Sky Broadband Ordering

[Byk]

I placed an order online in Sept 2010 for the full Sky package (TV/Phone/Broadband) after chatting with one of the online assistants. I was given a date in Oct for the TV setup and 11 Nov for the Phone.

TV installation went without a hitch. The Phone and Broadband however is a different story. The first frustration was that I wanted to port my existing number across and I made this known at the very beginning and was told that it would not be a problem. But guess what? The 11th of Nov came and went and no one showed up to fix my phone line and when I went to my.sky, the date for the appointment had been changed to 12th Dec. They didn't even have the decency to call on my mobile phone or even send me an email (if they don't want to pay for the cost of a call to a mobile phone) to inform me of the change.

I called the support line and was told that Virgin had disconnected my old number and they could not port it across so they had to give me a new number and start again. I don't understand why they could not just keep the original appointment and give me the new number anyway but... what could I do.

Anyway, 12th Dec rolled on and the engineer came round to the house and could not get a dial tone on the line. Why on earth did the online tool (which I used before placing the original order for the package) confirm that there was service to my house if in fact there wasn't? To cut a long story short, I have written numerous complaints to Sky and made numerous phone calls to the support line and was not getting anywhere. The Sky people refuse to take ownership of the problem because they believe it is BT's fault and are completely unhelpful. But I don't have any contract with BT, my contract is with Sky.

In the end, I had to have a quiet chat with the BT guy that came to the house in Jan and pleaded with him to help resolve the problem. The only way he could see the problem being solved was to dig up my front garden and lay a new line to the house and painful as it was, I had to accept and we finally got the phone line working in Feb 2011, FIVE MONTHS AFTER I PLACED THE ORDER FOR THE SERVICE!!!!! And at the additional cost of a new front lawn as well.

I thought that at last the ordeal was over but lo and behold, it isn't. We are still waiting for the broadband to be setup but I noticed that the status of the phone line order in my.sky was still 'awaiting connection' so I called up the support line AGAIN!!!! Another cost to me!!! They didn't even know that the phone line was now working and because of a fault in the system, could not update it to reflect the current status even after my call. He was going to have to raise a fault ticket to report the problem and hopefully, it should be resolved within 48hrs after which they will then be able to update the system to show that my phone line was now connected and then and only then will they be able to place the order for the broadband.

Yes, I said 'Place the order for the broadband'. Apparently because it had taken so long for the phone line to get connected, the order for the broadband simply dropped off the system. WHAT NONSENSICAL SYSTEM ARE THESE GUYS RUNNING? This means that if I didn't call today, I'd probably be waiting another few months and not have any broadband in the house. To be honest, I am not even holding my breath that the broadband installation will go smoothly.

SWITCHING FROM VIRGIN MEDIA TO SKY IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I HAVE MADE!

[michael-r]

Hi Byk,

I'm sorry to hear of the experience and service you have received. I can confirm that there are delays regarding the installation and setup of phone lines around the country. This is due there being a back log of orders with BT Openreach engineers which was caused by the adverse weather conditions in December and January. This would have been related to the delay you have experienced with your order.

There isn't an involvement with BT whilst the order is progressing, only BT Openreach. This is the business division that Sky are involved with and they will supply BT openreach engineers to do Sky phone line installations.

The online service tool will inform the customer if there is an line running into the property. The visit of the BT Openreach engineer to the property would have involved the activation of a cease or stopped line if there is existing hardware already installed. The fact the engineer could not pick up a dial tone on the line is more than likely to have been related to a fault with the initial setup.

Because of the engineer not picking up a dial tone, this may have been related to the additional work which was required for the proper setup. If there is an issue or delay with the setup this should have been escalated through the Sky agent to BT Openreach, which is done via the Sky order management team. This would mean that Sky have escalated the issue so BT Openreach can survey the setup and provide you with resolution. However, this does require Sky's involvement and going through to BT directly would mean the additional work has been carried without Sky knowing. It sounds as if a resolution to the delay was never processed through Sky and has been done directly through BT. Because of this an order delay would still be apparent with Sky and show as 'awaiting connection' to the customer.

If the issue had been resolved and setup through BT, this would normally mean your line rental services have been setup through BT and are not with Sky. Are you able to confirm this with BT?

[C+Dean]

michael, your customer does not want to hear of the inadequacies of your infrastructure and communication systems ... they want a smooth, efficient hassle-free adoption of a service for which they pay you handsomely. What kind of an advert is it for a sky communication package (sky talk) that sky itself appears incapable of efficient internal communication to set it up in the first place ?

[Gordon+Williams]

I am an existing SKY HD+ customer and on 18/02/11 I requested a return call from SKY for information about switching from my existing Broadband/phone provider AOL.

I was promised a reply within 48 hours, the promise has not been kept even after several days.

Meanwhile, BT have a Winterdeal offer and are keen to secure my order for the whole package - they already provide my telephone service from which SKY HD+ is hosted.

The options are, SKY package appears to be cheaper, but has less features than BT's.

BT is more expensive, although has more technical features, UK call centres, is very reliable, and is highly recommended by friends who have enhanced technical knowledge, one of whom has BT Broadband already installed.

BT is keener to obtain  my order whilst SKY appear lethargic, is this an indication of what I would encounter regarding possible problems should I decide to choose SKY with a 12 month contract?

Member Byk's experiences have made me think twice especially as I would be committing myself to at least £225 in total for 12 months, without being able to cancel the arrangement, or subject to a cancellation fee for early termination,  should the service prove unsatisfactory?

Make your mind up time for me is tomorrow Wednesday 23rd @ 14:00, I have insufficient time to log on to this forum for the information which is essential, therefore if anyone from SKY reads this, please contact me, cheers! 

[naomi++cowley]

I no what you mean when I switched to sky in nov 2009 I was great for the first few months then since dec 2010 I have had nothing but problems. I was having a few problems paying my bill but I always rang them to let them know about the situation. I have had limited services even though I payed me bills when I said I was going to, they have been charging me everytime they cut me off then to put me back on and now I have to pay £31.80 to have my services reconnected even though my bill has been payed and they £31.80 isn't due until the 8th of march. they have said they cant reconnect me until I pay this outstanding balance of £31.80 even though its not outstanding. personally I think sky is a load of bull problems all the time no reasonable answers or nothing just if I dont pay I dont have my services.

[michael-r]

Hi naomi++cowley,

I would recommend going through the contact us section of the help centre. The account & billing section will probably be the best option since you have mentioned having billing queries. This will then direct you to the best person to speak to as an advisor will have to access your Sky account directly to go over specifics.

[sladedestiny]

I recently switched Virgin to Sky. Virgin not only were more exspensive but also have a customer service that was totally crap! Over two years I was:

Asked why I wanted a phone or tv as I was deaf( Dispite the fact I have a wife with perfect hearing)

Was told by a Virgin engineer that the cable to my house was old Nynex cable and unable to run the 50meg broadband I was paying for. Virgin refused to refund any money dispite admitting I had not been getting what I had been paying for!

Eventually I threatened legal action for breach of contract by them. They credited me one months subscription which was just £70.Prior to that they had offered me a paltry £10.

I had to wait a further 6 months to get the new cable laid in which time I had no internet at all.But Virgin still tried to charge me for it!

Finally I had enough. I was at the end of my contract with them. I recieved a bill for almost £200 as they had 'restructured the way they take payments' I told them to stick it.

So even though I was fully paid up they stopped all services two weeks before they should have. Then yesterday sent me a letter asking for £260 which they said was advanced charges and arrears! They want to charge me for services I never had and future ones I no longer require.They charge £10 for late payments and restrict services at the drop of a hat.

My only disappointment with Sky is that they took three weeks from the tv instalation to activate Broadband(No Engineer was needed) and the fact that Broadband is very slow with an average 3.08meg speed. No-where near the 20 meg that they offer.I know speeds vary but come on Sky this is almost as slow as a dial-up!

All in all I think they are all a waste of time and need to up their game pronto.

[Ross01]

I changed to the complete sky package in December 10. I already had sky tv and in an attempt to reduce outgoings I thought(foolishly) that one bill for tv,. internet and phone would work out substantially cheaper. How wrong was I !!!!!!!!!!!! My first bill was £147 second £120ish and the third is sitting at £87 and rising.I selected the deal which the adviser recommended. I am now in the process of trying to switch to either virgin or BT vision. BT are right ''people are coming back''. Shame on sky. OFCOM really need to stand up to these companies who are going to dictate how each of us live are lives and all in the name of money. Absolutely disgusted with SKY. O by the way forgot to mention the installation - it still isnt completed. Numerous calls to and from sky and still waiting to have the problem resolved...................................................

---

Byk wrote:

I placed an order online in Sept 2010 for the full Sky package (TV/Phone/Broadband) after chatting with one of the online assistants. I was given a date in Oct for the TV setup and 11 Nov for the Phone.

TV installation went without a hitch. The Phone and Broadband however is a different story. The first frustration was that I wanted to port my existing number across and I made this known at the very beginning and was told that it would not be a problem. But guess what? The 11th of Nov came and went and no one showed up to fix my phone line and when I went to my.sky, the date for the appointment had been changed to 12th Dec. They didn't even have the decency to call on my mobile phone or even send me an email (if they don't want to pay for the cost of a call to a mobile phone) to inform me of the change.

I called the support line and was told that Virgin had disconnected my old number and they could not port it across so they had to give me a new number and start again. I don't understand why they could not just keep the original appointment and give me the new number anyway but... what could I do.

Anyway, 12th Dec rolled on and the engineer came round to the house and could not get a dial tone on the line. Why on earth did the online tool (which I used before placing the original order for the package) confirm that there was service to my house if in fact there wasn't? To cut a long story short, I have written numerous complaints to Sky and made numerous phone calls to the support line and was not getting anywhere. The Sky people refuse to take ownership of the problem because they believe it is BT's fault and are completely unhelpful. But I don't have any contract with BT, my contract is with Sky.

In the end, I had to have a quiet chat with the BT guy that came to the house in Jan and pleaded with him to help resolve the problem. The only way he could see the problem being solved was to dig up my front garden and lay a new line to the house and painful as it was, I had to accept and we finally got the phone line working in Feb 2011, FIVE MONTHS AFTER I PLACED THE ORDER FOR THE SERVICE!!!!! And at the additional cost of a new front lawn as well.

I thought that at last the ordeal was over but lo and behold, it isn't. We are still waiting for the broadband to be setup but I noticed that the status of the phone line order in my.sky was still 'awaiting connection' so I called up the support line AGAIN!!!! Another cost to me!!! They didn't even know that the phone line was now working and because of a fault in the system, could not update it to reflect the current status even after my call. He was going to have to raise a fault ticket to report the problem and hopefully, it should be resolved within 48hrs after which they will then be able to update the system to show that my phone line was now connected and then and only then will they be able to place the order for the broadband.

Yes, I said 'Place the order for the broadband'. Apparently because it had taken so long for the phone line to get connected, the order for the broadband simply dropped off the system. WHAT NONSENSICAL SYSTEM ARE THESE GUYS RUNNING? This means that if I didn't call today, I'd probably be waiting another few months and not have any broadband in the house. To be honest, I am not even holding my breath that the broadband installation will go smoothly.

SWITCHING FROM VIRGIN MEDIA TO SKY IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I HAVE MADE!

---

---

Byk wrote:

I placed an order online in Sept 2010 for the full Sky package (TV/Phone/Broadband) after chatting with one of the online assistants. I was given a date in Oct for the TV setup and 11 Nov for the Phone.

TV installation went without a hitch. The Phone and Broadband however is a different story. The first frustration was that I wanted to port my existing number across and I made this known at the very beginning and was told that it would not be a problem. But guess what? The 11th of Nov came and went and no one showed up to fix my phone line and when I went to my.sky, the date for the appointment had been changed to 12th Dec. They didn't even have the decency to call on my mobile phone or even send me an email (if they don't want to pay for the cost of a call to a mobile phone) to inform me of the change.

I called the support line and was told that Virgin had disconnected my old number and they could not port it across so they had to give me a new number and start again. I don't understand why they could not just keep the original appointment and give me the new number anyway but... what could I do.

Anyway, 12th Dec rolled on and the engineer came round to the house and could not get a dial tone on the line. Why on earth did the online tool (which I used before placing the original order for the package) confirm that there was service to my house if in fact there wasn't? To cut a long story short, I have written numerous complaints to Sky and made numerous phone calls to the support line and was not getting anywhere. The Sky people refuse to take ownership of the problem because they believe it is BT's fault and are completely unhelpful. But I don't have any contract with BT, my contract is with Sky.

In the end, I had to have a quiet chat with the BT guy that came to the house in Jan and pleaded with him to help resolve the problem. The only way he could see the problem being solved was to dig up my front garden and lay a new line to the house and painful as it was, I had to accept and we finally got the phone line working in Feb 2011, FIVE MONTHS AFTER I PLACED THE ORDER FOR THE SERVICE!!!!! And at the additional cost of a new front lawn as well.

I thought that at last the ordeal was over but lo and behold, it isn't. We are still waiting for the broadband to be setup but I noticed that the status of the phone line order in my.sky was still 'awaiting connection' so I called up the support line AGAIN!!!! Another cost to me!!! They didn't even know that the phone line was now working and because of a fault in the system, could not update it to reflect the current status even after my call. He was going to have to raise a fault ticket to report the problem and hopefully, it should be resolved within 48hrs after which they will then be able to update the system to show that my phone line was now connected and then and only then will they be able to place the order for the broadband.

Yes, I said 'Place the order for the broadband'. Apparently because it had taken so long for the phone line to get connected, the order for the broadband simply dropped off the system. WHAT NONSENSICAL SYSTEM ARE THESE GUYS RUNNING? This means that if I didn't call today, I'd probably be waiting another few months and not have any broadband in the house. To be honest, I am not even holding my breath that the broadband installation will go smoothly.

SWITCHING FROM VIRGIN MEDIA TO SKY IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I HAVE MADE!

---

[mamabear]

I have recently started the switchover from BT phone and broadband to SKY phone and broadband as BT line rental went up to 13.60 and will be increasing AGAIN in april to 13.90. Why do BT have to charge so much, SKY line rebtal is only 11.25.

I found BT extremely unhelpful, their call centres are NOT based in the uk, they are based in INDIA and I can never understand what they  are saying.

All in all i will be saving 24.00 a month by switching to sky and taking the same package i had with bt. I have been a sky tv customer for a long time now and i do believe that my changeover will be nice and smooth.

I am very happy with sky

[hadouken-andy]

Hi mamabear,

Thanks for the feedback, great to see your saving so much

Feel free to come back and let us know how the switch over went.

Cheers

[Groucho+B]

Well, I've been a happy bunny with broadband and Sky+ HD TV packages for a couple of hassle free years and the email response from Sky and the fix was excellent on the one occasion when bandwidth suddenly fell. However, I was about to leave BT and sign up for Sky Talk Billing and Sky Talk Unlimited and I've emailed twice now over the last 5 days to see if I can specify a "not before" date around 2 weeks from now to avoid breaking a 12mth BT contract. So far I've not received a thing beyond the email autoresponder, so I'm wondering if the gloss is coming off my service too... It does make you think twice doesn't it...

[VinceVD]

Hi,

just to share my new experience with Sky.

Just a customer sine a week now and I don't know what to think about it.

I was thinking at the beginning that was quite good Tv installation due this weekend but when I saw the appointment for the broadband it's not the same.

7 weeks !!!! between the subscription and the appointment for the activation in south east London in fairly new building let me think their is something wrong.

Nearly make me laught when one of the reason write on this forum is 'the weather in december and january' it's 2-3 months ago and it's not like if there was a tsunami in england !!!!! And even if it's true (bad weather not tsunami) they can display that when you subscribe and not let you think it will be done by 2 weeks

I don't know how is it with others providers but this first experience is far away from a good one

[Robert]

Hi VinceVD,

When an order is placed for line and broadband we will initially place this with a provisional date. The provisional time scales for having the installed or transferred is 14 days, the broadband can go active on the date of line activation but does depend on the type of order in place. Otherwise, the broadband can take up to 15 days to go active after the line has done so.

If you are looking to port a number over from a non BT compatible line provider such as Virgin or TalkTalk, this can take a little longer as there is another process in place in obtaining your old number.

With these time scales provided, it is important to remember that these are provisional. The actual time scales for the line setup depends on the availability of an Openreach telephone engineer in your area. Due to the backlog of delays over the winter months, this has had a knock on affect with the time scales involved with current orders.

We are always looking to improve on these time scales and processes. We work very closely with Openreach and other 3rd parties to improve on these.

[VinceVD]

Thanks for your answer (even if it's a copy and past that you can find several times on this forum).

A better answer would have been "the local exchange that serves your phone line has been inundated with orders and are really busy" answer that I completely understand (as the area I'm is fairly new) and is clear to me. Thanks BT and there chat service, and also there order system which at least before subscribing give you the date possible for the appointment with the engineer (27th of April still 1 week earlier than Sky maybe 2 if I did it last week when I subscribe for Sky).

I'm already very disappointed by the Sky support service (I do better in less than 1 hour with Internet) and lucky Sky there is only 1 week difference between Sky and BT appointment otherwise I would have cancel Sky and tried BT

[enforcer]

My activation date was 6th April 2011, for sky talk and line rental plus broadband,

Its now the 7th April, Been left with No active telephone line, so No phone,  No broadband (still connected to BT Broadband infinity,

Have spent over £7 on mobile calls to sky, still waiting for a answer, if not forthcoming soon, then I will stay with BT, and cancel my all my sky orders along with my sky tv,

Just fed up with indifferent companies.