Bitching about Sky...old news

ian-d

Established Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2007
Messages
1,435
Reaction score
163
Points
225
It might just be me, but would expect that some of the 'regulars' will have a similar view, but is this forum (and others like digitalspy) getting filled up more and more with 'sky are rubbish', 'rip off sky', 'whos cancelling movies' type threads?

Now i appreciate that some customers get a rum deal in terms of problem with payments, faulty boxes etc, and fair enough, everyone is entitled to have a little bitch, but when you see everyone else jumping on the bandwagon (even ones without Sky) it becomes ridiculous. Sky have almost 9 million customers in the UK, and a whole lot outside of the UK too. For the number of complaints they get, i think they do damn well. Other than if you have a specific problem, how many times has your Sky service really gone off (talking television here, not broadband etc)? I know from experience and working with the service everyday that its not often.

The answer to most complaints i see on the forums which always makes me laugh is 'threaten to cancel and see what they give you', i'll tell you what they'll give you, a thank you and goodbye. Sky wised up to this a long time ago after constant calls from 'happy' customers blagging for a better deal. It turned into a farce which Sky needed to stop!

The other major complaint is always about the amount of money your having to pay for the services you subscribe to. Unless i'm very much mistaken, you signed up to that, i don't beleive (correct me if i'm wrong) rupert murdoch is in the business of holding a gun to the heads of millions of customers. And the funniest part is a disgruntled customer then moaning that they can't cancel because of a 12 month agreement!!!

They are my two personal favourites, feel free to add some more.

Please no flaming my comments, its personal opinion but honestly, they are so common on these boards it gets to the point where someone has to create a thread about it ;) :D
 
I think you're spot on.

It gets very tiresome hearing the same old complaints about Sky. The HD forum is littered with them and these extend to HD content, bandwith blah blah.

As you say, with respect to the content on offer too, this was transparent prior to people signing up and then the complaints come afterwards and bemoan the 12 month contract - it's what you signed up for and nobody held a gun to your head.

I've had Sky since the early days and have progressed through to sky digital, then Sky+ and now SkyHD - real progression and two points :

1. Who else has shown this kind of progression with regard to UK TV broadcasts? ITV? The BBC?

2. As Sky have continually evolved there will always be teething problems.

It just seems that the forum gives the minority a voice that they take full advantage of. Let's face it - any technology has its problems - just think of things around your house that have problems - the microwave has just gone on the blink but I'm not posting a thread about how rubbish Sharp are. If you watch Watchdog on a regular basis you would never have any products in your home and you would never go on holiday anywhere!

I love Sky - not the company itself - but the service it provides. The range of sports, the movies, the imported US shows, the HD content, Sky box office, multi room etc are all brilliant - and as for the Sky+ functionality :clap:

There are probably members of this forum preparing their flamethrowers now and their fanboy comments but if I am truly happy with the great service I have had from Sky for over 10 years - I have the right to post that too!!
 
It might just be me, but would expect that some of the 'regulars' will have a similar view, but is this forum (and others like digitalspy) getting filled up more and more with 'sky are rubbish', 'rip off sky', 'whos cancelling movies' type threads?

Now i appreciate that some customers get a rum deal in terms of problem with payments, faulty boxes etc, and fair enough, everyone is entitled to have a little bitch, but when you see everyone else jumping on the bandwagon (even ones without Sky) it becomes ridiculous. Sky have almost 9 million customers in the UK, and a whole lot outside of the UK too. For the number of complaints they get, i think they do damn well. Other than if you have a specific problem, how many times has your Sky service really gone off (talking television here, not broadband etc)? I know from experience and working with the service everyday that its not often.

The answer to most complaints i see on the forums which always makes me laugh is 'threaten to cancel and see what they give you', i'll tell you what they'll give you, a thank you and goodbye. Sky wised up to this a long time ago after constant calls from 'happy' customers blagging for a better deal. It turned into a farce which Sky needed to stop!

The other major complaint is always about the amount of money your having to pay for the services you subscribe to. Unless i'm very much mistaken, you signed up to that, i don't beleive (correct me if i'm wrong) rupert murdoch is in the business of holding a gun to the heads of millions of customers. And the funniest part is a disgruntled customer then moaning that they can't cancel because of a 12 month agreement!!!

They are my two personal favourites, feel free to add some more.

Please no flaming my comments, its personal opinion but honestly, they are so common on these boards it gets to the point where someone has to create a thread about it ;) :D


Absolutely Ian, people should take whatever old crap the corporations dish out to them like good little serfs. :rolleyes:
 
The answer to most complaints i see on the forums which always makes me laugh is 'threaten to cancel and see what they give you', i'll tell you what they'll give you, a thank you and goodbye. Sky wised up to this a long time ago after constant calls from 'happy' customers blagging for a better deal. It turned into a farce which Sky needed to stop!

Sorry, but this isn't true. I've been informed by several sky customer service staff now that they cannot give extra deals etc unless you DO threaten to cancel. I think this is because the cancellation/customer retention dept or whatever they are called can give different deals to other depts. I have so far had two new boxes, a new dish, and a half price sky + box out of warrenty through saying I'm going to cancel.

Although I do agree with your comments that sky isn't the anti-christ, they do seem to have a bit of a monopoly if you want decent TV.
 
It might just be me, but would expect that some of the 'regulars' will have a similar view, but is this forum (and others like digitalspy) getting filled up more and more with 'sky are rubbish', 'rip off sky', 'whos cancelling movies' type threads?

Now i appreciate that some customers get a rum deal in terms of problem with payments, faulty boxes etc, and fair enough, everyone is entitled to have a little bitch, but when you see everyone else jumping on the bandwagon (even ones without Sky) it becomes ridiculous. Sky have almost 9 million customers in the UK, and a whole lot outside of the UK too. For the number of complaints they get, i think they do damn well. Other than if you have a specific problem, how many times has your Sky service really gone off (talking television here, not broadband etc)? I know from experience and working with the service everyday that its not often.

The answer to most complaints i see on the forums which always makes me laugh is 'threaten to cancel and see what they give you', i'll tell you what they'll give you, a thank you and goodbye. Sky wised up to this a long time ago after constant calls from 'happy' customers blagging for a better deal. It turned into a farce which Sky needed to stop!

The other major complaint is always about the amount of money your having to pay for the services you subscribe to. Unless i'm very much mistaken, you signed up to that, i don't beleive (correct me if i'm wrong) rupert murdoch is in the business of holding a gun to the heads of millions of customers. And the funniest part is a disgruntled customer then moaning that they can't cancel because of a 12 month agreement!!!

They are my two personal favourites, feel free to add some more.

Please no flaming my comments, its personal opinion but honestly, they are so common on these boards it gets to the point where someone has to create a thread about it ;) :D

Are you a spy for Sky? :rolleyes:

Has it not crossed your mind that the reason why more and more people are complaining is due to the fact that more and more customers are experiencing problems?

Sky are known for rushing new technology out and using their customers as guinnea pigs.
This is probably why there is such a high volume of HD customers with complaints.
Sky+ is still by no means perfect, and it's been around for a few years now.

The vast majority of people using this forum probably found it because they were looking to see if anyone else was experiencing similar problems to themselves.
We as a nation tend to be more vocal about our complaints than our satisfaction, and it's the same with car forums I'm a member of.

Perhaps you haven't had many problems with Sky, and if that's the case I'm genuinely pleased for you, but for those of us suffering repeated problems, you can understand why we're annoyed and that it's our right to be vocal about it.

If you don't like all the threads about Sky problems DON'T READ THEM.
No-one is forcing you to.

Rogue
 
Don't get me wrong, the point is more the fact that the forum is cluttered with complaints and not much praise which seems a shame, its nice to have a balanced forum.

Everyone has the right to mention problems incase anyone can help. All that i find funny is the constant suggestions of cancelling to get what you want, even when there's nothing wrong, and the moaning of cost when they folked out for it in the first place. The general concerns over a failed digibox etc are fine, they are more specific and can get help from other forum members, including myself.

I agree Sky have been known to rush out new technology to their customers, but at the same time the best way of proving a product is with general customer use. Not forgetting that no one is forced into upgrading, or buying the new technology, we just feel we have to to keep up to date!

Life goes on :)
 
Don't get me wrong, the point is more the fact that the forum is cluttered with complaints and not much praise which seems a shame, its nice to have a balanced forum.

Everyone has the right to mention problems incase anyone can help. All that i find funny is the constant suggestions of cancelling to get what you want, even when there's nothing wrong, and the moaning of cost when they folked out for it in the first place. The general concerns over a failed digibox etc are fine, they are more specific and can get help from other forum members, including myself.

I agree Sky have been known to rush out new technology to their customers, but at the same time the best way of proving a product is with general customer use. Not forgetting that no one is forced into upgrading, or buying the new technology, we just feel we have to to keep up to date!

Life goes on :)


As I said, people will complain about stuff going wrong before they'll sing about it going right.
It's funny that you mention "Everyone has the right to mention problems" when the whole point of this thread is that you're moaning about everyone complaining about Sky......

This is a public forum, if people want to complain about Sky, then they SHOULD and CAN.
Just because it doesn't interest YOU, doesn't mean it's not important to others.

Rogue
 
It might just be me, but would expect that some of the 'regulars' will have a similar view, but is this forum (and others like digitalspy) getting filled up more and more with 'sky are rubbish', 'rip off sky', type threads?
well if you read the threads you would see why people are complaining,for example the 'whos cancelling movies' thread on DS how many people posted on that with regard to the reduced service sky are now offering.then look at the supporters thread not many posts.i wonder why maybe because people feel they are being ripped off

Now i appreciate that some customers get a rum deal in terms of problem with payments, faulty boxes etc, and fair enough, everyone is entitled to have a little bitch, but when you see everyone else jumping on the bandwagon (even ones without Sky) it becomes ridiculous. Sky have almost 9 million customers in the UK, and a whole lot outside of the UK too. For the number of complaints they get, i think they do damn well. Other than if you have a specific problem, how many times has your Sky service really gone off (talking television here, not broadband etc)? I know from experience and working with the service everyday that its not often.

well most of the complaints i have read have been about poor service/products and not about being ripped off.what does that tell you,when i paid £200 for my first sky+ box and it didnt work(which looking at the threads happens very often)i just phoned sky for them to sort out.only now when i have looked at these threads did i know that it wasnt just a one off that i was informed it was by sky.so i have a right to complain if i pay for a product and a service and both dont work what should i do just put up with it and say nowt.by the way the amount of complaints on here and DS is nothing compared to what we dont here about,trust me

The answer to most complaints i see on the forums which always makes me laugh is 'threaten to cancel and see what they give you', i'll tell you what they'll give you, a thank you and goodbye. Sky wised up to this a long time ago after constant calls from 'happy' customers blagging for a better deal. It turned into a farce which Sky needed to stop!

yes this is my one complaint if you dont want it get rid and stop trying to get something for nothing(except if you are trying it on to get your sky+ box sorted then you should try all you like these boxes are very unreliable
(mostly down to software which sky produce)and some dont last more than a year(which if it was a shop bough product you would be covered by sale of good act)so if a box bought from sky lasts 18 months and you are paying for the service why shouldnt you have it sorted for free(if a tv company issued a software update that stopped its tvs from working then told people its tuff luck pay to have it fixed there would be uproar)these things should be built to last.if you had to buy a tv every year or so you would soon be complaining.


The other major complaint is always about the amount of money your having to pay for the services you subscribe to. Unless i'm very much mistaken, you signed up to that, i don't beleive (correct me if i'm wrong) rupert murdoch is in the business of holding a gun to the heads of millions of customers. And the funniest part is a disgruntled customer then moaning that they can't cancel because of a 12 month agreement!!!

very true and i agree i have never compained about the price i signed for it and i knew how much it would be and i thought it value for money for the use i had of it until the 4th april sky have now reduced my movie service to where in my opinion(and plenty of others) that it no longer has value for money.so i complained loads on said threads about it.i feel that the service i now have is not on a par with the service i had and i feel ripped off.so got rid of the movies(untill sky make some big changes i will not go back)my problem
now is that i am tied to a multiroom contract which if i had known about the changes to the movies i would have not signed for so now i cant get rid of the whole lot which i would have with these movie changes.which i did not sign up for a reduced service for 12 months:mad:

They are my two personal favourites, feel free to add some more.

people who complain about people complaining about having problems with a service they pay for:D
the people who seem to be on skys side no matter what they do(this movies thing was one big joke)

ps,i have had sky for about 10 years and the only time i have ever complained about sky is when my sky+ box broke and when they changed the movies:mad: so maybe all the complaint now are because people are feeling ripped off.(and not just complaining for the sake of it)

pps,dont even get me started on sky broadband and the utter lack of customer service or even care to give you a broadband servce at all
 
haha, don't worry sugarhigh, i won't allow you started on about broadband, i'd never recommend that service. You get nothing for free etc etc :)

i value your comments, its just sometimes hard to take when you must shift through countless threads about the same complaints over and over. maybe thats more an issue with multiple threads of the same thing than anything else, the search facility is there for a reason etc.

i'm 100% behind you, if sky offer a deal which they cannot maintain then winge away, i think the issue is more the constant 'threaten to cancel' and 'yeah, sky are crap' responses that drive me up the wall. not sure there's anything wrong with me having that opinion, i think other regulars on those forums would too, although not brave enough to back me up lol

i don't watch the movie channels, so cannot really say how bad its gone, i think maybe the concept of splitting into types of movies is a good idea, but the apparant reduction in hours movies are shown is a low step by sky, hopefully they will build it back up :)
 
theres bound to be lots of compliant threads that how many, myself included found this site. People only usually post if they have a problem. Your not likely to find a "MY Sky works fine" thread.

That said there should be a sub form inside of the current one for issues/complaints
 
my favourite is the 'Sky just repeat stuff all the time'.....forgetting of course that the whole principle behind massive channel volume television is to be able to repeat things frequently so new customers get to see things that have been broadcast before....

if somethings gone wrong then fine, complain away, although best to do it to sky first to be honest......but to complain its unfair etc is just pointless, if you go signing contracts willy nilly without working out whether there is value in the service for you then thats your own fault......its like someone joining a mobile phone provider to get a cheap phone then moaning they cant get out of the contract....
 
I hardly ever see repeats on Sky. I think seeing repeats all the time is a good sign that you need a social life or a job
 
I hardly ever see repeats on Sky. I think seeing repeats all the time is a good sign that you need a social life or a job

Repeats? If you use your Sky+ functionality properly how on earth is there any time for repeats? Plus, they do come in very useful if your Sky+ fails or if there is a programme clash esp Saturday / Sunday evenings.
 
Don't get me wrong, the point is more the fact that the forum is cluttered with complaints and not much praise which seems a shame, its nice to have a balanced forum.

Ha ha, that comment made me laugh, it's pretty representative of they way our society is depicted today...this is a forum, so you have to accept the way people post, as they are reflecting the reality of what makes people want to post. Your "balanced" forum would have censoring to ensure there were an even number of plus and minus comments about every subject....

....would you have the same attitude to a thread on arson/theft/...... ?

Anyway, slightly off-topic there. My thoughts: I reckon Sky do provide the best quality TV in the UK today. Is it value for money ? I dont personally think so, but that's up to each individual to decide. They are a big corporation and ahve used some underhand tactics that I don't agree with. And I dont think it is fair to moan at people who ask for cheaper deals, they are only doing what all humans do, and that is try to get the best deal for yourself....

Goo thread though, I like a bit of debate...:)
 
It might just be me, but would expect that some of the 'regulars' will have a similar view, but is this forum (and others like digitalspy) getting filled up more and more with 'sky are rubbish', 'rip off sky', 'whos cancelling movies' type threads?

Now i appreciate that some customers get a rum deal in terms of problem with payments, faulty boxes etc, and fair enough, everyone is entitled to have a little bitch, but when you see everyone else jumping on the bandwagon (even ones without Sky) it becomes ridiculous. Sky have almost 9 million customers in the UK, and a whole lot outside of the UK too. For the number of complaints they get, i think they do damn well. Other than if you have a specific problem, how many times has your Sky service really gone off (talking television here, not broadband etc)? I know from experience and working with the service everyday that its not often.

The answer to most complaints i see on the forums which always makes me laugh is 'threaten to cancel and see what they give you', i'll tell you what they'll give you, a thank you and goodbye. Sky wised up to this a long time ago after constant calls from 'happy' customers blagging for a better deal. It turned into a farce which Sky needed to stop!

The other major complaint is always about the amount of money your having to pay for the services you subscribe to. Unless i'm very much mistaken, you signed up to that, i don't beleive (correct me if i'm wrong) rupert murdoch is in the business of holding a gun to the heads of millions of customers. And the funniest part is a disgruntled customer then moaning that they can't cancel because of a 12 month agreement!!!

They are my two personal favourites, feel free to add some more.

Please no flaming my comments, its personal opinion but honestly, they are so common on these boards it gets to the point where someone has to create a thread about it ;) :D


I've seen your signature have an affiliate link to sky , if I'm wrong I apologise but I'm pretty sure you did. Barely makes you impartial. You were making revenue from recommending sky to people.

Here's my little rant for today and the exact kind of reason SKY get bad press.

I pay £16 a month for SKY Sports , total package as of today £41 (reduced it from a £55 package a few days back) Had SKY for around 12 + years, most of that time been on the top package, estimate I've paid £4500+ or so to SKY.

However, I'm unable to watch the completley free Sky Sports news channel despite paying £16 pm for the Sports, package, paying £41 pm to Sky and the fact Sky Sports news is a FREEView channel, completely free to my neighbour who pays SKY nada, zilch.

Why is this? Because I cancelled the News Mix, and SKY have now removed a freeview channel from my package as a result.

Can't think why people get fed up to the back teeth with Sky's practises. So despite the fact I pay for Sports, that the Sky sports news channel is on the Sports section of the planner, that the sports news is a freeview channel , they removed it and want to charge me a fee to bring back a freeview channel.

Bitching about anybody that treats customers like that is fair game and warns others about their BS.
 
Don't get me wrong, the point is more the fact that the forum is cluttered with complaints and not much praise which seems a shame, its nice to have a balanced forum.

Life goes on :)

But Ian, that is the very nature of forums. In general rarely do people login to say " wow, my sky worked perfectly this month" or "wow I love paying sky £650 a year".

Why would they ? I don't see that being a "shame" at all. After 15 yrs and thousands of millions in revenue I pretty much expect a service to be working, I don't see, as do many that SKY should get some kind of vocal recognition for supplying a working service. Only somebody with some kind of tie either current or historic would feel any pity or feel it's a shame others are not cheerleading SKY publically.

It's the very nature of all forums on almost any topic, I don't see why you think it's so odd.

I have no major issue with SKY, they do a good job , have a wide range of programming and if we are in ra-ra mode, I would say I have very rarely had techincal problems. (cheque in post please Mr Murdock)

But there is NO reason people should not be able to moan about service, snidely little practises and ever increasing prices. That's real LIFE Ian.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom