Rant changes to SKY supbsciprtion charges....

Ch3tan

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So the greedy ***** at BskyB are attempting to wrangle more money from us.

Cal was right that there will be a price increase, it's £1 more for the basic tv channels, and £2 more for sports. May be a another £1 increase if you have some other tv packs.

They sent the "notification" "letter" informing customers of this change, as a poor leaflet attached to their sky magazine. Clearly hoping that people will not notice that sky are changing the terms of the contract.

On top of this, they are doing the following for HD customers:

Important changes to your HD service
We also wanted to let you know that on or around the 5th October 2010, we are changing the way we offer our HD channels by aligning them to your Sky TV subscription. For example, to enjoy great HD dramas on Sky1 HD, you would need to have the Variety Pack which includes Sky1; and you'll need the Knowledge Pack to watch those beautiful HD documentaries on National Geographic HD and Discovery HD. Whilst you are within your minimum contract term, you can keep the additional HD channels which you currently have access to if you contact us.
This change will not affect you on your current subscription, although we wanted to make sure you're aware of it in case you change your package in the future.

We hope that everything is clear and that you carry on enjoying all the great programmes and services you get with Sky.

Kind regards,

The Sky Team

So basically, they are still going to charge £10 per month per HD box, but will be giving you LESS channels, they want you to take the extra entertainment pack for £1 a month to get the HD channels in those packs. It works out to £15 a month to get the same channels as they currently offer for £10.

Also in the email it mentions that if you are in your minimum term contract, that you can call to keep your HD channels until the end of your contract. So they are actually making customers phone up or lose the channels.

Shocking. I'll be phoning them tomorrow in full rant mode and demanding that my costs remain the same, else I will be giving notice to cancel as they have altered the T&C's.

They've tried to justify these changes by saying it gives people more choice, in reality they are getting a price increase in before the VAT rises in January, as they will not be able to attract customers if they raise it after that.
 

Tom

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Well, its either worth it, or it isn't. If the latter, just cancel it?

I've just cancelled my TV licence as I never watch the thing.
 

Chilly

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Well, its either worth it, or it isn't. If the latter, just cancel it?

I've just cancelled my TV licence as I never watch the thing.

Prepare yourself for a world of hell - its almost worth paying it to keep the scroungers off your back who will constantly harrass you for it.
 

old.Tohtori

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Yeah i don't get the ranting over businesses changing their pricing, it's not like you're entitled to XYZ channels in the constitution.

You pay, you get.
Seller decides "need more cash".
You decide either pay or no pay.
No pay, no product.
 

Ch3tan

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Well, its either worth it, or it isn't. If the latter, just cancel it?

I've just cancelled my TV licence as I never watch the thing.


It's not worth a forced increase for no extra channels, the problem is that sky have been very sneaky about this increase, it's a leaflet in a magazine as notice. Should have been a letter addressed to the account holder. Many people will miss this and their opportunity to cancel due to a change in the terms.


I plan to ask to cancel, if they freeze the costs, fine I will stay, if not, then I'll be heading back to Virgin.
 

nath

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Well, its either worth it, or it isn't. If the latter, just cancel it?

I've just cancelled my TV licence as I never watch the thing.

Yeah i don't get the ranting over businesses changing their pricing, it's not like you're entitled to XYZ channels in the constitution.

You pay, you get.
Seller decides "need more cash".
You decide either pay or no pay.
No pay, no product.

As Chet says, it seems that it's not so much the price change that's unacceptable as it is the way they're doing it. Trying to get away with it without people knowing. It's something that should be thoroughly upfront and open so people are able to make an informed decision.

On the one hand, people should be vigilant about such dodgy practices but they shouldn't be punished for not being. In fact, in my opinion companies should be punished for acting in this manner - trying to change things under the radar.
 

ST^

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I dumped the last Sky mag we received straight into the recycling :<

I will accept any and all increases because I can't be bothered to kick up a fuss.
 

Roo Stercogburn

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As Chet says, it seems that it's not so much the price change that's unacceptable as it is the way they're doing it. Trying to get away with it without people knowing. It's something that should be thoroughly upfront and open so people are able to make an informed decision.

On the one hand, people should be vigilant about such dodgy practices but they shouldn't be punished for not being. In fact, in my opinion companies should be punished for acting in this manner - trying to change things under the radar.

Thats generally how Sky operate though. They do the same thing with internet access price bands. If you go over the usage, they don't cut you off, they just bump you up to the next price band. Typically their emails to warn you that you are approaching a threshold arrive after you've gone over or after they've already charged you for it. Sharp practice and very, very sneaky.

I do not like the way Sky operate. However, I currently can't afford the time without internet access during the next few months as I'm utterly dependant on it for income and cannot afford the risk that I'll be a month or so without internet access (which is what happened last time I tried to organise something with Sky, they fucked up *utterly* at a completely crucial time and I've not forgiven them for the massive amount of uneccesary grief they caused me).

Once I get through this period though, I'm cutting the sneaky fuckers off. I'll be cancelling my subscription to all Sky services.
 

nath

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You could get yourself a little pre-pay mobile broadband dongle to cover your ass if they fuck up...
 

Roo Stercogburn

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Aye, considered that :)

I'll wait it out. Fingers crossed, another month and many things will be resolved.
 

MYstIC G

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Let me know how you get on C.

Though all things said, I thought this was why they were dropping the £10 a month HD charge.

As for £10's worth of stuff for £15, this exact bullshit from them is why I went onto O2 broadband.
 

Ch3tan

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Let me know how you get on C.

Though all things said, I thought this was why they were dropping the £10 a month HD charge.

As for £10's worth of stuff for £15, this exact bullshit from them is why I went onto O2 broadband.

They aren't dropping the HD sub charge meg, it's a rumour with no truth behind it. Quite a few people over on avforums have contacted sky about this, and sky have debunked it.

At the moment you pay £10 a month for one HD sub, this gives you all non premium HD channels, even if you don't have the linked pack. So for example you get discovery HD without the knowledge pack. What they are now doing is changing this (unless you phone them to say don't -LOL), so that you pay the £10, but only get the HD channels linked to the TV packs you subscribe to. So you'd need to buy 5 packs at a £1 each on top of the £10 to get the same number of channels.
 

MYstIC G

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Well then that is indeed gay.

My understanding before now was they were moving the HD packs around so that you get them with your entertainment pack and that if you didn't want the entertainment packs just the HD channels you could still pay £10 a month just for HD channel pack.

Did you get through to them?
 

Moriath

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Well, its either worth it, or it isn't. If the latter, just cancel it?

I've just cancelled my TV licence as I never watch the thing.

if you use iplayer thro your pc you still need a license ..

hope you get rid of your tv rather than just having it off in the corner else its hard to prove you not watching it heh
 

GReaper

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At the moment they're giving the first HD box to new subscribers for free along with free installation.

I doubt they'll drop that £10/month HD charge whilst they're not charging for the HD box or installation. They'll want to keep first time buyer costs low to keep new customers coming in.
 

Dr_Weasel

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Shocking. I'll be phoning them tomorrow in full rant mode and demanding that my costs remain the same, else I will be giving notice to cancel as they have altered the T&C's.

Whilst I dont agree with their dodgy schenanigins, you also dont have a leg to stand on with the T&Cs front. They have always stated

The channels you receive with the HD Pack depend on your Sky TV package

They argue that they have always given you more for free, so by changing the HD channels you get depending on your package is nothing new.

Again, I dont agree with it, but its the line they are taking
 

Tom

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if you use iplayer thro your pc you still need a license ..

hope you get rid of your tv rather than just having it off in the corner else its hard to prove you not watching it heh

No, you don't require a licence for iPlayer. And I won't be selling my television either.

And anyone who comes knocking can explain how it is I can watch the TV without a digital receiver. Not that they'll be allowed inside.
 

JingleBells

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No, you don't require a licence for iPlayer. And I won't be selling my television either.

And anyone who comes knocking can explain how it is I can watch the TV without a digital receiver. Not that they'll be allowed inside.

You need a license if you watch the live streams through iplayer, using it to catch up on already aired stuff you don't
 

Ch3tan

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Whilst I dont agree with their dodgy schenanigins, you also dont have a leg to stand on with the T&Cs front. They have always stated



They argue that they have always given you more for free, so by changing the HD channels you get depending on your package is nothing new.

Again, I dont agree with it, but its the line they are taking

You do on price changes though, and that's not about the HD channels.
 

Zenith.UK

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I phoned up Sky to get my HD reinstated a few weeks ago. They kept me on hold for an hour, so I hung up and wrote an email to the CEO of Sky Jeremy Darroch. In the email I said that I was unhappy at being kept on hold on an 0844 number for an hour (cost £3), asked for an explanation of why they don't have overflow capacity for the call centre and the fact that they asked me to call them in the first place.

The next morning, I got a phone call from Sky apologising for being on hold but even their overflow was maxed out that night. They said they couldn't reimburse the cost of the call but would give me the HD sub free for a year. £120 of free HD channels? Okay, apology accepted and thank you. :)

HD has always been linked to the premium package you have. If you have movies, you get the movie HD channels as well. If you don't have movies, you don't get the movie HD channels but your £10/month stays the same. All they've done is bring the regular channel packages in line with their premium channel policy.


Oh yeah, if you want to complain to Jeremy Darroch, his email is jeremy.darroch@bskyb.com
Keep your email formal, reasoned and to the point. It gets read by a minion but sometimes they pull out a stop for you (like they did in my case).
 

old.user4556

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Wait wait wait!

I was thinking about Sky (mentioned on another thread), as they did an HD pack for £10 a month regardless of what mixes you picked (not applicable to Sports and Movies HD), but now I need to choose those mixes to get those HD channels?

Well fuck you very much Sky.
 

Ch3tan

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HD has always been linked to the premium package you have. If you have movies, you get the movie HD channels as well. If you don't have movies, you don't get the movie HD channels but your £10/month stays the same. All they've done is bring the regular channel packages in line with their premium channel policy.

I know this, but sky have been using the £10 HD "mix" as a selling point, they shouldn't sell it as one thing then change it to another.
 

SheepCow

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They shouldn't charge for the HD channels at all, they should just come with the right pack in the first place
 

ford prefect

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For me Sky is a bit like the Water company of the council tax. I have been paying them for that long that I don't keep track of how much they charge us (tbh I would rather not know, it would only make me unhappy), so an increase will go completely unnoticed. I have had Sky digital since it was launched and before that I was on analogue and we have all the bells and whistles they offer.

The only thing I have to say about them is they are a terrible broadband company, but when you live in the sticks and your phone exchange is made from paperclips, tinfoil and bits of string you don't expect much out of your broadband anyway. It would be nice if they didn't treat you with complete contempt when you phoned them for a bit of broadband support though, but my only other choice would be BT who as I understand it charge even more for broadband and supply even less.
 

Calaen

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AH just made a post in the other thread :p

Yeah the changes to HD are a bit shit tbh, there is hardly enough channels as it is but now paying extra cash in order to activate full packages that really are not worth the bother is a bit of a shitter.

Has anyone had a go at BT Vision?
 

MYstIC G

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Well, I've thought about this and I've got my e-mail.

£1 a month extra for me = £12 a year and most of the channel packages are there for my Mum to watch. So all in all I might just knock off a package that neither of us watch to offset.

In all honest I'm not that surprised as Sky have picked up Virgin's shit TV channels and are going to have to fund them somehow. The HD stuff is epic bullshit though but hey, they're a business.
 

Raven

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ofc they will go up, they are a business, they exist to make money. A couple of quid more (assuming you really need all the channels) isn't going to make people cancel their service. Reassess the channels you use and you could actually pay less.
 

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