[chagle]

Hi there all,

Thought I'd just chuck this topic here. I'm sure I'll get some feedback that's point me in the right direction... :)

I have Sky at the moment but would love to get Sky+ -- Trouble is, existing customers it's going to cost over £200 that's the box and installation.

**YET** new customers can get it for £89 inc install.

Now of course I don't wanna be paying over £200 if I can help it... was thinking of cancelling my account and then reopening in the other halfs name? Dodgy?

Any suggestions...

Glen. :-)

[timothythetim]

Haha, I'm am in an almost identical situation, except the account is in my mum's name and I was thinking of switching it to mine.
Apparently, this wouldn't work for sky plus unless you said that you (or I said my mum) had moved out, but you would have to avoid giving the new address (obviously, as it wouldn't exist, and they would check it to offer sky in your new place). I think saying moved abroad or into an old folks home(!) would work, but that is just proper lying and I don't know if my conscience could cope with it. (I, however, just about to try and fleece orange for my N80 and cancel my contract. Oh well...)

[Ben]

I have Sky+. I paid through the nose for it, twice (first box died out of warranty) and would do so again. It's fantastic :) I mean, it's only a stopgap until true on-demand television, but I couldn't be without it now - I'm always missing stuff, forgetting stuff etc but now, thanks to Series Link, the box just catches everything!

[Hands0n]

OTOH and alternatively, if Freeview will do then Aldi this week (Thursday) are selling a dual-tuner Freeview DVR with an 80GB hard drive for £99. Dual-tuner are a bit rare at the moment, they allow you to record one programme while watching another, a lot are single tuner.

There are a number of DVRs around that will happily integrate with the standard Sky box. These are often a bit over the £200 mark, but are independent of Sky and will also record terestrial channels also (some have Freeview receivers built in). You have to check them out for functionality as some integrate better than others with the Sky receiver. Series link is possible with some of these :)

Sky+ is a tasty product, and although cheaper than a DVR the additional rental (£10pcm iirc) will in time more than balance the initial outlay. But it does work outstandingly well.

Yet another alternative - you could always phone Sky and cancel your subscription. Their retentions team will do a lot to try and keep you on their service. You may have enough bargaining power to get upgraded to Sky+ for the £89. I went to leave them a few years back because my decoder was malfunctioning. It was an original box and the software bloating over time was making it break down frequently, requiring power cycle. Sky told me I had to buy a new box for over £200 (then). I told Sky to shove it up their dark place and to cancel my contract. Five minutes of chat with Retentions and a brand new Sky box was brought round to my home and installed by a very nice local Sky man, with one year warranty free. I later took out the Sky maintenance for it to save future hassle.

[chagle]

I was thinking about Freeview and even DVR however our Aerials is pretty crap to be honest and really need a new one. That's why Sky is perfect - no sodding about! :)

I was thinking about cancelling my subscription and "hoping" that they have a good retentions team that will try and get me to stay.. obviously I don't really want to go and could backfire!! Let's hope not...

But I think I'll take HandsOn's advise and tell them I want to leave. Also the Sky box I have currently is faulty - every now and again it'll go into standby for no reason whatsoever...

Wish me luck............

Glen.

[3g-g]

I'd been with Sky for 3 years and managed to blag an upgrade to Sky+ for £50 when I called and asked about it, no extra charges or anything. The fact that I'd been on the full package from day 1 quite probably helped, I dropped that in on the conversation!

My Mum called a few weeks later to do the same, and they came out with the £200 for existing customers wishing to upgrade, again, once she informed them she'd been a customer for over 5 years, paying £40 a month without fail for that time and that perhaps freeview would now fit her needs suddenly Sky+ and mulitroom was installed for £100.

Needless to say, along with Ben, there's just no way I could do without it now! If you do have it installed, when whoever turns up to install ask for a PACE or Thomson box, the Amstrad ones, which I've had 2 of are pretty crap IMO. There's plently of Sky+ forums detailing the benefits and pitfalls of the system...

Now if I could only get that new sexy Sky+ HD box :rolleyes:

[tuk485]

I asked a Sky reseller at a local supermarket last year about this and they were the ones that suggested I cancel my contract and start another one in my g/friends name!

[chagle]

Mmm.... not sure weather they would want to keep me as customer as I'm on the low package around £20+ per month.

Mm, just worth trying.

Plisto - Did this work for you, i.e. cancelling the contract and opening a new one in your girlfriends name?


Glen.

[Ben]

Mhm, on your package would you not also have to pay £10/month for having Sky+?

I spend, well I don't remember, but I don't pay £10 a month just for Sky+. It'd be much more worth bumping up your monthly subscription to the minimum than paying the extra money for 'nothing'. Or, if that's not an option, perhaps a separate PVR really is the best bet.

[chagle]

I'll take a look at the packages... see what works out more. In all honestly though for Sky+ I'd be happy to pay an extra tenner a month! I'm that type of bloke... stupid! :)

Glen.

[tuk485]

Mmm.... not sure weather they would want to keep me as customer as I'm on the low package around £20+ per month.

Mm, just worth trying.

Plisto - Did this work for you, i.e. cancelling the contract and opening a new one in your girlfriends name?


Glen.

Yep. No Problems at all with closing mine (as long as you are out of the 12 months) Opened another in my g/friends name.

[tuk485]

I'll take a look at the packages... see what works out more. In all honestly though for Sky+ I'd be happy to pay an extra tenner a month! I'm that type of bloke... stupid! :)

Glen.
I was on one of the lowest pacages but was told it would only cost an extra 50p to change to movies package and then I didnt have to pay the extra £10 per month. The prices have gone up since then so I guess it doesnt work out like that at the moment. Just sit and work it all out!

[chagle]

Hi All,

Well I've looked on "eBay" (like you do) and found this..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=9730578648&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

Looks like the person's offering info has a mate who works for Sky.

Anyway, I've now got a document from him. Basically it says tell Sky you want to leave, they will get retentions to speak to you and will probably offer Sky+ for around £65, only if you're polite and 'pushy' ...

Here goes today....!

If anyone wants this Doc, please PM me! :-)

Glen.

[Hands0n]

I have been well put off by the Sky+ upgrade price for existing customers, despite it being explained to me that the lower price is to attract new custom. It really does not make it any more acceptable to me. So, after this discussion on here (cheers Chagle, I'm now a bit poorer lol!) I decided to give peeps at Sky a call this morning.

"Hello, I'd like to cancel my Sky account please"
"Errr, I'll just pass you on to someone who can assist you with that"

After a full and frank chat [about the merits of me moving off to another cable TV provider] with a very nice man at Sky Retentions we struck a very nice deal I think.

Bottom line, £65* to upgrade to Sky+, keep existing subscription (no monthly uplift for Sky+) and free installation with the only stipulation being a renewed 12-month contract. That is a huge saving of £259 on the advertised pricing on the Sky website - and possibly another £120 if I would have had to pay the £10 pcm uplift charge). I'm happy.

NB: *The first offer was £99 to upgrade, I needed more persuading and Sky did oblige so they won me for another year.

I do like doing business with flexible organisations - if they really can offer these deals to new business then they should have leeway to make the same offer to any existing customer who has the gumption to ask for it. Nice one Sky, well done indeed :)

[chagle]

Hey,

It worked then HandsOn! Good news.....! I haven't phoned them yet.... but as you've done the "testing of the water" what's to stop me now!!!!

Let me know what you think of Sky+. When's your install date?

Glen.

[Hands0n]

I couldn't wait, strike while the iron's hot, less haste no waste, eeek I wannit now :D

I've had to book it for a Monday (when the college lad is at home!) so its coming on 26 June, that's two weeks away almost ...... But just in time to get it set up before my two-week holiday at end July :)

Go for it Glen, you got nothing to lose, I did a bit of research on the Cable TV offering before I phoned Sky. Just to have some real ammunition in my pocket. Even if its not available in your area, Sky do not know that so it makes a good bargaining tool. I was playing very nonchelant, couldn't care less if I stayed or went, needed something to interest me in staying with Sky, or I could simplify my billing with the Cable Co. and be cheaper too. Appeared somewhat interested in the first offer, but not entirely persuaded .... "Hmmm, you can probably tell that I'm on the fence a bit. Can you persaude me a little bit more maybe?" I asked, and they went and did it. Oh, and when I called I insisted they call me by my first name - less formal, more empathetic (feel my pain) and of course, much more civilised :D

[chagle]

The deed is done.

Had a chat about Telewest and said was considering moving to them with their more convenient packages inc. phone line. Usual stuff from Sky...

But then jump in and said for a brand new Sky+ for £65! Yes please I said!

PS - Mr. Skyman.. we can't even get Telewest round here

Coming to install mine on Monday... Keeping the same dish though but installing a new LNB.

Quite a happy man now.....

Glen.

[whatleydude]

Might be worth mentioning that Telewest's equivalent of the Sky+ has got a HD receiver built-in...

As in - you don't have to pay an extra £299 or whatever Sky want these days for a new HD ready box.

[chagle]

Too late! :-)

All ordered and I'm quite happy with Sky+ to be honest. AND a new box rather than a recon!

HD is for another time!

[tuk485]

Nice blag! 10 out of 10.
:eek:

[Hands0n]

The Telewest PVR is £10 a month with no up-front charge. That is quite a good deal really considering that includes full maintenance support of the unit for life!

After a year with the Sky+ box I will have to take out one of Sky's maint packages for the usual price, whatever that is going to be!! But in a year's time I fully expect my viewing needs to have solidified - HD is too early [in the UK] for me to be worth the scramble. There is not enough source material to interest me yet. So I can wait. The NTL acquisition of Telewest and Virgin should have become more effective, perhaps different offerings and prices then. Maybe even a bit of a price war!

@Chagle - Nice one m8, good to see you were able to get a piece of the action too. I wonder if Sky's MIS will pick up the sudden surge of "cancellations" today!

[chagle]

I agree - Maybe I'll try and bargain a Sky HD after my 12 months is up!

Who started this thread anyway! :)

[Hands0n]

I dunno but it just cost me £65 :D lol

[Hands0n]

It had to be done. While I'm on a streak. I popped down to Aldi this morning and picked up a brace of their £99 Tevion Freeview PVRs. The nice thing about Aldi is if it is not to your satisfaction you can take it back for a full refund up to three years hence, no quibble.

These will go in the other rooms but for now one is parked in the front room where the Sky+ box will eventually reside.

These are nice bits of kit, very functional and easy to use. Setup was automatic and a complete snap, requiring very little input from me. Within about 5 minutes of plugging in the unit was giving a nicely typical Freeview image (save for one bug in relation to my ageing 32" widescreen JVC - but it was able to be worked around satisfactorily).

The PVR has an 80GB hard drive which is suitable for around 60 hours of programming. The timer integrates into the Freeview EPG completely - but lacks "Series Link" so it is not going to reliably catch all episodes, given TV programming vagaries. The EPG spans 7 days so that is about as far ahead as you can programme the unit to record.

I can recommend these to anyone, but they are unlikely to still be in stock judging by the sheer number being handed over the counter at the 9am opening!

Anyone want to buy a VCR :D

[chagle]

Well today, I did the deed for my Dad.

He's on a high package around £42 per month... I called Sky, told them looking into changing to Telewest . Very friendly lady on the phone. She firstly offered a new Sky+ for £99, I declined her very kind offer.

She asked me to hold whilst she "spoke to her manager" ( I wonder if they actually do that!!??). Came back 30 seconds later and said she could half the latest price offer and offered a brand new Sky+ for £49!!

I guess the higher package you're on, the lower to can give you a Sky+ for..! Wow, my Dad was dead impressed!

AND it's being installed this Monday... :-)

Glen.

[Hands0n]

You're getting to be quite the wheeler dealer :D Nice one for your Pa :) and at £49 what an absolute bargain!

I really don't understand how you two got Monday and I couldn't unless all of us in this part of Norf Kent are blagging new Sky+ deals :cool: which, knowing this lot round here, wouldn't surprise me at all!!

I can't see Sky having much of a problem - they've achieved Customer retention, a new 12-month commitment and all its cost them is a Sky+ box that probably costs [much] less than £50 in the quantity that they buy them in at.

It is nice that they will at least deal.

[chagle]

It' be quite funny if the same Sky Engineer comes to me and my Dad. But as you say, it's good that they are willing to keep customers without being arogant.

Good one Sky....!

[chagle]

Hi all,

This is worth a look, especially all us Sky+ newbies!

http://informitv.com/articles/2006/06/25/skyoffersnew/

Glen.

[Hands0n]

That would have been very interesting .......... if the Sky engineer could have been bothered to turn up at the appointed day, today! He didn't :( After berating one of Sky's hapless CS agents the next attempt will be Thursday with a guaranteed a.m. appointment.

I additionally told CS agent that I did not care "...... if the four horsemen of the appocalypse rode into town that day, I want that Sky+ installation on Thursday without fail or Armageddon will seem like a primary school tea party".

Ar*e! :mad:

[chagle]

Whoops....! Well GL with your Sky Engineers. Did they say why he didn't appear?

I must admit, ours went very smoothly and the box is working great.

[Hands0n]

Cheers - they said it was a "personal matter" - but noone bothered to call in the morning so I had someone sitting around until mid-afternoon before we got the news - despite me phoning them just after 9am when their failed to give the "before 9am" phone call. At that time they could not contact the engineer so no explanation was available .......

This is entirely normal in my circle of life :D

[Ben]

I hate Sky engineers. Never had a nice one. They all scare the bejesus out of me.

[3g-g]

I've got to say, if they turn up in the proper Sky branded van with the simpsons plastered all over it they've been good to me, nice and neat and polite. I had a couple of cowboys turn up in some bashed up rusty vauxhall combo to change the LNB and run the second feed for Sky+, what a mess they made and at first were going to run the second feed a completely different way from the 1st as they couldn't be bothered getting their ladders off the roof of the crap van, some harsh words were passed at that point I can tell you. However, when my Sky+ box started playing up it was again another contractor that came out and he was brand new, the moment I mentioned I'd read Sky forums and I knew the legacy of problems with the box he dropped all the mumbo jumbo bullsh*t and talked to me like a intelligent human being! So don't let 'em take you for a mug when they turn up! :)

[Hands0n]

Here we go, here we go, here we go ............. Next Dateline; Thursday, 29th June 2006AD.

Sky are supposed to be here for a morning installation of Sky+ that I blagged from them [now almost] three weeks back.

The previous installation failed due to "personal reasons". So it can be fairly assumed that Sky have only one single engineer to service all of North Kent! And that all of those Sky vans driving around the area are completely empty and are just to make Sky look good. That, or they really do not have any contingency support for service personnel unavailability. Which is daft considering that they hold all the cards vis a vis the source and supply of their Sky+ equipment. A private monopoly on same.

Considering the British once held a global empire one has to wonder what has happened to us all in this [once] great nation of ours. The Victorians will be spinning in their graves. Perhaps we are witnessing the UK's natural entropy (5) (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/entropy).

Ho hum. I'm not holding my breath - if they deliver it will be a pleasant surprise. Otherwise it will simply be "business as usual" UK stylee.

Misanthropic (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/misanthropic)? Moi? Surely not! :rolleyes:

[3g-g]

Okay, coolest thing ever.

After numerous attempts I've managed to get signed up at www.skybymobile.com to register my own customer details, a few minutes later a little text popped up on my mobile with a link to the mobile page for the Sky mobile application. After downloading the app, filling my login details into it I now have my Sky TV guide on my mobile, with the option to set my Sky+ recording remotely!! How bleedin cool is that!?

It's the full TV guide you see on your TV, with added entertainment and sports news, Sky bet and Sky Mobile TV, which if I've read right from the website is only available if you're on Vodafone as it's a subscription required, bummer. Just seems to stick to connecting when I try :(

On logout it gives you a little summary of data transferred, which if you're paying your own bill I suppose you'd want to keep an eye on!

Very impressed, this along with Google maps (which has the Google Earth images also!) for the series 60 handsets are my showing off pieces for the summer!

[Hands0n]

Well at least Sky didn't fail ......................... to disappoint! This really ranks under the "You couldn't make it up" heading.

The Sky engineer arrived at 10.55 for a 9am appointment. Walked around the house several times. Came in and checked out the AV stack. Then (thank the lord I wasn't in at the time) informed my eldest, who was waiting in for him, that he could not do the job as he had the Sky+ box but no controller. He helpfully informed that our existing Sky controllers would not work with the Sky+ box. He then said that he would be back on Saturday morning to do the job.

Now, what is the remotest possibility that he will actually be able to do that then? Lame excuses about "covering for one of the other lads" and not properly explaining why the Sky+ carton for my installation had been split (see, box-splitting is not reserved for mobile phones!!!). All of this is supposed to impress me somehow?

When I later returned home I had a rant [albeit a polite one] with the Sky CS team. I have taken the contact details for their complaints team and they will be getting a colourful letter from me in due course. They spoke with the installer and said that he'd call me back with some kind of information about the problem. Needless to say that the installer failed to do even that little thing.

So, thats two days lost to these inepts - it is not Sky but one of their local contracted installers. I'd really like to be here on Saturday morning for when they arrive, but I cannot. Which is a crying shame as I reckon that I could easily waste about 45 minutes of their time - a small compensation for the hours that we've wasted on their behalf.

If they c*ck this one up on Saturday then Sky is going and I'm signing up with Telewest. I already have their 10Mbps broadband and it's stonking!

[Hands0n]

They screwed up again! No engineer. No record of the re-scheduled visit. No nothing!

Last ditch attempt will be with their own Sky engineers (maybe they're not empty decoy vans after all) on Tuesday. If that goes belly up then I'll be an ex-Sky Customer on Wednesday.

I'm getting beyond actually wanting the damn thing now ............ :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Ben]

I'm speechless. That'll be another almighty chink out of Sky's dismal reputation then, thank you very much.

[whatleydude]

Telewest CS have always been so good to me..

;)

[Hands0n]

The problem appears to be that Sky's local outsourced installation company here in my area are basically a bunch of merchant bankers. Totally inept, lacking any kind of customer facing skills and without any function or procedure to support their activites. Basically, they would not be out of place in the old wild west!

Hopefully Sky's own in-house installation team will fare better. I am only giving them one more chance and then they are gone.

[timothythetim]

Oh well, I had a free evening so decided to have a go at blagging my way to some cheap sky plus.
Phoned them up and asked how much it was to upgrade to sky plus, they quoted me some stupid price like 260 odd, so I said I want to cancel the subscription.
Put through to retentions, "Why do you want to leave...blah, blah, blah"
After a bit of moaning, got it for 65 quid as well.
Should be getting installed on Sunday the 23rd July, I hope I have more luck than you HandsOn. Our sky dish is on the chimney so it is a special "heights team" or something like that, that are coming to install it. I hope that doesn't jigger things.

[Hands0n]

@timothythetim - Nice one :) Good to see that they're consistently positive in their approach to churn.

I'll tell you all tomorrow, which is when Sky's own team are supposed to be turning up to do the install.

I reckon if you are having Sky's own folk you will be okay - its the local inbreds that seem to be the problem. Sky cannot control them as effectively as their own staff.

More as it happens :rolleyes:

[lumbago1]

Hi hands on,

speak to sky about instal probs, may compensate.

When I first had sky installed, the cowboy sub contractor installed "sky multiroom" and c*cked up installation using a non recognised method to install second box on extension phone line. When BT turned up to do some work on phone they informed me of a problem and rectified it!! I told Sky and they reimbursed the extra I paid for phone extension.

Get HD its brill, but I'd say twice as good, not 4 times as advertised (maybe i'm hard to please!!).

My next problem is finding a mobile phone I like for "sky by mobile" !!

Hope today works out for you :):) . But dont go 4 NTL: if Sky let u down, their CS is rubbish!

[Hands0n]

Hi lumbago1 - thanks for the info and advice.

Sky's own engineers did indeed arrive today and installed an Amstrad SKY+ box. It is a nice shiny white plastic that goes so very well with all the anodised black stuff in my AV stack!

I fully intend to pursue the local cowboy through Sky and demand a bit of compensation for the time I've wasted on waiting for them not to turn up!

First impressions of the Sky+ box is that it mirrors my two PVRs for performance (Liteon 5054 and Aldi 80GB Freeview) - but the icing on the cake is the full integration of the PVR with the EPG. Bliss. :)

I'm waiting HD out for a little while longer. I want a 40"+ LCD HDTV to become more affordable, and Sky HD also before taking the plunge. By then Blue Ray and HDVD should be on a more established footing also, media becoming available etc.....

I've done my time as an early adopter :D and want to have a well earned rest for a spell :)

[Hands0n]

Well we've had a few days running with Sky+ on an Amstrad 80GB HDD. It is amazingly easy to get to grips with, even some of the hyphelooting features are easy to grasp and make work. The designers certainly did their homework. I just wish as many other technology items would be quite as intuitive and easy to work with.

I do like the ability to watch and record separate programs. Even better still the ability to record two different but overlapping programs, although the inevitable has happened already - we need to be able to do this with three programs concurrently! Not that there is so much selection that we want to watch, just that the items clashed on the program guide! And as they are series, they will continue to do so

The PVR functionality is very well implemented, and matches or overreaches anything I have used to date. These have been the Liteon 80GB 5054 and Aldi Freeview 80GB PVR. The Liteon is murder to set up recordings, their Timer function is archaic. The Aldi PVR is much better, more integrated with the Freeview EPG, although we keep missing the end of programs which always seem to overrun by a few minutes (that has not happened with the Sky+ box - does it have intelligence to capture overruns?).

All in all, we are content with the Sky+ service, which complements the sattelite service very well. I think that, in due course, there will be no other offering but the PVR - why run multiple equipments when one would do? Helps to keep control of what happens with the programme content too!

[Hands0n]

This website has some interesting info and links to other articles and resources if you want to know more about Sky+ (and a host of other TV and Radio info) http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/skyplus.html

I found it while looking around for remote controls!

[Yssybyl]

I do like the ability to watch and record separate programs. Even better still the ability to record two different but overlapping programs, although the inevitable has happened already - we need to be able to do this with three programs concurrently! Not that there is so much selection that we want to watch, just that the items clashed on the program guide! And as they are series, they will continue to do so



this is a general problem, although you should be able to record 2 and watch a third as long as it is in the same MUX i.e if you record something on ITV and something on BBC you should be able to watch a third channel from ITV or BBC - at least this is how it works with my Humax freeview PVR. Doesn't help every time though, but with the amount of repeats around I don't find it too much of a hassle :)

[tuk485]

Okay, coolest thing ever.

After numerous attempts I've managed to get signed up at www.skybymobile.com to register my own customer details, a few minutes later a little text popped up on my mobile with a link to the mobile page for the Sky mobile application. After downloading the app, filling my login details into it I now have my Sky TV guide on my mobile, with the option to set my Sky+ recording remotely!! How bleedin cool is that!?

It's the full TV guide you see on your TV, with added entertainment and sports news, Sky bet and Sky Mobile TV, which if I've read right from the website is only available if you're on Vodafone as it's a subscription required, bummer. Just seems to stick to connecting when I try :(

On logout it gives you a little summary of data transferred, which if you're paying your own bill I suppose you'd want to keep an eye on!

Very impressed, this along with Google maps (which has the Google Earth images also!) for the series 60 handsets are my showing off pieces for the summer!

I've been using this for the last 3 weeks and I dont know how I could of survived without it for so long! Setting recordings from my desk at work is great... now i'll never miss that Simpsons expisode again! Keep up the good work sky!

[timothythetim]

Sky engineers came yesterday and installed it without a hitch. Well, the guy got dirt all over the carpet but that was kinda my fault for making him go under the floorbards which they aren't really meant to do.
Sky + seems amazing, can't believe just how good it is.
Has anyone manged to get the mobile app working on an N80 or similair phone?

[Hands0n]

My lad has it working on his N70 so no reason why it shouldn't work on the N80 at all. I have it working on my S40 6280.

[Ben]

The N80 is a different version of Symbian is it not? Also doesn't it have the larger screen resolution? :(

[Hands0n]

Yes it is, and yes it does :D But it is my understanding (I don't have hands on a N80) that the N80 can display some of the previous S60 apps okay. Its going to be a matter of try and see I reckon.

[timothythetim]

Yes it is, and yes it does :D But it is my understanding (I don't have hands on a N80) that the N80 can display some of the previous S60 apps okay. Its going to be a matter of try and see I reckon.
Ahah! I wouldn't let me install the .sis version of the application, but for some reason the SE .jar file works. I'm at work at the moment, so can't set up the remote record function on my box yet, but the rest of the app seems to work.
http://mobile.sky.com/SBM/SonyE_novid/SkyMobile_SonyWithoutTv.jar