Hi all,
Every few months I get a call from Sky telemarketers, they are either trying to sell more channels or an upgrade to MySky.
I dislike the way they represent their deals and how little they tell you (fine print). They focus on the word "Free"
1/ Their free trial of a new channel doesn't automatically expire at the end of the trial period. You must contact Sky to cancel the service or you will be charged for another month. This is in contrast with the NZ Herald free trial, which automatically expired at the end of the free period.
2 / This MySky deal is even more sneaky (this is not word-for-word)
Telemarketer - "You get a free install worth $99 and 6 months free. Are you interested?"
Me - (Having had these calls before) "What happens at the end of 6 months, if I don't want MySky any more?"
Telemarketer - "It just costs you an extra $15 a month"
Me - "No. What if I don't want MySky and wish to go back to my old Sky, What I had before"
Telemarketer - "It is a 12 month contract"
Me - "So I have to pay $90 for the other 6 months and is there a charge to have my old Sky decoder reinstalled?"
Telemarketer - "Yes, The installation is free and the first 6 months, you have to pay for the other 6 months, There is also a charge to reinstall your old Sky box"
Me - "So how is this a free deal?"
Telemarketer - "You get a free install and 6 months free"
Me - "But I have to pay $90 so it's not free, because of the 12 month contract"
Me - "Free should be Free don't you think? You shouldn't be obligated to pay anything more. I don't like how Sky markets it's services, it is almost like a scam"
.... silence ....
Me - "Do you work for Sky"
Telemarketer - "Not really...... I'm just employed as a Telemarketer"
Me - "The deal should be... Pay $90 for MySky and get the installation (usually $99) and the first 6 months free on a 12 month contract"
Telemarketer - "We are told what to say"
Me - "It's not right so I feel sorry for you"
Telemarketer - "So do you want to go ahead"
Me - "No thank you"
3/ Oh the other thing that annoys me about Sky - the only time you receive a letter from them, is to tell you their prices are increasing. The full page letter tells you what a wonderful company they are and all the wonderful content they are delivering to you - then wham just when you thought they were going to give you something for free, they drop the price increase bomb.
Well it was nice to get that off my chest,
I'm just a grumpy old man :-)