Insuring your sky box

[Ghostrider 11]

I thought faulty sky boxes were replaced for free by sky themselves? If not they should do, you pay them a subscription!

Well they gave me a brand new sky+ box today

[alankearn 10]

Last year after about three and a half years of heavy daily use I had a Sky + box that stopped working, Sky delivered and fitted a replacement box and charged a total of £60. I thought this was reasonable and personally I don't think it is worth getting it insured.

Edited May 13, 2009 by alankearn

[Digsy 10]

Had a cold call today from a company wanting me to insure my sky equipment he wanted me to pay £80 there and then when I said I wouldnt give out my bank details he became quite nasty and spoke to me like i was stupid after much explaining of the benefits he eventually put the phone down on me mid sentence but it got me wondering if anyone has insurance for this and if so with who and for how much, or is it just not worth doing. I have been trying the phone number he rang on to complain but its just ringing and ringing.

 

try googling the phone number, might give you some idea as to who they are.

[poshgirl 10]

its pob satelite direct nothing to do with sky. we used them they took our new box away and replaced it with a very old and dented box. we threatened to cancel sky as we pay the full package, sky wasnt bothered and di not replace it.

 

only now we have replaced it by getting HD we were told by the engineer not to insure it just call sky they charge 60 pounds for any call out which is cheaper than satelite direct.

[poppypoppy 10]

Yeh couple of years ago our sky kept freezin and goin off..so I rang sky said they would send engineer out but they would charge me £65 which they did..engineer came out said it was somethin on the dish wot had gone..and then told me his work was only guaranteed for 3months...sky didnt tell me that at first...now its startin to do it again..so I presume its on its way out again...think at sky it depends who you talk to..we've had some crackin deals in the past wen I've threatened to cancel our subscription...and then some i've spoke to have said..if you wanna cancel thats fine...then I feel a fool ......LOL

[Russet 10]

Beware of companies aggressively selling Sky insurance, unless it's Domestic and General which is the one Sky use and endorse, if you google 'sky insurance scam' there are multiple threads on anti-scam sites and blogs, lots of people have been ripped off by those unscrupulous companies, especially the more vulnerable customers such as the elderly. They use very underhand tactics and there have been court cases associated with misselling/misrepresentation as they claim to be connected with Sky.

 

Doing a Google search will bring up all the names they operate under, and there are several all based in the same area but seemingly different companies.

[Berberis 10]

Dont do it, its a con.

 

Your sky+ box will be under warranty for the duration of the contract. If it craps out after this time, call Sky and cancel your subscription. Tell them the reason is the box no longer works they will offer you a new one free of charge if you sign another years deal.

[Berberis 10]

No, the subscription is to watch the programmes. It's like if your TV breaks, the BBC wouldn't come and fix it.

 

Of course with cable tv the equipment is rented and inclusive of the monthly fee

 

The BBC did not sell you the TV in the first place though while Sky did sell you the Sky+ box.

 

In 99% of cases you buy sky on a 1 year contract basis. The equipment is supplied by sky at a fee. This equipment will by law have a minimum 1 year guarantee who the reseller is obliged to cover, this being Sky.

 

So if you are in contract still, there is no need for insurance. If you are out of contract, just cancel and Sky will send you a new box but you will probably have to haggle for a free one.

[Alex C. 10]

The only time that wouldn't apply is if you are in a twelve month contract - eg

 

You have a Sky box, after a year you take out multiroom with a Sky+ - you are then tied into a twelve month contract with the second box not being covered. You would not be allowed to cancel your contract either, until the twelve months was up. I think they'd offer a free service call (in cancellations) but I'm not certain...

[Berberis 10]

The only time that wouldn't apply is if you are in a twelve month contract - eg

 

You have a Sky box, after a year you take out multiroom with a Sky+ - you are then tied into a twelve month contract with the second box not being covered. You would not be allowed to cancel your contract either, until the twelve months was up. I think they'd offer a free service call (in cancellations) but I'm not certain...

 

Yeah, that would be about the only scenario where you may end up with a Sky+ box that failed and wasn’t under guarantee, but then you could argue the fit for purpose or the reasonable use angle to fight your case. Electrical equipment is expected to last more than 12 months. If Sky refused to fix it, you could just get the DTI involved through consumer direct who would probably be on your side.

[alchresearch 213]

There is a big market in this kind of thing because the boxes can and do fail at an alarming rate.

 

This is mainly because people don't give them enough ventilation (or block the vents completely) and fail to clear out the dust from around the box and wherever it's kept.

[pem123 10]

There is a big market in this kind of thing because the boxes can and do fail at an alarming rate.

 

This is mainly because people don't give them enough ventilation (or block the vents completely) and fail to clear out the dust from around the box and wherever it's kept.

 

You are correct, but the fact that they are cack is a major factor too.

 

This is because they are made by Amstrad, who are to quality control what the BNP are to race relations