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

SKIPPY

Have had a great read here this morning, am definately going to ring up to cancel now, hope to get the half price offer!!!. Have been thinking about reducing our package, currently pay £21.00/mnth for the entertainment pack, as don't watch all the channels. Once we'd sat down and looked at the ones we did want we found that we could only reduce it to £18/mnth :mad: as odd one or two were from different sections :mad: Will continue to try and reduce it as also have new DTV but need to purchase a digital aerial so will then also be able to receive Freeview.

On a repair note .... my link-up broke, the aerial conection on the back of the sky box broke, was able to repair it a further couple of times (soldering iron came in useful) but eventually it bit the dust. Rang up sky to see if I could get the replacement part, they said that there are no replacement parts in sky boxes (had the part in my hand at the time) and would have to purchase a new box. Forget that, bought a second box off e-bay for £15.00 and replaced the part myself.

gelato_cat

Hi all

This thread seems to deal mainly with Sky subscriptions but maybe there is someone out there who can shed some light on NTL discounts for me

Last year I was trying to find ways of funding holidays - I already MSd where I could, but I realised I was paying over the odds for cable TV and broadband. So I did a bit of research and found I could get Freeview and broadband from somewhere else (can't remember where), then get the phone line from BT and save £10-£20 a month. My bf actually started me thinking about it cos he was trying to save 50p a month on his broadband by referring me as a new customer. I knew he wasn't with the best/cheapest so did some research.

I was paying stupid amounts and had never thought about it as it was an OK deal when I signed up and I never kept tabs on it:

Broadband 128k (!!!) £14.99 per month
Digital base pack and phone £19.50 per month
Family pack £6.00 per month

Don't laugh, but what with the non-DD, itemised billing and call charges it was about £50 a month altogether :eek:

I rang up BT and got reconnection sorted, then rang NTL to disconnect. What made me unusual was that I actually wanted to quit and wasn't just angling for the discounts. The guy asked me where I was switching to and I wouldn't tell him cos I was adamant I wanted to quit. Imagine my surprise when he came back with some discounts for me:

Broadband 1mb £9.99 per month
Digital TV and phone £10.50 per month
Family pack £8.50 per month

So I agreed to this. It never occurred to me that they'd actually try and make me stay, seeing as they'd been ripping me off for ages while offering the new customers all the nice deals.

He said the discounts would apply for life but that he could only put them on the system for the next 12 months and I'd have to call back to renew when that was up, so I have a reminder in my calendar to call again mid-July (originally rang them beginning of August last year).

I'm a bit worried though that when I ring up, they won't honour the discounts! As far as I can see, none of the deals they have for new customers now are as good as what I have - got a leaflet through the door about a £30 per month thing for all three services, but the broadband speed is half what I have and it's just the basic TV package they're offering.

Has anyone else got experience of successfully getting discounts from NTL and keeping them for longer than a year? Maybe I'm worrying about nothing, but I'm a bit of a cr*p liar so when I ring in July to renew I'll be telling the truth and not threatening to leave them. I'd be a bit loathe to change providers if NTL don't play ball because I'm looking to immigrate to Canada next year and don't want to be locked into a 12-month contract with someone else.

Any ideas? Are NTL still offering people the moon on a stick to stay? And has anyone managed to get these discounts "forever"?

TIA

Suze

Gambler

I am out of the inital 12 month contract period for skyplus but I want to cancel sky sports etc and just stay with £10 per month skyplus, at least through the summer. Might go back when the premeiership starts again.

Do I have to give a months notice to downgrade?


Thanks

Anon

Suzey wrote:

Hi all

This thread seems to deal mainly with Sky subscriptions but maybe there is someone out there who can shed some light on NTL discounts for me

....
TIA

Suze

You may wish to try the thread on the Telephone board - it is more NTL focused: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=62656

You are right - this one tends to focus on Sky - perhaps the Mods could split it and refer to the other thread in the first post of this thread to make it easier for NTL/Telewest customers?

Anon

gelato_cat

Thanks for the info! I did do a forum search but I think the facility must be playing up cos it said there were no threads containing "NTL"

Have just been reading some of that thread - did you ever get your repeat discount?

Suze

Anon wrote:

You may wish to try the thread on the Telephone board - it is more NTL focused: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=62656

You are right - this one tends to focus on Sky - perhaps the Mods could split it and refer to the other thread in the first post of this thread to make it easier for NTL/Telewest customers?

Anon

ajbrynoffa

Hi all.i`m on the sky odd number movies and sports,also got sky plus and multiroom (which we couldn`t live without!).Could anyone tell me how much our subscription would be if we dropped the movies and sports please.....their site is like a maze!!!....thanks in advance.

Ausweb

I had an additional NTL box installed 3 months ago, (cost £15 p.mth), but rang to cancel it last month as I decided to have sky installed using the half price offer - In the end it will still cost me £15 p/mth for the 2nd box but I now have both Sky & NTL installed and additional negotiating power when my current discounts end.

However, on friday (1 week before my 'months notice' runs out on the additional stb), NTL ring me and tell me I can keep the additional box FREE for life,

Using all the discounts offered - I now have

NTL package including sky sports.
NTL additional STB
Phone Line with free local/national calls 24/7
NTL Broadband 10 meg
Sky box with 2 packages

All for a total monthly cost of £45

Scrumshie

Gambler wrote:

I am out of the inital 12 month contract period for skyplus but I want to cancel sky sports etc and just stay with £10 per month skyplus, at least through the summer. Might go back when the premeiership starts again.

Do I have to give a months notice to downgrade?


Thanks

No need to give notice to downgrade, they move the package on the day and adjust your bill from the day that you call.
If you cancel the movies and sport you will need to pay the additional £10 per month recording if you want to keep that. If you really are saving the pennies, they can take off the recording facility too, if you want....don't know why anyone with sky + would want too though !

volks400

im using freeview at the moment and want to subscribe to mixes for 15 pounds. got their leaflet thru post today that i pay 10 pounds per month for 3 months for whole lot and then shift to any mixes. i already have a box got it 3 years ago but still working well on freeview. so can i just get a card from sky without installation and a contract or do i have to have a contract even only if i want the card.

ta

Gambler

Scrumshie wrote:

No need to give notice to downgrade, they move the package on the day and adjust your bill from the day that you call.
If you cancel the movies and sport you will need to pay the additional £10 per month recording if you want to keep that. If you really are saving the pennies, they can take off the recording facility too, if you want....don't know why anyone with sky + would want too though !

thanks, only thinking of getting rid of sky+ if I go down the HDD PVR route.