Sky threatens to cancel Subscription as Not Connected to BT Landline

[Frodo_Bagginses]

Hello All! 

I have Sky in the UK but am now living full time in France.  Knowing lots of people who have Sky here (by having bought a 2nd box & paying Sky for additional viewing) I did the same & had a 2nd box installed in the UK.  I then brought the old box out here to France.

After 2 months I received a letter in the UK saying that unless both boxes were connected to my UK BT telephone line then I would either be cut off OR could pay double the subscription.

The majority of people I know out here have not had this problem & it seems to be because the much older boxes are not plugged into the phoneline & therefore Sky do not monitor where the boxes are located.  However, for anyone trying to do the same thing now this problem arises with phoneline monitoring.

I fully appreciate that Sky do not want people having a 2nd box so that they can give it to a friend who then only pays a proportion of the subs instead of the full amount.  I am more than happy to pay twice but the question is - will they actually let me do this?

I have just called them & they are saying that there is no option to pay twice (even though their letter says I can) & that both boxes MUST be connected.  I tried to say that I had one box in a caravan but this didn't help either as they said that was not allowed.

Are there any answers?  I thought I would try to say that it was for a second property in the UK but have that sinking feeling that they will insist on visiting the second property & overseeing installation / connection to a landline.

Does anyone know how to get around the phoneline connection / any circumstances that Sky will accept for non-connection to a phone line - I am more than happy to pay double subscriptions & desperately don't want to lose Sky!

Thank you in advance!

[derf]

AFAIK, if you have a subsidised SKY box then no choice you have to keep it connected to the phone line for a minimum of 12 months and after that, then you are free to do as you like with it, i would have thought that, if you don't want to, or are not able to ( for what ever reason) keep it connected to a BT landline then SKY would only ask for the difference in cost between a subsidised SKY box and an un-subsidised SKY box.

[Nick Trollope]

If you have gone for Sky Multiroom (the extra box & +£10/month) then you will need both boxes plugged into the telephone line, for the duration of the contract (not just 12 months IIRC, although this is the minimum).

They will not sell you 2 "full" subs at the same address (not least because if Multiroom is not acceptable, it is obvious you are trying to beat the system...).

If you have had the contract for more than 12 months, then cancel the shadow sub & find a new address, for a fresh sub. Using the holiday home in the UK excuse is fine &, if you tell them that you already have the hardware, they won't bother to visit you.

Just bear in mind that, like unused day return on the ferries, failing to stick to the terms of a Sky contract could be seen as obtaining goods or services by deception...

 

[horseygirl]

I had exactly the same problem a couple of months ago, i had letters coming through telling me to connect my boxes on a phone line, i ignored them, they then sent a letter to me recorded delivery saying that if i didnt plug boxes into a phone line then i would either be disconnected or be charged the full amount (i had 2 subscriptions being the 2nd card i was only charged £10 per month), i rang them up and and told them i couldnt connect to a phone line at the present time, since then i have been charged the full amount for what i was recieving from sky. they wont disconnect yu if you are paying them each month, you will just have to pay the full amount.

[Frodo_Bagginses]

Thankyou for your replies.  Sadly didn't receive horseygirls' reply til it was too late - had I known that they were happy just to let you pay double & not disconnect you then I would have done just that.......but have now returned box to UK....Grrrrr

Just in case anyone else is interested in this topic (has been a total nightmare for me with loads of time wasted trying to get answers)...... Sky have now apparantly (from May 1st 2005) brought in a new contract where you do NOT need to have a landline to register & get Sky.  There is a one off fee of £25 if the box is not connected to a landline but after that you can move the box without them knowing it's been moved (if you're happy doing that.......)

So, for anyone who hasn't yet got Sky but does have a UK address the situation returns to what it used to be.  For those unfortunate enough to have been caught in the trap of phone line connections (think just the past 12 months or so) take the advice of horseygirl & pay double.