Satellite Insurance Scams

firestronaut

I signed up to this because they pressured me into it. Gonna cancel it today - they haven't even send me any kind of contract!

I was thinking that surely if it failed within the first 12 months, it would be replaced, and then I thought.. if it failed outside the 12 months, I'd just cancel my contract and then sign back up again...

macman

And would it really be a national emergency if you lost your sat feed over a weekend?

maginot

I wouldn't bother, although it probably does what it says on the tin, it is not needed.

If you are within your 12 month contract, sky will send an engineer free and replace your box and if you're out of contract just go to cancellations and they will 9 times out of 10 send an engineer free of charge.

If you are really unlucky, as mentioned above, you can buy them cheaply on eBay. However in my 6 years of being with Sky, the box has died twice out of contract and they have replaced it for free both times.

macman

firestronaut wrote: »

I signed up to this because they pressured me into it. Gonna cancel it today - they haven't even send me any kind of contract!

I was thinking that surely if it failed within the first 12 months, it would be replaced, and then I thought.. if it failed outside the 12 months, I'd just cancel my contract and then sign back up again...

That wouldn't work-but threatening (in a nice way of course) to leave because you 'can't afford the £65 call out charge' will invariably result in a free call out.

firestronaut

macman wrote: »

That wouldn't work-but threatening (in a nice way of course) to leave because you 'can't afford the £65 call out charge' will invariably result in a free call out.

Fair enough! :rotfl:

mrs_sparrow

I am not in the 12 months contract, the box is 4 years old now and we have never bought any service package before - we have been with Sky for 14 years, no cable here and to get Freesat we need a new aerial put up as we are quite remote.

We have the white Sky+ box (approx 7 years old) in one room and the HD box in another.

The HD box has to be switched off several times a week now to reboot it as it will not show us what is on and says that x programme started 776549387474 minutes ago. I looked at upgrading the white Sky+ box but it's £109.

I only intending on getting the Sky Protect for one year to get a new box out of it - give it a month or so to make the service call and then ring and get it cancelled after 11 months. It would also give us some scope if the White Sky+ box failed (it went a bit iffy this week and we have not used it for a while). We also have problems with the satallite signal and cables but hubby fixes all the cables and the dish connection thing himself when there are problems but the HD box seems to be failing this time. £99 is cheaper than £109 for a new box. I'd rather not buy a 2nd hand or recon one and if I was from Sky it would have 12 months warranty.

And Sky do come on a Sunday as they came to install the HD box on a Sunday. I did not want to get the package and find it takes a month for them to come and fix.

So again, on that basis, for one year and to get a new box, is it worth it??

It was not about getting it fixed straightaway really, more about getting it fixed within a reasonable amount of time.

penrhyn

macman wrote: »

And would it really be a national emergency if you lost your sat feed over a weekend?

Possibly not but clearly a breach on the ECHR Article 8.

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence, and satellite television service.

2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

spike7451

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

I am not in the 12 months contract, the box is 4 years old now and we have never bought any service package before - we have been with Sky for 14 years, no cable here and to get Freesat we need a new aerial put up as we are quite remote.

We have the white Sky+ box (approx 7 years old) in one room and the HD box in another.

The HD box has to be switched off several times a week now to reboot it as it will not show us what is on and says that x programme started 776549387474 minutes ago. I looked at upgrading the white Sky+ box but it's £109.

I only intending on getting the Sky Protect for one year to get a new box out of it - give it a month or so and then ring and get it cancelled. It would also give us some scope if the White Sky+ box failed (it went a bit iffy this week and we have not used it for a while). We also have problems with the satallite signal and cables but hubby fixes all the cables and the dish connection thing himself when there are problems but the HD box seems to be failing this time. £99 is cheaper than £109 for a new box. I'd rather not buy a 2nd hand or recon one and if I was from Sky it would have 12 months warranty.

And Sky do come on a Sunday as they came to install the HD box on a Sunday. I did not want to get the package and find it takes a month for them to come and fix.

So again, on that basis, for one year and to get a new box, is it worth it??

It was not about getting it fixed straightaway really, more about getting it fixed within a reasonable amount of time.

Couple of points as I mentioned above,the boxes used on service calls are NOT new,they are reconditioned boxes that have been recovered from other service calls & repaired &,in some cases,the box you get may be older than the one you had.
Boxes only come with a THREE month warranty,not 12 month.
And yes they do work on a Sunday but the's not as many installers working then.

mrs_sparrow

spike7451 wrote: »

Complete waste of money!(And I'm saying that as a ex Sky engineer)
A service call itself is only £65 & the box has a three month warranty if it's replaced. (they use reconditioned boxes on repairs)
Why pay the guts of £200 just in case...Over ten years you're paying about a grand,A grand that could be spent on,say a holiday.I've had Sky since it came out & only had an issue with a failing PSU on a Thompson box (probably the same issue you're having)
These repair plans are a good money maker for Sky on a system that if installed correctly,will last a lifetime.
And as for the "access to Sky Engineer 7 days a week" Sky installers work seven days a week BUT if your system goes faulty today,the is no guarantee that an installer will be out to fix it that day.

How much is a PSU repair Spike? We have the Black Sky+ HD box.

spike7451

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

How much is a PSU repair Spike? We have the Black Sky+ HD box.

About £35,the's a list of digibox repairers in the board sticky or if you know any one who's good with a soldering iron,you can but the parts cheaper & diy.

http://www.free-sat-tv.co.uk/skyhdopen.php

Or google Sat Cure <one word> (you cannot post their links for some reason)