Sky boxes must (now) be connected or they will charge a penalty...

RDMC

This is the gist of communications I started receiving from Sky last autumn regarding our (then) three Sky boxes (2x Sky+ and 1x Sky+HD), after a number of years of no hassle, a perfectly maintained account on our part, and having originally carefully ascertained more than once (but only verbally) that they would NOT require permanent box connection to an (old-fashioned!) telephone line, but maybe just occasionally for test purposes.

After remonstrating with them that in effect my contract was based on the above understanding, not their newly/lately-made demands based on the pro-forma wording, I had no effective response whatsoever other than a flat refusal to change their position, and no acknowledgement of their late change of stance on this.

They then started charging me in effect a penalty tariff (about £100+ over three months) as they had threatened.

So I gave notice and cancelled the contract and paid up to date, and switched back (we were with Tele-West/Virgin before, some years ago) to Virgin for TV. (We have had Tele-West/Virgin 'phone and broadband happily for many years.) No archaic telephone line connection requirement; interactive services all through the fibre-optic cable. And all three replacement boxes are HD boxes so no extra to pay to upgrade two of them, which we were planning to do with Sky.

Then we have had a recent saga of non-existent customer service/non-communication (left hand apparently not knowing what right hand has agreed) where Sky have failed to properly acknowledge the contract termination and have billed us for continued services after the previously agreed termination date!

Many large modern firms are very imperfect, but Sky gets my current 'Yuck!' award for its couldn't care-less and bullying attitude to a long-established customer, and it's incompetence in dealing with account closure admin., amounting in my view to harassment.

spike7451

The boxes on Multiroom being connected to the same phoneline has always been a requirement long before I went to work for Sky as an engineer mid 2006.
As it states that in the Terms & Conditions, your argument that

After remonstrating with them that in effect my contract was based on the above understanding,

and that being

and having originally carefully ascertained more than once (but only verbally) that they would NOT require permanent box connection to an (old-fashioned!) telephone line, but maybe just occasionally for test purposes.

does not hold water.The T&C's are listed on Sky's website & are included in the paperwork you received when signing up to Sky.
Verbal confirmation in this day & age does not hold water.I'm afraid you fall into the catagory of not having done your homework fist & checked out the T&C's in writing instead,you went by the (very often wrong) information provided by someone in a Sky call center somewhere.Instead you are blaming Sky for your failing to check things out properly.
Sorry to be blunt but I hear this day after day at work.(not for Sky anymore tho)

scousemouser43

where does that leave my daughter who moved into a house she is renting but does not have a landline active but she is getting sky hd at the moment

zartub

scousemouser43 wrote: »

where does that leave my daughter who moved into a house she is renting but does not have a landline active but she is getting sky hd at the moment

that wont matter because 1. it was already installed there before she moved in 2. or they were happy with that situation ( no landline ) when they actually installed it so dont worry about it

Kurtis_Blue

zartub wrote: »

that wont matter because 1. it was already installed there before she moved in 2. or they were happy with that situation ( no landline ) when they actually installed it so dont worry about it

If the box is the one and only box on the contract it will be fine, but surely the one thing this post proves is that it doesn't matter what the situation was on installation ALL multi-room boxes should be connected as per the t&c, what installers have communicated on the day is meaningless.

Every thing verbally agreed with Virgin, Sky, BT MUST be followed up in writing or ignored.

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

scousemouser43 wrote: »

where does that leave my daughter who moved into a house she is renting but does not have a landline active but she is getting sky hd at the moment

Although Sky's T&C's say a single box should be connected to a phone line for the first year, it doesn't have to be.

Multiroom boxes are required to be connected to phones lines at all times.

Mind you, there are people on here who've got multiroom and never had their boxes connected. In theory it should be a matter of time before they get charged.

spike7451

Kurtis_Blue wrote: »

If the box is the one and only box on the contract it will be fine, but surely the one thing this post proves is that it doesn't matter what the situation was on installation ALL multi-room boxes should be connected as per the t&c, what installers have communicated on the day is meaningless.

Every thing verbally agreed with Virgin, Sky, BT MUST be followed up in writing or ignored.

Do Sky still do the Phoneless install for a one off £25 for single box jobs?...I think they do.

System

spike7451 wrote: »

Do Sky still do the Phoneless install for a one off £25 for single box jobs?...I think they do.

They do still charge the £25 for connection with no landline.

RDMC

Noted Spike 7451, and I too have been a round a long time, but controlling what your staff (especially different staff, on separate occasions) represent to customers is called proper staff training, and companies have some responsibility for that. If Sky were in the financial services sector (and arguably with the charges they make, they are!) they would be legally responsible for both training and competence of staff and 'clear, fair and not misleading' communications with customers, with no excuses.

I wouldn't have been angry about this if they'd bothered to apologise for any misleading comments by their staff, which were largely made some time ago anyway, and I knew there was always some possible legal risk from their contract terms, but their attitude in this case has been typical of many large firms that pay lip service to customer satisfaction but in practice show they don't give a damn about individuals who find themselves out of line with obviously inconsistently applied terms and conditions.

Anyway, I've nothing against hard working and fair minded folk who may work, or have worked, for Sky, and as a physics graduate from many years ago, I think the performance Sky get from satellite technology is amazingly good. But I'm also glad we have a reasonably competitive product choice in the UK, with other very good product offerings including fibre-optic cable. And other firms who might just (I hope anyway) be trying a bit harder to be fair to, and not mislead, their individual customers.

d123

spike7451 wrote: »

The boxes on Multiroom being connected to the same phoneline has always been a requirement long before I went to work for Sky as an engineer mid 2006.
As it states that in the Terms & Conditions, your argument that and that being does not hold water.

you are right and it goes back much further than that, I seem to remember getting my original multiroom box around 2000/2001 and being told verbally and in writing that because of multiroom I had to keep the boxes connected to a phone line.

They do also check up, when the carpet fitters managed to put a nail through the telephone extension to the multiroom box I had a letter from sky about the box not being connected within a few weeks.

Don't see what the OP is complaining about, they have always been upfront about it.

shifty27

I think it's if your under their 12 month contract that you have to have the line connected on multi-room boxes.

I got a letter from sky a year ago about a line not being connected. Now i've not been under contract (rolling) for about 4 months and have not had the line connected. No letters or emails from sky regarding this.