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Why can't I cancel Sky by email?
Funny how it's so easy to upgrade online, but if you want to cancel your subscription they make you telephone them. I have emailed twice, the second time with tons of security information as that was their excuse for not being able to do it, and all I got was an email telling me to phone them. Their hold times are ridiculously long.
I only want to cancel because my white sky plus box is faulty and keeps being unable to pause or record. Then last night the remote must have dropped off the sofa and the batteries came out. I didn't realise til this morning so of course now the remote doesn't work the box anymore. I've tried every code I can find online and all it has done is make the remote work the tv, which it never did before, but not the sky box.
I can't afford to pay for a new box and when I checked online, there were no upgrade offers for me as I already have their family pack and movies.
I really think Sky should replace faulty boxes for free, considering that we're already paying them a monthly subscription. Plus I'm pretty sure they only gave me a 2nd hand box to start with.
I only want to cancel because my white sky plus box is faulty and keeps being unable to pause or record. Then last night the remote must have dropped off the sofa and the batteries came out. I didn't realise til this morning so of course now the remote doesn't work the box anymore. I've tried every code I can find online and all it has done is make the remote work the tv, which it never did before, but not the sky box.
I can't afford to pay for a new box and when I checked online, there were no upgrade offers for me as I already have their family pack and movies.
I really think Sky should replace faulty boxes for free, considering that we're already paying them a monthly subscription. Plus I'm pretty sure they only gave me a 2nd hand box to start with.
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The time is coming up when I do my annual downgrade of removing Sky Sports for the summer. In the past I've just sent them an email and they've done it okay, if I have to phone up this time then I won't be taking Sports again in the autumn and may even consider removing Sky altogether. (In the past they've always accepted the email but they seem to be taking a harder line now from what some have said on other forums).
We all know why they do it, that doesn't make it right though and the excuses about needing security information are garbage.
they arrange a time,
The chap tried to keep me...fair enough, but then realised i wouldn't budge.
i have now got 2 boxes for sale the white sky+ and HD
Come the end of March I was just flicking through the channels and noticed the movies were still on. Yet another lengthy and costly phone call ensued and I did at least get a Scottish lady this time who activated the cancellation straight away after I explained I had already tried to do this about 6 weeks before.
I got the usual line about having to phone to cancel for security reasons. However when I mentioned that there seemed little security required to upgrade, merely a push on the red button half the time, I just got a sheepish laugh.
As others have said its really just a marketing ploy to try and persuade you to change your mind. In fact I think it works against them because it makes me more unlikely to change my mind when all these obstacles are put in front of me.
Please explain in detail how this makes any business and financial sense.
You'll note the only providers that fix your boxes don't allow you to keep your box once you leave.
Also if you phone them to cancel they might offer to replace your fault box in exchange for you recontracting for another 12 months, which considering you have a White SD Sky+ box, they are very likely to do.
If I were a Sky customer, I would never pay for a faulty or broken box, nor to upgrade to the latest box.
Well, I said it's food on the table or sky.
edit. on the plus side i finally found a method which works to get my remote control back in touch with my sky box, although, surprise surprise it wasn't as suggested on sky's own website.
1 Press "TV"
2 Press and hold "Select" and "i" together until red led in the remote flashes twice - if it doesn't flash twice then the remote cannot be reprogrammed
3 Press "1" for Sky+
4 Press "Select" - red led should flash twice
5 Press "Sky" and try the remote now.
Yeah but only cause his box is a White SD box. If my 2TB HD box broke down they wouldn't replace it.
In fairness Richard you do have Virgin Media so I can understand where you are coming from on that last point.
I have 2 x DRX 890 boxes I haven't paid for either of them , I got the first free when joining Sky and the other was offered when I rang to compare VM multiroom costs and the fact they were offering a free multiroom box with their collections. I expected to just get the multiroom non PVR option but they offered a second Sky+HD happy days.:)
A few of years ago when I had a faulty box, Sky refused to replace it and said I couldn't cancel as I was under contract. I contacted Trading Standards, they told me that if a company charges you for a service they must provide the necessary equipment required to receive that service. Therefore if your box breaks and you're under contract they should replace/repair it or they can't charge you for the subscription. Phoned Sky up with this information and got a brand new box within the week.
I can understand that if the equipment is part of the service you are paying for or if the equipment is within a warranty period but not after that or if the equipment is your own from day 1 . I have a landline from BT but the phones are mine and if they all went faulty ( unlikely) I wouldn't expect them to replace them . Are you sure that's what they [TS] meant ?
But you can use any phone to use BT or any network, whereas a Sky Box is just for viewing Sky.
btw I finally got some progress by using the email for Sky's disabled customers, of which I am one. They emailed back for some security info and said they will see what offers they can give me.
Yes if you cancel Sky then the box is basically a brick with no PVR functions. It's hard to see the advantage of "owning" your own box over renting like from Virgin Media.
I don't have the email anymore as it was about five or six years ago, I did c&p it onto this website at the time but the jist of it was if your under contract and they're forcing you to pay for the service then they have to provide means to use the service. I did wonder at the time how that would work with mobile phones etc.
My opinion at the time was that their boxes were nor of a reasonable standard as I was on my 3rd (white Sky+) one in a year.
I've just had a long online Sky Chat about this very thing, my SKY+HD Box had lost input on both aerial inputs....
Done a factory system reset a few times now whilst chatting to an advisor, problem went away, but then came back permanently...
Using an older SKY+HD box temporarily.
After going through their script, I quoted the above...
They of course wanted £65 to repair / replace the box.
I declined this, and stated the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (as amended)
Their ultimate response at the end of the online chat was...
I've escalated this to the dedicated team as I've raised the notes on the account.
Be rest assured this team would certainly get this issue resolved.
Fingers crossed, I'm thinking of cancelling SKY anyway after last years offer is now escalating in price, and most SKY (US) series episodes seem to be ending in a few weeks anyway.
Last years offer to come back to SKY after a few months away was negotiated to .....
Free SKY+HD Box ( my old SKY+HD box having gone faulty and been disposed of !!)
Free HD, £50 cashback, £20pcm for a year, my usual basic Entertainment package.
not if you have a dvd recorder set up to it, you can still record 1 channel while out n about.
Can you please advise me where i can buy these magic bricks that can be used to pick up FTA satellite broadcasts?
I believe millions of people use old Sky boxes, so they may appreciate somewhere to buy these magic bricks from, as they may be cheaper.
Well if I wanted something with such limited functionality then I could pick it up for a few pounds, personally I wouldn't even bother with something without PVR capability. As I said "owning" the equipment seems of limited advantage to the supplier owning it but with the disadvantage that you have to pay for the replacement, this would of course be different if the PVR functions were not disabled when you leave Sky.
I think you will find, wherever you buy a Sky+ box from, it does not have PVR capabilities, and it is ENABLED by subscription.
Why would you think I didn't know that?