Cancelling SkyDigital after a year?..

Paddy20

I am going to cancel my Sky subscription, which I have had for over a year. Is it right that I get to keep the digibox? and if so what happens about the Satellite dish itself?.

The reason I want to cancel my Sky Family pack is simply that I never watch most of the channels, and would now prefer to have the Freeview option. A friend of mine informed me that if I removed the Skycard from the Digibox, I would then be able to receive a selection of Freeview channels automatically via the Digibox and the Satellite dish.

I have tried this and I am receiving about 20 channels, which to me is great as their are no subs and I do not have to buy a Freeview box. However if after I cancel my Sky Subscription will they remove the Dish? and if they do, can I get another dish easily at a reasonable price and one that will work with my Sky Digibox.

As I am no techie, any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Paddy20.

Tony

All the equipment is yours after 12 months you have nothing to fear.

Tony

Originally posted by Paddy20
I am going to cancel my Sky subscription, which I have had for over a year. Is it right that I get to keep the digibox? and if so what happens about the Satellite dish itself?.

The reason I want to cancel my Sky Family pack is simply that I never watch most of the channels, and would now prefer to have the Freeview option. A friend of mine informed me that if I removed the Skycard from the Digibox, I would then be able to receive a selection of Freeview channels automatically via the Digibox and the Satellite dish.

I have tried this and I am receiving about 20 channels, which to me is great as their are no subs and I do not have to buy a Freeview box. However if after I cancel my Sky Subscription will they remove the Dish? and if they do, can I get another dish easily at a reasonable price and one that will work with my Sky Digibox.

As I am no techie, any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Paddy20.

Paddy20

Tony,

Phew, thats a relief as I have been flicking through the channels, a number of which I have never even seen before like BBC NEW24 for instance.

I am more than happy with the channels that I am receiving. So, I can safely cancel the suscription to Sky tomorrow, and I do not even need a Freeview Box!!.

Brillianto.

Many thanks Tony.

addy20.

sceptre

Originally posted by Paddy20
I am more than happy with the channels that I am receiving. So, I can safely cancel the suscription to Sky tomorrow, and I do not even need a Freeview Box!!.

If you put your card in upside down and power up the boxyou will get the FTA EPG - in other words, BBC1 on channel 101, BBC2 on channel 102, BBC3 on 115, 4 on 116 and so on (or if you don't do this you will continue to get BBC1 and 2 on 214 and 215 respectively). It'll still continue to list the subscription channels like Sky One unfortunately.

You will lose the Irish terrestrial channels after cancelling though so your ordinary aerial had better still be working:)

Paddy20

sceptre,

I am going straight away to put the card back in upside down and have a look at this FTA EPG. My normal Analogue receives all Irish TV channels ok.

I was just talking on the phone to a friend of mine. He says that I will have to give Sky one months notice of cancellation, before putting a stop on the direct debit payment from my bank to them?..would you know if this is correct, even though one more months payment to Sky will not bother me that much. If I do not have to and all that?.

Very many thanks, sceptre. For the invaluable tip. What a day, I have had. Talk about a learning curve for a non techie me, pure magic.

Paddy20:)

sceptre

Originally posted by Paddy20
I was just talking on the phone to a friend of mine. He says that I will have to give Sky one months notice of cancellation, before putting a stop on the direct debit payment from my bank to them?..would you know if this is correct, even though one more months payment to Sky will not bother me that much. If I do not have to and all that?.

Yeah, you'll have to do that. Paragraph 11 (a) of the contract (last sentence):

If you want to end the contract after the minimum term for any reason just give us one calendar month's notice

(the "minimum term" is of course your initial 12 months)

Nothing you can do about that I'm afraid. Just to warn you: Sky take you round the block when you phone up to cancel. They will try to convince you to stay so if you feel like shortening the process, you might have to act indignant or something.

Paddy20

sceptre,

Well, I put the Skycard back in [upsidedown] to my digibox, and powered up. Guess what!.. I am now receiving 59 TV Stations & 44 Radio stations, a total of 103 channels. Unbelievable Eh, what a shocker. No wonder my local TV Dealer who installed my Sky Family package told me that Freeview was not available in Donegal. I only have one local TV Dealer andhe has the Twin-Towns sown up.

Still, alls well that ends well.

Thanks as well for confirming that I will have to give Sky, 1 calender months notice of cancellation.

I am so ruddy delighted and flabbergasted, that I do not know which way to turn.

Cheers.

Paddy20.:)

Genghis

Paddy,

'Freeview' is a different system. It is 'terrestrial' and is received through normal TV aerials (i.e. not satellite). The channels you receive are known as FTV or 'Free to View', which means broadcasters don't encrypt their signal, and as long as you are in the catchment area and you have a tuner and dish you can get them. Some media people began speaking of 'Freesat' to describe the FTV channels after BBC went FTV - though this is not an official name, and can be confusing in that it may suggest that all the 'Freeview' channels are FTV on Satellite.

The main difference between the channel line-up of FTV Satellite and Freeview is that on Freeview there are far fewer channels, but more free and better channels - for example Channel 4 and UTV and five. With FTV you can tend to get a lot of channels from broadcasters 'who just want to get their message across' - such as God channels and Shopping channels.

There is a remote chance that in the future ITV, C4, C5 and even RTE may be 'FTA', though this is probably years off yet.

Good luck with the new system!

watty

All the gear is actually yours on Day1....

But you have to have at least a Value pack for a year if you get a subsidized install.

In practiuce you can haggle a final amount of "subscription" a month or to before end of first year if you want phone disconnected or going abroad etc.

Since you have to give one month notice you can ring and cancell at 11 months. You still pay 12th month at whatever package it is.


If you subsequently renew they can turn you back on quickly (no visit) and no phone needed and minimum 1 month to subscribe.


The card is always Sky's property.

watty

Originally posted by Genghis
The channels you receive are known as FTV or 'Free to View', which means broadcasters don't encrypt their signal, and as long as you are in the catchment area and you have a tuner and dish you can get them. Some media people began speaking of 'Freesat' to describe the FTV channels after BBC went FTV - though this is not an official name, and can be confusing in that it may suggest that all the 'Freeview' channels are FTV on Satellite.

Please don't confuse...

FTV == Always encrypted, needs a free or nearly free card, Means Free to View.

FTA == no card need. The channels are not encrypted.


Freeview the UK DTT / DVBt (Digital Terrestrial, i.e. via an aerial) is FTA channels.

Satellite over Europe is a mix of:
FTV: Free to View (needs a card, not Just the UK), encrypted
FTA: Free to Air, No card, no encryption
Pay: Monthly or annual subscription for a Channel (e.g. BBC Prime) or a Package (Sky Value, Sky Family, ABSat etc)
PPV: Pay via credit card or direct debit for a single program (i.e. Sky Box Office, some Porn channels, Some Sports Events).

Genghis

Yep, sorry there for any (added) confusion!!

Tiesto

i just did the card in upside down thing aswell
nice one,
u get radio 1.
i always wished i had that station
they have some good djs on the station.

Samson

Originally posted by sceptre
If you put your card in upside down and power up the boxyou will get the FTA EPG - in other words, BBC1 on channel 101, BBC2 on channel 102, BBC3 on 115, 4 on 116 and so on (or if you don't do this you will continue to get BBC1 and 2 on 214 and 215 respectively). It'll still continue to list the subscription channels like Sky One unfortunately.

I tried that and all I got was a "please insert your Sky digital card" message.
Does the box have to be powered down for a specific period?

Paddy20

Samson,

When you receive that message simply start flicking through the channels, and your digibox and dish will start t lock on to all the great TV and Radio Free to Air transmissions that you will be able to receive Free! of subscription.

In my case I have 59 TV including a complete line up of all BBC.TV channels, a number of which I did noteven know existed. I also have 44 Radio stations. In total 103 FTA channels, a great selection that more than satisfies my Satellite needs. The other channels UTV, CH4 etc, I can get via my ordinary TV analogue aerial.

Good luck.

Paddy20;)

Samson

Originally posted by Paddy20
Samson,

When you receive that message simply start flicking through the channels, and your digibox and dish will start t lock on to all the great TV and Radio Free to Air transmissions that you will be able to receive Free! of subscription.

In my case I have 59 TV including a complete line up of all BBC.TV channels, a number of which I did noteven know existed. I also have 44 Radio stations. In total 103 FTA channels, a great selection that more than satisfies my Satellite needs. The other channels UTV, CH4 etc, I can get via my ordinary TV analogue aerial.

Good luck.

Paddy20;)

Will try it again when I get home, thanks.

Paddy20

Well, now that I am receiving all these lovely EPG FTA - Free to Air - via Satellite channels. Without having to pay any Sky subs, just one more question?..

As my UTV & Channel 4 reception is not good from my analogue aerial. Is there any straighforward way for me to get them via my digibox & Sky Sat dish current set up??....

Thanks, or am I now getting greedy and unreasonable!?..

Paddy
:eek:

DMC

*bump*

Paddy20 did post a reply, but it didnt move from where Samson last posted.

watty

Originally posted by Paddy20
Well, now that I am receiving all these lovely EPG FTA - Free to Air - via Satellite channels. Without having to pay any Sky subs, just one more question?..

As my UTV & Channel 4 reception is not good from my analogue aerial. Is there any straighforward way for me to get them via my digibox & Sky Sat dish current set up??....

Thanks, or am I now getting greedy and unreasonable!?..

Paddy
:eek:

ITV / UTV : Likely to follow BBC as FTA, "Soon" .... Wait and see

Five: Likely to become a Pay Channel only, may lose UK terrestrial Analog. May be on Irish Sub and UK sub. (Efectively Sky 3)

C4 : No relaible free method on Satellite g'teed to stay working. Possibly C4 don't know what they will do next.


Take anything read here, Media Guardian or Media Bullet as "opinion". Facts are what you can look back to as having happened already.

Paddy20

watty,

As I have now lost RTE1 etc and my analogue signal for the Irish channels is not great via my analogue aerial now, due to a large bottling plant expanding and building metal clad buildings in the field behind my home, is there any way I can get the Irish channels back as a non Sky subscriber?..

Many thanks for all your guidance.

Paddy.;)

ShaneOC

Originally posted by Paddy20
watty,

As I have now lost RTE1 etc and my analogue signal for the Irish channels is not great via my analogue aerial now, due to a large bottling plant expanding and building metal clad buildings in the field behind my home, is there any way I can get the Irish channels back as a non Sky subscriber?..

Many thanks for all your guidance.

Paddy.;)

In a nutshell, no.

Paddy20

ShaneOC,

Oh well, thats a straight answer!. Wishful thinking on my part Eh!.
Anyway, I am receiving a reasonable picture on my tele via my analogue aerial of RTE1 etc plus UTV & CH4, maybe the Sat broadcasts have me spoilt with the Digital quality.

So, for now I will just have to put up with the inferior analogue channels while still enjoying all those lovely BBC FTA channels + Digital Radio via the Sat/digibox set up Free, so I am not complaining, but will live in hope.

Being the eternal optimist.

Thanks.

Paddy.;)

watty

Not from Satellite..

A taller pole for Aerial, or a different direction (different TX).

Ring RTE and tell them where you are and the problem and they will tell you "best" transmitter to use.


After a bit of work and experimenting with different aerials I now get RTE1, NET2, TV3 and TG4 as good or better than Satellite.


Do complain to RTE (after they help you) as Irish TV should either be on a FTV card scheme (With perhaps a one off or card issue charge or possibly an annual "administration" Charge like Switzerland has) or FTA. It's a disgrace that no-one in Ireland decides price or package and VAT goes to UK (Only Installer VAT goes Irish).

Tony

Incorrect on the VAT Watty we collect Irish VAT on the box itself when claiming refund from sky currently 67€ per box plus 21€ on installs

Tony

Originally posted by watty
It's a disgrace that no-one in Ireland decides price or package and VAT goes to UK (Only Installer VAT goes Irish).

Paddy20

watty,

Damn good suggestion, Thanks.

I will talk to RTE about my problem caused by our Local Authority allowing the B*****D bottling plant owner to expand and build behind my home, which is located in a designated Residential only* zone. That problem I am in the process of taking to Court.

After speaking nicely to RTE asyou suggest. I will lodge an officail complaint that because Irish TV which receives my license fee!, should be available FTA so that I can get a proper reception. They must have a duty to ensure that those who pay the license fee receive the best possible quality reception, and obviously thatwould be via Satellite, without having to subscribe to Sky packages?..

P.;)

watty

Originally posted by Tony
Incorrect on the VAT Watty we collect Irish VAT on the box itself when claiming refund from sky currently 67€ per box plus 21€ on installs

Tony

"(Only Installer VAT goes Irish)."

Was me trying to say that...

Hope you had a good holiday!

Tony

Originally posted by watty
"(Only Installer VAT goes Irish)."

Was me trying to say that...

Hope you had a good holiday!

I did thanks

Mike 1972

I have heard of people who have cancelled their Sky subs after a year getting calls from Sky offering to continue the Sub for half price

Paddy20

Mike 1972,

Yes, so have I. Have you seen the Thread entitled "Kiss and Make Up promo?..on this forum I think.

P.;)

telecinesk

Paddy,
Just a note on how to deal with sky. Send them a letter via registerd post 5days before one month to go on the subscription, telling them to >> Cancel your subscription.
In that way they cant annoy you on the phone like most people have found. ie Eh, one moment please I will pass you on to our Supervisor or some monkey with a non title.
I live way out in south eastern europe now and learned this is the way to deal with agents or service providers. Phonecalls can always be denied.
Good luck and happy BBC viewing, Im stuck with BBC Prime here as the astra beam is way too weak where I live. I need a 2.5M dish as confirmed but my family might send me packing back home..

Paddy20

telecinesk,

Many thanks for the advice about how to cancel my Sky subscription family package without getting any hassle!. However,I did manage too cancel without any problems after just one phone call during which they tried a few tricks to keep me as a subscriber, but I made it clear that I had already instructed my bank to cease paying Skys direct debit on a specefic date, and that they were wasting their time and mine. As Sales & Marketing was my career I took early retirement a long time ago, after which I became involved in the Citizens Advice Bureaux, voluntary service in the UK where over some 12 years in the heart of London I learnt a lot about how to enforce consumers rights.

Where exactly in "South Eastern Europe" are you. You know I always tend to forget that this is the Internet/www and you just never know who or from where someone may be reading this. Perhaps,I am becoming absent minded as I am now a real life self taught "Silversurfer" learning all the time, and I think computers are the greatest thing since the invention of the telephone.

Sorry, about the long ramble. Just came out!, and thanks again for your advice.

Be lucky.

P.;)

telecinesk

I sent you a PM> re exact location..
Dealing with former communist bureaucrats in my time here has taught me a lot how to deal with "western" europe service providers who are very cockey , like gsm providers ringing you up for "surveys" and all that kind of thing.Banks are at it now I see.. Sky is easy picking.I dont have time for the corporate phonecall etc > This is going WAY off topic.Sorry Damo.
Anyway glad you sorted SKY out. Best value for money(no grief on phone) is STILL a postage stamp.

Paddy20

telecinesk,

I have received written confirmation of my cancellation of my Sky family package subscription, and they even informed me that I had arranged with my bank to pay one extra monthly sub more than needed!, which I did not need to pay them as they were happy but sorry to lose such a good customer, who would be welcome back at anytime, just by making a free phonecall to them!. Lovely people Eh, or was I just lucky ?..

P. N.B. Got your PM. Must look up some details before I reply to it, via PM.