Sky+

[gpofnewmilton]

Have just emerged from a phone call with Sky customer services about my move at the end of the week. Of course I was expecting that the phone and broadband would take 3 weeks or so due to BT's crazy systems. However, I was not expecting the same for Sky TV. After a previous move the Sky TV was installed with a week's notice, and I was told to expect a similar time frame this time around when I called customer services two weeks ago.

Imagine my surprise when I called today to be told that the next available date was 6 July!? Fully three and a half weeks away. The pleasant Sky representative was unable to give me a reason why previous experience and advice could be so wrong. Why can't sky build up capacity to meet this level of demand? I am now considering my options with other providers.

[kato]

It does seem extraordinary amount of time to wait for an install.I guess there could be many reasons ie demand,staffing levels,holidays and so on.

If i was you i would be phoning sky back to see if they have any cancellations,you may have to do this every day or ask them to contact you if this happens. Just a thought if your going to stay with sky.

[Robert]

Hi gpofnewmilton, 

I'm sorry to hear this, usually Sky TV Home Move visits can be booked quite quickly and happen within a few days if required.

Can you tell us what part of the country you are moving to as some areas such as the Highlands & Islands for example in Scotland do take longer to arrange visits for due to there being fewer engineers.

[gpofnewmilton]

We're moving locally in New Milton, Hampshire. The delay is particularly surprising as when we moved into the area our sky tv was installed within 2 days, quite different to over 3 weeks.

[Robert]

Hi gpofnewmilton, 

Thanks for that, I've sent you a Private Message asking for some details as it may be an issue with your account or the system. Please reply with the details requested and I'll try to assist further.

[natalie88]

I have had the exact same issue, I called up a couple of weeks ago and told sky that I was moving at the end of the month and would like a home move. They told me to register online nearer the time, which I did a week ago and received an email back to tell me that they could only do it on the 6th July which is 2 weeks after we move into our new home and that we would have to pay for our subscription for the whole of this time even though we could not receive our services.

[Robert]

Hi natalie88, 

I'm sorry to hear that this has happened. We normally ask for 2 weeks' notice of a Home Move to help adjust for variability in demand for our install engineers, so we can install at each customer's preferred date and time.

However in some specific postcodes right now we are experiencing unprecedented demand for our services that means some lead times are temporarily longer than this. We are doing absolutely everything we can to get back on track and meet all Homemovers preferences, but unfortunately this will not be in time to bring forward your Home Move install date.

We apologise for all the inconvenience caused to you and sincerely hope to have your Sky TV up and running as soon as possible in your new home.

[natalie88]

This is ridiculous, so new customers are being prioritised over the people who already pay for services and were supposed to just keep on paying when we are receiving absolutely nothing for our money? It takes 20 mins to just stick up a sky dish when you already have all the kit and dont need a demo so how can it not be fitted in sooner?

[drucie]

I am moving to Pembrokeshire on the 4th July and like many on this forum, I am staggered that we have to wait for a Sky homemove installation until the 18th July.  I called today, 23rd June, to be told that this is the ONLY date that is available.  They couldn't even give me another date after the 18th!  Our new property has a dish, but the owner is taking it, and there is no normal tv aerial, so we won't be able to watch any form of television at all.  I can see me being a complete pain to Sky, because I will be calling every day to see if there has been a cancellation date before the 18th.  As a Sky customer for many, many years, I am not impressed with this service.

[Pipalin28]

Hi, I know what you mean. I rang up sky a few weeks ago and they said they would call me back the friday before I moved to finalise everything, and indicated that an engineer could visit the folllowing week. However when they rang me back they said I had to wait until the 12th July, 3 weeks time as well. It is awful considering how big this company is, you would think they would have a better system than a 3 week wait!! I made sure I was not going to have to pay for the 3 weeks that I have no Sky!!

[paulr1]

I have had the same problem albeit made worse by poor advice from a sky 'help centre' advisor a few weeks ago. They told me to call back a week before the move which I did today - only to be told that a) my account is 'frozen' due to the phone and bb cancellation (also cancelled due to poor service) and b) there is now a 4 week wait for TV. Outrageous situation and the sky advisors seem unwilling or unable to do anything to help. If I could get TV some other way I would.  

[danni24]

ive just got off the phone from a sky advisor, i thought that i would let her know that we are moving in 2 weeks and if there was an installation date for around the same time would i be able to have it??

i was told that wouldnt be a problem as long as i cancel all my subscriptions at my current address NOW!!!.

as she can not book an installation date for me as i have a package, ( basicallly ive got to cancel mine now and and have no tv/bb/phone for 2 weeks so she can check for the next intstallation) or keep my tv.phone/bb for the next 2 weeks then cancel it the day before i move and then wait for an installation which doesnt have a time scale, so could be in new house with tv/bb/phone for weeks...

i just dont understand, why cant she possibly check now to see if there is an installation date available for nearer the time that im moving? without having to cancel my subscriptions now?

[Ado]

Really sorry about this.

Unfortunately the advisor is correct - if they book an engineer for the TV install it triggers the cancellation of Talk/BB. We know this is not acceptable for a number of customers and are working hard in the background to change this so they can be managed independently, to make it much more flexible for customers.

I'm afraid this wont be fixed in time to help you with you move and I really apologise for this.

I'll send you a direct message with some thoughts on how might be able to help you personally,

[Tinick]

We too are moving and went online to book a move, we moved in on 16th July and were given online date of 23rd July, which we were more than happy with, only to receive an email advising us the installation would now be 4th August, the Dish is already in, unfortunately the previous occupants CUT the sky lead, which is the only reason we need an engineer..... trust me, we wont be paying for the loss of Sky...!!!

[jonesboy1970]

We are moving house to Gloucester from Kent in 3 weeks (23rd Sept) and have been told that they are not able to give me an installation date for at least another 72 hours !! We called 5 weeks ago and were told to call back with 2 weeks to go ... All they will say is that it will be at some point in October... I have explained that our son is autistic and that he needs his routine ,unfortunately he doesnt take well to change .. we have been telling him about our impending move for the last 3 months !!! His routine does involve certain special tv programs he watches when he gets home from school etc and he is a tech wizard using the PC for various number quizs etc ... Skys answer ... "Sorry sir but we cannot make any allowances for sick people ... YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED US EARLIER !!"

I have been on the phone with Sky for nearly 3 hours today alone trying to get the matter resolved ... with no Joy though ... My calls are taped at work and im sure the papers would love to hear what sky had to say about my sons situation !