How do you get treated like a new customer????

H

HDTV_Newbie

Guest
Hi everyone. I've been a Sky customer for years now and are just at the point of pulling the plug as I think the quality of programming and picture (through all the compression required to pump 500 channels of garbage) is pants.

The one thing that I do want though is HDTV / HDTV Sky +. My question is if you cancel how long until they treat you like a new customer and give all new gear and install for free? Can you start a new install under your wife's name? What are the rules? I've read their terms but its not clear!

Any help on clarifying this would be appreciated.
 
Sky have records of your surname, address, bank account details, and box serial number. If a significant number of these remain the same as before, they are unlikely to consider you to be a new customer.

I think they keep records 5 to 7 years.
 
HDTV_Newbie said:
The one thing that I do want though is HDTV / HDTV Sky +. My question is if you cancel how long until they treat you like a new customer and give all new gear and install for free? Can you start a new install under your wife's name? What are the rules? I've read their terms but its not clear!



I doubt very much there will be any advantage is being a new customer if all you want is HD hardware and subscription, maybe once the intital marketing puch is over the offers will come on line but that could be well into 2007.
 
tbh i dont think they will wait too long to give good offers on HDTV, quite simply because more and more HD material will be available on online, whether p2p pirate or pay-per-download online delivery.......

i hope what i say is correct anyhow..lol..i bought a hidef pj, i dont like the idea of forking out £400 for a hidef sky box, i would be willing to pay £250 tops.....altho it depends on whether you pay more for hidef channel, if you do then i definitely want the box cheap....not gonna pay thru the nose for all of it....
 
I agree with Starburst - 2007/2008 at the earliest before the price drops. They have to recoup the R & D costs on the box and see a decline in demand before we see any special offers.
 
how much was sky+ when it first came out? that may be a decent guidline as to what HD is going to cost....
 
DarrenB said:
how much was sky+ when it first came out? that may be a decent guidline as to what HD is going to cost....




£300 plus another £50 for installation.

Add another £100 and I think you will be in the ball park, then we can consider the price of the extra subscription although the SKY+ part is very likely (and hinted at in press releases) to be included.
 
Nick_UK said:
Sky have records of your surname, address, bank account details, and box serial number. If a significant number of these remain the same as before, they are unlikely to consider you to be a new customer.

I think they keep records 5 to 7 years.

Surely under the Data Protection Act you can request that Sky delete all information that they hold on you. In the future when you re-subscribe you would then be viewed as a new customer, or am I missing something?
 
All those quiz and half naked, thick bimbo channels will look great in HD !!
 
Right on SOK. Can you imagine what 1080 will bring to poker and US work out machines. Lets not forget what they'll bring to day time finance ads!

Anyway back to my original question. Surely there are tricks to being treated as new, has no one been successful?
 
Yeep I have. When I signed up some 7 yrs ago they used the wrong postcode but right address. I've just signed up again and wangled a new set up completely.

I'm sure you could work this some how?
 
ZippyCat said:
Surely under the Data Protection Act you can request that Sky delete all information that they hold on you. In the future when you re-subscribe you would then be viewed as a new customer, or am I missing something?

I think you're missing something. You can demand a copy of all the information that Sky hold about you (for which Sky are entitled to a small fee), but you can't demand that Sky delete it.
 
Starburst said:
£300 plus another £50 for installation.

Add another £100 and I think you will be in the ball park, then we can consider the price of the extra subscription although the SKY+ part is very likely (and hinted at in press releases) to be included.

Holy Cow!

400 quid for SKY HD ??

plus the extra sub's....

Madness.......
 
DarrenB said:
Holy Cow!

400 quid for SKY HD ??

plus the extra sub's....

Madness.......




The first DVD recorder was over a grand, the first VCR was over £700, a HD STB without a hard drive is being sold for around £280 and lets not forget the humble DVD player which wasn't cheap when it was first launched.

This is a first generation SKY+ HD, the R&D and intital production costs all have to be recouped before any reduction is prices.

For the average viewer the price is high but don't forget just as with any new consumer product the intital sales will be to those who really want this hardware and thanks to them SKY will make a lot of money which will cover costs and then at a later date allow prices to drop which will make the system more attractive to the mass market.

From a business perspective it a perfect and proven marketing strategy.
 
That's perfectly right. All new technology has been expensive when it has first appeared, and I can't understand why people think that this will not be the case with HD.
 
Nick_UK said:
I think you're missing something. You can demand a copy of all the information that Sky hold about you (for which Sky are entitled to a small fee), but you can't demand that Sky delete it.

I appreciate the part about the ‘small fee’, but there is definitely a grey area about holding onto information for longer than what is deemed necessary. For example, if you cease to be a customer it may be deemed that the information held on you is no longer required, consequently must be deleted or at least allow the person concerned the option of deletion. However where do you draw the line? I would imagine that Sky would exploit every loophole to retain information about previous customers for as long a possible.
 

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