Sky HD Farce!

Rich27

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Apr 19, 2009
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First post here and I'm afraid it is a bit of a rant!

Have had problems ever since joining Sky HD last year and we're currently on our fifth, yes fifth HD Box. Our original box failed and has been replaced with three completely shoddy Thomson refurb units (one of which lasted all of 5 minutes) over the course of the the last few months. Sky customer service pah! Of course we have been promised new boxes each time and of course every time the engineer turns up it is another refurb box!

Anyway, as if this wasn't enough we eventually got a letter a week ago explaining our Pace box has a fault and would be replaced. Now, remember our Pace box failed several months ago and we have been through three Thomson boxes since, so I phoned up the nice people from Sky and explained. No problem they said as I was currently having intermitent problems with our latest box (no sound on many recordings!) they would replace it anyway. Engineer has been this morning and replaced the box (another dodgy refurb in a plain brown box!) and to much apology has said it is another Thomson. Oh well I thought, don't have much choice, and accepted it as at least this one should work (for a short time anyway) and Sky will now give me another 12 months warranty. Have now just phoned Sky (as always the engineers never link the new box with your viewing card) and to my horror have discovered that:

  • The box already has loads of programmes on the hard drive, so probably not even a refurb box just somebody else's dodgy one, but worse still,
  • The box is actually a Pace one series 9F3002 - surely these are the boxes that are being replaced as faulty!!!!!

WTF, I am seriously at my wits end with Sky now, really do not know what to do next as the Customer Service will just arrange another engineer to visit and give me another refurb pos! Where to turn next, I just want them to give me a nice new Samsung box, is this too much to ask, why is it so difficult?? Has anyone had any luck with getting a new box out of Sky??
 

Cofnchtr

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Oct 4, 2007
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Hi,

Phone them to cancel. Tell them why. They'll probably send someone round with a new box as soon as they can.

Remember with the offer they have at the moment, current subscribers have been (disgracefully) pushed down the queue for installs.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.
 

The_Lhc

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Oct 16, 2008
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Cofnchtr: Remember with the offer they have at the moment, current subscribers have been (disgracefully) pushed down the queue for installs.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

Tell me about, I registered about 2 weeks ago, got an email this weekend, still got 6 to 10 weeks! the fact they can't even narrow it down to less than 4 weeks is worrying.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rich27:

First post here and I'm afraid it is a bit of a rant!

Have had problems ever since joining Sky HD last year and we're currently on our fifth, yes fifth HD Box. Our original box failed and has been replaced with three completely shoddy Thomson refurb units (one of which lasted all of 5 minutes) over the course of the the last few months. Sky customer service pah! Of course we have been promised new boxes each time and of course every time the engineer turns up it is another refurb box!

Anyway, as if this wasn't enough we eventually got a letter a week ago explaining our Pace box has a fault and would be replaced. Now, remember our Pace box failed several months ago and we have been through three Thomson boxes since, so I phoned up the nice people from Sky and explained. No problem they said as I was currently having intermitent problems with our latest box (no sound on many recordings!) they would replace it anyway. Engineer has been this morning and replaced the box (another dodgy refurb in a plain brown box!) and to much apology has said it is another Thomson. Oh well I thought, don't have much choice, and accepted it as at least this one should work (for a short time anyway) and Sky will now give me another 12 months warranty. Have now just phoned Sky (as always the engineers never link the new box with your viewing card) and to my horror have discovered that:

  • The box already has loads of programmes on the hard drive, so probably not even a refurb box just somebody else's dodgy one, but worse still,
  • The box is actually a Pace one series 9F3002 - surely these are the boxes that are being replaced as faulty!!!!!

WTF, I am seriously at my wits end with Sky now, really do not know what to do next as the Customer Service will just arrange another engineer to visit and give me another refurb pos! Where to turn next, I just want them to give me a nice new Samsung box, is this too much to ask, why is it so difficult?? Has anyone had any luck with getting a new box out of Sky??

Have you thought about letting people like BBC's Watchdog know?

Also might be worth WRITING a nice detailed letter to SKY. I had a problem with my local branch (RB$) and it took one long letter (and many weeks) to sort it all out (got £150 compensation too). Problem with phone calls is there's no trace of what's being said and promised, etc.

No problems here. No SKY! ;-P

All the best still!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi,

send a strong but polite detailed email to the address below and be a liitle patient as it might take a couple of days to get back to you. They sorted out my problems and were actually very helpful and i got a discount off my bill for 6 month and a couple of other bits as i pushed for it.

Mark

james.murdoch@bskyb.com
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi Rich, you in a cable area? I get none of your probs with the Virgin V+ box, as for HD, a much touted money spinner. Have a 32 inch top of the range Panni LCD, and at that size HD no better than standard def. If I had 50 inch screen, may be, depending on the viewing distance. Hope this helps. Nokton
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
Nokton:
Hi Rich, you in a cable area? I get none of your probs with the Virgin V+ box, as for HD, a much touted money spinner. Have a 32 inch top of the range Panni LCD, and at that size HD no better than standard def. If I had 50 inch screen, may be, depending on the viewing distance. Hope this helps. Nokton

Sorry, but there is a noticeable difference between HD and SD even on a 32" set. HD is what modern TVs were primarily designed for.

The service experienced from Sky by the OP is disgraceful though. The HD boxes have been horrendous trouble over the last 12 months and its about time they got their house in order. You can't expect customers to pay monthly subscriptions and then get that sort of treatment. Just not good enough.
 

zientific

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Jul 28, 2007
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Nokton:

Hi Rich, you in a cable area? I get none of your probs with the Virgin V+ box, as for HD, a much touted money spinner. Have a 32 inch top of the range Panni LCD, and at that size HD no better than standard def. If I had 50 inch screen, may be, depending on the viewing distance. Hope this helps. Nokton

Have to disagree, there is quite a notable difference from SD to HD even on a 32inch and once you have seen an HD broadcast its difficult to accept SD again, just ask my technophobe wife who took an age to convince but now wants everything in HD.
 

idc

Well-known member
My understnading is that you do only get referbs if the original is replaced. If a letter of complaint, or the brilliant e-mail address to the boss does not work, cancelling and then resubscribing should. I saw in the Braehead Shopping Centre near Glasgow a few days ago and offer to install Sky Plus (so possibly not HD) for £25.

I agree with the general view that Sky is too unreliable and too unresponsive to complaints. If ours goes on the blink again we are switching to cable.
 

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