Playstation taken by Sky Installers
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I have had a dire time with Sky from the start. After being informed they would arrive in the morning, the installers turned up after 3pm. They then insisted that a £15 fee had to be paid to install wires, and if payment wasn't made, then they would have to come back another day and waste a whole day again. Sky admitted these charges were bogus. |
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Two installers had arrived, and even though the website states it would take about half an hour to an hour for one installer to do the work, it took them 2 hours! So two hours later they left and it was then I realised items were missing from the house, namely my playstation. I know this for a fact because I had moved it away from the telly so they could get access. When I returned to the front room, I tried Sky, which was working and flicked through the channels. I then noticed the Playstation had gone. |
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This was 14 Months ago and Sky does not give a damn about this. I have written letter after letter and tried to phone, but nothing has happened and these dodgy installers have clearly gotten away with it. It pains me to read comments from ex-employees that installers have been known to steal items from customers. I would like to know how many complaints of this nature Sky receive? SKY it would appear, could not care less about the theft of items from my property, in my own stupidity I remained customer, thinking that it would be easier to resolve the matter. This was not the case. When I cancelled, I received a patronising letter from Sky about their excellent customer services! The only thing Sky have promised is that they would refund the costs of phone calls and postal costs - They then lost the receipts and bills I sent. SKY is an absolute joke if anyone knows of similar incidents, please let me know as I believe that this isn't the only case. Thankfully I have easily convinced many friends, family and frankly anyone who will listen, who were considering Sky, to not bother. By: Barney |
Comments from visitors
I have recently started working for a sky call centre, the management can only be summed up as ridiculous. The staff do not care about the customers needs yet sky are quick to mention all tehir u-switch awards. I have not heard about any thefts yet but to be honest, I am not at all surprised. The way in which sky customers are dealt with are dire. I wanted to refund a gentleman for a bank cost incurred due to a sky error, I was told by management no way . I felt it was completely unfair as I would expect reimbursment if I were in that position. The customer is always left to ring up, sky staff are never told to look into anything that flags up. I cannot believe nothing was done for your bogus charge and theft of playstation. I would complain to offcom and again by writing to sky customer services.
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Im and ex installer for sky as a subcontractor and I have NEVER taken items from a customers house so how dare u tar all installers with the same brush! yes you had a brad crew come into your home and abuse the rights they where there for but this doesnt mean sky in general is all bad please learn with any trust there is risk no matter the plan or nature
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I applied to have Sky Tv, phone and magic eye installed, was given a telephone number by sky for a third party, local company (cowboys) who quickly asked for 90 quid, taken from my debit card there and then. They send around 6 or 7 different cowboys oops I meant installation guys, no line of sight in my area... Not my fault..
The won't give me a full refund and have decided to keep 30 quid of my money, for hmmm let me see what reason, of course company policy. Called sky to inform them of this, oh not their fault, I should have researched the company which they recommended before handing over the cash.. I am seeking legal advice.. I have to work 3 hrs to earn 30 quid can they afford to have that money deducted from thier salaries.. I think NOT.
The won't give me a full refund and have decided to keep 30 quid of my money, for hmmm let me see what reason, of course company policy. Called sky to inform them of this, oh not their fault, I should have researched the company which they recommended before handing over the cash.. I am seeking legal advice.. I have to work 3 hrs to earn 30 quid can they afford to have that money deducted from thier salaries.. I think NOT.
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Why would the Sky engineer dismantle our Panasonic DVD/VHS recorder. We have numerous DVD/VHS items which we need to see. Do they not know how to keep the Panasonic DMR-ES30VEB recorder wired in along side your HD box. Would you please send them back to wire/plug it back in?
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I worked for a subcontractor of sky called finlays, we got 1 weeks training with a team leader and 4 days with a guy from sky. at the end of training we were "engineers", when I questioned this I was told that it sounds better to the customer if they send an engineer and not a dish installer which we were, im now independant and most of my work is service calls due to finlay "engineers" not doing their job
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Sky do still use subcontracts. AVC are one of the national contractors for sky, along with CustomAV and Firstline digital, all of whom subcontract quite happily to those willing to jump the most hoops for the least fee.
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Engineer issues - complain to the company that installed it on Sky's behalf, they're in your local area, not in some conglomerate headquarters planning an invasive attack !!
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i work for sky as an engineer I have never heard of any one who as stole from peoples houses
if they did you should have rang the police. so you know this did not happend .you might have a bad time with sky with some sort so you thought you would lie and put this on ..sky does not use sub conntacters any more they use one company called avc sky does have there bad days but we are one of the biggest companys in the world we do am to pm slots we ring the night be for. befor to turning up so stop putting crap on here it. you have put so much stuff on here not just about some one nicking from you house but loads of crap so get a life .funny thing is I bet you have sky if hate us that much why have it
if they did you should have rang the police. so you know this did not happend .you might have a bad time with sky with some sort so you thought you would lie and put this on ..sky does not use sub conntacters any more they use one company called avc sky does have there bad days but we are one of the biggest companys in the world we do am to pm slots we ring the night be for. befor to turning up so stop putting crap on here it. you have put so much stuff on here not just about some one nicking from you house but loads of crap so get a life .funny thing is I bet you have sky if hate us that much why have it
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Being a Sky installer, (now independently), who had previously worked on subcontract, I can say that Sky are the biggest bunch of wa**ers I've ever had the misfortune of working with.
The 30mins to an hour they quoted you is for what we call a 'down and in', this mean the dish is affixed to a point on the wall, the cable comes straight down the wall in a line from the dish, and then goes through the wall. The amount of installs that are actually this easy is small.
The fee your subbies would have gotten would be around the £20 mark for a single box install, the fee I get as an independent is £100. Vast difference. This is why the people left in the subcontracty industry are thieves and chancers, and the few good installers that happen to wander in to this side of the industry quickly leave or go indepoendent.
The fault lies almost squarely with Sky who pay rates so dismally low that the only people available are the type of people that steal things from people houses to supplement sky's paltry subcontract fees.
Basically Sky are no better than the people who stole your playstation, but then you knew that already. Send this to one of the national (non-murdoch) papers, the more bad press they recive, the more likely they are to shake up the industry.
The 30mins to an hour they quoted you is for what we call a 'down and in', this mean the dish is affixed to a point on the wall, the cable comes straight down the wall in a line from the dish, and then goes through the wall. The amount of installs that are actually this easy is small.
The fee your subbies would have gotten would be around the £20 mark for a single box install, the fee I get as an independent is £100. Vast difference. This is why the people left in the subcontracty industry are thieves and chancers, and the few good installers that happen to wander in to this side of the industry quickly leave or go indepoendent.
The fault lies almost squarely with Sky who pay rates so dismally low that the only people available are the type of people that steal things from people houses to supplement sky's paltry subcontract fees.
Basically Sky are no better than the people who stole your playstation, but then you knew that already. Send this to one of the national (non-murdoch) papers, the more bad press they recive, the more likely they are to shake up the industry.
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An Independent - 29-May-09 17:48
They will fit a cable as they are contracted to do for the telephone, but they charge for it even though it is supposed to be free. It took ages to sort out, but I have banned that set of contractors from fitting my HD upgrade.
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Andy.
Thanks for your advice - I will discuss with the engineer when he visits.
Much obliged.
Thanks for your advice - I will discuss with the engineer when he visits.
Much obliged.
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Hi Congo,
Unfortunately Multi-room customers need to have a line connected to every box. Only one master socket is needed but obviously is is easier if there are more than one. The engineer may be able to run telco cable externely rather than run through the inside of the house and use the same entry holes as the main cable. Hope this helps.
Unfortunately Multi-room customers need to have a line connected to every box. Only one master socket is needed but obviously is is easier if there are more than one. The engineer may be able to run telco cable externely rather than run through the inside of the house and use the same entry holes as the main cable. Hope this helps.
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Andy
Do Sky engineers connect a box to the telephone line even if it is in another part of the house? I am thinking of having 'multiroom' - 3 boxes will have be connected to the telephone - will the engineer run telephone cables throughout the house or will he expect a telephone socket to be already available near each box?
Thanks
Do Sky engineers connect a box to the telephone line even if it is in another part of the house? I am thinking of having 'multiroom' - 3 boxes will have be connected to the telephone - will the engineer run telephone cables throughout the house or will he expect a telephone socket to be already available near each box?
Thanks
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A message to the guy with the height issue below. 3 points...
Point 1. If an engineer feels that they are putting themselves at risk or they are not confident that they can carry out an installation safely, they are not obligated to do so. Special heights jobs are attended usually by 2 engineers - especially if roof ladders are used. Roof ladders can be very difficult to use on your own if you are carrying them up more than one section of a ladder and it can be very dangerous.
Point 2. It is not permitted for customers to hold or foot the ladder. If an engineer drops a hammer on the customer he personally can be sued and he will certainly loose his job.
Point 3. I can guarantee that the engineer did ‘not have the afternoon off’ as you presume. He probably had at least 4 or 5 more installs to do that afternoon.
Point 1. If an engineer feels that they are putting themselves at risk or they are not confident that they can carry out an installation safely, they are not obligated to do so. Special heights jobs are attended usually by 2 engineers - especially if roof ladders are used. Roof ladders can be very difficult to use on your own if you are carrying them up more than one section of a ladder and it can be very dangerous.
Point 2. It is not permitted for customers to hold or foot the ladder. If an engineer drops a hammer on the customer he personally can be sued and he will certainly loose his job.
Point 3. I can guarantee that the engineer did ‘not have the afternoon off’ as you presume. He probably had at least 4 or 5 more installs to do that afternoon.
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RE: Playstation taken by Sky Installers...
I really sympathise with you Barney that an engineer has taken your property. Although not a consolation to you - this is rare. I am a Sky engineer and I, and all my colleagues would never do this. When we are in peoples homes customers should expect complete trust in us and that is what I provide.
To be honest, Sky controllers have no idea how long an installation can take. They say a basic, new customers installation will take an hour - this is nonsense. Yes, if it is a simple ‘dish/drop and in’ with a close telephone location it can be possible, but every job is different and some can be extremely time consuming. It just depends. You also mentioned that you were given an AM slot and the engineers turned-up at 3.00pm. Again Barney, this all depends on the previous jobs the engineers have undertaken and the distances between them. In my opinion, Sky should leave it to the engineer to discuss times with customers as engineers can work out realistic routes the night before that would be advantageous to both us and the customer. For controllers to give customers the choice of AM or PM slots before we get our routes only makes things difficult, sometimes impossible to meet time slots. I am sure that if the engineers in your case could have been there on time they would, however, this makes no excuse for the theft of your Playstation.
I hope things work out for you - keep pushing for a result.
Andy.
I really sympathise with you Barney that an engineer has taken your property. Although not a consolation to you - this is rare. I am a Sky engineer and I, and all my colleagues would never do this. When we are in peoples homes customers should expect complete trust in us and that is what I provide.
To be honest, Sky controllers have no idea how long an installation can take. They say a basic, new customers installation will take an hour - this is nonsense. Yes, if it is a simple ‘dish/drop and in’ with a close telephone location it can be possible, but every job is different and some can be extremely time consuming. It just depends. You also mentioned that you were given an AM slot and the engineers turned-up at 3.00pm. Again Barney, this all depends on the previous jobs the engineers have undertaken and the distances between them. In my opinion, Sky should leave it to the engineer to discuss times with customers as engineers can work out realistic routes the night before that would be advantageous to both us and the customer. For controllers to give customers the choice of AM or PM slots before we get our routes only makes things difficult, sometimes impossible to meet time slots. I am sure that if the engineers in your case could have been there on time they would, however, this makes no excuse for the theft of your Playstation.
I hope things work out for you - keep pushing for a result.
Andy.
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Excuse me for asking the obvious question, but why didn't you call the police, when you realised somebody had stolen your playstation and you knew exactly who it was that took it?
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Neutral Observer - 17-Feb-09 14:24
Did you call the police? After all it's theft and Sky contract out the installations so offer no liability
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Starvin in West Lothian - 3-Oct-08 09:28
Thanks for the feedback everyone, at least I have some more avenues to explore, as right now, Sky are refusing to pay. I did report it to the police before phoning Sky, as I knew I would be needing a crime reference number when I spoke to Sky’s ‘Customer Services’. The police actually came round a few days after and fingerprinted the TV!
Because the police didn’t catch the Installers red handed with my equipment they won’t take it any further. It is frustrating that after providing the police with all the necessary information, they are not going to investigate. Apparently the Installers van was searched, by his own company, a few days after the theft and surprise, surprise the playstation wasn’t in it! Now I know thieves aren’t the smartest of folk, but I do credit them with the notion to not leave stolen goods in their work van! I do understand that a theft in Islington isn’t a top priority for the police though..
Basically, i’ve been informed that it is now down to me to take Sky to court as it is my word against theirs. What pis*es me off is that they have gotten away with it, and I have already heard that my theft is not unique!! I’ve written to Jeremy Darroch, who it seems couldn’t care less.
Thanks all for the advice though, I will give them a go but I’m starting to feel like court is my only action and to be honest, I’m very tempted to go that way so that these f**kers don’t get away with it!
Because the police didn’t catch the Installers red handed with my equipment they won’t take it any further. It is frustrating that after providing the police with all the necessary information, they are not going to investigate. Apparently the Installers van was searched, by his own company, a few days after the theft and surprise, surprise the playstation wasn’t in it! Now I know thieves aren’t the smartest of folk, but I do credit them with the notion to not leave stolen goods in their work van! I do understand that a theft in Islington isn’t a top priority for the police though..
Basically, i’ve been informed that it is now down to me to take Sky to court as it is my word against theirs. What pis*es me off is that they have gotten away with it, and I have already heard that my theft is not unique!! I’ve written to Jeremy Darroch, who it seems couldn’t care less.
Thanks all for the advice though, I will give them a go but I’m starting to feel like court is my only action and to be honest, I’m very tempted to go that way so that these f**kers don’t get away with it!
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send sky a demand for the value of the playstation using the moneyclaim.gov.uk, the f**kers will soon pay out then!
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laughing gravy - 12-Mar-08 17:46
I don't understand why you did not report this right away as theft.
You have a good description and not only this, you know their employer. If I catch anyone thieving from me I'll switch to 'Robocop' mode.
You have a good description and not only this, you know their employer. If I catch anyone thieving from me I'll switch to 'Robocop' mode.
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