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

2005CLAIRE

Blame it on a combination of a busy week and an early morning but I phoned Virgin Media this morning before I thought of checking on Martin's site for any tips!!!


Currently I have broadband with NTL, the phone is through The Post Office (£50 cashback) and the tv channels are through Sky (old box, old dish, sky controller broke yesterday). Total cost is £55 per month (football channels included).

I phoned Virgin Media this morning - I was offered tv channels with sports, broadband and phone that gives you free calls at the weekend. I was told I would be given £30 credit off my 1st bill (helps with the £25 installation bill I suppose) for £46.50 a month.

Does this sound like a good deal?

I personally would get rid of the lot as I use my mobile phone for the few calls I make (with my free virgin sim cards I am able to order every now and again), I could use the library internet and I prefer to read rather than watch tv - but husband says he doesn't go out to the pub etc, we don't have a car and don't smoke - so he feels that the package is his luxury.

Therefore I'm trying to get the best deal possible.

Sorry for waffling and thanks for any replies.

hardworkingmummy

I phoned Sky to cancel my £37 a month package to switch to Freeview as part of our economy drive (my husband now wants Setanta sports through Freeview).

I was offered a Sky HD + box for a one off fee of £49 - free connetion and no other costs apart from the monthly £37 charge. They are not offering any more half price packages. :mad:

We have a new tv with built in Freeview and the sky box, which i have been told i can use to still get free channnels, does anyone know if i can still use the sky box with a top up tv card for Setanta sports, or will i have to buy a top up tv box?

I could make a saving of over £300 a year if i take this route:j

TOBRUK

hardworkingmummy wrote: »

We have a new tv with built in Freeview and the sky box, which i have been told i can use to still get free channnels, does anyone know if i can still use the sky box with a top up tv card for Setanta sports, or will i have to buy a top up tv box?

I could make a saving of over £300 a year if i take this route:j

I may be wrong but I don't think you can use the sky box to get a freeview topup channel. I have an LCD TV with integrated freeview, but it also has a slot at the back which I can use if I decide to get top up and so no need for a box - check that your tv has this as many do now, otherwise you will have to get another box.

hardworkingmummy

:beer: Thanks for your reply. I have checked the back of the tv, and it does indeed have a slot, and after speaking to Setanta have been told i will need a CAM for the common interface slot (*its an adapter that the card fits into)

Setanta are offering these for £29.99 as i've checked on ebay, and they are much more expensive - as you have to add p+p

TOBRUK

That's great, so you won't have to get another box! I have sky and the freeview (integrated tv) and really find it handy as I have a dvd recorder, I sometimes record from sky and at the same time watch a freeview channel.

I just had a look at different websites now and they are around £36.45 and £49.00 mark. I do remember looking at them around christmas time and as I understood, there is a month's subscription included in the price - do check but this was the case for the ones I looked at.

stuartw101

Just wondering if anyone could help me to find out what sort of discount i could expect, the following is what i currently pay:

4 Additional V Box (£60)
Sky movies and Sky sports (£23.50)
TV Size XL (£20.50)
Broadband Size M - 2MB (£18)
Telephone Line Rental (£11)
Fully Itemised Billing (£1)
Talk Off Peak (£0)

Total: £134 + any call charges

I found it strange that until a couple of months ago we had free line rental and then suddenly it went to £11 a month. We can't remember getting a latter informing us the price would increase for line rental, did anyone else get a letter?

Anyone got any tips for what i could get discounts for?

Hope you can help

Stu

FannyHill

A Top Up Tv card is for DTT (digital terrestrial television) in other words the signal comes thru the aerial into the digital receiver.

Sky is where the signal comes thru the sat dish.

So a Top Up card can't go in a Sky satellite receiver.

If you phone Sky to cancel the viewing card still works for the FTV (free to view channels,meaning you need a card in the receiver but you don't pay a monthly subscription).So for Ch4,5,Sky 3, Five US,Five Life you need the card in the receiver. The FTA free to air channels don't need any card that's why they are called free to air.

Dr_Robert

Virgin Media appear to be throwing deals at customers at the moment!

Last month I rang to complain about how much I was paying and that I was thinking of going to Sky. I was offered the following deal @ £34.50/month which I took.

TV XL
Broadband L
Phone L

I had noticed though that my broadband had not changed but never got round to chasing it up. Anyway just got this months bill and was horrified to discover that I had been charged for both my old package as well as the new one. Telephoned this morning and amazingly got through in about 3 secs and explained the problem. Very helpful lady apologised, corrected the error and then said that there was a special promotion running at the moment where my Broadband could be upgraded to 10meg at no extra charge. This of course I accepted.
Got home and found that the broadband had still not been upgraded, telephoned again and it turns out that my broadband account is under an old post code and was causing problems. Again, more apologies and this time I was offered a telephone upgrade to XL at no extra cost.

So I have,

TV XL
Broadband XL
Telephone XL

All for £34.50/month.

Hey_Dude

Dr_Robert wrote: »

So I have,

TV XL
Broadband XL
Telephone XL

All for £34.50/month.

That's grand.

I got my bill this week and it confirmed:

Broadband L
Telephone XL

£23.95/month

With the option of TV M if and when I want it.

Given that I was paying £25 a month to Telewest just for the same Broadband service I'm happy.

:money: MSE

Duder

brandydog

what is the best day to cancel sky and hope they give you a reduction in price
thanks all