Sky + Nightmare Installation

foxylady

Hi All

Please can anybody advise me how to deal:-

Have had sky for 6 years. Upgraded to Sky + with multiroom on Saturday.
Guy turns up 9am saturday. He tells me something about sky needs two cables and that I already have two cables, he has to cut off my "TG4" aerial so he can use it for Sky + and I would get TG4 on sky anyway. He didn't say it would cut off all the terrestrial channels in the rest of the house as well. Why couldn't he bring down cabling internaly from loft with all the other cabling. (please note, I am not tecnically minded so he was baffaling me with science). I now have no terrestrial tv in any of the other rooms (ie bedrooms).

On top of that my old box which was transferred into my kitchen for multiroom, he drilled a hole from outside in, knocked plaster off wall on outside and its slap bang in the middle of a wall, runs the cable across the wall around a corner, up a drain pipe to the aerial on the roof. It looks awful and house was only repained 6 weeks ago!!!!

Again, why couldn't he take the cable down from the loft.

The company (whoever they are) are coming back this saturday - I hope to sort out the mess but am worried they are going to tell me I can't have terrestrial at same time as SKY +.

Please advise:

1. Am I wrong to assume cabling can be brought down from loft alongside other cables.

2. Can I have terrestrial TV as well as Sky + (have added on UTV to Sky but you can't record UTV with Sky + so another reason for needing terrestrial TV.

3. Have spoken to Sky and threatened to asky them to remove Sky + and put back the way it was - am I right to do that.

Any advise welcome

Foxylady (Galway)

TheDriver

With regard to terrestrial, of course you can have it around your house but he just wanted the cable to save himself the work of putting in another one. He had no right unless you agreed in some round about fashion.
Bringing cabling down from loft is difficult for installation purposes as it takes time, most will go from outside in but unlike you, should be neat.
Take photos of the installation before it is rectified, I am sure they might give you some sweetner to shut u up

mustang68

I sympathise with you. I spent most of Sunday cleaning up a sky install, also ran the second cable for Sky+.

I live in a mid terrace two bedroomed house, the dish is at the rear and when the installer came to put it all in, he looks at the house and says "How do you expect me to do this?" ! he had the great idea of throwing a cable over the house, I told him that was not on (an unsecured cable scraping on the roof tiles, no thanks). He then proceeded to cut into my analogue coax, I stopped him as that carries my broadband, we eventually settled on terrible route through the kitchen.

So yesterday got a giant drill, some shiny new cable and ran it myself, all hidden. I would suggest that if sky come back, reinstate your analogue service and give you a poor cable run, when they go do the job properly with new cable and run it where you want it to be (you can also do it at your leisure as you'll have your service until you finish your cabling).

pissed

Its just a case of the installer taking the easiest route for himself and he will be gone and doesnt have to look at the mess everyday. I had the same problem with chorus a few years back where they wanted to run the cable down the front of my house and drill into the wall into the sitting room rather than take it down behind the plaster. in the end i got the guy to leave me the cable and i ran it down myself and they came back the next day and connected me up outside...... and i still got charged for installation:mad: .
Get on to sky and make a complaint and if enough people complain maybe they would strike the individuals off their list of installers ?

kkontour

I think that Sky employed installers are strictly forbidden from going into the attic/loft to run cables due to insurance reasons(in case they hurt themselves and sue sky). It may be too late but you could try an independent installer who is not constrained by skys employees rules.

foxylady

Thanks for all your replies.

Sky are coming back on Saturday - I am hoping that they will reconnect my terrestrial and run the cabling down from the loft for sky but if they aren't insured then its obviously not going to happen.

I suppose I could ask them to leave me enough cable to get somebody else to do cabling from loft but obviously thats going to cost me more money on top of the £149.00 I paid for Sky +.

MAJJ

Hi Foxylady,

That's rough I hope it all get's resolved to your satisafction.

I had a similair problem with my broadband provider i.e antennae on the roof, cable all over the place. I insisted they come back and do it right i.e. via the loft but they cited insurance problems.

They woudn't go into the loft so i asked them would they feed it through to me - they had no problem with this. I went into the loft they lifted a tile passed the cable through. I then etched the cable and secured it to string. The other end of the string I had routed a certain path through my house the previous day. It was just a matter of pulling the cable through to where I needed it and by the time they were off the roof I had the cable downstairs and ready for them.

Hope that helps,
MAJJ

foxylady

Hi Majj

I have now arranged for the tv engineer who put up my terrestrial aerial to be at my house saturday when sky are there. He can go into the loft and run the cable for them if need be and reconnect my terrestrial aerial if sky refuse to do it.

Its so stupid that they have people doing very bad installations that aren't insured to enter your loft but are insured to hang from your chimney outside.

Carol