Anyone know if there would there be any issues with cancelling and re-subscribing to SKY (TV + Broadband) immediately?

The box keeps turning off and it will cost £65 to get an engineer round – I’m guessing depending on the nature of the problem this could increase.

Contract is in my partners name so could we just cancel and then I take it out in my name?

Thanks

Cheaper just to replace the box, ebay etc..

that 60 pounds includes the cost of a new box if you need one

The HD failed on my Sky+ box- and they just gave me a new one at no additional cost (the guy who came round had one in his van)

Some will tell you that if you threaten to cancel they might evan waive the 60 pounds – could call your bluff though

They won't let you just cancel and re-join – unless you have someone else in the house (flatmate / girlfriend) with a different surname who could pretend to be the new owner of the house

You wouldn't be able to avoid the reconnection charge, I don't think.

It'll take you days to cancel. You'll talk to 100's of different people and they'll try to keep you. They really don't like taking NO as your final answer.

Good luck :O)

Have different surnames but forgot about the connection fee!

i had this problem and they fixed mine for nothing just say your leaving an when they ask why just lay it on thick saying loyalty means nothing with you blah blah blah
but stick to your guns,skys aftersales is shocking

Will give that a go.

The connection fee is £30 but it appears you now get a sky+ box as standard which is better than what I currently have.

how long ago did you get the box? they've effectively sold you it through part of the contract, so tell them that you've taken independent legal advice and that if there is a fault with the box that it wasn't fit for purpose under s14 Sale of Goods Act 1979 and you want them to repair/replace it at their cost otherwise you'll claim the cost back in court.

obviously this depends on there being something wrong with it.

EDIT – sorry, section 14.

obviously this depends on there being something wrong with it

And who proves that ?

From memory it's 5-6 years old

well that depends on how old it is. but if it doesn't work that's a pretty good indicator! after a certain age, the customer would have to get an expert assessment. this could quite easily be the engineer they send out, so you can make sure they're clear that if there is something wrong with it, that cost will be reclaimable from them.

i imagine that if that position is explained to them they'd be more amenable to not charging for the callout in the first place.

ah, that sort of age is around the point where electrical goods would be 'expected' to last until, i'm afraid. much less likely to get anywhere with that, on that basis.

might still be worth a go, though – you could probably argue a case for the box being an essential part of the contract so any failure of it not through your fault should require them to fix it.

Partner called them again and suggested that as existing customers we don't feel we should pay.

Their response: "ok on this occasion we'll waive the fee and someone will be round Saturday morning"

Result, thanks for all the advice.

Good result, but a bit of advice when dealing with sky – call during the day. you will probably get through to Thuro not India.

Why not ring Sky and take out Sky Care (their own warranty scheme). Give it a week or three then ring them with the fault.

Whenever we've had to call them out the engineer (loose term) changes the box, has changed a couple of LNBs in the time we've had the set up too. Costs about £8 month, once your problem is fixed you can just cancel, or even leave it running for the inevitable next time!

They did suggest this during our first call.

Cancelled mine a few months ago. Dont miss at all.

But got a Humax PVR Freesat thing. Could.nt live without the pause rewind etc.

I've never had a problem with Sky's customer service, it's always been good.

But got a Humax PVR Freesat thing. Could.nt live without the pause rewind etc.

I've got one of those too and the **** thing crashes every day without fail. My old VHS recorder was more reliable!!! Which is why I ordered Sky+ last night.

@the-muffin-man

You were unlucky then 🙁

any sky care package like that is in the same vein as "extended warranties" being a complete ripoff, in that you're paying extra for what are already your legal rights.

if there's something wrong with the equipment they provide you don't need to pay extra for them to be obliged to replace it. no wonder they can afford to keep replacing the boxes if people are prepared to hand their money over for nothing like that.

i "KNOW" someone who works for sky and he says phone up and ask for an upgrade, chances are it'll be cheaper than a service call.

If any name/bankdetails/address match then you can't cancel and re-book a new install

A service call covers everything and if you need a new box you get a new box. From what you say though you have a standard set top box from a while back – you'll have to expect that after a while you may need to buy a new box and swallow some sort of cost. If your telly breaks down after 6 years you can't walk into Currys and demand a new one free of charge

how long ago did you get the box? they've effectively sold you it through part of the contract, so tell them that you've taken independent legal advice and that if there is a fault with the box that it wasn't fit for purpose under s14 Sale of Goods Act 1979 and you want them to repair/replace it at their cost otherwise you'll claim the cost back in court.

obviously this depends on there being something wrong with it.

don't think this would be relevant as the contract is with regards to the viewing package, all the equipment is under parts and labour warranty for a year – if that would be the case can i take my knackered series 3 i-pod back to apple and demand a new one because it no longer works and is no longer under warranty

that's exactly the point that most people don't realise. you could get an expert assessment of your broken ipod if it's within a reasonable amount of time, in terms of how long something like that would be 'expected' to last.
. they confirm that it doesn't work through no fault of yours. you then contact apple and insist they repair it, quoting the above legislation, and that they pay you back for the cost of the assessment.

EDIT – sorry, i didn't finish. they would more likely just give you a new one once they know you know your legal position.

flatboy – I think you've got their motivation wrong

They'd only be obliged to reimburse a reasonable proportion of the purchase price wouldn't they (as you'd be judged to have benefited from use of the machine for sveral years)

IIRC, sky charge hardly anything for the boxes and loads for the broadcasting, so you'd get a partial refund of **** all

Instead, they'll "give" you another one so you continue to pay 40 quid a month for the broadcasts

ive got a sony pvr and its freakin great

hi def, dvd player/recorder/, mpegs via usb, excellent picture, 100% reliable

and best of all not a penny goes to rupert murdoch

well in terms of the hypothetical ipod, they'd be obliged to do whatever it took to keep it working for the remainder of the reasonably expected lifespan. as i say, if you point out the sale of goods act position more likely than not they'd save themselves the hassle by giving you a new one; if not, you'd get it repaired so works out either way.

with the sky box, it makes no difference how much use you'd got out of it, particularly as it's a fundamental part of the contract – you could reasonable argue that a condition of the contract with them for the channels is that they provide you with a working box to decode them. and your conclusion is the same as mine – you get a new box, which is what the OP wanted.

EDIT – sorry, i didn't finish. they would more likely just give you a new one once they know you know your legal position.

Are you spouting all this from experience of consumer rights in this particular field or are you a google warrior ?

trainee solicitor.

Thats OK then….carry on….. 😉

nice one, cheers! if you do have a broken ipod, you know what to do… if not, next time such an item goes wrong a month out of warranty you'll be glad you read this thread. 🙂

nice one, cheers! if you do have a broken ipod, you know what to do… if not, next time such an item goes wrong a month out of warranty you'll be glad you read this thread.

difference is though that the sky box in question will be 5 years out of warranty – and chances are the box was free when the package in question was taken out

yeah, we've already covered the fact the box is borderline, age-wise.

as for the box being free, the value you're ascribing to it is irrelevant – they've supplied it to you at the point the initial contract was made, it now doesn't work. that's up to them to straighten out (aside from the age aspect). it doesn't matter that the box was "free" – you've effectively paid for it through the commitment to the contract and the instalment payments.

as i have already said, i imagine someone has already had some success arguing the case that sky are obliged to keep you provided with a working box as part of their side of the contract, too.

jase – If you're near Belper (Derbyshire) I've got a Sky Digibox you can have for nowt.

as i have already said, i imagine someone has already had some success arguing the case that sky are obliged to keep you provided with a working box as part of their side of the contract, too.

contract is paid monthly & I think either party can cancel at any time – they're only (arguably) obliged to sort your machine IF the contract is continued

As I said above, I think their motivation would be to retain income stream, NOT mandated by a contract that nobody's tied to after 12 months IIRC

i'm still not sure what you mean by 'their motivation', or what effect that has – as a consumer, they've supplied you with an item in exchange for consideration, signing up to the agreement and the cost of the contract. under the sale of goods act it has to be fit for purpose. if it stops working within a reasonable time then it isn't, and they are obliged to sort it out.

the aspect about the continuing contract is a further angle that would be worth trying if you've had the box a very long time, as the OP has.

seriously just get one of these

i'm still not sure what you mean by 'their motivation', or what effect that has – as a consumer, they've supplied you with an item in exchange for consideration, signing up to the agreement and the cost of the contract. under the sale of goods act it has to be fit for purpose. if it stops working within a reasonable time then it isn't, and they are obliged to sort it out.

I'm no lawyer, but where is this wrong ?

OK, so you ring sky after 5 years of using the box and insist on them coming to fix your box.

They say "sixty quid please" and you say "no, this machine is not fit for purpose and I expect it to be repaired or replaced". They say "go & get an expert report that proves it's unfit and then we'll see"

(presumably) You pay for an expert report – which may say there's a fault, so you go back to Sky and demand a replacement or repair.

If I was Sky, and you'd pissed me off I'd say that neither opption is economically viable (since they don't now make you model of box nor keep spares I reckon that'd be easy) and offer you, what, one sixth of the fifty quid you originally paid for the box and then terminate your contract. You've lost money, and Sky (though in the end that'll save you lots)

Or, better for me, I'd give you a new box (nice low net cost for me) and let you keep paying me. The new box will have sky+, so you'll be needing a new dish and I think it's an extra monthly cost for recordability so I'm laughing.

that's my understanding of Sky's motivation

sky can't just refuse to sort it out and terminate your contract – whether they terminate the contract or not, they are still obliged to sort you out with a box that works, as that it is what they have "sold" you.

the actual response is likely to be a mixture of what they're obliged to do and your suggestion at the end – most large companies like that, once they know someone is aware of their rights, will just give you the nearest replacement rather than the hassle of reports, quotes etc.

i've got no idea if they still supply non-sky+ boxes but, assuming they don't, then they may well give you a sky+ box and you would then have good grounds not to pay whatever extra it costs to use that box as you're forced into that position. i know next to nothing about sky, only contract law, so have no idea whether a sky+ box would function the same as an older one without the second dish, in your example.

I'm not suggesting they can refuse to sort it out but my understanding is that they are allowed (if repair/replacement are uneconomical) to offer a refund and that, if you've had 5 years of the notional 6 "required", that this would be a proportional rather than full refund. (in fact, isn't the principal option available to a buyer that of suit for damages – equating to purchase cost or a proportion of it if some use has been made of the item ?)

(even if it was a full refund, it'd be about 50 quid)

is the incorrect ? in what way ?