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

hubb

So can anyone here tell me if they have opted for this package AND the sky box and are happy with it. ?

I don't want to get something I will have to give back if they decide to charge a lot more after a year but at the same time I feel a bit sick that I am passing up on a nice free offer for a year. We have freeview and my wife says she isn't keen on Sky as well. Is it really better than freeview ? We don't have a HD tv though.

Again, because we really don't want Sky tv (but don't want to pass it up if free) could we negotiate a better deal if we want just broadband and phone ? Can you use the 18185 number with their phone line ?

I really like 02's service and speed. I just hope they don't disappoint from an already great service.

Lastly, it was less than 7 days ago when they called me. Have I the right to still cancel if I decide to back out ? Can I try and get the £50 like others have done here (though not sure what it is for)

teddysmum

See my post above yours for the £50 deal.

I have taken the bb, phone and tv package, plus Anytime calls which cost £5/month. The only difference phonewise is that the 1471 message is a bit odd, being broken into phrases, so not as smooth as BT's.

My broadband has gone from 4.7/5.4 Mbps to 5.7/6.0 Mbps, which was a good surprise.

I didn't want Sky tv, but it's free and the box is yours to keep, so there's nothing to lose. A lot of programmes are repeats or US (I'm not a fan of most of these), but there are some good programmes and extra sport, too, compared to Freeview.

Catchup is different to using iPlayer etc on a pc, as you have to download, but the advantage is that ITV has no adverts. As the freebie is Entertainment Extra +, you can access box sets, which have some good oldies like Diamond Geezer (David Jason) as well as choose to watch in HD. (our tv is HD ready but only a 32" screen, so HD is not really noticeable, but would be on a larger screen).

There is also Sky Go, where you can watch Sky tv on your laptop, when away from home or in another room.

I took the tv with no intention of keeping it, but, if I'm made a good offer in 12 months' time, who knows ?

hubb

Ok, thanks for that. I might consider having it then but i will need to tell them somehow. I am wondering why they never offered me the £50 credit as i ummed and arred a bit before agreeing.

teddysmum

I had to ask for mine. It wasn't offered.

hubb

What exactly was the £50 for ? Not sure if I can ring and just ask them to give me £50. Were they compensating you for some loss of contract ?

espresso

hubb wrote: »

Again, because we really don't want Sky tv (but don't want to pass it up if free) could we negotiate a better deal if we want just broadband and phone ? Can you use the 18185 number with their phone line ?

I really like 02's service and speed. I just hope they don't disappoint from an already great service.

teddysmum wrote: »

See my post above yours for the £50 deal.

I have taken the bb, phone and tv package, plus Anytime calls which cost £5/month. The only difference phonewise is that the 1471 message is a bit odd, being broken into phrases, so not as smooth as BT's.

My broadband has gone from 4.7/5.4 Mbps to 5.7/6.0 Mbps, which was a good surprise.

Not the only difference|

Sky blocked indirect access calls more than three years ago.

Customers on the Sky Voice and Broadband Network will no longer be able to make calls using a prefix number to access a different telephony provider (known as Indirect Access Calls).

Regarding Sky BB speed, others who have switched from O2/BE have reported that upload speeds are slower on Sky.

buzi

teddysmum wrote: »

Originally the £50 credit was offered, if the user was still in contract, to help cover costs, but some sales people seem to have started offering that, or more, regardless.

moving from o2 you can get £75 credit now if you push them otherwise they offer £40 credit, you mention free tv, is that all channels and how much hassle was it to get set up, i.e sat dish etc

teddysmum

espresso wrote: »

Not the only difference|

Sky blocked indirect access calls more than three years ago. Regarding Sky BB speed, others who have switched from O2/BE have reported that upload speeds are slower on Sky.

I was just quoting the difference for me. I've never used indirect access numbers.

teddysmum

buzi wrote: »

moving from o2 you can get £75 credit now if you push them otherwise they offer £40 credit, you mention free tv, is that all channels and how much hassle was it to get set up, i.e sat dish etc

The tv is Entertainment Extra +, ie does not include Movies ,Sport or 'Extra' channels.

Setup is no problem. They have a list of available slots and the engineer visits within a 4/5 hour slot. We had an ancient dish on the back of the house, so he suggested putting the new dish on the front or by the side of the old, as he said it would be difficult to remove, because it required an obsolete toolkit. However, he did remove it and also fed the cable through the old pre-Virgin box, meaning no wall drilling was required.

He set up the box and explained that they no longer give out an instruction booklet, but that information can be obtained from the website.

hubb

I really can't make my mind up on this. Half of me doesn't want to give in to the dark side and the other half is thinking I may be looking a gift horse in the mouth. I feel it's possibly too late to negotiate further or even cancel because I have agreed to go with them and they now have my bank details.