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

thestephensons

We got Sky+ for free also. We are on the 4 mixes at £19 per month with no premium channels at all.
Wife simply phoned them, said she was not able to watch good stuff due to me working nights, and after the nice man explained what it was, he said "I can get you Sky+ for free if it would help you"!
She called last Sunday, and it was installed on Thursday.
No haggling or anything, it must be down to who you speak to.

josey1964

Have been looking at changing my Virgin Media broadband only to the phone, t.v and broadband package.

Are there any good deals to be had?
Can I take my BT telephone number with me?

Thank-you.

wifeforlife

Got my free sky+ box installed this morning, the engineer said sky have a new sales director at the moment.

This new sales director has a new strategy which is telling staff to work the offers one month on and one month off

So for example May was offers galore so June may well be scarce

Dont know how accurate this is but info anyway

Cate

BexTech

josey1964 wrote: »

Have been looking at changing my Virgin Media broadband only to the phone, t.v and broadband package.

Are there any good deals to be had?
Can I take my BT telephone number with me?

Thank-you.

Yes you can take your BT number with you - number porting.

However note Virgin Media are very expensive for chargeable calls and unlike BT they aren't forced to allow you to use cheap call providers, although some dial-thru services work, because you have no access to indirect carriers like on BT you aren't able to get the lowest rates.

Depends on what you actually want and how much you want to spend.

To some the VIP is a good package, to me it's still way to much money.

Bundles can be found at: http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/bundles/index.html

Haggle with customer services.

You usually can choose a 3 for £30 bundle then up one of the items for the difference in price, for example you might want faster broadband or more TV.

Note: VM don't carry all channels, has virtually no interactive and what there is is so slow it's useless. If you watch Sky Sports, then you miss out on the extra matches / games via the Red Button - as it's not carried. The boxes are slow and painful to use. Channels can go off and have problems for hours to days or for some months.

MrsTee_2

MrsTee wrote: »

I phoned them last night to ask about changing to Sky phone, got offered the £5 per mth package for free for 6mths and half price line rental. Then I asked about Sky+ and was quoted £99 for the box and £60 installation, when I pointed out it says on the website installation is £30 he said that was for new customers only and he couldnt get round it so we agreed to pay £149, but having read some posts on here I'm going to call them back tomorrow and say how angry I am that after about 6 yrs as a loyal customer with TV, broadband and now phone AND multiroom, I'm getting charged such a ridiculous installation charge. Even if I can get the installation charge refunded it's better than nothing.

I went into town today and saw Sky+ being offered for free for brand new customers so when I got home I phoned and after being messed about twice. (being put through to wrong departments and then being cut off), I just went to cancellations, told them I wasn't happy that after 6 yrs of being a loyal customer, upgrading to full package, having broadband, and now phone and multi room I got charged so much when new customer can get it for free. Told him I just wanted to cancel it all, he put me on hold while he went to talk to a manager and said he can't do it for free but could cancel that installation, refund the £159 and put it through again for £49. I told him that made me a bit happier so went ahead with it. Maybe if I'd pushed more I'd have got it free but I was happy with a saving of £100, and whatsmore they're even still coming on the same day to install.

~Dani~_2

What a nightmare... I've now done 2 half hour calls to sky to get this Sky+ for free.. I've wanted Sky+ for years but haven't ever had £149 to spare so like I say, I've spent an hour trying to do the 'false' cancellation. yesterday she offered me the free calls for a year and a £49 charge for sky+ so I ended the call saying I'd think about it. Rang back today and the guy I got didn't even offer the £49 deal.. just tried to get me to stay with sky saying I wouldn't get the broadband/phone/TV for any cheaper (I told him I'd been given a freeview box and would make do with that).. he gave me all the speel and went on and on and on and I ended up saying No! I am adamant I want to cancel and that if I wanted to change my mind I'd have 30 day's grace anyway! he said that I wouldn't get 30 day's grace where broadband was concerned and that once he pressed the button to cancel today that would be it! I'd get the channels/phone/broadband for 30 day's but even if I phoned back to say I'd changed my mind I would loose the broadband for upto 8 weeks! :eek: I said "OK Fair enough, I'll cancel anyway".. that was it... no offer of sky + why can't I ever get one of these bloody deals?!!

I am wondering if I go ahead with the cancellation and then come back as a brand new customer, could I get the Sky+ for free then?

BexTech

~Dani~ wrote: »

What a nightmare... I've now done 2 half hour calls to sky to get this Sky+ for free.. I've wanted Sky+ for years but haven't ever had £149 to spare so like I say, I've spent an hour trying to do the 'false' cancellation. yesterday she offered me the free calls for a year and a £49 charge for sky+ so I ended the call saying I'd think about it. Rang back today and the guy I got didn't even offer the £49 deal.. just tried to get me to stay with sky saying I wouldn't get the broadband/phone/TV for any cheaper (I told him I'd been given a Freeview box and would make do with that).. he gave me all the spiel and went on and on and on and I ended up saying No! I am adamant I want to cancel and that if I wanted to change my mind I'd have 30 day's grace anyway! he said that I wouldn't get 30 day's grace where broadband was concerned and that once he pressed the button to cancel today that would be it! I'd get the channels/phone/broadband for 30 day's but even if I phoned back to say I'd changed my mind I would lose the broadband for upto 8 weeks! :eek: I said "OK Fair enough, I'll cancel anyway".. that was it... no offer of sky + why can't I ever get one of these bloody deals?!!

I am wondering if I go ahead with the cancellation and then come back as a brand new customer, could I get the Sky+ for free then?

They don't usually allow you to have another discounted (or free) box if you have previously had one. However as a come-back offer they sometimes let you, however you have to wait for them to call you or write to you, not that they do this for everyone.

eslick

~Dani~ wrote: »

What a nightmare... I've now done 2 half hour calls to sky to get this Sky+ for free.. I've wanted Sky+ for years but haven't ever had £149 to spare so like I say, I've spent an hour trying to do the 'false' cancellation. yesterday she offered me the free calls for a year and a £49 charge for sky+ so I ended the call saying I'd think about it. Rang back today and the guy I got didn't even offer the £49 deal.. just tried to get me to stay with sky saying I wouldn't get the broadband/phone/TV for any cheaper (I told him I'd been given a freeview box and would make do with that).. he gave me all the speel and went on and on and on and I ended up saying No! I am adamant I want to cancel and that if I wanted to change my mind I'd have 30 day's grace anyway! he said that I wouldn't get 30 day's grace where broadband was concerned and that once he pressed the button to cancel today that would be it! I'd get the channels/phone/broadband for 30 day's but even if I phoned back to say I'd changed my mind I would loose the broadband for upto 8 weeks! :eek: I said "OK Fair enough, I'll cancel anyway".. that was it... no offer of sky + why can't I ever get one of these bloody deals?!!

I am wondering if I go ahead with the cancellation and then come back as a brand new customer, could I get the Sky+ for free then?

Email [EMAIL="james.murdoch@bskyb.com"]james.murdoch@bskyb.com[/EMAIL], and tell them why you are leaving, as others are getting free sky+ and see what they will do.
[EMAIL="james.murdoch@bskyb.com"]
[/EMAIL]

Doggie_Copper

:beer: Hi like all the others about sky high prices just rang to reduce package having been with sky since about 1986 although their records only go back 8 yrs.Reduced down from all channels to just 5 entertainment package and was not offerd any deal other than to introduce a friend.Stated the current box freezing up and not able to up grade to sky+ due to cost.Never mind may still recieve a phone call sometime,still able to watch Euro 08

The_Bargain_Hunters wrote: »

Hi, I like many others have just got fed up with SKY :mad: hiking up their prices, so have finally managed to cancel after 6 months of offers to keep me. It would seem, bythe amount of ads on TV and junk mail, that they are getting a bit desperate :eek: to keep and enlist new customers as many, like myself are leaving in droves.

We still get a lot of channels, however I do miss E4 & hubby misses Sky sports news, which are both on freeview, my question is, if we get a freeview box will we loose a lot of the "Free" channels we are still getting :question: ?(Like Sky 3, Horror channel, and a few music channels,) to name a few! I know these are not listed as on the free to view sky list nor are they on the freeview list, but will they be there anyway?????

ednotdave

Doggie_Copper wrote: »

...still able to watch Euro 08

er, Euro 2008 is on BBC & ITV, so you don't need $ky anyway...:rolleyes: