Tags: Scams
Phone Spam from Satellite Direct UK
November 23rd, 2006, by Rich.
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I just got another call from Satellite Direct UK telling me that my Sky warranty needs renewing. Oddly enough, nothing has changed since their last call. We are still registered with the TPS so it’s unlawful for them to phone us and we still don’t have a Sky box, so it’s definitely not out of it’s warranty period, which they again suggested. Satellite Direct UK you are not morons: stop ignoring the TPS.
Update: Looks like we’re not the only recipients of their unwanted sales calls: Longrider (also called twice) points out a host of others.
Update: Satellite Direct UK’s business practices have subsequently been successfully challenged in the High Court by BSkyB.
Update 2008/03/10: Satellite Direct UK are investigated by BBC Watchdog (it’s available on iPlayer for 1 week after broadcast).
Update 2008/07/05: The director of Satellite Direct UK appears to have been charged with fraud and money laundering.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:55 am
The Guy who commented under “nocomment” your a fool.
Firstly you made a comment, secondly the company you work for is not 49% owned by Mr Satlink, he has 51% of his own company own by Satellite Direct and he has nothing to do with Satellite Direct behind the scenes.
As for Fraser. Your also a fool. Anyone who thinks sending an email is an effect form of complaint needs there head testing. Yes your all being conned but nothing can be done about it through your banter cos they will get away with it.
April 5th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Well I say that we all go to Watchdog aswell as Trading Standards, these people need to be exposed. I Got a call from someone at ‘Satcover’ which is another one of David Reynolds’ companies and they asked for my husband, well the box has always been in my name along with the Sky account. After several calls from the same person my husband then threatened the call centre person and he then became really aggressive and threatened to call back numerous times until we excepted the warranty!! And we have never had a warranty so I doubt very much if it has expired!
I know a great deal about this company as I used to work for them unfortunately before I wised up about their practices and left running! Everything said on this website is absolutely bang-on! They are sharks and I was calling people at home on occation in areas of the country where I knew our engineers didn’t cover and I was encouraged/ordered ‘to get the money’ and tie up the deal and on occation had a disabled man who possitively relied on his TV to stop him going crazy and took out the cover out total panic at the thought of his system breaking down when I knew damn well that an engineer would never go to him as it was in an area we didn’t cover, I refused after asking whether or not we covered that area and then was ordered to do it or else! I couldn’t cope with it and I told the guy not to take it out. The man later called me back to say that he already had cover from Sky! I left shortly after! THIS COMPANY HAS TO BE STOPPED!
April 5th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
I have to say another thing actually…This company is also breaching data protection aswell as every customer who has signed up to the warranty has their credit card details taken down on a small form along with contact details, address etc and it is then stored in leaver arch files and stored in the office aternity, unlocked and uncovered…..mmmm what a field day for robbers and identity fraudsters shouldn’t someone know about that?
April 6th, 2007 at 1:10 am
In reply to kathryn’s post of around a month ago. Satellite assured are a company set up purely to take money from people without providing any sort of service. The phone number they tend to give out generally goes to an answering machine of some sort. I have, as have some others in this discussion worked for Satellite Direct UK and although their service, when originally set up, was not adequate by any stretch of the imagination, the cover that they provide today is. They are a business, however. One which may be very frustrating and disorganised at times but one that does, after many years of trying, manage to offer a service to its customers.
April 9th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
We moved house 9 months ago and cancelled the sky contract that was in my name.
At the new address, in July 06, we took out a new subscription with Sky in my wifes name which they failed miserably to spell.
We just got a letter today that was redirected from the old address from Satellite Direct - it was addressed to my wife who never had a sky sub at the old address !
They must have a mix of maybe Sky lists and some other type of list - the wife did buy a couple of decent televisions in her name at the old house so maybe the TVL people are selling lists.
April 9th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
seems they have a new number on the letters too - 08702 437 694
April 12th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I think that you will find in most cases that Satellite Direct are not ignoring TPS. There is a very easy was for companies to call peple on TPS legally and the people on TPS don’t realise they have opt-in to receive acall from them. There are lifestyle companies that can call people on TPS to conduct surveys for compaies like Satellite Direct, if you complete one the named sponsors can call you even if you are on TPS as you are opt-in by the company conducting the survey. As the survey company are not selling you anythng they are allowed to call people on TPS. Also satellite direct may have purchased your detials from a data supplier who told them that the “cold” list had been TPS checked, this is not always done when it should have been. So not Satellite directs fault as it is the data supplier who is not allowed to sell non-optin (TPS/MPS/FPS/etc) data to companies. I don’t work for the said company, just don’t like to see the finger pointed at the wrong people!
April 12th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Relationship with “Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Ltd”? Satellite Direct is buying their customer database!
April 19th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
All TPS people must understand that the block has to be on their end of the line, what happens with the call agents is that they call the number on their screens nothing else is shown, if it is a TPS number they get a tone saying “this number does not accept incoming calls” if you are still getting problems with companies, you need to ring the TPS line and you need to make sure your block is there!
April 21st, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Following a phone call from DSWCL in January I took out a warranty, paid by credit card, thinking it was Sky. Got no paperwork, had no contact details. Credit card statement arrived, i realised my mistake, searched internet, found contact details. After 3 letters i have recieved £24.99 refund from Nationwide Digital Satellitte Warranty services. They have deducted £35 admin charge because i didn’t cancel within 7 days! I have written again and again told them I was given no contact details over the phone and had to find them myself after my credit card statement arrived. I await their reply.