[Technology] Out of contract with Sky - Tips ?

[dstanman]

Out of contract with my BT broadband, and thinking of moving it to Sky to combine with the TV package to get a bit of a saving. Anyone know how the Sky broadband compares performance wise to BT. Know the network is provided by openreach so no difference there, but have different routers. Not techy enough to put my own router on the end

 

[Greavsey]

Precisely the reasons why annually I go through the painful ' dance ' with Sky. You've done the right by putting in the cancellation notice and you should start getting offers.

That's unusual they didn't offer to budge an inch on your first call. They usually offer some derisory reduction or query taking off items. I always ensure I talk to the UK based retentions team and the key is to be polite and personable. A regular gambit is if it's a bloke I'll establish whether they like football and have a chat. One of their big call centres is in Livingston so last time we chatted about Doug Rougvie. It's all a bit silly but ultimately they came back with a decent offer

Yeah I thought it was strange they didn't move at all on price. I got put straight through to a Scottish "loyalty specialist" apparently due to the fact I've been with them for so long.

Well I'll sit back and wait for the offers to flood in (hopefully!)...

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

One of their big call centres is in Livingston so last time we chatted about Doug Rougvie. It's all a bit silly but ultimately they came back with a decent offer

I bet the offer you got was evil.

 

[Beach Hut]

Just re-negotiated to £9.50 per month less and got the £20 admin fee waived as overcharged going out of contract which they neglected to advise

 

[Greavsey]

I’m about a week away from the end of the cancellation cooling off period and still no word from Sky with a retention offer.

I’m starting to wonder if they’ve changed their strategy and sticking to their guns on exorbitant pricing??

 

[Jam The Man]

I’m about a week away from the end of the cancellation cooling off period and still no word from Sky with a retention offer.

I’m starting to wonder if they’ve changed their strategy and sticking to their guns on exorbitant pricing??

Highly likely.
We went so far as to get Virgin all lined up and Sky pretty much said “off you pop then”

It’s ludicrously expensive now, and they’ve got you by the balls. .
Big balls.

 

[Springal]

I’m about a week away from the end of the cancellation cooling off period and still no word from Sky with a retention offer.

I’m starting to wonder if they’ve changed their strategy and sticking to their guns on exorbitant pricing??

They definitely have - I got to my last few days and tried their chat I think and got it back down to only a few quid more than I was paying. Annoying where I came I can’t get any alt nets or virgin

 

[Neil]

don't know why anyone goes with Sky or BT .
Just do what millions of people are doing and get a Smart TV with Freeview and all the other channels
Then get a Firestick for all the sport and Movies

 

[Springal]

don't know why anyone goes with Sky or BT .
Just do what millions of people are doing and get a Smart TV with Freeview and all the other channels
Then get a Firestick for all the sport and Movies

Probably right - but I’ve got a 4K tv so using free view or dodgy streaming services look crap

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

My deal was expiring so gave them a quick call last week. They quoted me "the best" they could do. I said I'd cancel as I was thinking of it anyway. Amazingly the cancellation lady suddenly found all the deals because I was "VIP" and was able to better what I was already paying despite the "unavoidable" price increases. She was genuinely brilliant and a bit of back and forth and we managed to settle on the below (if memory serves me correctly)

So, for £84 a month I get:
Sky signature TV
Ultimate TV add on
UHD
all the Sports HD
Netflix HD
Superfast Broadband
Movies

fine by me.

Another tip, which we didn't have to resort to as they suddenly 'remembered' the VIP status so managed to slash the bills, you could always become a 'new customer' under the name of the other person in your household, meaning you get all the new deals. They had advised we could keep the broadband on my wifes account and I could then become a 'new' customer and get cheaper tv etc. however, like I say, they managed to find these offers and I just kept it as it is.

Useful to know though. As long as you keep the broadband element on the pre-exisiting account, they wouldn't lose any VIP status they may have.

I use so many elements of sky/a sky box that would be lost if I moved to a dodgy stick etc that it was key to keep it (even if I didn't tell them that). "Nah, watch a bit of bbc sometimes".

 

[Eeyore]

I'm with Virgin and pay £68 per month for broadband, Sky Sports and TNT sports. All covered.

It's a huge saving on the others.

 

[marcos3263]

don't know why anyone goes with Sky or BT .
Just do what millions of people are doing and get a Smart TV with Freeview and all the other channels
Then get a Firestick for all the sport and Movies

Its interesting that your go-to approach is a dodgy feed. don't get me wrong - I do exactly the same and so do several people I know.

i wonder what the percentage is? my Dad is not tech savvy and there is no point trying so he pays £130+ a month for sky and all sports etc.

the concept of threatening to leave or going else where is not acceptable to him. he wants whats easy.

BUT most people of my generation (early 50s) are happy to stream and I imagine youngsters are almost entirely reliant.

The companies must be losing millions. but it all goes down to too much money in the game, prices generally too high. etc etc.

While I enjoy football, can I justify players on £300k a week? What if they were on £200k a week and bills were cheaper or £100k a week etc etc.

I would pay for legal football IF it was cost effective and 3pm kick offs shown in this country.

I pay for Spotify and netflix for example (netflix builting into my sky package)

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

I’m about a week away from the end of the cancellation cooling off period and still no word from Sky with a retention offer.

I’m starting to wonder if they’ve changed their strategy and sticking to their guns on exorbitant pricing??

Call them a day before (just want to check when my last payment is going out etc) and reference it’s a shame you are leaving blah blah blah - I do this every 12 to 18 months and it works

 

[Greavsey]

Call them a day before (just want to check when my last payment is going out etc) and reference it’s a shame you are leaving blah blah blah - I do this every 12 to 18 months and it works

thanks yep I was thinking I'd ring them later this week with the excuse of not remembering when it was due to be cancelled.

 

[PascalGroß Tips]

don't know why anyone goes with Sky or BT .
Just do what millions of people are doing and get a Smart TV with Freeview and all the other channels
Then get a Firestick for all the sport and Movies

Amazon Fire Stick Users could face £50k fine

I've been with Virgin since Nynex days. Just did my usual 18 month negotiation withy them last month.

£62.29 for 1 gig BB, Sky Sports and TNT in HD/UHD, movies in HD, Netflix and phone.

Plus ability to record loads of stuff when I'm out or watching something else. Bargain.

 

[Littlemo]

don't know why anyone goes with Sky or BT .
Just do what millions of people are doing and get a Smart TV with Freeview and all the other channels
Then get a Firestick for all the sport and Movies

I’ve been looking at this as I’ve had to do the cancellation thing with Virgin. The main provider for Sky sports I can get is Now TV and they don’t have any of their games on demand, so if you miss the live feed then you miss the game (because you can’t record).

This seems mental to me, especially given Amazon showed what can be done with that. Anyway it discouraged me from signing up like that. Is Sky streaming etc the same?

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

My Virgin Media contract was due to end in a couple of weeks so I tried the online chat. I told the guy that I didn't want to pay any more than I was already and that I was using one of the new customer bundles as my target price. The first 'discounted' offer came back at more than I would pay if I let me current contract run without any of the discounts I got last time I did the dance. I said that was ridiculous at which point he said "I see you want to cancel so will put you over to retentions". I hadn't said that but wasn't complaining as it saves time in the dance.

Pasted the same expectations into the chat with the retentions guy, he asked a few questions and then came back with a price where I got my same bundle but £10 cheaper than I had already been paying so I was happy with that. I then got the contract through and it is another £9 cheaper.

In the past, the online team don't seem to have been able to offer these deals so I was surprised but much easier than having to stay on the phone line for hours as it has been in the past.

 

[RustyKent]

Call them a day before (just want to check when my last payment is going out etc) and reference it’s a shame you are leaving blah blah blah - I do this every 12 to 18 months and it works

Thanks for this. Been with Sky for 25 years and recently cancelled. I've got 2 days left and not been contacted. Will ring tomorrow to confirm when end date is and try and negotiate.

 

[Greavsey]

Thanks for this. Been with Sky for 25 years and recently cancelled. I've got 2 days left and not been contacted. Will ring tomorrow to confirm when end date is and try and negotiate.

Good luck. We now don't have Sky! I rang them the day before our cancellation date, and suggested I would be interested in staying if the price wasn't so high a I'd been with them 15 years and was a VIP customer, and they said there were no offers at the moment and in fact I'd be paying a couple of pounds extra a month, when I was already paying £140!

I think they may have changed their retention strategy potentially.

 

[swindonseagull]

My Virgin Media contract was due to end in a couple of weeks so I tried the online chat. I told the guy that I didn't want to pay any more than I was already and that I was using one of the new customer bundles as my target price. The first 'discounted' offer came back at more than I would pay if I let me current contract run without any of the discounts I got last time I did the dance. I said that was ridiculous at which point he said "I see you want to cancel so will put you over to retentions". I hadn't said that but wasn't complaining as it saves time in the dance.

Pasted the same expectations into the chat with the retentions guy, he asked a few questions and then came back with a price where I got my same bundle but £10 cheaper than I had already been paying so I was happy with that. I then got the contract through and it is another £9 cheaper.

In the past, the online team don't seem to have been able to offer these deals so I was surprised but much easier than having to stay on the phone line for hours as it has been in the past.

My VM contract expires next month.....will contact them tomorrow and see how I get on.