Sky insurance nightmare for Mum
18-March-2010
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Sky insurance nightmare for Mum

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This week I have a gripe about Sky.  At the start of 2008 Mum received a phone call out of the blue from Sky asking her if she wanted to take out the £69 yearly insurance on her Sky+ digibox.  Mum hesitated but then relented because the nice lady at Sky said the cover was "immediate" which was handy as the said box had not been recording properly for quite some time.

Sky Guide - insurance nightmare for Mum

The "nice" Sky lady, however, failed to tell my Mum that all repairs, etc are carried out by a sub-contractor, in this case System Guard.  Upon ringing their expensive telephone number Mum got into a state about the "procedure" she had to do when she reports a fault, so she got on to me about it.  I then rang System Guard myself to receive more detailed instructions, then rang Mum up with them.  Unfortunately, the switching on and off of the box, resetting it, blah-de-blah did not work...so she rang them again.

Promising to bring a box round, then not bothering

I won't bore you with the rest because it gets complicated.  However, what has become clear in the past month or so is the fact that Sky have been naughty in "selling" Mum insurance she really was not sure about and System Guard seem to think Mum has taken out said insurance so she can get a new box.  In fact, it was their own Engineer (on one of their rare visits, usually they fail to turn up) who said Mum needed a new box.  On three occasions since then my Dad has stayed in the house awaiting the Engineer who "promised" to come round with a new box.  No sign.  Then Mum gets stressed upon returning from work to find her shiny, new Sky+ box has not materialised!  It is the ringing up "promising" to bring a box round, then not bothering that really gripes me.  My poor Dad is a virtual recluse waiting for these people.  It's just not on!

Over the years Sky has made a fortune from subscriptions that - quite frankly - are a rip-off.  I reckon it is about time we got something back...like a new, shiny box that replaces the old, faulty one.  And how come they think we are all technically-minded?  It is so annoying!  This is the reason Mum got a Sky+ box in the first place, because she hates Video Recorders!  It's been a godsend!

I have emailed both Sky AND System Guard (even the name sounds "dodgy" to me) and I have threatened them with "if this is not resolved in the next week you may as well take the box out."

These big companies make me sooo angry!  Quick to take our money but not that quick to sort a minor problem out!  I hope my email works!

By: Jane


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Oh well, 3 days later and no engineer, and no answer from Boss Domestic on the phone. Rang the credit card company and they are going to do a credit card chargeback to refund the money on the basis that the service paid for was not received. Rang Sky for my dad and their engineer costs £65 and if they can't fix the box, they will replace it with no more to pay, so insurance is a waste of money as the dish is unlikely to fail.
*London girl  22-Feb-2010 18:01

 
<> Get a life and learn to spell before cussing me!
*London girl  20-Feb-2010 19:22

 
Little wonder they didn't understand you, cleary and simply? hmm
*<>  18-Feb-2010 22:31

 
Just to correct myself, the name of the company on the credit card statement was "Boss Domestic" not Boss Solutions.
*London girl  18-Feb-2010 22:04

 
Hmm, Boss Solutions have conned my dad (80 yrs old) into buying 3 year cover for his Sky system. He though they were Sky and I only found out as I am trying to sort out the fault on his box. I spoke to them today (after reading this, I was surprised they answered the phone) and we will see what happens tomorrow, i.e. will they send someone who will fix the box... I am not hopeful as the engineer I was eventually put through to did not seem to understand the fault even though I explained it clearly and simply.
Next stop, the Watchdog/Rogue Traders website! lol
*London girl  18-Feb-2010 21:57

 
Boss domestic solutions limited - 08717034136 - 07775846872 - They don't wan't you to have this number ;)
*Another Sucker  07-Feb-2010 14:01

 
Jane your an Idiot, It wasnt Sky that called you but one of the other number of insurance companies, Sky themselves ONLY use Domestic and General and are very good. System guard etc are a minor company, just like SatCare, Skysat, Boss domestic and the now defunct Satellite direct, there are about 30 companies out there and none of them are linked to Sky, I used to work for Satellite Direct so know a lot about this industry, your best bet is to call Sky customer services, not one of these cowboys.
*sleepy1  30-Oct-2009 10:47

 
Here is another one E D Services Service Line saying they work for Sky they rang me this morning like an idiot I fell for it and agreed to pay £22.50 PER QUARTER FOR 2 YRS AND GET 12MONTHS FOR FREE later today I rang Sky to change my package and asked the lady about both Boss Direct and Service Line this is when I found out this one is a scam as well, the young man that rang sounded so cosher I gave him my bank details full name address and dat eof birth.thankfully my bank runs a fraud alert service which will cost me £6.99 a month if anyone tries to get anything on credit in my name so it can be stopped. so please dont hand your bank details to anyone even if they do sound ok ask them to send you a direct debit mandate to sign. the lady at sky said the only repairers they use is Repair + 1 their phone number is 08444810222
*another sucker  02-Oct-2009 21:36

 
Hi I am just another one taken on by the offer from Boss Domestic paying £40 per quarter for sky insurance this is a scam no paperwork and impossible to get through on the phone on any of the numbers,i suggest you do what I did this morning and cancell your debit cards and get on to your bank fraud department,even though you cant get any of your money back they will contact Boss Domestic's bank to stop any further payments from your account,hope this will be of use to you all a very expensive lesson learnt do not give anyone your bank details over the phone get them to ring you back investigate their comp on the net first
*Another sucker  02-Oct-2009 14:47

 
please does anyone have a phone number for these people they have just taken 110 pound out of my account. thanks
*Anita  07-Sep-2009 21:32

 
Anyone who has had a problem with boss domestic solutions and need advise please contact me at juliecrean@aol.com
*Tony  02-Sep-2009 14:24

 
boss domestic solutions ltd................please has any one got a telephone number for this rip off company
*alan..coventry  20-Aug-2009 14:29


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