Satellite Insurance Scams

Tropez

Sky Protect has been offered for years and is not actually a division of Sky but a third party company.

Most people who take it up are those who are unaware that threatening to quit will generally get Sky to sort your equipment free of charge even after the first year, within reason of course. Sky obviously don't want to advertise this because it would result in a huge increase in the number of boxes they hand out that could have been sold and really we don't want the prices pushed up to pay for these boxes either.

skyinsider

Threatening to quit will not get your equipment fixed for free. Sky offer service visits which cost £65 - if you have been with the company for some time they may discount it. In my years I have never seen it for free. Sometimes long standing customers receive free boxes/ upgrades.

In terms of needing there equipment to receive sky - of course you do, but you can buy it from a number of places. You don't need to take the free install and equipment. Virgin charge a £5 pm rental fee for there equipment, sky give it to you - just different ways of doing it.

We once had to deal with a person trying to get sky using a virgin box... needless to say, it didn't work.

penrhyn

Sky Protect is run by Domestic and General, if you DO want to take up the insurance ensure that it is them you are dealing with and not some cowboy outfit that's trying to scam you.
However the previous posts have given the best advise.

custardy

skyinsider wrote: »

Threatening to quit will not get your equipment fixed for free. Sky offer service visits which cost £65 - if you have been with the company for some time they may discount it. In my years I have never seen it for free. Sometimes long standing customers receive free boxes/ upgrades.

In terms of needing there equipment to receive sky - of course you do, but you can buy it from a number of places. You don't need to take the free install and equipment. Virgin charge a £5 pm rental fee for there equipment, sky give it to you - just different ways of doing it.

We once had to deal with a person trying to get sky using a virgin box... needless to say, it didn't work.

really?is that itemised?

skyinsider

custardy wrote: »

really?is that itemised?

It depends on your contract, however, if you ask virgin for a full breakdown they will tell you. It is in their T's & c's too.

The £5 pm is for the newer equipment - I can't recall off hand what we did regarding older equipment.

ashleypride

skyinsider wrote: »

Threatening to quit will not get your equipment fixed for free. Sky offer service visits which cost £65 - if you have been with the company for some time they may discount it. In my years I have never seen it for free. Sometimes long standing customers receive free boxes/ upgrades.

Then instead of threatening actually cancel, and then resubscribe and get a new box. Sky box insurance is not worthwhile ever.

voucher

its just cost my daughter £10 down from £65 to have her box fixed, they replaced it, couldnt be fixed, first she was told she would have to pay £65 or sky wouldnt come out, she told the rude guy to tittle off and had him put her through to cancelations, she then got a nice person saying that he should have offered discount because she has been with sky for years, i think it boils down to the person you speak too but my daughter has said that she was told that £10 is the maximum she would pay because of the length of time she has been with them, (about 7 years), she said the new box is also garanteed

custardy

skyinsider wrote: »

It depends on your contract, however, if you ask virgin for a full breakdown they will tell you. It is in their T's & c's too.

The £5 pm is for the newer equipment - I can't recall off hand what we did regarding older equipment.

so what you are saying is its included in the cost per month.
the set price people pay.
So it doesnt really matter how VM break that down?

Tropez

skyinsider wrote: »

Threatening to quit will not get your equipment fixed for free. Sky offer service visits which cost £65 - if you have been with the company for some time they may discount it. In my years I have never seen it for free.

About six weeks ago Sky replaced my broken HD box for free after I rang up to cancel my subscription due to not being able to receive the service.

davemurgatroyd

lila2609 wrote: »

Hello - Not so much wanting a reply but flagging up a concern.
I and other Sky Customers I know are now being offered "insurance" for our sky equipment including the remote control. It doesn't sit quite right with me when it is equipment I must have to use the Sky Tv Package service I pay for yet Sky do not maintain or replace their equipment if it goes wrong.
The phrase "over a barrel" keeps popping into my mind.
Wondered what anyone else thinks and if this is something that Martin and Team could pick up on.
Thanks for your time.
Ruth

It is not their equipment - you own the whole system from day one and it is yours to keep after you stop subscribing and it will still function as a FTA satellite receiver unlike with Virgin when you stop subscribing their equipment stops functioning and they reclaim it.

Sky's standard flat fee for fixing/replacing anything required to give you a working system is £65 and can usually be negotiated a lot lower depending on your level of subscription and the length of time you have been a subscriber.