MSE News: Sky takes over O2 and Be broadband: What does this mean for customers?

bigbulldog

Why would you get hooked on Sky.

Full price no one pays that as there will always be discount offers to keep you as a customer.



The number is free if you use SAYNOTO0870.COM.:):)

Narc

PegasusPJ wrote: »

O2 customers might not be too bothered as they were already with a big corporation, but judging by the Be forum, Be ones are escaping en masse!
Be customers are generally more tech savy and paid the premium for Be because of the excellent customer service, unthrottled and truly unlimited (long before the other ISPs).. the comments show that people are not leaving happily, but since lots of us were impatiently waiting for Be to offer fibre, now with the sale to Sky, time to jump ship.

When O2 took over Be, they left it alone, and that was the smart move.. Sky are idiots (and Murdoch is not getting my money).

BT engineer came this morning and I'm now on Plusnet fibre, getting 5x the download and 15x the upload for about a couple of quids more than before.
I was with Be for 7+ years!

most Be customers seem to go to either Plusnet or BT.

As a Be customer this is very disappointing. Currently investigating other options since I cannot believe Sky will leave it alone like O2 did if they are talking about migration.

kevanf1

I have it in writing (well, e-mail which is legally binding now) that I will NOT have to change my phone provider (BT). I have no intention of doing so either. I'm not happy about the move but I shall just have to live with it unless it does turn out to be utter pants.

Somebody mentioned PlusNet and BT? Are you aware that PlusNet is actually owned by BT? I would not have my BB with either and yes, I have had both providers (PlusNet pre the BT days). Both were atrocious for BB service with very slow downloads and drop outs. I have had possibly two very minor problems in my 5 or 6 years with O2 both cleared up very quickly, thank you.

only_mee

Yeah my plusnet speeds are shocking




Compared to my O2 days




Customer service is on par with O2 imho free call English call centre.

thegrail

bigbulldog wrote: »

Why would you get hooked on Sky.

Full price no one pays that as there will always be discount offers to keep you as a customer.



The number is free if you use SAYNOTO0870.COM.:):)

Why hooked? Well - if you have all the extra channel in HD and then have to lose them if you go to a different platform? If you've recorded lots of programs for prosperity on your Sky-HD box and then either drop the subscription level or cancel then you can't view the anymore. If you want to switch away from Sky, how easy will it be (technically)? Will you be able to keep your phone number?

I agree, though, you can probably get a good discount if you threaten to cancel - make sure you raise all problems / complaints via retentions...

And I still stick to what I heard from the rep - if you have a BT landline and decide you want to have Sky they will try to force you to switch to full LLU (I think that's the correct term) and move your phone line to Sky; or you take your phone line and broadband to another supplier and then end up paying excessively to ring Sky. I know they used to allow you to have a BT phone line, but they stopped it a while ago - why? Because they want maximum revenue and profits.

As far as 0844 and saynoto0870.com - there doesn't seem to be an alternative to the number on the email offer. To me, with a BT phone line I get 0845 and 0870 included and prefer to not bother with other routes - actually I'd prefer an 0800 number - like O2 has for phone and broadband. Note - Sky does not include 0845 numbers in their inclusive calls and there are still a lot of companies using these.

Quentin

thegrail wrote: »

And I still stick to what I heard from the rep - if you have a BT landline and decide you want to have Sky they will try to force you to switch to full LLU (I think that's the correct term) and move your phone line to Sky; or you take your phone line and broadband to another supplier and then end up paying excessively to ring Sky.......

The rep mislead (lied to)you!

If you are concerned about this issue and don't trust what they have written on their website (that o2 customers not on o2 phone line won't have to move to sky), then write and ask them to confirm to you what is written there!

thegrail

Quentin wrote: »

The rep mislead (lied to)you!

If you are concerned about this issue and don't trust what they have written on their website (that o2 customers not on o2 phone line won't have to move to sky), then write and ask them to confirm to you what is written there!

Thanks Quentin - but I'm not bothered - I'll be jumping ship after my year's free broadband I just don't trust Sky; I don't trust Murdoch.

I can believe they lied, but I can also believe that you can't guarantee what you see on a web site or in an email. If they do change their minds or renege on a statement what is the penalty? Someone got it wrong so you have to switch to another supplier or accept the move to Sky Phone - take your pick. Stick with BT and pay 15p connection + 5p per minute to sit in a phone queue to Sky for 10 minutes (=65p), or switch to Sky Phone and get the call for nothing. They raise this as an issue for not having Sky Phone with the satellite service as well.

esuhl

I was with BE because of their fantastic technical support. They never read from a script and knew exactly what they were doing. I know Sky's support won't be anything like as good, so I looked around for a cheaper deal, and found that (with the £200 cashback deal offered on Quidco), O2 would pay me to have a 12-month contract with them! Seeing as I'd be going to Sky anyway, why not...?

The technical support from O2 is apalling! They don't have a clue about even the very basics of networking technology, and refused to support or provide documentation to explain the features or their own router!

And I'm a bit worried about the Quidco cashback deal. Instead of signing up online, Quidco gave a special phone number to contact O2 directly. The sales woman at O2 assured me that she would email confirmation of the contract, including details of the cashback. I never got the email. When I phoned to query this, I was told that I would definitely get the cashback... but no one in O2 can see any of the details. "So, that's a complete guess, then?", I asked. "Er... yes." came the reply.

I asked for a recording or transcript of the call to be sent to me and was told that it would be illegal because of the Data Protection Act (DPA). I advised them that it would be illegal to refuse to send me such information and they said that I'd have to raise a complaint, which they would only let me do if I don't receive the cashback... at some time in the future... but they don't really know when.

Does anyone know how O2 (or Sky) are going to manage these cashback claims? Anyone else in the same boat?

only_mee

I got my £200 by opting for the 12months free bb, and the £200 was credited to my my mobile phone account.I left after a month or so and still got the £200.

bigbulldog

thegrail wrote: »

As far as 0844 and saynoto0870.com - there doesn't seem to be an alternative to the number on the email offer. To me, with a BT phone line I get 0845 and 0870 included and prefer to not bother with other routes - actually I'd prefer an 0800 number - like O2 has for phone and broadband. Note - Sky does not include 0845 numbers in their inclusive calls and there are still a lot of companies using these.

Try this number as found by saynoto0870.com 020 7126 7020 this took all of a few seconds to find.:)