Possible Issue With Sky Q After End of Contract

[ClemFandango]

I went from Virgin Media to Sky Q earlier this year as I wasn't a great fan of Tivo and was keen to try Sky Q.

 

When it was installed, I was offered the chance to replace my aging (ten year old) dish which I accepted.

 

In the last few days, I've come to the conclusion that Sky Q isn't for me and that I'd ideally like to downgrade it at the end of my contract to go back to using my old Sky+ HD box, which I still have.   Much to my surprise, I subsequently found out that the LNB on my dish would not be compatible as Q uses a special "wide band" LNB and the older boxes do not.

 

I contacted Sky to confirm this, which they did.   They also told me that there would be nothing they could do and that if I wanted to continue using my dish with my older box then I would have to pay to get it re-fitted myself which, after some investigation, would cost me at least £150 pounds.

 

The issue of future compatibility wasn't mentioned anywhere in the literature or the official Sky Q contract, but the Sky employee I was talking to agreed that it could present a problem and said that he would pass it "up the ladder" to see if the wording could be changed to better explain it to prevent any future problems - all the while telling me there was nothing they could do for me specifically.

 

I understand that I'm getting the service I paid for, which I have no issue with.   I understand that I'm only loaning the equipment and that it has to be returned at the end of the contract.   That I also have no problem with.   The contract also states that the dish becomes mine at the point of installation as well, which is also fine.

 

Basically, Sky have provided the service stated in the contract.

 

My problem with this is that Sky must clearly know that many people use, and still use, older boxes.   They still sell viewing cards for these older boxes, so that in itself should be enough to prove that they are aware of the compatibility issues between the two pieces of hardware.

 

Should there not have been even a small advisory akin to "Customers please note: Sky Q dishes are not compatible with older hardware" ?

 

By choosing to omit this information,  it not only prevented me from making an informed decision at installation, as I could have apparently asked for what's called a "Hybrid LNB" which would be compatible with older hardware, but it will also leave me significantly out of pocket at the end of the contract.

 

Is there anything in this ?.  Can I challenge this in any capacity ?.   Ideally, I'd like them to let me out of the Sky Q contract so I can downgrade to the Sky+ HD box I own, but I accept this will likely not be possible.

 

I'd be interested in your thoughts.   Thankyou.

[BankFodder]

In principle, what you are saying seems to be absolutely correct – but what you can do about it – I don't really know. I think it's very complicated situation and of course you are dealing with a big company that either won't listen to you very much for will simply roll over you.

I'm afraid I think that the simplest and most risk-free option here is to raise it is a complaint with the communications ombudsman – and don't hold your hopes up of getting a very satisfactory reply

[unclebulgaria67]

It seems to me that unless you had a detailed conversation with a Sky employee or contractor about your specific requirements before you signed up to the installation, there is not much you can do about the issues you have.

 

Perhaps you need to look at how Sky dealt with tailoring their services to suit your requirements and see whether this was something they actually offered.  

 

Do you have any registered disabilities you made Sky aware of, during the process of signing up with them ?  Just checking to see whether Sky would have had any additional responsibilities, if this was relevant.

 

[ClemFandango]

Thankyou both for your replies.  I won't multi-quote because that's just stupid

 

@BankFodder After some thought, I think i'd like them, ideally, to replace the LNB with the Hybrid one free of charge.   I wasn't given this opportunity at the point of installation so I think it's probably the least they can do.   It's something I plan to talk to them about tomorrow.

 

@unclebulgaria67 The extent of my conversation with the Sky engineer went something like this ..

 

Engineer: "Do you want a new dish?"

Me: "Yes please"

 

The dish I had was nearly ten years old so I was only too happy to have it replaced with a new one.   At the time, I was quite happy to get Q because it looked like a decent bit of kit and I was interested to see what features it had, so there were no real requirements to speak of.   I'm not disabled, but I do have some long term medical issues, but they wouldn't really affect a dish installation.

 

I also think, at the time, it was probably a fairly reasonable assumption to make that, basically, a dish is just a dish.   A lot of people have told me I should have asked for a Hybrid LNB when it was installed, but how could I ask a question I didn't even know i had to ask ?

 

I think if i don't get any joy with Sky tomorrow then i'll raise a formal complaint with them and look at contacting the ombudsman as well.

 

[ClemFandango]

Interestingly, I've also been told just a few hours ago that the "core TV" services of Sky Q cannot be "terminated with penalty" - basically that you cannot pay an early termination fee and exit the contract.

[AndyOrch]

https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2215558/cannot-cancel-my-sky-q-contract-early

[ClemFandango]

Thankyou.   It appears the user in question didn't actually "cancel" their contract, it seems like it just expired and the box became a freesat box.

 

Sky have agreed to send an engineer next monday to install the Hybrid LNB free of charge and the person I spoke to said it would be an idea to try rhe card in my old box to see if it works, which I will.   I'm not expecting it to, but it's worth a try.

 

Under the circumstances, the LNB being replaced really is the best I can hope for.

[dx100uk]

the old card will work fine

infact any skycard will work in any old hd+ skybox just for freeview.

 

dx

 

 

 

[ClemFandango]

I ideally don't want it just for freeview/freesat though.   I'd like to put the Sky Q card into the old Sky+ HD box and continue getting all of the premium channels i'm paying for.   I think that's where the problem will arise.

[BazzaS]

14 hours ago, ClemFandango said:

Sky have agreed to send an engineer next monday to install the Hybrid LNB free of charge and the person I spoke to said it would be an idea to try rhe card in my old box to see if it works, which I will.   I'm not expecting it to, but it's worth a try.

 

Under the circumstances, the LNB being replaced really is the best I can hope for.

 

I agree. They are putting you back in the position you'd have been if they'd said what they should have ( "We can upgrade you to Sky Q. You'll need a new dish to use Q. If you want to revert to the non-Q system in future it'd need to be a 'hybrid' dish that supports both".)

 

I don't think you can realistically expect more.