BBC Prime

[Hereford]

We did not want, nor do we really want now, to have all the UK tv programmes. We therefore subscribed to TPS which gave us access to all French tv but also amongst others BBC World and BBC Prime.  We watched a few programmes on BBC Prime as our only access to an English language "leisure" channel. 

TPS has now merged with Canalplus and we are all to be "migrated" over to Canalsat.  Our letter from TPS about this says "vous continuez a profiter des chaines que vous appreciez deja".

Our migration was done this afternoon and we now find that BBC Prime has disappeared. A check on the BBC Prime website confirms (via a FAQ) that we have indeed lost this channel.  Other channels too have dispappeared including an interactive meteo, also Bloomberg is now only the French edition not the English.

We (or Mrs H anyway) are furious, not least because we watched part one of a programme last friday so we will miss part two!  We feel this is grounds for cancelling our contract but this leaves the question: what do we then have?

Anyone else in this position?  Can we send loads of letters complaining?  We have tried to email canalsat but as we do not yet know our new Client number the site will not let us.

in frustration, wife is grinding her teeth.

H.

[Martin963]

You are not alone.   There is a lot of ill feeling from clients of both TPS and Canalsat that they have been thoroughly shafted by the merger.

Cut your losses,  turn your dish round to 28 deg E and -  I know you don't want all the programmes - choose what you watch selectively.  All you need is an €80 Free to air sat receiver (I'm assuming your terminal is rented at the moment) and a redirected dish.   Save a lot of €'s a month too.   But keep watching a bit of French TV via your ordinary aerial.

All I can tell you is that you may have the devil's own job cnacelling your contract except at the annual renewal date,  and by sending a lettre de resiliation two months before the anniversary.   They've got you every which way.

They rightly have an appalling reputation nowadays.   Shaft them back!

[Hereford]

We are certainly thinking of cancelling. Our renewal date is January but a french friend is sure we could cancel on the basis that they have broken the contract - not us.  We can see also that we have been transferred to a "package" which is €5 cheaper than we are currently paying and yet we are told that our payment will "reste le même".

Any more comments welcome

H.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

I would imagine in the small print that there would be something along the lines of "package can be changed without prior notice" or words to that affect. These companies always make sure they're covered some way like that. I understand sky are notorious for it (from what others have said, I've never had it).

Btw, what's the name of the programme you're missing?

[Hereford]

Lynda & Richard:

The programmes we are missing are BBC Prime and Bloomberg in English, plus others that we did not actually watch.  We agree that the contract probably says that but we have been forcibly "migrated£ (their word) so feel that we could say we do not agree to this and TPS must accept a cancellaton.  We are composing a strong letter of complaint so will see what happens, if anything!

H.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Good luck with it.

But the programme I was referring to was the one you'll miss part 2 of.

[Hereford]

Spooks! So we will never know what happened.. Never mind.