Signal loss & contract cancellation

[steevo]

Our years Sky contract has just expired and, much to my annoyance, the system (Amstrad box) has completely lost the signal. Quality = 0, Strength = 0 and 'Not Locked' is showing.

I called Sky who offered a call out for a set fee of £60 which they told me covers all kit replacment, if required.

The problem is that, in the last 2 months of the contract, I had to call an engineer out twice due to poor signal or no signal problems. I am therefore more than a bit worried about having to pay a £60 call out fee every couple of months. I suspect that the box may be on its way out (or have already gone).

I asked Sky if I could cancel my contract and simply re-subscribe in order to get new equipment. I was told that only 1 set of free equipment is allowed per household hence the answer was no.

Is this correct ? Does it matter that we brought our current receiver with us from a previous house i.e. the free equipment relates to our previous address.

 

[rolfw]

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 26-Jan-02 AT 01:26 PM (GMT)]I believe Steevo, that the contract refers to "Household" and not house, so they are correct. You may however be able to prove that the box is suffering from the same fault that was not cured by the engineer on the pervious visits and so should still be under warrantee.

Of course had you not informed Sky of your new address, you could have applied as a new customer, perhaps using your wife's name.

How did they rectify the previous problems, did they attempt to repair the receiver, or was it a dish problem? The Amsrad box, at least the older ones were renowned for having tuner problems, but I would guess that yours is a newer model.

Rolf

 

[steevo]

We used the Sky offer for existing customers who move and only need a new dish so we didn't really have any choice about letting them know.

The Sky is registered in my name so does this mean that we could apply again in my girlfriends name ?

I think that the problems we had were to do with the dish moving a bit as the back of the house, where the dish is located, is exposed to really harsh winds & weather.

This might be a silly suggestion but is it worth moving the dish about a bit to try and pick up a signal if it has moved in the wind ?

Also, we kept our old receiver when we moved. Will I be able to use this perhaps if only to identify where the problem lies.

 

[s*t*a*r*m*a*n]

I have a bigger dish than the sky standard dish and i get no signal or little signal when it is windy so i guess that would explain the signal loss when the weather is bad but if the problem exists when its a calm day and no rain then i suspect you have a problem with the connection to the LMB on the end of the dish and/or the cable and lastly i think the box may be the problem. As this particular problem would seem to effect this make of sky box though it seems likely that is where the problem lies. What did the engineer say the problem was?Your dish should not move though you may get some slight movement of the arm of the dish in strong winds. If you are getting a perfect picture followed by a broken picture then the signal is not being received correctly and in my case that is usually weather related. Having had a large dish fall off my house in the past i made sure everything was tightly secure.
Assuming that you know its not the box but the position of the dish then yes you could try moving the dish to another side of the building but you still need to see the satellite at astra 28 east.

 

[s*t*a*r*m*a*n]

on second thoughts, you shouldnt really have to move the dish atall just make sure everything is tightly inplace and secure. (without putting the dish out of alignment that is. As its a fixed dish system though that shouldnt be a major problem unlike mine which is aligned to the satellite arc as its a motorised system.

 

[rolfw]

>Also, we kept our old receiver when we moved. Will I be
>able to use this perhaps if only to identify where the
>problem lies.

What do you mean by the old receiver Steevo, analogue? If it's analogue, it's of no use at all on that satellite.

To answer the question about moving the dish, it's easy to test if you can see the tv when you're doing it, if you can't you need someone in shouting distance while you move the dish very slowly.

The contract works per household, if you can invent a flat number for the same street address, then you may get away with a new instal under your girlfriends name.


Rolf

 

[Channel Hopper]

Dear Steevo

You mentioned that the cause of original faults may have been due to a moving dish, but this should and would have been corrected by the last people who came out to service the system

Unfortunately you are one of a multitude of Sky viewers with Amstrad equipment that will get nowhere with Sky alone. There is a service number in your manual that relates to Amstrad, it is almost certainly to have been disconnected. If you ring Sky the management Centre will give you another number for Amstrad, but the nice people at the other end will tell you that their involvement with receivers is strictly for dealers only and that the end user should get back to Sky (Catch 22)

Your friendly installer will probably offer to swop out the receiver for cash and you will get a refurbished unit which may or may not be better or worse (and with 0-3 months guarantee)

Best to try a friends box on the system first, and then look up your consumer rights with Citizens Advice. Even though you are still paying on a monthly basis, your loss of viewing time means nothing to Mr Murdoch unless you pull out all the stops,

 

[bigrandydavid]

why don`t you just get somebody you know who is never likely to get sky (your dad or grandad or somebody!!) to subscribe then at best you can tell the guy who turns up that you will install it yourself (might work as its usually young blokes who don`t give a toss) or at worst, wait til he`s gone, take down the box and cart it round to your house? Alternatively,(and much more straightforward) just order it in your girlfriends name. How can they possibly prove she has anything to do with you?? She simply needs to say she`s just recently bought the house.

 

[steevo]

Thanks for all your responses.

I called Sky again yesterday just to make sure that there was no chance of getting a call out for free. Anyway, no luck but I did get to speak to a very helpful member of staff who took me through a few different tests (resetting the LMB ?).

Strange thing is, the day after it stopped working, I turned the Sky off completely and reconnected each lead. After starting everything up again, hey presto, the picture came back. Five minutes after that, it went again. DOH!

I will check the connections at the dish end at the weekend + try moving the dish to check the position. If not I think it will be £60 in Sky's pocket.

 

[0101010101]

What an absolute load of cobblers! x(
You should not need another system installed!
Get them, SKY or the local installer (whoever supplied you), to come around by the end of the week and sort it out! If the year has only just expired you have many rights under the law - "The Sales of Goods Act". All products sold and supplied should be "fit for purpose" and last a "reasonable time"! I do not think equipment failing after one year is reasonable. The guarantee is only a guide and cannot be enforced by the supplier. I returned a box to Pace after it went wrong at 18 months, they fixed it for free, which is what I demanded!
So if it was a local supplier they are liable - not SKY directly.
If Sky however supplied you through, say, a changeover from analogue, they are liable. If it is the dish going out of adjustment get the idiot who went up the ladder last time to tighten the bolts better this time.
Bloody hell - I have a 1mtr dish that has never gone out of line and that catches a lot more wind than those minidishes!

When you ring, ask to speak to the manager, or if it's Sky, someone higher than the first point of communication. Don't take NO for an answer. Threaten them with the law - it's on your side!

If all else fails (I wouldn't let it though) just cancel your subscription. I told a bloke at work to do that and they came running back to him after only 2 months. Sky hate loosing subscribers. Call their bluff, it will work!

 

[Channel Hopper]

And I thought I was an only child !

Good attitude, this world has gone soft with PPV, even with the monopoly situation.

Steveo, you are their customer and you are in the driving seat, log all the dates and times youve been without your programmes for the year, no matter how small, and tot them all up.

You will be surprised at how this changes their ideas on you.

 

[ProDave]

I can never understand why people take the "official" route when they move house of taking their box, but not dish, and then getting a new dish installed.

Unless I am missing something, surely the best way to do it is this:

Cancell your Sky account at your old address (assumes you have subscribed for 12 months allready otherwise may be a problem). Take down your dish, and take the dish and box with you.

When you move into the new house, take out a FRESH subscription, getting a new free digibox and minidish installed into the bargain.

Your name is not a problem (it can't be, many people have the same name), the only thing that would stop this is if some previous occupier of your new address had previously had a "free" system.

So for the cost of the install, you have got a new, up to date digibox, and a new dish all installed for you. If nothing else it gives you a spare digibox in case yours ever breaks down. Or you could re install the second system yourself and either get a free to view card and use it for the free channels, or for £12 you could get a second mirror subscription. If none of the above appeals, you could sell it easilly for more than the installation cost you.

I really can't understand why anyone would turn down such a great offer, and just keep the box they have.

The by product of this crazy system is that when my next door neighbour moved, they left their minidish behind. The new people don't want it and think it's hideous. They say they will take it down when they get round to it, and give it to me

;-)

 

[rolfw]

Yep, agree with a lot of what you say Dave, "a friend" got a second new subscription by saying the second box was for "***b town road", the flat above where he lives, thus getting a second box for free for his sister in France.

Rolf

 

[Channel Hopper]

The number of 'granny' flats seems to have increased somewhat in the past few years according to the local council !

 

[rolfw]

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 31-Jan-02 AT 00:32 AM (GMT)]Yes, Trés strange.

Rolf

 

[BarMoo]

Dear All,

>Does it matter that we brought our
>current receiver with us from a previous house i.e. the free
>equipment relates to our previous address.

The answer is:

Sky's free equipment offer is limited to one per UK
household. The offer is not open to anyone who has
previously signed an Interactive Discount Contract and/or
whose household has previously benefited from an
Interactive Discount. The software in your digibox remains
our property.

They don't appear to define 'household'; albeit, you have benefited in the past.

Mark.

 

[steevo]

Prodave, whilst I'm no expert when it comes to digital TV I am not totally silly. If our contract had been more than a year old I would have cancelled, taken out a new contract, got new equipment, and paid less money.

 

[rolfw]

The timing's never right on these things Steevo, may still be possible though to go to an independent dealer, forget altogether about your present box and apply under your other half's name for 123b Town Rd, or the Annexe, 123 Town Rd and see what happens.

The reason I suggest a local independent is that when the guy comes round, he'll be more than happy just to connect up to an existing dish and will replace it and align it properly if there's a problem with it. Plus you'll have a brand new box, with an old one to sell at auction or in the local free ads. The only slight problem that you may have is the phone number being the same, but if you have a second number for a fax or for the computer you are quids in.

Rolf