Sky, Virgin & BT TV Haggle down prices and get serious discounts Article Discussion

glenandemm

ive had 50% off for the last two years now with sky on a full tv package with extra box and hd, however it started off about £40 the first time i recieved it but after a month or so they upped the prices to £45ish then this 2nd 12 month half price they did the same thing 2-3 months into the contract upped it again by about £7 so im paying about £50 a month, anyway today i gave my 30 day cancellation and they offered me the usual 35% over the phone which i said if the last one wasnt good enough why would 35% be so hes cancelled it for me and now i play the waiting game, ive ticked all the boxes on my account but im intrigued how long do most wait for this 60% offer as i really fancy that this time!!

jockosjungle

They might call your bluff.

KTF

I think you might be waiting a while for a 60% off offer. 50% is fairly common though although my latest thing through the post was.

1x tablet
or
50% off for 9 months.

It used to be 50% off for 12 months but they have knocked it down a bit it seems.

RavingMad

I've had 50% off for 6 months which was done through live chat. This time the person I was corresponding with said they don't give discounts via live chat? So I rang them up and after ging through viewing habits was offered the original bundle with no discount!?

Question is - is it right that we've come to expect a discount or should I just meekly accept what they offer because in reality, I like what Sky has to offer in terms of programs

Lifes_Grand_Plan

If you can live without your sky then put your cancellation notice in and be prepared to go through with it. They will either ring you just before it goes off, or will ring / e-mail / write or give you a banner add to come back soon after.

jockosjungle

RavingMad wrote: »

I've had 50% off for 6 months which was done through live chat. This time the person I was corresponding with said they don't give discounts via live chat? So I rang them up and after ging through viewing habits was offered the original bundle with no discount!?

Question is - is it right that we've come to expect a discount or should I just meekly accept what they offer because in reality, I like what Sky has to offer in terms of programs

I'd guess they're getting wise to people who say they will leave and then stay for a discount code, especially if it is a regular thing.

They can see what you watch, so can probably see you're addicted to Game of Thrones, etc.

It's not massively good business to let everyone know you can threaten to cancel and they'll give you 50% off. They might just let you.

Tropez

jockosjungle wrote: »

I'd guess they're getting wise to people who say they will leave and then stay for a discount code, especially if it is a regular thing.

They can see what you watch, so can probably see you're addicted to Game of Thrones, etc.

It's not massively good business to let everyone know you can threaten to cancel and they'll give you 50% off. They might just let you.

Pretty much, yeah.

Basically, it boils down to whether they think you're serious or not. If you actually cancel and let the TV service switch off, then you are generally likely to have offers forthcoming either through My Sky online, the mail or a call from the retentions team directly.

They spend twenty minutes asking you about your viewing habits to gauge how likely you are to quit and the possibility you're just angling for a deal. That's why a lot of the "deals" offered when people phone to cancel aren't particularly brilliant because some people will just take the first thing offered to them.

I also think it is quite likely that the agents have a limit placed on them of how many discounts they can authorise in a given period.

But it is better for them to get 12 months at 50% (or more!) from a customer than 12 months of nothing so if you do want the deal just cancel and play the waiting game. With all the on-demand services and everything you probably wouldn't actually miss any of the programmes you enjoy if Sky did go off for a few days.

Moneygrabber1

RavingMad wrote: »

I've had 50% off for 6 months which was done through live chat. This time the person I was corresponding with said they don't give discounts via live chat? So I rang them up and after ging through viewing habits was offered the original bundle with no discount!?

Question is - is it right that we've come to expect a discount or should I just meekly accept what they offer because in reality, I like what Sky has to offer in terms of programs

Best advice is to use live chat to say you want to cancel. If you just ask straight away for a discount, they will, inevitably, so no, or offer you a low amount.

Tropez

Moneygrabber1 wrote: »

Best advice is to use live chat to say you want to cancel. If you just ask straight away for a discount, they will, inevitably, so no, or offer you a low amount.

I also think with Live Chat it really depends whether you're speaking to someone in the UK or someone overseas. In my experience, when you get through to a UK-based Live Chat agent with Sky, they are able and happy to take care of a lot of the stuff you would normally do over the phone and this may include making retention offers (I've certainly had such offers given to me in Live Chat by UK based staff before).

If you get through to an overseas based agent, then they don't seem to be able to do much other than offer basic advice (which usually ends with an instruction to call Sky directly), carry out rather basic instructions (such as cancel without making an offer) and to try and up-sell your package regardless of your reason for contacting them (presumably they get paid commission when successful).

marco806

My most recent 50 per cent deal was done on live chat with an Indian.

done and dusted within 5 minutes.