NTL: Prem Plus Idiocy....

Third_Echelon

Ok, I didn't buy the premiership plus season ticket this year as i though i might be moving and getting sky etc, so i didn't bother.

So I've ordered only 2 games this season so far. Didn't really want to watch the others really.

Ok so on saturday morning I call NTL to get the Liverpool vs Everton game and the girl on the end of thel line informs me a few minutes later that it will cost €18 (usual price €11)...

I thought it a bit strange and asked why. She then informed me that when 2 "big games" are on in a day that they come in a package, so I'd have to take the deal where i get the Boro vs Arsenal game later in the day as well. I told her that I didn't want the other game and that I didn't agree that the boro vs arsenal game was big and that I just wanted the Liverpool vs Everton game for €11 as I have got in the past.

She then says that it is not possible and that they have been doing this for months. I told her that I ordered the reverse fixture in september and that I didn't have to do the same and that (in my opinion) the game that I had ordered last week (Wigan vs Everton) was a big game and i didn't have to buy another game with it!!!

She basically said that if I didn't buy the 2 game package that I couldn't see the Liverpool vs Everton game...

There has to be some sort of law broken here? I was forced to purchase something that I didn't want!!!!

Anyone have any idea?

JDxtra

Terrible. I have heard of that recently with NTL though.

Maybe the couldn't configure their PPV system to have two events on the same day so have merged them and increased the price...?

muppetkiller

What I'm amazed at is how you managed to even get to speak to someone in NTL on a Saturday ? I've paid for my season ticket and on Wednesday they cut our signal for no reason ? I tried calling them up to see what was up but that new answering machine was driving me crazy so I left it on speaker for 30 min before I gave up.
I'm currently on the phone to them now for the last 30 min and i'm still waiting !!!!
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr surely we must be able to bring a leagal case against NTL for this.

Dodge

Third_Echelon wrote:

There has to be some sort of law broken here? I was forced to purchase something that I didn't want!!!!

They didn't force you to purchase anything. They offered you a deal and you either accepted it and paid for both or refused it.

I sympathise with you but its not illegal

Third_Echelon

Dodge wrote:

They didn't force you to purchase anything. They offered you a deal and you either accepted it and paid for both or refused it.

I sympathise with you but its not illegal

Well in a way they did force me to purchase the extra game. They knew that I wanted the first one. Previous terms showed that I could buy any game by itself and not part of a deal (this is what i was expecting), then they suddenly come up with this 'package' malarky... I did not receive anything in writing previously about this 2 game policy.

If I didn't accept it, I couldn't see the first game that I wanted to see...

lensman

Third_Echelon wrote:

Well in a way they did force me to purchase the extra game. They knew that I wanted the first one. Previous terms showed that I could buy any game by itself and not part of a deal (this is what i was expecting), then they suddenly come up with this 'package' malarky... I did not receive anything in writing previously about this 2 game policy.

If I didn't accept it, I couldn't see the first game that I wanted to see...

100% correct,...but watch out there are some on this forum who are very quick to take a pro NTHell stance, I came a cropper in the past when I voiced my views on being FORCED to pay €20 pm for an analogue tv service I did'nt want just to get their BB package !!.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Dodge

WTF? How is pointing out that they did nothing illegal pro NTL?

They did not force you to buy anything. They didn't say buy this package or we'll cut your service off. They offered one package for sale and you had the option of saying yes or no. Its like saying Tesco is forcing you to buy a pack of 12 Jaffa Cakes when all you want is 10. NTL didn't do anything illegal. It's crappy service but its not illegal.

lensman

what took you so long

Third_Echelon

Dodge wrote:

WTF? How is pointing out that they did nothing illegal pro NTL?

They did not force you to buy anything. They didn't say buy this package or we'll cut your service off. They offered one package for sale and you had the option of saying yes or no. Its like saying Tesco is forcing you to buy a pack of 12 Jaffa Cakes when all you want is 10. NTL didn't do anything illegal. It's crappy service but its not illegal.

Well they had changed their usual selling practise of individual games. Its like going into a car dealership to buy your new focus, and they tell you that now they are changing their practise, that you have to buy a fiesta as well in order to buy a focus....

Dodge

Yeah, and you don't have to buy that car. nothing illegal. Crappy, but not illegal

Slow Motion

Hi this is my first post ever so I hope I get it right. Used to work with NTL, there is no practical reason for them not to sell you just one game it works exactly the same as if you book one movie, same PPV system does both. Marketing simply decided that you had to buy the two and that is what the person on the phone is told to do, they are just telesales and don't get to make the decision. And your right it is a crappy service the person your talking to on the phone generally agrees that this is so and often is as frustrated with hearing this as you are with saying it, unfortunately they can't do anything about it either except to push your comments up the food chain where they get promptly ignored.

SM

Third_Echelon

Slow Motion wrote:

Hi this is my first post ever so I hope I get it right. Used to work with NTL, there is no practical reason for them not to sell you just one game it works exactly the same as if you book one movie, same PPV system does both. Marketing simply decided that you had to buy the two and that is what the person on the phone is told to do, they are just telesales and don't get to make the decision. And your right it is a crappy service the person your talking to on the phone generally agrees that this is so and often is as frustrated with hearing this as you are with saying it, unfortunately they can't do anything about it either except to push your comments up the food chain where they get promptly ignored.

SM

Yeah I know that the call centre worker doesn't make the decision, but they are the voice of the company, so they take the sh1t basically from the public...

Dodge: You have the option of buying another brand car, with cable you dont. You have NTL because there is no other operator and you can't get sky (apartment building). So there is no choice

Dodge

The choice is you don't have to watch the game, or you could go out, or you could change to sky.

Slow Motion

Third_Echelon wrote:

Yeah I know that the call centre worker doesn't make the decision, but they are the voice of the company, so they take the sh1t basically from the public...

True but they are also the lowest paid least trained people in the company, also they have the highest turnover of staff in the business, once one of them finally gets the hang of the job they bugger off to work in a better call centre with more money and less crap to deal with.

Dodge: You have the option of buying another brand car, with cable you dont. You have NTL because there is no other operator and you can't get sky (apartment building). So there is no choice

Also true and unfortunately that isn't going to change any time soon as they own the actual cable in the ground, I don't even have it any more so I live in four channel land and use games as an excuse to go to the pub

SteM

Third_Echelon, did you buy the game in the end? I think the only way NTL (I know their not NTL anymore) will change their selling practices is if enough people phone NTL sales, hear the deal and refuse it. Once NTL managment see a lot of calls to coming into sales but a drop the actual amount of games bought they might think again.

therecklessone

The tax man wrote:

Were Sky customers able to pick one match over the other??

Yes, as were Chorus customers (owned by the same parent company as NTL)

lensman

SteM wrote:

Third_Echelon, did you buy the game in the end? I think the only way NTL (I know their not NTL anymore) will change their selling practices is if enough people phone NTL sales, hear the deal and refuse it. Once NTL managment see a lot of calls to coming into sales but a drop the actual amount of games bought they might think again.

Great idea, but people will never do it, we just don't complain strong enough in Ireland, there are ways to stick it to NTHELL but thats not for this forum;)

tallaghtoutlaws

The tax man wrote:

I think you're all missing the point.This thread should read Sky: Prem Plus Idiocy... That Prem plus double header is to do with Sky. They come up with the packs\matches whatever. NTL are only selling you what they receive from Sky. They have no function as such to only give you the one game out of the two. Whatever Sky broadcasts is simply passed along. Were Sky customers able to pick one match over the other??

@slow motion re:PPV movies, I want to buy a film but I've seen the first hour of it so I'd just like to buy the last hour,I want to see how it turns out. See what I'm getting at? It's the same PPV system but you're paying for a certain item in it's entirety. You simply don't have the option to pick and choose parts of a PPV event. I've no idea what Sky charged for the same event but I'd be surprised if they sold it at the same rate they charge for one match.

My 2 cents.

That is definitely not a Sky offer I paid for the Reds Toffees game on Sky without buying the gooners game. NTL are cack I hate them with a passion but I gaurantee you will find in extremely small writing somewhere saying that from time to time they can offer what they like unfair but it probably covers them.

As they do not run the PPV service that Sky own you will find they could probably offer whatever they like. Typical NTL shower of gob****es man I hate them. I was without tv over christmas due to their incompatance when I moved into my house a year ago.

The tax man

therecklessone wrote:

Yes, as were Chorus customers (owned by the same parent company as NTL)

Hmmm..... Well I did ask. I didn't know Sky and Chorus offered to break up the fixtures. Back to NTL: Prem Plus Idiocy...

Third_Echelon

SteM wrote:

Third_Echelon, did you buy the game in the end? I think the only way NTL (I know their not NTL anymore) will change their selling practices is if enough people phone NTL sales, hear the deal and refuse it. Once NTL managment see a lot of calls to coming into sales but a drop the actual amount of games bought they might think again.

I had to buy it in the end....

I am in the process of letting them know about their cr@ppy deals...