Want to upgrade my parents sky... confused on best way to do this.

Access

My parent have had sky for as long as i can remember... prob since the early 90s.

They currently have the €33 (approx) package with sky and still believe it or not have a standard sky box (not sky+ or HD)! - with a sky remote that looks like the dog ate it!

I want to upgrade their old box and just get in a sky+ box (no point in getting HD as they wont use it - as no HD tellys in the house). I do know that it will require additional sat cable to the dish, so three new cables (one extra for the sky+ box and two spare) will be in place for the eventual change over... (as the dish will need to be replaced as well to provide the sky+ and also because the dish is near rusted out).

What would be the best thing to say to sky on the phone and what would i ask for and expect to pay to upgrade to sky+

Thanks for any info

homer911

Before going down the Sky+ route, check what channels they are actually watching. It may well be that a Freesat+ box would be perfectly suitable, and no more monthly bills...

zg3409

If you decide you want the pay channels threaten to cancel, and say you want a free Sky+ box and cabling and quad LNB. You will probably need a new dish at this stage too.

If they don'e play ball then cancel. They will probably ring back with offers. If you do eventually cancel remember a new install with a + box is free for new customers anyway.

As said if they don't need any pay channels a free to air system would be better value.

A2LUE42

and be there yourself when the new dish is suposed to be installed. There seems to be a lot of installers who just reuse the old rusted dish that is already in place.

Access

They do view some of the discovery and living channels regularly, so sky will be kept... (i was trying to get them to ditch sky and go freesat but no go! )

I have previously rang up on two different occasions in the past two years and spoke as my father to them and gone through to cancelling dept, and both times got half price sky for 6 months for them. So happy days.

So the consensus is to go through to the cancellation dept and ask for free upgrade to sky+ so?

muffler

Access wrote: »

So the consensus is to go through to the cancellation dept and ask for free upgrade to sky+ so?

Yes, I think that would be your best option. If they dont agree to a new box and/or another discounted sub just go ahead and cancel and wait to see if they ring back within the next 3 - 4 weeks.

If they dont call back with an offer just call them again a couple of days before the cancellation period is due to run out and say you changed your mind and you want to avail of whatever they previously offered or maybe just ask if they have any improved offers.

Another thing you could consider is just cancelling completely and do what a lot of other people have done and sign up as a new customer in another family member's name

Cantona's Collars

muffler wrote: »

Yes, I think that would be your best option. If they dont agree to a new box and/or another discounted sub just go ahead and cancel and wait to see if they ring back within the next 3 - 4 weeks.

If they dont call back with an offer just call them again a couple of days before the cancellation period is due to run out and say you changed your mind and you want to avail of whatever they previously offered or maybe just ask if they have any improved offers.

Another thing you could consider is just cancelling completely and do what a lot of other people have done and sign up as a new customer in another family member's name

Be careful doing that as Sky have clamped down big style on this practice,the threat to cancel is the easiest way to get a new box installed (mentioning switching to UPC seems to work wonders)

Access

Just want to give an update on this...

Last week i phoned sky (pretending to be my father with his permission) and got through first to the upgrading dept.

Told the guy that we are with them for the past 20 odd years and paid about 3 or 400 pounds or euro for the current sky digital box we have (bought approx some time in the late 90's i think) and he informed me that i would need to fork out €109 to upgrade the sky box to sky+!

I laughed and told him to put me through to cancellations - he couldn't so i rang the main 0818 number back and went straight through to cancelling sky dept. (maybe i should have gone there first like peeps on here were saying! )

Again, told the lady the story and she put me on hold for a short time and fair dues to them, she told me she would give us a free sky HD box (But with HD off as parents have no need for it - they just want the plus features) and free installation! Only change is that the 12 months contract is activated again... which is fine as parents are happy to stay with them.

So thanks all for the advice...

One more question if i could though... the parents sky box RF out is distributed around the house to other tvs via coaxial from a powered splitter amp behind the sitting room telly... i read somewhere on here that the new sky+ HD boxes have no RF out - not too sure if i was reading right or not... do these new sky+ hd boxes still have RF 1 and the RF 2 out for sky eyes or will i have to buy an RF modulator and connect out from scart on the new box?

Thanks.

zg3409

All the new boxes have RF1 and RF2 out. The multiroom boxes do not.

You will need to setup the magic eyes again as it is turned off by default in the box.

familystand

There are rf outlets on the new sky boxes, i have a new terrabite sky plus box and the feed to a bedroom via the rf 2 outlet works fine;)

Extinction

The newer single tuner sky hd boxes don't have rf out

Access

I presume its going to be a twin tuner sky HD box rather than that single tuner one Extinction, so it will prob have RF out so.

Thanks all.