Make a complaint about Sky?

charlie1234

We've had a sky subscription in our house for about 12 years. Haven't really had any problems until we switched to a Sky HD a few years back. The boxes are dreadful. They'll work for a few months and then crash completely. Sky have replaced them in the past very promptly as they acknowledged a fault with the device and we had absolutely no problems dealing with them. However, that was before the recession started.

Fortunately the last box we've had has lasted for a couple of years so they must be getting better . In the last few months though, it's started acting up: the guide started to get very laggy, programmes were being spontaneously deleted from the planner, it would say it was recording something and then later on it would say the recording failed and it would crash at the most bizarre times.

We rang Sky customer care and they talked us through the steps to clean it up, checking the signal strength etc. Those methods generally worked for a week or so until recently. Now, nothing will record and we can't use half the features. It takes about 5 minutes to search for anything in the planner and if you press the "live pause" button you're rewarded with an unbelievably jerky frame rate once you start to play again. Nothing will play back from the planner either.

Sky got us to perform a clean reboot of the box, deleting everything this time, but it had no effect at all. Then they informed us that we'd need a new box (at a "discounted" price of €209) and on top of that, it'll cost €100 for an engineer to come and visit. Are they taking the piss? We're paying for a service for them to provide and they're not providing it.

What's more, this time the customer service was dreadful. We had to ask the woman on the phone (politely) at least seven or eight times to speak with her supervisor and when we finally got transferred to him, he was a cheeky w**ker for want of a better phrase.

Is there anyone we can complain to about this? It's not acceptable that we're paying so much to Sky every month and they can't even provide a working box without fleecing us for every penny or polite customer service.

Thanks for reading.

slimjimmc

You say Sky are not providing the service, but that's not really the case. Sky are providing the transmission and that hasn't changed otherwise every subscriber would be affected, it's your equipment that's not working properly.

That's the downside of owning the equipment yourself, you generally end up footing the bill if anything goes wrong. You should complain to whoever (Sky?) sold you the DVR as they have a responsibility under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act to ensure the goods work properly for a reasonably expected lifetime. What's considered a reasonable lifetime is the tricky thing as it's basically an opinion, but I'd consider it to be a lot longer than a couple of years.

There might be talk of warranty expired, etc, or the (UK) law has a 2 years limit but that's irrelevant as Irish law gives you longer protection. If they fail to resolve it through their complaints procedure you can take a case to the Small Claims Court for the equipment.

As for cheeky staff, complain to Sky, no one else has authority over their staff afaik.

Pkiernan

The best way to complain is with your feet, and cancel your subscription.

duckysauce

get a dreambox

MungBean

I assume they have a complaints department, ring or e-mail and explain your dissatisfaction. Or ring the cancellations dept and threaten to cancel if you dont get a new box. Best have a back up plan though if they call your bluff.

Trampas

just cancel. wait for the call to say a new box is coming your way.

java

charlie1234 wrote: »

We rang Sky customer care and they talked us through the steps to clean it up, checking the signal strength etc. Those methods generally worked for a week or so until recently. Now, nothing will record and we can't use half the features. It takes about 5 minutes to search for anything in the planner and if you press the "live pause" button you're rewarded with an unbelievably jerky frame rate once you start to play again. Nothing will play back from the planner either.

I've had big issues recently with my Sky+HD box and my planner with a newly acquired tv. Rang Sky several times and didn't get anywhere with a fix. Eventually I found a solution on the forums and the rep couldn't have been more helpful there. Worth a try.

http://helpforum.sky.com/

paultf

charlie1234 wrote: »

Is there anyone we can complain to about this? It's not acceptable that we're paying so much to Sky every month and they can't even provide a working box without fleecing us for every penny or polite customer service.

First off if you post this problem on the 'Tech->Satellite' forum you will get alot of suggestions.

Send an email to jeremy.darroch@bskyb.com This is one of the top guys in Sky. This email will be received by executive Sky customer agents. You will receive a phone call - normally around tea time. Mention everything you stated in your post above. Mention how after 12 years subscription you expect a new box + install for free. Mention the word cancel.

If you are not happy with the response/offer, start the cancellation process. Carry thru the cancellation. You then have 30 days before they termainate your subscription. You could get another phone call from Sky in this period. Supposedly if can wait another 4 weeks you will get another offer from Sky either by post or phone - up to 25%-50% off a 1 year subscription.

Stick with it. You are entitled to a free box + install at least.

locustfurnace

paultf wrote: »

First off if you post this problem on the 'Tech->Satellite' forum you will get alot of suggestions.

Send an email to jeremy.darroch@bskyb.com This is one of the top guys in Sky. This email will be received by executive Sky customer agents. You will receive a phone call - normally around tea time. Mention everything you stated in your post above. Mention how after 12 years subscription you expect a new box + install for free. Mention the word cancel.

If you are not happy with the response/offer, start the cancellation process. Carry thru the cancellation. You then have 30 days before they termainate your subscription. You could get another phone call from Sky in this period. Supposedly if can wait another 4 weeks you will get another offer from Sky either by post or phone - up to 25%-50% off a 1 year subscription.

Stick with it. You are entitled to a free box + install at least.

Everything the poster above said is solid advise, I had the same problem, with Sky 12+ years and the box started to go, they wanted to charge me a fee for a new box plus an engineer, I said feck that and asked to cancel, they then offered me this and that but I said nope, I want to cancel, next day or so got the call offering a new box installed free of charge and 3 months at half price for the packages....