Where have the Special Heights Teams gone?

kosymodo

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Has the disappearance of the Special Heights Teams come about as a result of these stupid H&S laws?

Just moved into a new flat, third floor (top floor). I marked this on my House Move form. Sky installer comes out this morning, takes a look, says he can't install a dish on the outside of my flat due to his ladder being too short, and says the only thing he can do is attach to an existing (lower) dish.

If that wasn't enough, he said that he gain access to the other dish, he'd have to set his ladder in the garden of a neighbour, who wasn't in. Therefore, I've got to re-arrange the install.

Is it correct that I can't get an install over second floor height through Sky? Also, does it seem acceptable that the installer would recommend to attach to an existing dish?
 
If the existing lower dish is being used by someone else then it's impossible to use it.
 
Sky have moved away from "special heights" due to so many d**ks booking jobs for stupid things like long phone cable runs or due to having to go to a chimney on a bungalow!

The do have Special Access & Difficult Access Teams but they have to be booked through installers not through customers, this is mainly down to Sky's policy that the chimney is no the last resort and not to be because the paying customer would like the dish out of the way.

Although I can see both sides in this argument I would still say that Sky have finally taken the correct path, if a customer wants the dish on the chimney they should contact an independent installation company and that company will supply and install the dish, LNB and all cabling, leaving Sky's box dropper to install the box and phoneline.

The SAT are able to access using rope access techniques which would be needed in tenement buildings lime those in Glasgow and for the buildings that are in London.

Also if you live on the third floor and drill from inside to the outside just above the skirting board you will be able to reach that hole (and slightly above) from a triple ladder (14 rung) although I'm not sure what size Sky are currently using, when I was there it was 14's for senior technicians and 12's for garden variety "installers"
 
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If the existing lower dish is being used by someone else then it's impossible to use it.

Why impossible? Surely if the other dish has spare connections on its LNB, they could be utilised? I'm intrigued!
 
Why impossible? Surely if the other dish has spare connections on its LNB, they could be utilised? I'm intrigued!
Not impossible, but..

A. The dish is someone elses property (so you'd need permission from them to use it)
B. If a dish is communal/shared by different properties, there's a requirement for earth bonding which needs to be carried out by a competent/qualified person ( i.e an electrician)
 
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A. The dish is someone elses property
B. If a dish is shared by different properties, there's a requirement for earth bonding which needs to be carried out by a competent/qualified person

Ah, ok, fair points!

To be fair, the guy did say that I'd have to get the agreement of the other dish's owner. However, if I had that, he'd have connected me to their dish.

The guy was from FirstLine Digital, and was contracting on behalf of AVC, who I believe are themselves contractors of Sky...much prefer dealing with Sky installers!

Anyway, I have got an independent installation firm coming out tomorrow to quote me for the work I need doing. They can carry out an install on my flat, and reckon they can do me a good price.
 
the guy did say that I'd have to get the agreement of the other dish's owner. However, if I had that, he'd have connected me to their dish.
The first point was too obvious to need making, but the second would have broken the electrical safety regulations and exposed you and the neighbour to danger. As you say, fair points.;)
 
kosymodo said:
The guy was from FirstLine Digital, and was contracting on behalf of AVC, who I believe are themselves contractors of Sky...much prefer dealing with Sky installers!

First Line sold out to AVC last year, now AVC are Sky's only business partner in UK and as Sky In-Home Service do very few installs only service work and cherry picked jobs, I'm not surprised that they came out
 
I ran into this problem earlier in the year when I moved to a flat (second floor of a 3 story building). Sky sent out some engineers who drilled holes into my walls and then realise they couldn't get a signal and would have to put the dish on the roof. It was too windy for them to do it but they said they booked a "special heights team". This special team was one bloke with a ladder that wasn't long enough! In the end Sky just told me that they couldn't do it and I would have to go independent.

I found a company, got a decent quote on the phone and made them aware of the situation. Bloke comes out and guess what? His ladder wasn't long enough!

Eventually he climbed out of a window out the back (I have no access to the back yard) and managed to find a signal out there. The cables then had to run from the back bedroom, through the hallway and then into the lounge and took him over 5 hours. :D He didn't charge me any extra though so I wasn't complaining. ;)
 
Never these problems with a B&W valve telly and a coat hanger stuffed in the back. Plus, you could use it as room heating. Also, no issues with missing programming broadcast at odd hours as it all closed down at 11pm.
 
My dish is located on the chimney of a typical two story house. The first time I needed an engineer out I didn't know about special heights teams. So he turns up and says, "I ain't going up that high I'm not insured" and goes away ( after offering to put a new dish up around the back of the house and run cables over a perspex roof even I don't walk on !). So, since then I've always requested special heights. And every time they turn up they say, "that's not a special heights job" but still do the job non the less.
My problem with that tho is, my time is valuable and I can't take the risk on booking a normal engineer for him to turn up and say he's not doing the job because he's to lazy and me having to re book another engineer.
 
Never these problems with a B&W valve telly and a coat hanger stuffed in the back. Plus, you could use it as room heating. Also, no issues with missing programming broadcast at odd hours as it all closed down at 11pm.

But there was only one (later, two) channels to choose from. :thumbsdow

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be! :D
 
Ya Ok, you got me with that one.
What's the preferred description for them. Installer ? Technician ? :facepalm:
 
Installer, and that's being generous when there's only a couple of cables to swap over.
There are a lot of posts about it on the forum - including from real engineers. :)
 
I see Mr friendly has logged on again. :thumbsup:
I'm guessing you sit at a computer all day with plenty of time to read and comment on all topics. Me on the other hand does not, so yes, time is a little more valuable leaving me time to only read and comment on things of interest to me.

Back on topic, I'll once again send my apologies for making the mistake of calling them engineers (although sky themselves do like to call them just that) and will in future do a full search before commenting on such matters. :suicide:
 
No need to take things so seriously and nothing to apologise for - Sky do call them engineers so if you want to do the same you're in good(?) company and you're free to do so.
 

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