Sky call out fee

winston_1 · 31-12-2013 01:11AM

BogManInc wrote: »

Just to update - got a call back from sky and an engineer is coming out on Tuesday to realign the dish for me - for no extra charge!

No engineer is coming out. Sky don't use them for this. They couldn't afford to with free callouts. At best you will get an installer, but probably a contractor.

hallo dare · 31-12-2013 08:27AM

winston_1 wrote: »

The Sky dish is YOUR equipment and YOUR responsibility. The broadband dish is the broadband providers equipment. That is the difference.

Then why have sky taken back dishes and equipment after people have cancelled? It has happened.

flynnlives · 31-12-2013 04:01PM

winston_1 wrote: »

The Sky dish is YOUR equipment and YOUR responsibility. The broadband dish is the broadband providers equipment. That is the difference.

€60 is a bargain for a callout. No other tradesman will come out for less these days. Pay up and stop whinging.

Thats rubbish!

if you were right then i would be perfectly entitled to change/hack/flash the box and equipment and do what i liked with it. If that were possible.

The phone eircom gave me is mine because i paid for it. However if the phone line goes down its their problem.
The same applies with the ESB and any other service coming into your house.

If sky want my business then they need to provide me with working equipment and timely repairs if it breaks.
this 60euro call out is bs. Its just sky attempting to pass the cost of the contractor back to the customer. I threatened to cancel and the call out fee suddenly disappeared.

This mentallity of "pay up and stop whinging" is one of the reasons we have such poor services in this country.

Peter Rhea · 31-12-2013 07:47PM

flynnlives wrote: »

The phone eircom gave me is mine because i paid for it. However if the phone line goes down its their problem.
The same applies with the ESB and any other service coming into your house.

If sky want my business then they need to provide me with working equipment and timely repairs if it breaks.
this 60euro call out is bs.

Do you pay a standing charge/line rental to Sky?

White Heart Loon · 31-12-2013 08:05PM

A decent satellite meter is 300+, public liability insurance 600+, run a van is a few hundred a week, all adds up. 60 quid is a bargain, I charge 60-80 depending on how easy it is and an extra 50 if I have to take the roofing ladder off the van.

Aligning a dish without a meter isn't all that easy, you're picking out something the size of a car 23,000 miles away, the slightest touch or even tightening of a nut can throw you off. Also, you aren't aligning one transponder (which is what signal test is showing), but finding the happy balance of signals from over a hundred, both vertical and horizontal

winston_1 · 31-12-2013 08:19PM

flynnlives wrote: »

Thats rubbish!

if you were right then i would be perfectly entitled to change/hack/flash the box and equipment and do what i liked with it. If that were possible.

The phone eircom gave me is mine because i paid for it. However if the phone line goes down its their problem.
The same applies with the ESB and any other service coming into your house.

If sky want my business then they need to provide me with working equipment and timely repairs if it breaks.
this 60euro call out is bs. Its just sky attempting to pass the cost of the contractor back to the customer. I threatened to cancel and the call out fee suddenly disappeared.

This mentallity of "pay up and stop whinging" is one of the reasons we have such poor services in this country.

It is NOT rubbish. Sky give you the equipment (isn't that nice of them) when you join. It's a loss leader to entice new customers. However the software in the box is Sky's copyright (if that is the right word). I'm sure if you were to change, hack, or flash the box, if that were possible nothing would happen to you. You can change and modify the dish and people do (align it to other satellites, add additional LNBs etc) and Sky does not chase them.

Your phone analogy is good, if the phone breaks you pay as you should if your Sky box or dish break. If the phone line goes down its Eircom's responsibility, likewise if the satellite feed goes down it's Skys (or maybe CLTs ) responsibility.

Do you expect your local garage to service your car free because you bought it there and buy petrol there every week because if they want your business it is up them to provide you with a working car?

As I said these days €60 for a callout is a bargain and you should stop whinging and pay up.

steveon · 31-12-2013 08:31PM

winston_1 wrote: »

It is NOT rubbish. Sky give you the equipment (isn't that nice of them) when you join. It's a loss leader to entice new customers. However the software in the box is Sky's copyright (if that is the right word). I'm sure if you were to change, hack, or flash the box, if that were possible nothing would happen to you. You can change and modify the dish and people do (align it to other satellites, add additional LNBs etc) and Sky does not chase them.

Your phone analogy is good, if the phone breaks you pay as you should if your Sky box or dish break. If the phone line goes down its Eircom's responsibility, likewise if the satellite feed goes down it's Skys (or maybe CLTs ) responsibility.

Do you expect your local garage to service your car free because you bought it there and buy petrol there every week because if they want your business it is up them to provide you with a working car?

As I said these days €60 for a callout is a bargain and you should stop whinging and pay up.

Totally agree that a €60 is a great deal for a callout, sky indeed give a free box, and dish and as a result it often takes them 8-9 months just to turn a profit from that customer, if it continued to forever give free dishes, service calls and equipment it wouldn't be in business for very long and therefore the service wouldn't exist. It is also in the terms & conditions of all policy that the equipment becomes yours after 12 months. For years many people have taking advantage of this and cancelled their policy after the term and used the equipment to provide them with the fta channels.

Also Wind damage is classed as an act of god and as such Insurance companies wont insure against it....so why should Sky or any other company for that matter.

Eircom only fix the lines outside the home and this is because part of your bill includes a line rental which is for such an issue, however it does not cover you for any deliberate or internal problems sky do not charge a line rental to cover problems that occur but you can take out an insurance policy if you should wish.

However I personally feel as an independent installer that and I'm sure many other independent installers would vouch for that in many cases Sky should carry out some regular checks on some of their Hired help whom carry out far from perfect installs in the first place which leads to many unnecessary service calls from happening.

flynnlives · 01-01-2014 01:50AM

winston_1 wrote: »

It is NOT rubbish. Sky give you the equipment (isn't that nice of them) when you join. It's a loss leader to entice new customers. However the software in the box is Sky's copyright (if that is the right word). I'm sure if you were to change, hack, or flash the box, if that were possible nothing would happen to you. You can change and modify the dish and people do (align it to other satellites, add additional LNBs etc) and Sky does not chase them.

Your phone analogy is good, if the phone breaks you pay as you should if your Sky box or dish break. If the phone line goes down its Eircom's responsibility, likewise if the satellite feed goes down it's Skys (or maybe CLTs ) responsibility.

Do you expect your local garage to service your car free because you bought it there and buy petrol there every week because if they want your business it is up them to provide you with a working car?

As I said these days €60 for a callout is a bargain and you should stop whinging and pay up.

This maybe the case 10 years ago when there was no choice and no competition.

But now there is plenty of options for TV.

you go ahead and happily pay your 60 euro but as far as I'm concerned sky are providing a service to me. If their equipment breaks it's their problem.
Sky should be paying the local contractor to fix their equipment and not trying 5 pass it off to customers.

And Sky are desperate to keep customers. Sky made an absolute killing here for years particularly in the countryside were there was no ntl or chorus. That's what happens imo when a company gets complacent with their monopoly which is crumpling.

dobman88 · 01-01-2014 02:09AM

Ring sky back and tell them to cancel the account. That's what I did. My sky went on Christmas Day and I rang them on the 27th, they told me it would be the 24th of January before someone would be available and would cost €60. I told them to cancel the account straight away. They rang me back today saying an engineer would be out on the 7th of January free of charge. Some cheek trying to charge €60 when we pay enough every month. It's an extortianate fee for something they are in charge of.

winston_1 · 01-01-2014 02:24AM

flynnlives wrote: »

If their equipment breaks it's their problem.
Sky should be paying the local contractor to fix their equipment and not trying 5 pass it off to customers.

You still don't get it do you. It's YOUR equipment and YOUR responsibility not Sky's. I and others have already told you this. Again, it is YOUR equipment.

winston_1 · 01-01-2014 02:36AM

dobman88 wrote: »

Ring sky back and tell them to cancel the account. That's what I did. My sky went on Christmas Day and I rang them on the 27th, they told me it would be the 24th of January before someone would be available and would cost €60. I told them to cancel the account straight away. They rang me back today saying an engineer would be out on the 7th of January free of charge. Some cheek trying to charge €60 when we pay enough every month. It's an extortianate fee for something they are in charge of.

Another one too mean to pay a reasonable call out charge for his own equipment. Why did you lie to them and tell them you want to cancel when you didn't? I hate liars. What you pay every month is for the programmes not insurance for your equipment. By haggling the fee away like this you are the cause of the high costs for every other Sky sub. Tell me how are Sky in charge of the weather?

And they won't be sending an engineer on the 7th. They don't use engineers for this, they can't afford them with people like you expecting free call outs. It will be an installer and most probably a contractor.

Boggles · 01-01-2014 01:23PM

winston_1 wrote: »

By haggling the fee away like this you are the cause of the high costs for every other Sky sub.

He isn't stop with the hyperbole.

Over a month lead time for a call out from any service provider is ridiculous and would be a good enough reason to cancel as is.

Sky should be trying their best to hang onto their current customers as financially in the long run it is in their interests, playing russian roulette with the cancellation department is silly, but seems to work, so all power to the people who do it IMO.

Rippy · 01-01-2014 05:45PM

Yesterday I managed to squeeze in a call to a woman yesterday , despite being very busy and the weather being awful. I looked up on arrival and saw a rusted out dish dangling by its cables . Rang the doorbell , greeted her and informed her that the dish would need to be replaced . At which she said she would have to wait for sky. I asked her why that was and was told sky would do it for free.....
This was a youngish woman in a big house in a wealthy neighbourhood .
The sense of 'entitlement ' and sheer lack of manners or consideration astounded me . I could do nothing but shake my head as I retreated to the van in the driving rain...

Guy:Incognito · 01-01-2014 10:13PM

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

You are paying Sky for a service. If the ESB wires fall down do you pay an additional fee for them to reconnect you?

If a socket breaks in the house do you call the esb out to fix it ?

How much would you charge to drive out to a client/customer of whatever job you do if asked?presumably you'd hop in the car that no one had to pay for and use the free petrol to get it to the house. Obviously if you slip and break something (your self or something belonging to the customer your free insurance will pay for it to be fixed too)

gctest50 · 01-01-2014 10:28PM

Rippy wrote: »

Yesterday I managed to squeeze in a call to a woman yesterday , despite being very busy and the weather being awful. I looked up on arrival and saw a rusted out dish dangling by its cables . Rang the doorbell , greeted her and informed her that the dish would need to be replaced . At which she said she would have to wait for sky. I asked her why that was and was told sky would do it for free.....
This was a youngish woman in a big house in a wealthy neighbourhood .
The sense of 'entitlement ' and sheer lack of manners or consideration astounded me . I could do nothing but shake my head as I retreated to the van in the driving rain...

How old was the dish ?

flynnlives · 01-01-2014 10:50PM

esb power line to your house breaks, the means by which they provide their service, they will fix it.

Phone line to your house breaks, the means by which they provide their service, they will fix it.

Sky satellite service breaks, the means by which they provide their service, yet i have to pay?! i think not.

Yet some here beleive Sky are some how excempt from this principle, i simply dont get it.
The satellite dish is the same as the powerlines and phone lines, its the means by which the service enters your house.

The esb and phone campany both factor faults and repairs into their costs. I see no reason that sky should be any different.

Nobody is suggesting that the installer or contractor shouldn't be paid. Sky should be absorbing this cost and not attempting to pass it on to the customer.
And to suggest that people haggling or threatening cancelation is one of the reasons things cost so much here is laughable.
The opposite is in fact true, its the average homeowner who has seen the brunt of pain in this current recession.

Peter Rhea · 01-01-2014 11:01PM

flynnlives wrote: »

The esb and phone campany both factor faults and repairs into their costs. I see no reason that sky should be any different.

So you would prefer to pay Sky a standing charge to cover maintenance & repair costs that you might not actually incur during your subscription period?

White Heart Loon · 01-01-2014 11:11PM

It's been said before, the difference is that when you sign up for Sky they give you a satellite dish as part of the first years subscription, you own the dish, it is yours to maintain and thereby repair if something goes wrong.

Sky provide a terrible quality dish, I do not see the value in them at all and do not sell them as they barely last 4 years. If you really want a proper setup that will last, get a private installer to install a decent plastic coated aluminium dish on a proper bracket, it should last 15yrs+ and save you money in the long run

Guy:Incognito · 01-01-2014 11:32PM

flynnlives wrote: »

esb power line to your house breaks, the means by which they provide their service, they will fix it.

Phone line to your house breaks, the means by which they provide their service, they will fix it.

Sky satellite service breaks, the means by which they provide their service, yet i have to pay?! i think not.

Yet some here beleive Sky are some how excempt from this principle, i simply dont get it.
The satellite dish is the same as the powerlines and phone lines, its the means by which the service enters your house.

The esb and phone campany both factor faults and repairs into their costs. I see no reason that sky should be any different.

Nobody is suggesting that the installer or contractor shouldn't be paid. Sky should be absorbing this cost and not attempting to pass it on to the customer.
And to suggest that people haggling or threatening cancelation is one of the reasons things cost so much here is laughable.
The opposite is in fact true, its the average homeowner who has seen the brunt of pain in this current recession.

You own the dish and box. If your fuse board in your house breaks, you fix it. The power lines would be equivalent to the satellite in space imo. If that stops getting the signal to the equipment you own, that's sky's problem. Just like if the esb can get the power as far as your fuse board , it's yours from there.

How long should sky be liable? What happens after the first year when you cancel and use it for free services , why is the equipment suddenly your problem but if you use sky on it its theirs? If you have a setanta sub and no sky one would you expect setanta to fix it?
who fixes your freesat dish once it's out of warranty?

flynnlives · 01-01-2014 11:33PM

Peter Rhea wrote: »

So you would prefer to pay Sky a standing charge to cover maintenance & repair costs that you might not actually incur during your subscription period?

this cost is imo part of their monthly subscription

White Heart Loon · 01-01-2014 11:36PM

flynnlives wrote: »

this cost is imo part of their monthly subscription

You should insist on it being in your terms and conditions the next time you sign up

hju6 · 01-01-2014 11:43PM

flynnlives wrote: »

esb power line to your house breaks, the means by which they provide their service, they will fix it.

Phone line to your house breaks, the means by which they provide their service, they will fix it.

Sky satellite service breaks, the means by which they provide their service, yet i have to pay?! i think not.

Yet some here beleive Sky are some how excempt from this principle, i simply dont get it.
The satellite dish is the same as the powerlines and phone lines, its the means by which the service enters your house.

The esb and phone campany both factor faults and repairs into their costs. I see no reason that sky should be any different.

Nobody is suggesting that the installer or contractor shouldn't be paid. Sky should be absorbing this cost and not attempting to pass it on to the customer.
And to suggest that people haggling or threatening cancelation is one of the reasons things cost so much here is laughable.
The opposite is in fact true, its the average homeowner who has seen the brunt of pain in this current recession.

RTE provide a service funded via TV license, do you expect RTE to fix your Aerial or TV as part of their service ?

muffler · 02-01-2014 02:28AM

flynnlives wrote: »

esb power line to your house breaks, the means by which they provide their service, they will fix it.

Of course they will but only as far as the meter box on the outside wall of your house.

flynnlives wrote: »

Phone line to your house breaks, the means by which they provide their service, they will fix it.

Of course they will but only as far as the entry point to your house. BTW if you have a fault and an Eircom engineer comes out and finds the fault is inside it will cost €120.

flynnlives wrote: »

Sky satellite service breaks, the means by which they provide their service, yet i have to pay?! i think not.

No different to the examples you posted above. If there is a break in service between the satellite and te dish on the wall of your house they will fix it without a fee being applied.

flynnlives wrote: »

Yet some here beleive Sky are some how excempt from this principle, i simply dont get it.
The satellite dish is the same as the powerlines and phone lines, its the means by which the service enters your house.

Satellite tv can hardly be compared to the likes of electricity and telephone services in terms of necessity.

flynnlives wrote: »

The esb and phone campany both factor faults and repairs into their costs. I see no reason that sky should be any different.

Really? Can you post a link to where these costs are factored in.

Just out of interest how long have you had Sky tv installed?

St Senan · 02-01-2014 04:46PM

What some people here cant get it into their heads and it is very clear for all here to see is that after the 1st year of subscribing to sky digital the customer owns the equipment and Sky only provide the signal from the satellite to the dish on the wall.

The whole Sky business of Installing and selling here in Ireland is done either 1 of 3 ways.

(1). A person can ring sky on 0818719819 looking for an install and they would be dealing with SHS Sky Home Services or Skydirect as us installers call them, Sky will issue the customer with a job number and a viewing card and an installer from the main contractor in Ireland who is not a ENGINEER will call out to the customers house within 1 week to install this system, There is a 1 year warranty with SKY on this job that includes Dish, cabling and Sky Box.

(2). A person can call into their local TV shop and sign a contract over the counter. The shop will send that contract to Sky, Sky will send out the viewing card to the customer and the shop will then send out the in-house installer storeman deliveryman who is not a ENGINEER to install the system. There is a 1 year warranty with the shop on this job that includes Dish, cabling and Sky Box.

(3). A person can sign up for sky through a shopping centre kiosk or door to door salesperson known to us all as a ASA agent. The ASA agent is working for some sales company, the sales company will will send that contract to Sky, Sky will send out the viewing card to the customer and then some contract commission based installation company will then send out an installer or sub contractor installer who is not a ENGINEER to install the system. There is a 1 year warranty with the ASA/ Installation company on this job that includes Dish, cabling and Sky Box.

Which ever way a person decides to get sky installed the equipment will usually come from a big trade supplier here in Ireland , Sky themselves don't make satellite dishes cable or Sky boxes.

I used to get it in the Ear many a time from customers who had got installed through number 2 or number 3 and couldn't get any good of them when their Sky stopped working. Back then Skydirect set up a new name for these free service calls they called them Hit squad jobs its where in home service installers like me back then had to take on turnaround free service calls belonging to ASA agents or Shops.

PMC999 · 02-01-2014 07:14PM

In my opinion it is totally irrelevant who owns the dish. In order for Sky to continue to bill you for TV service there has to be a working dish in place. Sky can certainly try to charge you if you require a call out to fix a dish. However, many Sky customers have alternative options for TV services and can move to UPC etc.
Sky are aware of this and so it is no surprise that they often waive the call out fee in order to keep the customer happy and retain the monthly revenue. It is not fair to criticise Sky customers for doing this. You would be foolish not to try to call their bluff.

winston_1 · 02-01-2014 08:07PM

PMC999 wrote: »

In order for Sky to continue to bill you for TV service there has to be a working dish in place.

Rubbish. They can and will continue to bill you until 30 days after you cancel.

St Senan · 02-01-2014 09:01PM

Taken from Sky T&C. http://www.sky.com/ireland/terms-conditions/tv/

SKY BOX AND MINIDISH WARRANTY

The Digital Satellite Equipment comes with a warranty against faults arising in the first 12 months after installation.

The 12 month warranty also covers cabling and/or installation faults. The following are not covered by the warranty: faults arising from misuse, accidental or deliberate damage, damage arising from use of equipment that is not supplied by or on behalf of Sky with the Digital Satellite Equipment, cosmetic damage which does not affect the functionality of the Digital Satellite Equipment or damage caused by events outside the reasonable control of Sky or its equipment suppliers.

To report a fault, please call Sky on 0818 719 819. If a reported fault cannot be remedied by one of our engineers during a visit to your home, then Sky will replace the faulty Box or Minidish, or the faulty component of it. Any replacement equipment will be new or ‘as new’ (previously used equipment that has been refurbished by the manufacturer or its authorised agent). Sky will warrant any repair or replacement until the later of the end of the original 12 month warranty period or 3 months from the date it was carried out. This warranty is provided by Sky In-Home Service Limited, only applies to equipment ordered from Sky (or a retailer acting as Sky’s agent), and does not apply outside the Republic of Ireland.

If you live in a property with a communal satellite system, this warranty does not cover that system. It does not affect your statutory rights. If you require any advice on your legal rights you can refer to www.consumerconnect.ie

PMC999 · 02-01-2014 10:11PM

winston_1 wrote: »

Rubbish. They can and will continue to bill you until 30 days after you cancel.

And after the 30 days Sky will receive no further payments. The result is still the same, no more revenue from that customer.
I can understand why installers get upset when consumers pressure Sky to replace dishes rather than pay for an independent installer for a replacement . However you would be crazy not to threaten Sky with cancellation first before agreeing to pay for a repair.

steveon · 02-01-2014 10:19PM

UPC will induce a service call where they find the call out shouldn't be necessary i.e box not plugged in, scart pulled out and used on a dvd player etc...and believe me I have found this to be the case on more than 100 occasions when I worked as a service enginner for UPC.

Once again as its been pointed out you pay a service fee for ESB and Eircom Line u don't with sky u are simply paying for the channels...if u want the dish replaced for free take out an insurance policy and pay an extra few euro a month in exactly the way u do for your phone and electricity supply.If sky fixed everything for free then they wouldn't be in business. Gone was the day over 20 yrs ago when u bought the dish and equipment yourselves and then subscribed to sky....if memory serves me rite an 80cm dish and a pace prd800 dish would have set you back around £400-500 pounds and then u paid for your sub...

I have encountered plenty of people over past few days especially over xmas demanding I come to them today....today today but dont want to pay me...both ruining my xmas and thinking my van runs on water it seems....

I have gone out of my way as much by prioritizing elderly and people with young kids at home as much as I can but wind damage is nobody's fault and the bearer carries the cost no matter what happens....nobody expects the builder to come back 30 yrs later and fix their ridge tiles that have blown off....and nobody should expect anything differently.

ranger4 · 02-01-2014 10:26PM

White Heart Loon wrote: »

A decent satellite meter is 300+, public liability insurance 600+, run a van is a few hundred a week, all adds up. 60 quid is a bargain, I charge 60-80 depending on how easy it is and an extra 50 if I have to take the roofing ladder off the van.

Aligning a dish without a meter isn't all that easy, you're picking out something the size of a car 23,000 miles away, the slightest touch or even tightening of a nut can throw you off. Also, you aren't aligning one transponder (which is what signal test is showing), but finding the happy balance of signals from over a hundred, both vertical and horizontal

Totally agree.

Sky call out fee

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