, and not have to pay any subscriptions for that, then I could live without Sky
Best the advisor could offer me was a free visit from engineer to sort out my existing sky box, or Sky+ for £79 (£49 for sky+ and half price installation)
I told him I could pick up a dvd recorder, or Humax box off ebay for less than that, and £79 was still too much. He wouldn't budge tho..... said he couldn't go any lower, and my best bet was to have an engineer out with a new sky box
So I told him I would ring back later....

Anyone got any tips on what else I can say to wangle Sky+ out of them (preferably free, or cheaper than £79) ??

My father in law got sky+ installed for less than that - so the guy you've spoken to is lying! He got sky+ for £60 fully installed, plus half price for 6 months. (He's on the sky sports world package).

troublesome · 30 August 2006 at 2:25PM

nhp wrote:

Hi Troublesome - I definitely checked (As I always do) when I took the 66p per month for 2 months offer that there was no tie-in. They said, no tie in beyond the special offer period (ie 2 months, which I didn't mind being tied in to as it was a trifling 66p per month!), they said all I have to do to cancel is call 30 days before the offer period ends to cancel my subscription if I wished. Did you keep the postcard with the 66p per month offer on? It normally says whether there's a tie in on the offer details. mine definitely said no tie in. You're right, they're wrong. I'd have no qualms in telling them that you'll contact trading standards if they pursue the matter with you.

Hi nph,
Thank you for the confirmation, unfortunately I've misplaced the promotion postcard I used to contact Sky re the offer. My offer period started on 8th Jul which would make my cancel date the 8th Aug but I actually called them on 26 Aug when they gave me the bs. They did say that if I did not agree with their decision I would have to write to their head office in Scotland detailing my complaint.

I think I'll just write as I don't think I can spend ages holding on the phone as I had to do that day before spending another half hour listening to an op.

By the way does anybody know how much BT charge for reconnection if their line terminates outside your property ?

Thanks

Tyger · 30 August 2006 at 7:29PM

Been back on the phone to Sky again....
Told them I'd had a think about their £79 offer, and had had a word with a few people who'd been offered sky+ for £49 and free installation, and if they were prepared to offer me that, then I wouldn't cancel. No luck... advisor bloke was adamant all they could offer me was the £79 deal.So I mentioned that I had a "friend" that had got a free reconditioned sky+ box from them recently and was told that was because they were probably a new customer!! So I said that the "friend" had been a sky customer as long as I have ( 7 yrs) and asked again if they could consider an offer cheaper than the £79 one. They still weren't having any of it. Lots of guff about if I go to freeview then I'll be missing out on the movies and other channels, etc So I told advisor that I wasn't worried about losing the movies, as I'd go to the rental shop and hire them before sky showed them, and save money in the process by not having to pay subs, The only thing I was worried about was Sky one, as my other half likes his sci fi programs, and I would mention it to him when he came home, and if he wasn't bothered by losing his Star Trek, then I would phone back tomorrow and definately cancel and was told by advisor "you do that then"..... Charming eh !!
So I'm gonna have 1 last try tomorrow.....and if they still won't budge, then they will be told to stick their sky where the sun don't shine !!!

Digital TV Cost Cutting Article - Discuss What You've Been Offered

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