Junk Mail from Satellite Direct UK
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen complete mindless determination in the face of utterly overwhelming odds, but Satellite Direct have shown a lack of comprehension that is quite staggering in their recent marketing campaign. Today, they have raised the bar of ineptitude.
The Odds against Satellite Direct
The odds stacked up against Satellite Direct are not just high, they’re positively gargantuanly mind-bogglingly insurmountable; but this plucky little company won’t give up.
Satellite Direct want to sell us a warranty for our Sky satellite television receiver and they don’t give a stuff that we don’t own one.
It matters not a jot to them that we’ve never had one – why let a trifling little detail like that get in the way of a good marketing opportunity?
Disregarding Things
If you’re disregarding important things like checking that your victims potential customers have a need for your warranty then a few other forgetful moments won’t go amiss either, like forgetting to check if your victims potential customers are registered with the TPS.
We for example are registered with the TPS, so it’s unlawful, for Satellite Direct to call us and even try to sell us anything, but that’s not stopped them calling us twice (1,2) already, and comments are starting to arrive from others who have also been tele-spammed.
Satellite Direct Junk Mail
So if your tele-marking operations were facing repeated TPS complaints, what do you do?
Well I was most impressed today to hear from John Campbell whose 96 year old mum-in-law received a letter from Satellite Direct informing her that she too had an expired warranty on a Sky satellite receiver which has (like ours) never, ever, existed.
So that’s what Satellite Direct do, they switch to junk mail. We’re also registered with the Mailing Preference Service, so it’s also unlawful for Satellite Direct to directly send us junk mail.
It will therefore come as no surprise that we too have received a letter from Satellite Direct UK which opens:
The initial manufacturer’s warranty on your digital satellite (Sky TV) system has now expired and this leaves you open to expensive call out charges and repair costs should anything go wrong!
Profiting from Dishonesty?
If Satellite Direct can repeatedly badger us with this specious nonsense about the expiry of a warranty on a device which has never existed, then we must question how many real Sky customers are buying unnecessary warranties on machines that are still covered perfectly well by the original warranty?
Add todays letter to the call I received earlier this year telling me I’d won a flight to Turkey thanks to Data Partnership Solutions and One4Travel – which work in partnership with Satellite Direct UK and that makes four occasions when they’ve ignored the TPS and MPS and contacted us, then attempted to mislead us.
Countrywide that could scale up to a lot of unsolicited and unlawful telephone calls and junk mails, and a lot of unhappy customers.
Update: Satellite Direct UK’s business practices have subsequently been successfully challenged in the High Court by BSkyB.
197 Comments
I just checked the website stats for the last week and “Satellite Direct” or it’s close derivatives were the second most popular search term for people arriving here.
I think that what this company will claim if reported to TPS and MPS is
a) clearly mailing and phoning non-satellite users was an error, and one that could not be of any benefit to them.
b) the people they were supposed to be writing to are their and Sky’s customers. TPS and MPS does not stop a company writing to its customers, and it is just possible to argue that although the equipment came from Sky these people are the licensed agent of Sky for this product. TPS and MPS might find against them on this argument, but I doubt it.
Having talked to the jolly helpful Theresa from Sky (General Enquiries 08702 40 40 40) I’d be very surprised if it’s possible for Satellite Direct UK Ltd to get away with claiming they are acting on behalf of Sky, because they’re not.
Theresa stated that Satellite Direct UK Ltd are “not a sky approved company“.
What’s more she informed me that Sky employs Domestic and General to provide the “Sky repair protection plan” – more details are available by calling
08702 40 41 42and selecting option 3.That leaves option A (Satellite Direct are telephoning and mailing people by mistake), which is the excuse they gave when I notified the TPS after their first call.
This has to go down as one of the CRM howlers of the century so far. Given Rich’s background, I wonder what tips he’d like to give on how telcos should approach customer relationships?
Hi Dennis, I think the key word here in CRM is “Customer”.
So my tips are quite simple:
Think of the TPS and MPS (or their equivalent in other countries) as really fierce guard dogs with frightening teeth and red eyes. If you’re calling or mailing nationally or internationally, check if you’re breaking any of those laws before you go wasting money on a marketing campaign that might result in a nasty bite.
Use search tools to ensure your campaign is not going awry. On a daily basis plug a few key phrases into a search engines such as Google BlogSearch and Technorati – if there’s a spanner in the works this is a good way to spot it early – you can bet if one person blogs it, hundreds more are thinking it, and thousands read it, so if the experience described is true and honest, it’s bad publicity that will be around forever.
I used to work for satellite direct and they are a complete stitch up. They really use and abuse staff there. They are not professional at all! This company goes to whatever lengths to get customers and it is pathetic and desperate! No one should ever trust this company what so ever. I now work for a different company who are nothin’ like sat direct!!!
Hi Foxy, can you elaborate a little? Just saying “use and abuse” is a bit vague, and not fair on Satellite Direct. If you can discuss specific issues then we’re all ears. When you say they go to “whatever lengths to get customers” can you give examples beyond what we’ve seen ourselves?
Rich,
Sky themselves also make these calls, as I recently found out myself. (here )
That said, anyone, and I mean anyone, who buys anything from someone who calls them at home deserves no sympathy.
Interesting comment made by all
Actually Satellite Direct are an extremely professional and hard working company. They have built up from nothing and now offer a fantastic service. I say dont knock it until you try it. If you are registered with MPS/TPS then it may be that they have old data so you can always ask them to remove you from their mailing list. If somewhere like tesco sent you through mail that was offering you cheaper beans, wouldnt you just throw it in the bin!! I think its rather pathetic that you have nothing better to do than have rubbish conversations with random people over the internet, cant actually beleive Im entering into this with you myself!!! what an idiot
Hi Jane Doe (I’ve called you Jane Doe, because you’ve not provided a real name other than in your email address, which we never reveal).
Readers will be enchanted to know that the name Jane really supplied was “shut it”.
Jane, since you ask, I have plenty of more important things to do. That’s why I’m TPS and MPS registered!
QED.
When I get interrupted I write about it. If Satellite Direct UK Ltd hadn’t interrupted me on four separate occasions they’d not be getting all this negative coverage.
Your comment, and the Tesco example, misses the point entirely:
quote:
I’ll pass your comments on to my 87 year old Mum who was tricked into signing up with these shysters on the day she came out of hospital after having had a stroke which left her with expressive dysphasia.
I think the problem with all these telemarketing companies is that there are many companies who are willing to sell your details onto third parties, and who do not give a damn about what happens to that information. All those little boxes that you should tick to not get contacted are always in the small pro print, and who knows what so called ‘reputable’ companies are doing with our details if we do not tick these boxes. I also know that once you enter your details on the internet you are also opening a can of worms as regards to phone calls and letters. Satellite Direct UK are one of these third parties, they have obviously bought your details from a comany and then just endlessly try to sell you their product! but they are also doing something right because they just seem to be expanding! They must have some customers!!
I too just received the letter but my sky warranty has expired. Thought I would just check to see if it is genuine online, I won’t bother with it now.
I have just received one of these letters too in spite of being MPS registered. This bunch of morons just can’t get it through their thick skulls that I too don’t have satellite system! Their persistent automated calls, silent calls and telemarketing were bad enough so, having told them to never to contact me again by phone, I wrote to them and also reported them to the TPS. Until today’s letter I had heard nothing from them so assumed they had deleted my details. What gives them the idea that they are above the law?
I found a non 0870 number to call – 01243 867893 but the response hasn’t been encouraging so far. I’ve suggested to them that their continued unwanted contacting amounts to harassment in contravention of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 especially considering their previous infringements of the Telecommunications Act 1984. I’m waiting from a call back from their head office. I won’t hold my breath.
I received an unsolicited letter from Satellite Direct UK Ltd which started – “The initial manufacturer’s warranty on your digital satellite (Sky TV) system has now expired …”.
This is a blatant LIE.
I checked with Sky and they confirmed that my warranty had not run out at all. Indeed it had several months still to run.
In response to my question as to whether this company was appointed by Sky, Sky responded – “There are a number of independent warranty companies that legitimately provide products to protect digital satellite equipment. These companies and their products are not related to Sky or the Sky Repair Plan.”.
So there you have it. They are not part of Sky, they are not endorsed by Sky, they are just one of a number of independents.
But would you want to trade with a company, or appoint them your equipment maintainer, when the opening sentence on their correspondence is a blatant LIE.
I wouldn’t. Would you?
I to am/have been plagued by this company and I am a sky customer. My telephone number is XD and they ask for me by name, so they cannot say they called me in error. I tell them that I’m registered with TPS and I’ve report them and get a grovelling letter a week or two later, then 6 months down the line I get another phone call trying to extort money from me!!!
This company need to either be heavily fined or shutdown (the latter is preferred). It is my belief that sky initially give their customers details to them, I didn’t have any contact with SD until I called sky about my set top box being faulty and demanding a new one!
Is there legislation in place to stop companies like this????
Regardless of how Sky Digital touts for customers, has anybody actually used Sky Digital Ltd to repair their Sky+ system? What experiences have you had?
Well i actually work for this company, so let me explain a few things to you. Firstly, we are the largest INDEPENDANT warranty company in the uk, providing a fully comprehensive service to over 1 million customers, who may i add, have been very happy with our policy. Now, with regards to us ringing people on TPS, how hard is it to just say you are TPS and request for your details to be removed? They will be. You are all obviously sad old bastards that have nothing better to do than piss and moan about something that, to be fair, really is not that big a deal. I am just trying to do a job, so if we have made a mistake with your details, eg you dont have a sky system, just say it. Instead you all get so worked up about it and whinge about it on the net. All ive got left to say is get a bloody life you sad twats!
[EDITORIAL NOTE: This comment has been published in full and unedited. The email address from whence it came is a free webmail account so we have no certainty in the claim that this is an employee of Satellite Direct.]
There are two parts to Anon’s message.
Part One
Will Anon explain why Satellite Direct appears to be ignoring TPS and MPS lists and passing itself off as having a relationship with Sky and intimating an existing relationship with the people it calls?
Or will this just be an attempt to excuse these repeated transgressions?
Largest in the UK? Wow. I had no idea that misselling could be so lucrative. How many of those 1 million customers were deceived? How many of them would be happy if they realised they’ve entered into a contract under false pretenses?
If a company is going to call people in their homes then the company have to be prepared for what’s on the other end. People are not just sat on the sofa with nothing to do. They’re cooking dinner, looking after the baby, getting the kids ready for bed, they’re working at home, or they’ve on shift work all night and are trying to get some sleep during the day, or they’re an elderly lady who can be easily frightened into thinking she’s going to get a huge bill if her telly breaks, or any number of other things. The TPS exists so that these people don’t get interrupted.
Mistakes happen but after being called and mailed repeatedly by Satellite Direct I find it hard to believe that these are mistakes. If they really are mistakes, then why would (why should) we, the public, trust a company with a legal history that shows it misleading members of the public in order to gain their custom?
Just saying “I’m TPS registered” is not enough – doing that lessens the effectiveness of the TPS.
Lodging an official complaint with the TPS (which takes just 2 minutes) ensures that unprofessional marketing companies who ignore the lists will very quickly have a body of evidence showing repeated “errors”. If those error levels are outside of the national average then it becomes very obvious, very quickly, that the company is willfully ignoring the TPS lists.
Part Two
Psychology shows us that humans often revert to instinctive responses when cornered; here, the example is of playground name calling which has been resorted to as the disputant doesn’t have a coherent argument. The introduction of the insulting language is a perfect example of a fundamental attribution error.
So why is anon the (claimed) Satellite Direct employee flustered and worried?
Bingo. This is not a silly or insubstantial fear, this is someone protecting their livelihood. Anon, this is not about you.
This is about people who have asked that they not be interrupted on their private phone line when they’re living their private lives.
It’s about Satellite Direct being economical with the truth and passing itself off as having a relationship with Sky, Its about Satellite Direct apparently ignoring TPS and MPS lists. The former has been proved in court, the scale of the latter will only be apparent if people lodge a formal complaint rather than just putting the phone down and being annoyed at the interruption.
Worked up? I’ll come back to this point.
I write about things that happen to me, and surprise surprise, the short articles about Satellite Direct get lots of visits from people wondering who this company is that’s interrupted them in their home. Those that are not already TPS registered learn about the TPS, which is good.
“Worked up”; I said I’d come back to it. Psychologists call this projection, where one’s unwanted feelings and emotions are projected onto another.
We have lives, it’s our lives that are interrupted by Satellite Direct’s unwanted phone calls.
Well analysed, Rich.
I can only say that if this sad person who does not even admit to a name, ever came to my home, either by telephone or in person, he/she would be given short shrift and sent packing rather smartish, together with his/her baggage of attitudes.
Sadly he/she has missed the point that although you wrote the first posting on this subject, all the other people who have become involved came there because they had had their precious time interrupted and wasted by people such as ‘anon’.
Every phone call to a person who is NOT interested is a wasted opportunity to connect with somebody who DOES want the service on offer. Sounds like very poor business management to me
Yet again this bloody company have called me!!!! I believed it was down to the letter that I had received begging for my money. When the only reply they got from me was “Stop F**king Harassing me you Tw*ts”. I WAS SO WRONG!! Yet again they were after my money!! I swore at the agent then I called back to speak to a Manager. I spoke to a Lynn Rogers who was very apologetic, I explained to her that I had, had enough and that if they persisted I would take a court order out on them for Harassment or should I go to the Police for an ASBO? But I may just contact Watchdog and see what they can do! This Mickey Mouse Company needs to be wound up!! ASAP!! I am lead to believe currently BSKYB are trying to wind the Company up. PLEASE LET THIS BE THE CASE!
i used to work for sat direct and to tell you the truth the service they sell is actually better then sky can give you…
its a little company trying to take on a big one
it seams to be winning
Hey there Billy Bob, could you perhaps describe how and why you believe the services you sold on behalf of Satellite Direct are better than those offered by Sky?
I’m imagining that you may know the results of an independent survey which measures things like customer satisfaction, or average time to repair, or average cost per call-out, or… what? Naturally any (unlikely to materialise) positive survey data doesn’t negate the unlawful business practices of Satellite Direct that were successfully legally challenged by Sky; nor the telephone spam, nor the junk mail.
Or are you merely indulging in unintentionally biased speculation in order that you do not feel emotionally responsible for any of the repugnant behaviour of your former employer?
Winning? Pull the other one.
I have only just started work for Satellite Direct UK. Our charge for service warranty is £5.00 pm and is the same price for standard, sky+ or Sky HD boxes. If a fault is reported before 8.30am we aim to get a service engineer out the same day.
Sky’s warranty, called Sky Repair Protection Plan and run by Domestic and General costs £5.75 pm for standard boxes and £8.25pm for sky+. They aim to get an engineer out in 3 working days.
If you have no warranty then you can be liable to a callout charge which is I believe at least £65, plus the cost of replacement items.
I know which sounds the best to me!
“I know which sounds the best to me!” – Alan
I’m guessing it’s the Sky Repair Protection Plan.
On the face of it a saving of 75p per month (£10 per year) seems attractive, but why would anyone want a warranty from a morally bankrupt firm for a Sky box they don’t have?
I notice that the £10 per year saving reduces to £4 if the Sky contract is paid annually, so that’s 33p per month, or a smidge over 1p per day.
So the relative cost of a warranty and repair that is endorsed and authorised by Sky is 1p per day.
Now, when Sky say they’ll be on site within 3 days I’m inclined to believe them, I’m inclined to assume they’ll probably be faster than the 3 day maximum.
In contrast, when Satellite Direct say they’ll have an engineer on-site on the same day, why on earth should I trust them? The entire conversation has been initiated on the false premise that my non-existent sky satellite warranty has run out, and Satellite Direct have been found guilty of repeatedly misleading Sky’s customers in order to make a sale.
Sorry Alan, your new employer is neither a cute fluffy bunny, nor a knight in shining armor; it’s a company that’s been engaged in ropey business practices since 2002 (according to Sky’s legal representative). You can even read about Satellite Direct in the Guardian.
On Feb 12th 2007 (in 9 days time) Satellite Direct will return to court to find out what damages must be paid to BSkyB and it’s authorised partners for the “‘habitual or institutional passing off’, such that up to 80% of sales were immediately preceded by passing off [as Sky].” – Mr. Justice Briggs.
I think I’ll still choose Sky for my unnecessary warranty, mainly because they’ve not unlawfully telephoned me at home on several occasions, despite being informed every time that I’m TPS registered, and not sent me junk mail telling me my non-existent warranty on my non-existent sky box has just expired.
[Note: neither Alan not Billy Bob have provided official @SatelliteDirect email addresses so their claims of affiliation should be taken at face value. they probably do/did work for SD, because I can't imagine that anyone unrelated would want to be associated with the firm.]
I note your comments Rich. I am under no illusion about the morals of my employer. However, I have no intention of forcing anyone to buy a warranty they don’t want. As soon as someone says they are not interested, I apologise for disturbing them and remove their number from the database.
Personally, I think ALL extended warranties are a waste of money and have never bought one, but some people don’t agree and feel they are necessary. That is after all how Domestic & General make their money
I was/maybe tempted to sign up to this company. I notice your naming of the company has changed from Satelite Direct to Sky Digital….. Are you just following sheep ??/
Who has used them, are they professional, do they do a good job. Dave asked this and so far only an ex (why ex) employee has commented. I will hold back my cheque for a while. Also, who does do a good job at reasonable rates and can be trusted. If you are going to criticise then be constructive.
Hi Sam,
I’m not sure whose naming you’re referring to; can you point at something specific so I can clarify?
As for who does a good job… as I mentioned further up this page, personally, if I had a sky box, I’d choose a warranty and repair service that is endorsed and authorised by Sky, e.g. the Sky Repair Protection Plan.
Since you trust Sky to provide the hardware and run an entire television network, it’s not exactly a leap of faith to take out a warranty with them.
Hi Rich,
Still watching this take unfold from afar.
Any news on the return to court scheduled earlier this week? A cursory glance at the papers didn’t reveal anything, but Googling has never been my strong point.
And belated apologies to the person whose 81 year old mother I inadvertently ‘insulted’. She was obviously not the sort of person I was referring to, rather, those people who jump into agreements without doing the proper research. It is these people that allow these organisations to thrive.
Everyone should be a super-sceptic like me, obviously.
These —-holes have sent me two of their so called Sky Box Letters.But they have sent them under a mistaken surname IE Shenks not Shanks.The only People i have had dealings with that use this mistake are Bid up Price Drop TV Channels so I can only assume that these Channels have passed on my address plus the wrong surname to these tossers at Satellite Direct.
After reading these comments I think all should put this junk mail Directly in the bin. Or I suppose we could all send letters to the address at Imperium House containing cat shit with a small note saying that their firm is shit so try some more.
If you recall a few weeks ago i left a rather jibberishy reply stating how you were all sad twats wasting your time writing about something so booooring as warranty companies. Well i still work for them, and i really am hoping that one day i come across one of you moany old gits just to see who the ‘morally bankrupt’ really are.
Yes, without a doubt, it must be annoying for you having a phone call or a letter that you could so very easily discard, but next time you feel like abusing the call agent you are speaking to, take a second and think what their circumstances may be. I for one, am working there until August, which is when i will be off to join the Army, to serve this great nation of whiney stuck up snobs.
On either side of me i have to teenage mothers, who instead of living off benefits, have made the conscious decision to take responsibility for their childs’ lives. then we have an lovely old guy who was in the MET police for years and years. while serving, he was seriously injured and unable to work for a long time.
Luckily, there are jobs where you can sit on your arse all day, which he soon discovered. we also have a young man who fell through a skylite a few years ago, and, as nice a guy as he is, he will never be 100% again. all these people could easily sit at home spongeing off the government claiming YOUR tax money but instead theyve got jobs and theyre CONTRIBUTING.
Now i dont know which you would prefer us all to be doing, but if it was me i would happily have a phone call or unwanted letter rather than an extra 1000+ people basically pocketing my money in benefits. so next time you feel like ranting about how unfair it is that we so very severely inconvenienced you, or mispelt your name, or disturbed you from your book, whatever it is, just try and look at the bigger picture.
all these people you are calling tossers, the ones you actually speak to, are on the front line and have to take all the flack for the people higher up. the ones who are really to blame. suppose its good preparation for the army really.
Welcome back anon.
How could we possibly forget you? Remember, I stated in my previous reply, which I seem to need to reiterate, the article and comments are not about you, keep that in mind.
Why do you want to meet people you’ve described as sad twats, moany old gits and whiney stuck up snobs?
I take it you’re speaking unofficially when stating that communication from Satellite Direct is “without a doubt, annoying“.
This is in addition to all the calls to TPS registered customers which are unlawful.
This is also in addition to the calls which sought to intimate an existing contract with the call recipient when no such relationship existed.
Well said. There’s never any excuse for being rude.
However, you’re calling people in the middle of their favourite TV programme, in the middle of dinner, in the middle of having their health worker come round and take their blood pressure, in the middle of an argument, in the middle of making up after an argument and in fact, in the middle of absolutely anything except waiting patiently for your call.
If you’re going to be butting in to people’s private life unannounced, uninvited, and especially in cases where people are TPS registered do you really expect people to be pleased to hear from you?
What you’re actually going to defend is the nation’s right to govern itself and make it’s own laws.
You’re willing to risk your life to defend a nation, but reticent in putting your name to your opinions when you criticize those “whiney old gits” who are highlighting where your employer is ignoring the laws that you’re willing to die for.
You’re belittling your apparent noble intent. Personally I think it’s great that you’re commenting here, because it shows that you may, in fact, give a damn, but so far you’re failing see that criticism of Satellite Direct is not personal criticism.
People with limited life experience and limited opportunity to have gained qualifications (so far) who may not realize that their company is acting unlawfully. The kind of people who are not in a position to tell an employer when they’re behaving badly because they actually need their job.
How does he feel about the recent legal case?
Good for them, just as this is not about you, it’s not about them.
It’s the thin edge of the wedge. First it’s one call, then 2, then 5, then more, lots more.
The telephone is not a marketing channel for misuse by companies like Satellite Direct; it’s a private and personal communications device. Readers will be acutely aware that you understand and protect your own privacy, “anon”, they’re just doing the same.
I’ve covered the letter issue previously.
If, as Mr Shanks did above, the accusation is leveled that Satellite Direct are “tossers”, then you must consider whether it is directed at you personally, or at the management and directors who profit from the misrepresentation described in the recent legal case.
You must decide if you feel responsible or if it is all the fault of “people higher up [who] are really to blame” because they told you to do it.
Quite the opposite. It is your duty to disobey an unlawful order and seek to clarify any order which you interpret as requiring you to act unlawfully.
You can plead ignorance when holding a telephone, but not when representing the nation and holding a gun.
Presumably, people in these call centres get payment linked to the successful outcome of their contacts?
If so, it would appear to be more beneficial to them to ensure that the laws are being complied with.
They might perhaps, try only contacting people who have a need of the service offered (eg who actually have a satellite TV)?…. Otherwise the call will result in a nil return, not to mention a possible hostile response
In addition it would clearly be sensible not to contact those folks who have deliberately made specific attempts to avoid being disturbed,ie, those who have registered with the TPS, since these calls too will be extremely unwelcome.
Perhaps there is a “Suggestions Box” where Mr/Ms Anon works? Maybe these points could be put forward via that route? The result might mean a happier workforce optimising its success rate, better production for the ‘Company’ and a more peaceful time for all the TPS and non-satellite owning people in the UK?
Despite being MPS registered, a small amount of junk still gets through. Everyone should do what i do, rip the mail into small pieces and post it back to the company in the pre-paid envelope that usually accompanies the junk mail. I appreciate this will only cost the company a small amount for second class postage, but if everyone done it the costs would mount.
Sat Direct are obviously morally bankrupt in their marketing methods, and they are unlikely to change their habits. Hit them where you can, in their profit margin.
Has anybody used this company and what sort of service do they give? Perhaps its better than Sky t..
We received a letter, might we say of poor quality, today March 1st, 2007. We do not have ANY Sky equipment. Letter will be retained and passed onto Trading Standards. I suppose that they are supporting the Royal Mail.
My elderly father-in-law has ai ntem on his recent visa statement from Satellite Direct which he knows nothing about. Based on some of the comments on this blog I suspect he has been conned into calling them back and been charged a fortune for the call. Has anyone any experience of this and how to deal with it?
Can anyone please tell me, or have any idea, where Satellite Direct gets bank account details from? Also, has anyone else been promised paperwork and never received it?
I too foolishly took out a warranty over the phone (misled into thinking it was Sky). Thought no more of it til credit card bill arrived 2 weeks later and I realised it wasn’t sky. I checked and sky warranty also had 2 months left to run. Thankfully I was able to trace company details via website forums as I have recieved NO paperwork. Rang company and was given a warranty number and told to write to a Kirkby address to cancel. I have and have had no reply and still got no paperwork. Will try writing to registered office in london. Does anyone know if companies have to give a cooling off period? As I recieved no paperwork and no was given no contact number when I was originally called I had no way of cancelling the warranty.
I have a policy with Satellite direct and have had to use their services in January and they were called around 9am and an engineer was here about 2pm. When I was with Sky it 4days to get an engineer out. My 83 year old father in law received a letter advising him his warranty had expired which it had and I advised him to take out the policy. He did and had to call them out and they also came within 4hrs. The engineer who came to us was polite and knew his job. If I had to choose again who to take warranty with I would certainly it out with a company who keep their promise. Why knock a company that gives such a good service. I am registered also with the TPS and can say that I receive more phone calls than enough from credit card companies. Insurance companies and yet have only had 1 call from Satellite Direct in 2years.
Has this company got it right and just offering a good service at a reasonable price? Were they taken to court by Sky because they were losing customers to them?
When I took out my policy 2 years ago over the telephone I knew it was not with Sky and I have been very satisfied with the service and would recommend them to anyone.
Hi Terry,
I must say I find your message awfully curious, and I must apologize in advance if you left it in good faith but I cannot help but distrust your motives – after all, why are you reading this? What caused you to go looking for a website that happens to mention a company that you say provides you with a warranty?
You seem to have missed (or perhaps willfully ignored) the point entirely. It does not matter to me how good the repair folk are. I don’t need them. I’m not a Sky customer; never have been. My warranty has not run out because I have never had a warranty.
Satellite Direct are irrelevant to me.
I think it’s apparent that the “knocks” received by Satellite Direct are due to their repeatedly ignoring the TPS and MPS, and as was proven in court, their “habitual passing-off” and “misrepresentation”; and the realization by several people that (a) they may have been duped into buying a warranty from a company who they thought was an approved Sky associate or (b) that they may have bought an unnecessary warranty.
Why did you register with the TPS? I’ll answer that for you; it’s because you value your privacy.
Excusing Satellite Direct because they’re one of several companies who have called you over the last two years is akin to saying that if your house is burgled once, then it’s illegal, but if you get burgled several times then it’s OK because everybody does it.
Your position on this point is indefensible. You also appear to have confirmed that Satellite Direct also called you when you’re TPS registered – another TPS transgression?
Nope, they’ve got nothing right because they have no service they can offer me.
It’s the above point that really puts the nail in the “why do I distrust your motives” coffin; but to answer it…
No, they were taken to court by Sky because they “intended, through the marketing strategy put in place, to suggest a connection with Sky and intimate a current relationship with the customer to create a bond of trust.”
Not to me you can’t, for two reasons:
As I said, I find it curious that you’re commenting, and your (rather disappointingly argued) support for Satellite Direct appears entirely irrelevant – unless…
The last I heard of the court case, payment of court costs had been agreed upon, but damages were still to be considered, so perhaps you’re a shill for SD, hoping to sway the balance of evidence away from the oh-so-very-negative bias that the truth has caused.
OOOH OOOH I too USED (past tense)to work for this company and what you say ‘Anon’ is absolute rubbish and just the very fact that (myself an exception) he only employs single mothers on benefits from the Littlehampton and Bognor Regis area your language proves how uneducated his staff are . It’s dissapointing to know that his recruitment standards have not improved. That’s precisely why I left as it is only people with loose morals that wish to work for a company that’s perfectly happy to con people as long as they paid a nice amount for it and considering most staff members’ are not even on the ‘books’ i’d be very worried if I were you and the ‘tax man acometh’.
hahaha yea me again. i work there cos i am uneducated your right. i have no qualifications at all which is a shame cos i think im actually not that stupid. as for good wages i work monday to friday and get the shittest wage you could imagine. i am on the books though, so you were wrong about that. i read all the crap i wrote a few weeks back and i must have been high or drunk because it really is the bottom of the barrel! im just too scared to be unemployd again!!! help me boakes.org!
I recently received an unsolicited letter from Satellite Direct UK.
The letter tells me that my Digital satellite (Sky TV) warranty has expired and I am now open to “expensive call out charges and repair costs”. How strange this is as I have lived here for five years and have NEVER had SKY TV.To make matters worse my name was mis-spelt and on the reverse of the letter was a form that I was asked to fill in.If I obliged and filled in the form they would then have all my bank details.If Satellite Direct UK can do this to me and I have never had Sky tV then I urge all readers to beware.
hiya rich, remember me, i spoke with you last year i work for sky tech, i just thought i’d take a look in a see how you are getting on the extended warranty issue we talked about!!!! As i told you when we spoke this sat direct are shocking, and i am still getting people calling about a warranty that they don’t have with us, they have warranties with this company among otherwho are pretending to be working on behalf of sky! Are you still to date getting phone calls and letters?
Well there’s a thing. I too have received a scary warning from this bizarre company! Needless to say I do not and never wish to own a Sky digital TV box. Am I just being a tad cynical or are these people using the Electoral Roll as a source of potential victims?
Love the reply from anon employee-cool reasoned reply in perfect English? Hardly! Back to school anon-do not capitalise words you can’t spell!
Jimbo
Having read some of the comments about this company I’m a little concerned about my current position with them.
My warranty on my Sky Digi Box did expire last year so when I received a communication from Nationwide Digital Satellite Warranty Services Ltd, I was not particularly surprised. Having had a problem with my dish assembly some 12 months before and not having to pay anything, it appeared that a payment of £59.99 for a one year contract was good value. The timing also lead me to assume that they were official Sky operators. So I signed up using my credit card. The contract was sent to me and I followed the registration procedures. The contract expires on 28th October 2007.
Imagine my surprise when I received a letter during January from Satellite Direct stating that my warranty period had expired and inviting me to enter int a contractual agreement with the. I no longer have the letter but using their email address at the time I wrote expressing concern about their approach. Naturally I had no reply.
On 21st April I received my credit card statement and found a deduction of £59.99 had been made by Satellite Direct UK Ltd.
I contacted Nationwide Digital on their Southport number, surprisingly on Saturday afternoon. A lady confirmed that they had merged with Satellite Direct and that a number of former Nationwide customers had made the same complaint about unauthorized withdrawals and suggested I talk to the Arundel office of Satellite Direct.
I contacted them on Monday 23rd April and explained my problem to which they replied that there had indeed been several mistakes and that my card account would be credited immediately.
As I have found that after five days no such corrective action has taken place I looked up forums to see if there were any comments about these two companies. Surprise, surprise there a reams of letters on the subject.
At this stage I can only consider two words; SCAM and FRAUD.
Perhaps I am being unfair, but in the light of what I have read I feel I have just cause to be suspicious
My next port of call apart from further attempts by phone is likely to be Trading Standards.
Just a quick update.
I have spoken to Satellite Direct this morning and they now say they will credit my account in 2/3 working days. This warranted a retort that they only had to add another two days and they would match bank transaction times. They did however admit to actively competeing with Sky.
I also pointed out that they appeared to be unpopular in forums such as this.
My passing shot was to tell them that failure to fulfill their promise to me would result in the issue being passed to Trading Standards
Jeff, how did you get to speak to someone as every phone number I have tried has been either engaged or unanswered.
hello again the anon sat d worker here again ok here is something interesting for everyone; as a result of the injunction being slapped on sat d the company will no longer be ringing anyone or sending anyone letters! now i know your all thinking that this is a good thing, but its not. you will now be hounded by ‘satlink services’ an equally annoying company. in fact probably even worse, as there is no injunction in place on them so they can say absolutely anything they want to try an get your money! their data is also about 7 years old so when they do contact you it probably wont even be you they want to speak to! so heres how it worked. sat d gave all of its call agents their p45s on friday 23rd of march. on monday 26th they all signed contracts for satlink services. and so it begins…..
i understand that if there are enough complaints about a company they really will end up being shut down so please anyone with any compassion at all start complaining and lets get redundant!