Sky did not install new dish but used neighbours' which was too low

gaffajames

I've post the first email before, but I thought I would set up a new post as the last one got a bit messy and technical. I've made a little bit of headway, but I'm not satisfied yet. I'll post the reply when I get it.


Dear Sir/Madam,

I had my Sky+HD box installed in February and have had nothing but trouble with it since. I have had to call the customer service centre at least 10 times.

Firstly, the recording function has never worked properly. This was the main reason I chose Sky over Virgin media (and because I thought Sky would be more reliable!). Several of the calls I have made have been about this in part. I have been through all sorts of reboots and procedures and whilst these seem to fix the problem for a day it always reverts. The pause function also does not work.

Secondly, I constantly have problems with the schedule information not being available. I came back to Sky after having been with Virgin for a couple of years, partly because I prefer your interface. This is pointless without any schedule information.

The biggest technical problem I have is that there is no signal being received a lot of the time. It is an intermittent fault that will come and go 10-20 times during a program. One time when I called I was given a few days credit. This is inadequate. I have been without a consistent signal for a couple of months now which is infuriating.

The final, and most annoying, problem has been the poor customer service I have received. Once when I called I said I wanted to complain and was told I couldn't because the technical problem had not been resolved yet. This is nonsense. Twice I have been cut off. One time I had a very surly customer representative (who got a very low feedback on the online survey you send out).

The worst customer service I have had is related to the loss of signal. I went through all the reboot procedures with someone on the phone. Eventually he told me that it was a satellite dish problem. I explained that I shared the dish with the owner of the flat downstairs, but that it was just us two. He told me to call the communal dish phone line. I called them and clearly explained the arrangement. They transferred me to a company called Love Digital. Love Digital told me that the dish was not installed by them and that it was not a communal dish in that it was not shared by a block of flats. They said that Sky had installed the dish as it was at a low level and only used by two of us (the dish was there for the man downstairs first and the Sky engineer merely connected my box to the spare outputs on the dish). I called Sky back and explained this (I was very annoyed by now, but remained restrained on the phone). I said that I wanted to speak to a manager about this. The man on the phone took my mobile and said someone would call back. A couple of days later I received a call from Love Digital. This was beyond a joke!! I explained the situation to Love Digital, they rechecked their systems and once again told me to call Sky. I called again today and the woman on the phone booked in a visit by an engineer. She said it was odd that the engineer had not been booked previously. I agree.

Once the engineer has resolve the problem I would consider the situation resolved in one of two ways. The first option I would accept is that you refund the subscription fees that I have paid since installation in February to make up for the fact that I have not received the service I have been paying for. The second option which I suspect would be preferable to you is that you upgrade my package to Sky+HD with Sky World for the same monthly subscription fee I pay now for rest of the time I remain a customer with you. This would be preferential for you I think, as the marginal cost of providing the extra channels will be nothing and you would not have to refund over £200 to me.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,
Gavin

***********************************************************************

Dear Mr Todd-James

I am sorry to hear of the problems that you have been experiencing with your service.
I tryed to contact you today to discuss the issue unfortunately no answer.
Having looked at your account, I can see that your equipment is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. This means that for the duration of the warranty you will not need to pay for any service calls or repairs that may be required.

Our engineer will try to repair the problem on site for you, but if that’s not possible, they will replace your existing box with refurbished equipment. This replacement box will then have a 90-day warranty or the manufacturer’s warranty will continue until the end of it’s term.

As a company which very much values its customers, we invest considerable resources in staff training and monitoring procedures to maintain the quality of our customer service. All our staff are made fully aware of their responsibility to be courteous and helpful in dealing with any customer call, and conduct of the sort you describe is clearly not acceptable.

However, I do recognise that you have experienced these problems with your service and I’m sorry that this has given you cause to write to me.

As, you clearly haven’t had a great experience when dealing with us, I’ve applied a viewing credit of £10.29 to your Sky account from the first date we booked the engineer until the engineer visit with and I hope that you’ll accept it with my compliments.

I can also give a half price offer for the Sports and Movies with the 6 mix for £45.75 including the HD mix for 3 months. If you would like me to apply the offer to your account please reply to this email or contact our Customer Service Team on 08442 414 141 where one of my colleagues will be able to help.

This credit will be deducted from your next monthly subscription payment and as you have registered with MYSKY, you’ll be able to see this information via [mse won't allow me to post links so I've cut this].

You will also be able to view your monthly bill, view historical statements, and change your packages. There’s so much more that you can do over and above this, it’s all just a click away.

In the meantime you may find assistance via our online helpcentre at the following link: [mse won't allow me to post links so I've cut this]

I hope this helps with your enquiry.
Kind regards
Caroline
Sky Help Centre

***********************************************************************

Dear Caroline,

I was out of the country until Monday so I thought it best to wait until the engineer's visit before replying. The engineer installed a new separate dish for me, much higher (approx 10 feet) than the one that belonged to the downstairs flat, to which the previous engineer had wired my box. The issues with the signal, recording and schedule information have now cleared up.

This now makes it very clear that the reason that I have suffered extensive problems since February is because the previous engineer could not be bothered to install a new dish for me at the correct height. The lower dish is obstructed by a tree next door, which has certainly not grown 10 feet since February. The engineer that came out yesterday said that the previous engineer should have installed a dish much higher and that normally they try to put dishes as high as possible to avoid obstructions.

As I see it there are two outstanding issues. Firstly the viewing credit of £10.29. You have calculated this figure from the date you booked an engineer to attend to the problem. Clearly it is not my fault if you did not send an engineer when I first called to say that I had no signal. You should credit me from this point which was weeks earlier. I am afraid I do not know exactly when this was so I would like you to send me all the data you hold on my file including the dates of my calls and details logged on them. I am entitled to this information under the Section 7(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Secondly, we have discussed compensation for the poor service I received for the duration of my contract with you. As we now know, this is due to your engineer not installing a dish for me, but relying on the one already set up for downstairs, which he would have (or at least should have) known was already too low. Frankly, I am insulted that you think that you can try and cream more money off me, by asking me to pay another 50% on top of my package for the Sports and Movies with the 6 mix. As I said in my previous email, offering this package for free will save you a great deal of money, rather than having to refund the entirety of my subscription fees since February.

If you offer me this package for free, with the appropriate viewing credit, I will consider the matter closed.

Regards,

Gavin