Sky Broadband - Activation Fee??

knowsleyroader

I'd very much appreciate any help with the following:
At the end of October 2008, I contacted Sky to take advantage of their 3 for £17 offer for my Mum. I paid the £99 fee for the Sky+ as a gift. The box was installed at the beginning of November.
As she was with Virgin I was advised by Sky to have a BT line installed so she could have Sky broadband. I contacted BT and the line was installed in December. She is staying with BT for calls and line rental because the installation fee would have been £129 instead of £25.
She has now cancelled Virgin and the broadband will be deactivated on 22nd Jan.
I spent one hour and twenty minutes on the phone to Sky today in an attempt to have the broadband activated before then.
They have advised me that there is an 'activation fee of £75' because 'the deal I took out at the end of October (a mere 10 weeks ago) is no longer on offer. Furthermore, I had a 'six week period in which to have the BT line installed'. Apart from the fact that I have no control over BT's timetable of works, I was not told any of this when I took advantage of the 3 for £17 offer.
Sky did try to offer me a 'new deal' for three months which was useless because it reverts to £37 per month after 3 months.
To add insult to injury, the 'Introduce a friend' offer of 2 x £50 M&S vouchers never materialised either.
Is there any way around this activation fee and is it legal, it definitely isn't moral, to withdraw an offer less that 10 weeks old.
I'm stunned and outraged.

penrhyn

I assume the 'new deal' includes a premium channel package. If it saves you money take it and cancel the premium channels before the three months is up. BT are responsible for activating your Sky broadband whether its LLU or connect, Sky have no control over them either!

DatabaseError

when did you ask sky to activate the broadband? I would have expected it to be at the time the deal was taken....but she had no phone line...error?!
As to sky changing offers after 10 weeks...er...so?
I bought a packet of Mcvities choccy biccies from tesco 3 weeks ago, now they are buy one, get one free...can I go and get my free packet?

knowsleyroader

DatabaseError wrote: »

when did you ask sky to activate the broadband? I would have expected it to be at the time the deal was taken....but she had no phone line...error?!
As to sky changing offers after 10 weeks...er...so?
I bought a packet of Mcvities choccy biccies from tesco 3 weeks ago, now they are buy one, get one free...can I go and get my free packet?

I should have made it clear that unhelpful sarcastic replies were not required.
Perhaps you think it makes you look 'clever'.
It doesn't.

When I took the offer I was told she needed a BT line so I arranged for one to be installed. Sky at no time mentioned it was time-critical. They also never mentioned if it was installed after a period of time there would be a £75 fee.
My point was that I have zero control over when BT can install new lines and it was a) unreasonable of Sky to expect me to do it within a period of time they failed to tell me about and b) to take my £99 and direct debits for £17 from my Mum's account since November for the aforementioned deal of 3 for £17 (which is actually two as she doesn't need Skytalk) and then renege on it less than 10 weeks later.
The £75 is pie in the sky anyway. One of the advisers I spoke to at Sky today said they were prepared to accept £50. I declined.
Any suggestions on how to eliminate or vastly reduce this fee would be gratefully received.
The numpty quoted above need not reply.

knowsleyroader

penrhyn wrote: »

I assume the 'new deal' includes a premium channel package. If it saves you money take it and cancel the premium channels before the three months is up. BT are responsible for activating your Sky broadband whether its LLU or connect, Sky have no control over them either!

Thank you. No the 'new deal' did not include a premium channel package.
It's the basic one which was advertised on hoardings, bus stops, the press, all last Autumn.
Sky have checked the line and are able to offer the broadband but they say the deal has expired when I only wanted to take up the same offer I signed up to at the end of October.

DatabaseError

Thanks for the numpty comment

I may be missing the point (see, replying even though you said I needn't bother), but you signed to a deal that you were unable to accept (you took possession of the paid for service, the TV, but were unable to take the FREE phone and broadband due to line contraints). 3 months later you are getting a BT line installed, and want to take advantage of the other parts of the deal...

"Apart from the fact that I have no control over BT's timetable of works"
True enough, but if I want kwikfit to put new brake pads on my car..I ought to have a car before booking in.
I'm also quite surprised that BT take 3 months to install a new line, I would have expected a week or 2, but...

I do, fully, accept that sky should have made it clearer to you that the offer was not open indefinately, that was very remiss on their part, it was obvious that anyone taking advantage of the 'free' offers would maybe want to defer taking them for a not unreasonable 3 months or so, maybe a couple or 3 years for some people.

I've always wondered why peanut packets now have the "may contain nuts" warning on the side, who would need the obvious stating to them so clearly, I need wonder no more

prowla

DatabaseError wrote: »

... indefinately ...

I would've thought that someone as clever as you would know how to spell the word "indefinitely".
Perhaps you should spend some time brushing up on your English instead of trying to show off by bullying other forum members.

knowsleyroader

Right <heaves big sigh> let's try it one last time shall we?
Nothing on this deal was 'free'.
The deal was Sky TV, Sky Talk and Sky Broadband for £17 per month.
I signed Mum up for the deal and paid £99 for Sky+ TV.
I was told to have a BT phone line installed which I did.
It took just over six weeks then two days to activate the line.
This took me over the cut off period Sky neglected to tell me about.
As she is 75 and not in the best of health I waited till her contract with Virgin was about to end lest she be left without a phone line.
As it is, she had to pay an extra £43 as Virgin said she had a month to go on her contract with them.
With me so far?
I phoned Sky last week to ask them to activate her Broadband.
Everyone was busy but the adviser checked the line and said there would be no problem.
I then emailed them and asked them to activate it.
I am still waiting for their reply.
Today I tried again to be told of the aforementioned 'cut off period'.
The final adviser (of the four I spoke to during a two hour period) said she thought it was terribly unfair and to email with the complaint. Which I have.
To reiterate, nothing in this deal was 'free'.
It was 3 products for £17.
She, since early November, has been, in essence, paying £17 for one product
and, due to the contract with BT, will, when the activation commences, be paying £17 for two products.
I don't see Sky rushing to refund me for two of the three services she is paying for but not getting.
Cuts both ways.

DatabaseError

bullying? Perhaps you're right and I should be sympathetic to the OPs self imposed plight.

speeling mistaks don't really bovver me too much, but I 'umbly ask forgiveness if i offend your sensibilities

Perhaps my poor analogies are the reason you think I'm being a bully, what do you think the OP should do?

Should I have bought more diesel when it was 56p/litre? Can i insist that BP reinstate the previous price, after all, it's not my fault that my diesel tank isn't big enough?

I have sympathy in spades for those who deserve it, not dictated by the intelligence (or lack of) of those demanding sympathy, or even myself, but dependent upon a simple question, "is it deserved", on this occasion, in my opinion, ymmv, sympathy is not forthcoming, the OP is unreasonable in their expectations, my poor analogies, while certainy flippant, were (hopefully) inoffensive and (again, hopefully) served to highlight the OPs error.

penrhyn

BTW The 'Free' Broadband is going up to £5/month, unless you take Skytalk.

DatabaseError

the OP is hoping for the talk package, so that's OK

Knowsley... If it is not in writing (the contract you signed) that there is a 'cut off' then you may have a case, you never know, sky's contract lawyers may have decided that "stating the bleeding obvious" was unnecessary, in which case you may..have a case.