Tags: Scams
Junk Mail from Satellite Direct UK
November 29th, 2006, by Rich.
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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.
July 16th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Am at present insured with Domestic & General,which expires next month. So did complete a form to switch to Satellite Direct as they seems only to deal with satellite systems.I have received two letters from them, but they don’t say what to do if you have to make a claim.
However I thought I would check the Web before sending the form back, pleased I did and will stay with Domestic & General.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
After deciding not to contact Satellite Direct I phoned Domestic & General. They quoted me £135 for 1 year which only covers the Sky+ box. This seems very high as my son says he can buy a Sky+ box for less than that. Does anyone know of a cheaper way to insure the box & cover for all other eventualities? Also how do I let TPS know about any unwarranted phone calls?
August 14th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Hi all!
I came across this site after Googling a company who spam-called me today - “The Wheelie Bin & Window Cleaning Co”. Interestingly I’ve also been plagued by SD in the past, despite being TPS and MPS registered. As they’re based in Brighton too it seems they may be expanding the enterprise!
September 11th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
WARNING….. yes it’s a scam but people calling from 08702 402 473 are somewhat more sinister, They are a data collection company and I understand they are working with such companies as HFO services (A Debt collector!!) based just outside London,
You can also expect some calls from India too with pigeon English trying to get Personal Data from you, Beware of other posts on this and other simalar websites that might try and use an old trick used by magicians to try and distract you from the root purpose - of their calls, Take it from me there’s alot of money in peoples personal data and debt collecting and they are using every dirty trick in the book and some new ones to try and get your personal data, just confirming your name and or possibly your date of birth might be all they need to confirm they have found you.
Debt’s they are chasing go back many years so if you have a little debt somewhere in your past consider very carefully when you pick up the phone what you say, it might be better to ask who’s calling first and why BEFORE you confirm your name, even so they could be lying to you off from the start so be careful if you have anything to hide.
If I’m talking rubbish, answer this question…. The telephone preferance service, the police, trading standards or BBC’s watchdog would have acted by now, think about it, they wouldn’t just let such a scam (if it were a scam) go on for over a year and a half now would they? no, they would have been shut down 16 months+ ago. they are a data collection company trying to trap you and get past debt’s paid. so be careful out there!
November 10th, 2007 at 11:50 am
November 16th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
In respect of No.41. Satellite Direct had started taking out of my bank account £9.00 in August, September, October and November without my permission. I did have a warranty paid up front for 2 years,which I presumed came from Sky. Has anybody else experienced this kind of thing?
November 18th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Satellite Direct have twice sent my mother a letter informing her that her satellite warranty has expired. Not only has she never had a staellite or Sky system but she has now been dead for three years.
These letters have caused great distress to my father.
Satellite Direct have failed to respond to my letter requesting information under the Data Protection Act and I have now referred the matter to Trading Standards
November 18th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
In response to comment 20 from a supposed employee it is no wonder that they cannot get their information right when they are clearly emotionally and mentally challenged and cannot even spell INDEPENDENT.
However, under the Data Protection Act 1998 you can write and request that your name and details are removed from their list. They must comply within 28 days.
November 18th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
An interesting quote from the Satellite Direct website
“Satellite Direct UK Ltd is the Uk’s largest independent provider of service agreements for digital satellite (Sky TV) systems. Satellite Direct UK Ltd is an independent company not connected to, or authorised by Sky to sell service agreements.
March 9th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
dodgey dave reynolds is on watchdog monday 10th march, should be interesting to see him squirm.