Setanta Sports - Writing a complaint help please

libra10

Saynoto0870 gives a geographical phone number for this firm -

020 79308926

Might be cheaper when phoning

uk2007

spalford wrote: »

With due respect uk2007, you are a new subscriber on their pay as you go (no contract) package, so have no need to try and contact them with a cancellation request.

I have been a customer on their contract service at £15 per month for over a year. It is a quite different situation. I'm not saying that it is not "excellent value for just £9.99 a month for the sporting content you receive". I am simply warning people that from a monetary and contractual point of view, in my experience they cannot be trusted.

Well I did ring them a few weeks ago to cancel my sub on Sky as I am watching it via DTT and didnt need my Sky one. Got through within a few mins and cancelled. Easy really, then a few days ago I got a phone call confirming my request and asked my reasons why. Seems like rather good customer service if you ask me.

spalford

Have you been employed by them for long?

uk2007

spalford wrote: »

Have you been employed by them for long?

Nope I have never worked and do not work for them!
Just saying thats its a few people that are having problems. Very small amount when you consider how many arent having any problems. With all companies there is always a select few with problems which appear on forums like this. Its very rare for people to go on a forum to praise a company.

JASONROYJONES

UK2007, if you search on google for complaints against Setanta you will find lots of sites with customers bad comments who have been customers for a a period of time longer than yoyrself. You have just joined and having no problems "yet", you try cancelling and then see the difference. When people are being ripped off it does upset you! I see no comments from people who have good things to say about them, only you! Where you the chap that I spoke to on their customer services line the other evening who could not switch me back on for the month's viewing I am owed? Because he certainly needs to go on a course in customer care!

uktim29

JASONROYJONES wrote: »

I have just discovered this forum because I too am having problems with Setanta. They are unbelieveable. Like some of the posts here, I subscribed to Setanta back on 22nd June 2007 under the advertisement on their website. I signed up to the deal buy one month for £15 get two months free, thus meaning a total of 3 months. The viewing came on almost straight away on my sky box. I read the terms and conditions carefully and it said to give 30 days notice if you do not want to continue the subscription. Naturally I assumed this must mean around 22nd August 2007 as I should have 3 months vieiwing until 22nd September 2007. So I e-mailed them 2nd week of August to cancel my subscription. No reply. I e-mailed again. No reply. On the third e-mail when I threatened to cancel the direct debit I received a reply saying they would only deal with telephone calls or letters to the head office for cancellations. So I tried, tried and tried again to get through on the phone. Eventaully I wrote them a letter on 10th August explaining what contract I was one and I was giving them the 30 days notice they require to cancel the subscription and that I have paid for and should have viewing until 22nd September 2007! A week later I heard nothing and again tried getting through to no avail. Again I tried e-mailing but did not get a reply. So this time I took drastic action and cancelled my direct debit with the bank to prevent them taking any further payments! On 21st August I received a phone call from Setanta asking about the letter I sent them. They asked if I wished to cancel my subscription with them. I told them that this was correct but I should have viewing until 22nd September as I signed up to buy one month and get two months free. She said this was correct and that my viewing would actually terminate on 19th September. The next day my viewing to Setanta went off and the message appeared on the screen to contact their customer services. So I spent all evening trying to get through and after 10 pm got through and explained this situation to a young man who seemed to have trouble understanding anything I said. I spent about 30 mins having to describe everything I had done in great detail. Only to be told by him that I had one month free for paying for one month. I told him I had signed up on the buy one month and get two months free. He then said but you have cancelled. I said yes only per your 30 days notice terms. But I still expect to get what I have paid for. He said he could not put my viewing back on unless I gave him my financial details again and paid for a month's subscription in order to get the other free month back. I said I have no intention of doing this and he told me then this conversation is over as there is nothing I can do. I asked him how many others have had similar problems and he said you are the first unhappy customer I have come across. I said that I am going to make a complaing then as I want my months viewing restored or as you have broken the contract a refund of the money I have paid. I asked him about e-mailing and straight from the horses mouth he said we read some e-mails but don't bother with most and sometimes if we feel like it we reply to them. I asked him if this is a way to run a company and he said it is not my company. I wished I had recorded the conversation as this guy is straight out of fawlty towers! I have now written a letter to them explaining everything but do not hold my breath to getting any success as I have never met such abysmall service. I see their ads on TV and just wish I could pop up and say stay clear! I hate it when you are cheated and you try to sort it out and people or companies just don't care!

Is this the worlds biggest paragraph?

djalminha

Look UK2007 I am new to Setanta and on the no contract package, I object to having two payments of £19.99 taken and then not being able to get my money back!!:mad:

Then they cut me off and I rang and couldn't get through eventually got through and an hour later I got the channels back but I've still not had a response to my e-mails and letter and more importantly I have not been refunded.

This is how customer service is judged by dealing with complaints and they just seem to bury their heads in the sand or pass the buck.

I wish we'd all had good experiences like you but we haven't and we want it sorting hence I asked who I complain to about them.

Do I complain to OFCOM or someone else?

Lavendyr

uk2007 wrote: »

Nope I have never worked and do not work for them!
Just saying thats its a few people that are having problems. Very small amount when you consider how many arent having any problems. With all companies there is always a select few with problems which appear on forums like this. Its very rare for people to go on a forum to praise a company.

Hi UK2007 - while it may be rare for people in general to go on a forum to praise a company, sadly, here it happens all too often that a newly registered account will pop up on a thread criticising X company to sing its praises and defend all negative comments whatever the truth.

Because you are newly registered and have only posted in this thread, it looks very much as though you have a particular agenda behind your presence here, i.e. to defend Setanta, which is why many will assume that you either work for them or have a vested interest in defending them. It's not an unreasonable assumption to make, and I'd suggest that if you are a Setanta employee, you admit as much, so that your comments can be placed in context more accurately.

Lavendyr

djalminha wrote: »

Do I complain to OFCOM or someone else?

Hiya, I sympathise with your situation Have you tried writing a letter to the following address:

Customer Services, PO Box 800, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY2 6WD

I would start by sending a letter to that address by recorded delivery so that you have proof it arrived. In that letter, request action within XX working days of receipt.

If they have not replied within the number of days you gave them, write again addressing the letter to Michael O'Rourke, Chief Executive.

If this does not work, see if any of the documentation Setanta has sent you provides an alternative means of resolving a dispute in the event that you are unsatisfied with their internal response/action (i.e. an independent contact). If there is no alternative contact, call Ofcom's advice line and ask them what you can do next. You should be able to show Ofcom that you have absolutely exhausted every means possible of resolving the complaint with Setanta first (otherwise Setanta can claim that you did not give them the opportunity to resolve).

HTH

uk2007

Lavendyr wrote: »

Hi UK2007 - while it may be rare for people in general to go on a forum to praise a company, sadly, here it happens all too often that a newly registered account will pop up on a thread criticising X company to sing its praises and defend all negative comments whatever the truth.

Because you are newly registered and have only posted in this thread, it looks very much as though you have a particular agenda behind your presence here, i.e. to defend Setanta, which is why many will assume that you either work for them or have a vested interest in defending them. It's not an unreasonable assumption to make, and I'd suggest that if you are a Setanta employee, you admit as much, so that your comments can be placed in context more accurately.

I can see where you are coming from, but have nothing to do with Setanta.

I myself have worked in several customer services positions for 2 different companies. There are times when demand is so high that you are flooded with calls, emails, letters etc. Just give them a bit of time to get round to replying to your emails and letters etc.