Setanta Sports - Writing a complaint help please

davethemaster

pen1, if you do have a log of all these being sent, and all the relivant delivery codes and receipts to support this, why not send in a refund request to their refund department? refunds can take up to 28 days to be processed and fully investigated ,so be patient. maybe they will look into it and send you a refund. might be worth a try.

and phil rule, im sorry but everything you have said there is absolutly ludecrous. obviously if you have an issue with your account then you will be contacted. but i do not believe for a second that you were contacted 104 times by different means in a 21 day period.having a basic knowledge of how call centres work, if you had explained the situation to them, (even in cases of disputes and refusing to pay, these accounts would be passed down the cycle, not repeatedly called ) but surely sending them over 200 e-mails is more of a childish thing to do, a rather big waste of your time, time you could have spent doing somthing which would solve your problem?
if you speak to any setanta advisor they will try and resolve your issue, unless it goes against the terms and conditions. which setanta are as bound by as you are.
yes, you can ask setanta to remove you from their mailing list, even their dialler list. if their is no reason or issue with your account that would need to be resolved. but everything you said about holding details being in breach of data protection law is an absolute heap of rubbish. as a supplier they have the right to hold a copy of their business transations and the parties in which they sell to. as every company does. also detailed notes as to what took place in every stage of your subscription. this would also help with any complaints, refunds of anything regarding the account after its terminatation.as for filing a harrasment report, i would not be able to comment as i am not familiar with the legality of reciving calls from a company you are subscribed to, in an attempt to resolve an issue with your account. but i wouldnt imagine this is incorrect. ( i may be wrong)
i think you are an extremly silly individual, sir. acting in the way you have, as surely anyone would be able to see that this would not have been the best course of action to take, and would reach no logical conclusion.



as for setanta broadband, the customer services agents (as far as i am aware) only deal with freeview and satellite. if you are having problems with it, the best advice would be to e-mail them about your problem, and someone will get back to you.

pen1

davethemaster wrote: »

pen1, if you do have a log of all these being sent, and all the relivant delivery codes and receipts to support this, why not send in a refund request to their refund department? refunds can take up to 28 days to be processed and fully investigated ,so be patient. maybe they will look into it and send you a refund. might be worth a try.

As I said, I claimed the overpayment back from my bank under the direct debit scheme, in the absence of a response by Setanta.

I claimed the refund from my bank after 34 days had passed since Setanta had been alerted to the error.

Setanta took 46 days to conclude the action needed to remedy their errors, and restore the accounts so that they billed correctly going forward.

I can assure you that I keep a very organized file of correspondence from/to Setanta, delivery receipts, records of phone calls etc.

I can say on this forum, with the confidence that I could back it up, that the customer service has been terrible.

WestHamTrevor

I can't seem to find any solution to my problem so please excuse me if this has been written about before.

I joined up to setanta while the world cup qualifiers were on. Then in october I couldnt afford it, so I followed there cancellation procedure and emailed them. Got a reply 2 days later stating that it would be cancelled 30 days from my next payment... fair enough... so my last payment should be 12th November and 30 days after that is roughly 12 December it will end.... no it hasn't! I have only just realised that I have payed £12.99 on 12/12 and now on 12/01! Even though I have an email from Setanta telling me it will.

So they have taken 2 payments after I have cancelled!

Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do? will I be refunded? Should I have cancelled the direct debit to them or should they have done that automatically?

Cheers

davethemaster

what you need to do is ring their customer service number (0871 200 33 22), if your account should have previously been terminated, they will cancel your account, stopping any futher payments from coming out. then all you need to do is write a letter and ask for your over payments back.
is there has been an error im sure they would refund this.
one of the customer service agents will give you the adress and your account number and everything else you need.

teach2much

I recently tried to activate my 3 months of Setanta to watch a match and was told when I 1st phoned at 11 am that it would be done within the hour and not to worry. After about 6 calls to the fantastic premium rate number amounting to approx 2 hours of pointless chat I still did not have any joy. I then spoke to a well trained representative of the company who informed me that it was only a very vocal 1% of customers who they simply couldn't help and that it may take me up to 2 weeks to get the signal through. When I then asked for the address to write to about complaining he implied that I could try it on if I wanted. From where I am sitting (with a black screen instead of any sport which I have been charged for) it appears that this joke is running thin and that they are trying it on and not being held accountable.

Has anyone had any luck claiming costs back for both viewing and calls wasted to their poorly trained staff?

Anyway I am now going to recommend this well trained bunch to absolutely no one I ever meet. What great publicity, eh. WELL DONE. Stay away at all costs. If desperate to watch sport save up and get sky for half the time instead.

pen1

davethemaster wrote: »

what you need to do is ring their customer service number (0871 200 33 22), if your account should have previously been terminated, they will cancel your account, stopping any futher payments from coming out. then all you need to do is write a letter and ask for your over payments back.

If there's been an error on the part of Setanta they should process any repayment as soon as it has been brought to their attention and stop insisting that the customer make a written claim for the money that's been wrongly taken, in my view.

It's not good customer service, in my view, for a business to pass the onus of remedying their mistakes and/or inefficiency back to the customer.

glynners

I'm in the 'Setanta are a shocking company' boat now.

Been a subscriber since August 2007. In October I had Sky multiroom installed and promptly setup Setanta on the new box aswell. Three months free of charge then an extra £2.99 thereafter.

On Friday I check my bank to find a 2nd payment of £12.99 had been taken from my account - 1st payment taken as usual on the 6th. I ring up their Customer Services and an agent apologises for the oversight and offers me another 3 months free to offset the error, not ideal but I'm happy to agree and all is well.

However, yesterday, my brother comes round and asks if he could watch the Aberdeen - Celtic game on Setanta, he switches to the channel and low and behold its gone off.

Ring up again, this time they can find no record of two payments, no record of my original account, no record of my phone call on Friday, nothing. In fact they say I owe them £36.98!! I've paid every month by dd for 18 months. The guy goes away and comes back, apologises and says that they have a record of payment requested on 12th Jan - the 2nd one - but I've since cancelled my subscribtion.....No i havent, in fact so far this month I've paid twice, I should have double viewing not none! He goes away again, this time, he says they will waive the connection fee and I ONLY need to pay £12.99 to get through to Feb.....how nice....

NO, I've paid twice this month, I'm not paying a 3rd time. They say if I'm not willing to pay then they are "not willing to reconnect me".

Quite angry by this point, its been an hour and I've got nowhere. Suddenly the guy perks up, oh I found your original account sir....whoopieee....puts me on hold again, this time however, it cuts off after 5 minutes, lines dead. I ring back immediately only to be told the agent I was dealing with has gone home....!!!!!!!!

Any record of what I've just been speaking to him about...for the last hour? Of course theres not.

I repeat myself for what seems like the 100th time and the girl replies that the only payment record they can find is for the 2nd of Jan....and thats it. Suprising that, no record of the 12th then? Nope. My soul is broken by this point so I hang up and email a complaint.

Eagerly awaiting their reply. Wont hold my breath though.

babadag

Freddie_Snowbits wrote: »

I am sorry but I cannot see what the problem is here. I get the footie I want for £9.99 a month and no yearly contract, with a £10 connection fee.

No problem for me or Mrs Freddie. Of down now to watch the footie, feet up, beer, and cuddles from my Pu55y. The wife will get a cuddle as well!

(PC Profanity checkers. P U S S Y is my Cat, Monty! Just like S!!!!horpe was years ago!)[/q "How are things on the moon these days"

nico11

Decided to cancel Setanta after 3 months as I never really watch it and cant justify £12 per month for something I hardly watch.

Sent and emailed a cancellation letter on the 6th Jan giving 30 days notice from the 7th Jan (next payment date) with subscription ending on the 6th Feb, I also cancelled my Direct Debit on the 8th Jan (after they took payment for the 30 days on the 7th) so that I didnt get stung in subsequent months!

Got a confirmation via email telling me cancellation had been received and would end on 25th Feb 09?!?
Emailed Setanta as to why they think it ends on 25th as I gave 30 days noticce and got this back....

Dear xxxxxx
Thank you for your email and please accept our apologies for the length of time it has taken to respond.
Your cancellation will finish on the 25th Febuary because you will recieve a final free month from Setanta Sports
Yours sincerely
Conleth Baxter
Customer Services

Very nice I thought!!!

Turned on Setanta on Friday 23rd Jan to watch the Derby v Forest (Im a Forest fan) and got the message telling me that I needed to subscribe (even though I had paid for the months subscription)!

Called customer services and explained that I had a valid and paid for subscrition up to the 6th Feb so why no transmission? Setanta advisor explained that account was on hold and service stopped due to non payment! I explained that I had paid on the 7th by DD, the money had definately gone out and I was due paid for service. The advisor agreed that he could see the payment come in on the 7th but then informed me that as I had cancelled the Direct Debit, I had broken the T&C's of the contract!!!!

I couldnt believe this and asked why I needed a DD when I had paid for the 30 dyas notice period and further monies wasnt needed, he then went on about breaking the T&C's. I then asked where in the T&C's it stated this (I had the contract open on the internet) as I cant find it, I was then told that he didnt know where but it was there!
Anyway, after getting nowhere and after abiout 45 mins with the advisor, I asked to speak to a supervisor or manager, hI was told he would find one, I was put on hold for 15 mins and then he came back and told me that there wasnt a supervisor or Manager available! I asked to hold until one was and was then told that there wasnt one there!!!

Eventually, as I wasnt going to get my service resumed and noone apart from the advisor was available to talk to me, I was asked to give my contact details and a manager would call me the following day.

Well, its now Tuesday, 4 days after my initial call and nobody has called me back, I still dont have a Setanta transmission even though I have paid for it until the 6th Feb and not including the 1 month free they have given me meaning my service should end on the 25th Feb. I have since also received 2 letters threatening court action if I do not call them!!!

What a nightmare, I will call them again to go through this when I can find a spare 2 hours of my life to waste!

Is there not somone I can contact with regards to not getting a service that has been paid for? I feel like this is theft with me paying for a service and not getting it.........If im going to be mugged, at least wear a balaclava when you're doing it!!

greentrader

My two pennies...

I have been chasing Setanta for years, it was Racing UK to start with and then it all came under the Setanta banner. I was paying £20 at the time for my first card/box and then they changed the price to £15. I wanted a second card/box but at that time it was the full amount again and I found that too expensive. When they dropped the price to £15 they also offered a second card/box for £7.50 per month. It meant a 12 month contract but that wasn't a problem. I then noticed they were charging me £20 + £7.50. I called them and got nowhere as they always claimed they could not deal with that problem and that the appropriate member of staff could not be reached internally. I was asked to supply a phone number and was assured someone would call. A week went by and no call came. I called again and again and again and the outcome was the same, no call. I then wrote to them in Fife and sent it Recorded Delivery..no response. I tried to track the letter via Royal Mail but this isn't actually possible and you should use Special Delivery if you genuinely want to ensure it is signed for by the correct person. Recorded means it was posted by the Royal Mail but that's the end of it after that point. This is honest advice and my solicitor has confirmed it, you must use Special Delivery to be certain.

I sent a letter by Registered and waited for a reply. I didn't get one so I called them again. That was a waste of my breath and the cost of the call. I wrote again and then I got a letter back saying they would deal with the matter. They didn't. I then decided to call and ask to cancel and they agreed to refund the extra and give me 3 months free. They agreed the mistake was theirs and the best way was to cancel all previous accounts and start a new one. I asked them if I would be subject to a new 12 month contract and they said no. I agreed to get it set-up and thought that was the end of the matter as I was fed up of the aggravation. They told me on the phone my fees were now £14.99 for the main card/box and £2.99 for the next box. Like the idiot I am I asked if I could add my son's card to the service as he loved the baseball. It was another £2.99 so I agreed. At this time the main fee was changed to £12.99 so I expected my account to reflect this change.

I then checked my DD and I was being charged £15.00, £2.10, £12.99 and £2.99. Once again the merry-go-round started and I spoke to them. It took another 6 months to find a resolution but they assured me it was now sorted. I was given my son's fees free for 3 months and a promise of a refund. I checked my DD the next month and now I was paying £12.99, £12.99 and £2.99. So I wasn't getting anything free and I was paying an extra £10 per month for the privilege. I wrote to them again and this time they acknowledged my letter and offered me a refund of £15 and the promise I would pay £12.99 + £2.99 + £2.99 per month. I had the refund so I though it all looked to be sorted.

I checked my DD and now I was paying £19.49 per month and it should have been £18.87. I complained again and they apologised again after it took me about 40 minutes on the phone trying to explain the mistake in payments. They were convinced it was correct. I asked where the other refunds were to correct all of my other overpayments and they said it was being auctioned.

The next month I checked my DD and guess what? I am now on a new plan but it's a familiar one. I pay £12.99 + £12.99 + £2.99 and that represents a loss to me of £10.00 every month.

This has been going on for about 2 years, I have the letters etc but they're filed in my office. Yes davethemaster, it's all logged and I do have postal receipts etc etc.

I called Setanta again and told them of the problems. I was then told they had NO records of any complaint from me and that their system did not indicate I had called them. I asked how come I had a refund and quoted the date. I asked them why I also had 3 months free? I sarcastically suggested that perhaps I had won a lucky dip that nobody knew about but it was wasted on them. They basically denied all of it so I quoted names and royal mail references. "Please hold the line....long pause...ah, Mr XXXXX, I am sorry I misspelled your name and was looking at the wrong details" I asked how they misspelled my Viewing Card number as that was their chosen method to identify me and I had then confirmed my details for security purposes...their words not mine!

So I say Setanta do ignore you and they do misplace letters. They also don't give two hoots about their clients on a personal level. The bean counters are happy so the odd complaint (odd complaint in real terms to them) doesn't matter.

However, the bean counters don't get to see all of the complaints and they don't know the true extent of the incompetence that prevails amongst their customer service staff. This also applies to senior management within Setanta who would not treat clients in this way if they knew the true extent.

The senior management should know the extant of the problems and these matters should be dealt with so it is not exactly a great advert for Setanta as a company and it flies in the face of the comments made by Richard Brooke on Radio 5Live. I have worked in large companies and held senior positions up to board level and in some of those companies I have had near bun fights with fellow managers who would quote you one figure on customer satisfaction, complaint percentages etc when I knew the figures to be complete BS. That is down to the senior manager allowing his staff to feed him duff info or for him to take the info he wanted to know.

Setanta must have a very poor CRM system and one that prevails in a lot of the companies I have worked for. The big problem is lack of ownership for the complaints received. If you were given an incident number and that number was assigned to a member of staff then you would have accountability. If that member of staff was judged on how they cleared their list of complaints then a lot of these problems would go away. Yes, staff members could "hide" or "fudge" a few but CRM software is pretty savvy these days and there is an audit trail



It’s better than the current system where there is no accountability and you just get no help. I have lost count of the exact number of times I have phoned them but I’ve never managed to speak with the same person twice. If you take a name and ask to speak to that person you are always told “they’re not working” or “they’re on the phone” “on holiday” etc and this is followed up with an insulting “Can I help you?” They start with the greatest of intent but as soon as the going gets tough they find a way out. I’ve had the “please hold the line whilst I speak with my supervisor” only to be disconnected. When you call back that person is suddenly unavailable so the merry-go-round keeps turning.
My account problem along with those of many others could easily be solved but nobody is willing to take ownership and deal with it professionally. It suggests that Setanta don’t pay these people too well, don’t train these people properly or don’t reward them for resolving disputes. It certainly suggests there is very little job satisfaction amongst the staff.

My issue has been running for 2 years and I am still no nearer getting it solved. I spoke today and told them I needed to get the refund sorted and my accounts cancelled. I spent 30 minutes on the phone and the person assured me she would deal with the matter and would call me back when she had done so. Imagine my surprise when she actually called me! My joy and surprise soon turned to anguish when she announced “Hello Mr XXXXXX it’s XXXXX from Setanta. I spoke with my supervisor and we have solved your problem for you, all of your accounts have been cancelled” I then enquired about the refunds and she added “There is no refund, we have cancelled the accounts as you asked and cannot just give you a refund” I tried in vain to tell her that I asked for a refund of the overpayment and then wanted to cancel my accounts but she seemed to have conveniently omitted the refund when talking to her supervisor. She informed me “I will ask again and will call you back with the refund details” She had all of the financial details so it just required some simple arithmetic to confirm the amount I had requested.
I’m still awaiting that call with the refund amount but I am not holding my breath.