Phone Spam from Satellite Direct UK
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.
Update 2009/04/27 Many people are commenting that Satellite Direct have charged them 10x their agreed direct debit amount. It has been suggested that HMCS MoneyClaim Website is a good place to get your money back if you can’t contact Satellite Direct.
Update 2010/02/24The former director of Satellite Direct UK, Dave Reynolds, has been found guilty of £600,000 tax fraud.
820 Comments
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?
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.
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.
seems they have a new number on the letters too – 08702 437 694
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!
Relationship with “Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Ltd”? Satellite Direct is buying their customer database!
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!
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.
I took out cover with a Digital Satellite Cover UK through a leaflet sent to me in feb this year. Paid £119.99 for sky plus box cover for 2 years. Had tel no of 0870 430903. recieved nothing since then and tel number doesnt work. Had to send leaflet with check…so now stuck..are they scam? Sky doesnt know them, directory enquries says there x directory, nothing on web!!!
I have been with this company since it started and have had no problems at all. So I can’t see where you are coming from. The phone number is correct and is answered almost at once,and you actually speak to a real person.
Hello H Shaw, Are you related to T Shaw who owns Digital Satellite Cover UK???
could you please give me the number for this company as the 2 numbers i have are disconnected
Which company? SatD? They’re closed, gone, kaput.
hiya, i work for sky technical, we do not give anyone’s details out to sat direct!!
We have a company called domestic and general who deal with extended warranties on behalf of sky we don’t endorse any other company to hold extended warranty for our customers. we would pref if you want to take out extended warranty that you take it out with D&G, the warranty is called the sky repair protection plan, the number for D&G is 08702 40 41 42! If you don’t takeout extended warranty, service calls are charged at a standard rate of £65 all parts and labour included this only comes as a last resort if we cannot fix the problem over the phone for you or if you have a continuous problem.
If you do take out the extended warranty with domestic and general, sky repair protection plan(srpp) it is a sky eng that is sent out not an sub contracted eng from domestic and general as happy worker suggested. When you call up D&G to book out an eng they create a ref number which is then given to us at sky and we book out our eng’s with that!!!
If anybody receives a phone call or a letter saying that your warranty is due to run out, check with sky or D&G (if you have extended warranty that is) first.
Umm… I have a (very nice) friend who was working (for very low wages) for Satcover and I can confirm that they have now moved around the corner to new premises and are operating as a wheelie-bin and window cleaning company http://www.windowandwheelie.co.uk instead…
Just got a call from
Satellite Services of Bognor Regis 0870 850 5628
po box 749
bognor regis
po21 9bg
see http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=476028&page=2&pp=25
also there seems to be other companies nearby (PO BOX Postcode for address is near to real address only last two digits changed)
anyone who gets bothered by this company should just take a look at this –> http://www.xs4all.nl/~egbg/counterscript.html
RIGHT EVERYONE I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU ALL!!! this is all bollocks
none of these companies are worth anything, if your sky breaks
then just ring them and tell them either they fix it or you
cancel.simple as that
The company a few doors down is Team Telecom they provide free 0870 numbers, automated telephone surveys and a call centre for incoming calls. I think you are right V this is in fact DPS trying to put people off the scent by registering their company at an accountants a few doors down in a building that they probably own and are renting out.
They have a number of websites take a look see for yourself
http://promovox.co.uk/
as you may or may not know sat cover is under investigation at the moment they also have a radio staion playradio uk all from one address and as no mail reches anyone at this address this is the only outlet to vent my frustration at there persistent phone calls
Satellite Assured Ltd have just charged us twice £60 and £65 in the same month for a service we did not ask for from them. There must be a link between them and Satellite Direct whom we do have a policy with. How else could they have got the bank details. This must be a scam. Does anyone know how it can be stopped? Surely there’s a government agency out there excited about catching people red-handed at theft!
Have you never thought that there is more than just one company??!! There are, that I know of because I work for one of them, at least 15 company’s in West Sussex alone offering warranty’s for Sky TV Boxes!!! make sure you always find out who yor dealing with, and always ask for the origninators ID Number and always take contact details!!!
I don’t have, nor have ever had Sky. Nor was I on the electoral role at my address & the phone was not in my name. I’d like to know how they got my details? Someone is selling personal details to this company they do not have permission to.
satellite assured scammed me out of £450 for a service they did not provide they told me on the phone I was covered for the whole system then when I got my certificate it states “we do not cover acts of god” which is storm damage so when my dish blew off the wall they wouldn’t repair it! SATELLITE ASSURED LTD ARE A SCAM im with a company in Worthing who I eventualy phoned when i googled sky repairs they cam out the same day and replaced the dish and gave a free system health check.
I work for Satelitte Direct & have done since 2004. We recieve over 600 Service calls on a daily basis and 82% of those customers are seen by an engineer on the SAME DAY!
Satelitte Direct are part of the One4Group Corporation and the head office for all companies as at Imperium house, Ford Lane. Other offices for sales etc are based around Sussex including Brighton and Bognor. These companies include: Satilitte Direct, Wheelie Bin & Window Cleaning co., Data Partnership Solutions, VeHDa, One4Travel Ltd and Play Radio (Our online Radio Station)
All companies are legitimate and if anyone would like any informaton then please visit our website at http://www.satdirect.co.uk
Oly
Thanks for your post there Oly. I assume you mean http://www.SatelliteDirectUK.com and not satdirect.co.uk, which appears to be an unrelated company.
BTW, are those support figures corroborated by independent audit?
It saddens me to read some of these comments. Satellite Direct UK
LTD work hard to provide an excellent service for their customers.
Not only do they provide cover on all satellite equipment, they also
provide the same day service, which is not guaranteed by any other
satellite cover company. I work at the branch based in Ford in West
Sussex. Most of the people I work with have worked here for years. It is
a great place to work, great atmoshpere, and I believe that reflects
on our dedication to caring for our customers.
Hannah.
All our figures are generated by our internal monitoring system and we aim to reach over 80% of our call-outs on a same day service.
Thats the Warranty website Yes. Check out our Radio Website at playradiouk.com
OK, so… Oly’s just commented that 80% of callouts are seen by an engineer on the same day. Hannah’s just implied that Satellite Direct provide a guaranteed same day service. So 1-in-5 customers are not seen on the same day.
Given that the official Sky Repair Protection Plan guarantees an official Sky engineer on your doorstep within three working days for about the same price, I’d be more inclined to select them, if I had a satellite dish.
Thats Fine. Its personnal preference i guess buddy. Me & Hannah are at work now. 161 Service Calls since 9am. 65 Admin Calls. 3 Payments Calls. All spoken to within 30 seconds & all Engineer Requests have been booked. Same Day Service is not Guarunteed as phoning up at 7.30pm would require a next day service……thats where we lose our 100% Same Day Service figure.
I would be inclined to go with Satellite Direct as the “Sky” Engineer that came to our house in 2002 forced us to purchase a Brand New Box and said replacement was not included. Warranty was terminated on expiration……Thanks very much D&G.
Not sure where you got that 1 in 5 figure from?
Oly
100% of calls minus an 80% target equals 20% i.e. 1 in 5.
Thats good maths. 20% of our calls are received between 6pm-8pm (When people arrive from work) Peak period that one! They will be seen the next day so still not bad eh?
Also 1 in 5 would not be an accurate statement. 80% is our target and that gets met and exceeded each week. We have had it up in the 90% region on a regular basis too.
People in Africa wouldn’t even believe that we’re even bothering
debating about petty things like whether an engineer can get
to your house the same day or not. It just proves how greedy we
are. Its inspiring actually. It makes me want to go out there
and care about things that really DO matter.
Hannah The company I am with in Worthing provides a same day service and it covers my whole system they are also sky approved retailers and provide the cover for just £45 per year how much does your company charge?
I have contacted Sky regarding this company asking if they recommend Satelite Cover Direct uk Ltd and the agent tole me that they did not endorse that company and that as we are living on an island in the hebrides they would not cover us anyway regardless if we pay the direct debit. Also the DD was set up in Dec last year but it took them till this month to deduct payment, why?
I feel I should properly review Hannah’s thoughtful comment regarding “people in Africa [who] wouldn’t even believe that we’re even bothering debating about petty things like whether an engineer can get to your house the same day or not”.
Firstly I wonder which “people in Africa” we’re talking about. Africa is home to 13% of the worlds population, and happily not all of those people live in poverty due to crop failures, civil wars or poor leadership. So I assume that the people Hannah is referring to are those who don’t live secure lives in gated communities with armed response guaranteed within 120 seconds. Hannah’s point is (I think) that people in poverty, on the edge of starvation, would be surprised that she and Oly are defending their company’s shoddy and unlawful communication practices by highlighting the speed at which a Satellite Direct engineer will arrive onsite if called.
It’s a valiant, touching and bizarre twist of a defence. Satellite Direct may provide good service to it’s customers, but that’s irrelevant to the subject of my original article, which concerns the repeated spam I got from Satellite Direct, and the fact that these misleading communications have been proven in court to be dishonest.
Let’s take a huge leap forward and imagine for a moment that the populations in all African countries stabilise, and that law and democracy has prevailed in every African country and that people have clean water, and a good supply of food – because that’s the goal for those countries right?
What then? If a company comes along in Africa that ignores the laws that are created by and for the people, what happens? Should the people just ignore it? Or should they discuss it? Would representatives from that new company then join in the conversation and highlight that there are still people elsewhere that do not have a stable food source?
I had £110 taken from my bank account from satellite direct without them even talking to me. How they got my debit card details i do not know. I have already got an agreement for repairs to my sky box with another company called south coast satellite services , if it is part of the same firm i am not sure , but either way they have taken money without my authority.
I looked into the company and there’s no obvious link between them. If you have a phone number for South Coast Satellite Services Limited then try asking for Costas Peter Demosthenis or Antony Plunkett, who are the directors. I’m sure they’ll be able to help you out or put you on to somebody who can. If it helps, the company address is 93 ALDWICK ROAD, BOGNOR REGIS, WEST SUSSEX PO21 2NW
Following the recent injunction these guys have set themselves up again as a company called satsupport ltd so look out
Hi DJ,
Companies House does not corroborate your claim there, or at least, not directly. There is a company called “SAT SUPPORT LTD” which is based at 112-116 Western Road Brighton BN3 1DD, company number 06174353, incorporated 21/3/2007 – however, the directors are Clare Johnson and Tristan Glaves.
This is NOT Satallite Direct UK…
tried phoning south coast satellites sytems, no answer , phoned satellite direct, was told that they had taken over southcoasts
data base and should have been told that they had ceased
trading and i should go to bank for return of money taken, no
joy with bank as it was not taken via direct debit was given
load of waffle by satellite direct but eventually they agreed
to return my money, but it still appears that i have lost my
original £120 paid to southcoast sat systems, unless any else knows ihow i could recover it?
Hi – I received a call from Satellite Direct and coincidentally enough my warranties had expired on my two Sky+ boxed. I thought I would give it a go. Then one of my boxes went wrong so I gave them a call. An engineer was offered for the next day but I scheduled the call for the following week. The engineer arrived when he said he would and was polite and informative. He could not fix the probably so instantly replaced the sky+ box and everything worked perfectly. I know these calls can be annoying but in my case it was a blessing. Sky has to accept that there is competition out there. No £65 call out and two Sky+ boxes covered for £100 for a year – CANT BE ALL BAD
I shouldnt really say this, as I work for Satallite Direct UK, but ourselves and D&G are te only 2 company’s that actually provide a good service!!
I have just recieved yet another letter this morning from Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Ltd, this is after being assured time and time again by the people at Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Ltd, that all my details have been removed from their system.
Hrrrm I think they may be telling a porky or two.
I have lost track of the number of “Urgent†letters that have been sent to me in both white & manilla envelopes, wanting my credit or debit card details. “NOT ON YOUR NELLYâ€, this Company shows all the outward signs of a dodgy and untrustworthy company, and acts more like an agressive bailiff, than a SKY Warranty company.
Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Ltd, where did you get my details, was it from SKY’s James Murduoch? It wasn’t from me! Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Ltd is no part of and is nothing to do with SKY, so don’t be fooled by their “Urgent†letters.
If my warranty has run out with SKY, and my epuipment should fail, then I would just close my contract, and open a new one, with new equipment, and recycle the old! No need for unscrupulous conmen.
S W, London WC1
i used to work for satellite direct and they are the most unprofessional company i have ever worked for. the managers sit on the computers all day listening and downloading music, they have no management skills at all. one manager there who i wont name thinks she can talk to people like crap all the time and you get disciplinary just for being off break late. the company send letters out to everyone who is on there data base and they don’t know if your warranty has expired they just know that you have sky, so for all you know they could be covering you twice. just to let u know they have changed there name again for the seventh time to satlink services.
a month ago i cancelled sky package. today, 18-05-07, sattalite direct, took £110-00 out of my account for, next years insurance !!!!!!!!
yours sincerly. mr. a. monaghan
I have been hit by their service plan scam, but have you seen their new flyer for the VEHDA Isis box. This claims to scale up any content, DVD, TV or game and convert it to HD. Surely that is impossible and tradng standards should be all over for that claim. If the screen is not 1920 x 1080 it cannot show HD!!
Thank you Rich for your fantastic comments, fancy meeting up and chatting about this in person?
Thanks, but no thanks, time is too short.
Listen rich the thing that concerns me, is that you have got a hell of alot
time on your hands, quick question have you got a job or are you just some
sad loner who’s got nothin else to do. If your wondering why i’m being hostile towards towards yourself is because i work for digital satellite warrnty services,
based KIRKBY not kirby which is located in Liverpool, and have done for the
last 2 years. Now not only is it a great working enviroment but i know we
offer a 24hr call out service because i go out which the engineers on spot
checks also hannah e-mail
me pmaisgood@yahoo.co.uk i like the way how you think
It should come as no shock to you (pmaisgood) to learn that I’m entirely unenthused about the service your employer offers, because I don’t have a sky box.
Your employer was introduced into this discussion by people who described similar business practices to those pursued by Satellite Direct, and I have highlighted that they are not the same company. Subsequently somebody called willy pointed out that DSWC appear to be linked to previous misleading advertising, according to the Office of Fair Trading. It was also suggested, but not corroborated, that SD may be buying DSWC’s customer database.
I’ve not noticed you being “hostile towards” me, but I cannot help but be disappointed that you’ve not taken the opportunity to present a positive face of the company you claim to represent, rather than the threat you leveled at G.M.Campiont who has only described a desire to retrieve his money by visiting a company premises.
Perhaps you’d like to take this opportunity to redress the balance, and clarify any uncertainty regarding any speculated business relationship between the companies.
Have just had £110 taken form credit card by Satellite Direct but have never had any contact with them. However my husband did sign up to South Coast Satellite in Bognor Regis. It looks like we have been had. Does anyone have a phone number for satellite direct so I can try and get my money back.
Satellite Direct are in the process of buying up several companies who offer cover on sky equipment. I have worked for Satellite Direct since day one as a service engineer, its the best cmpany I have worked for including several years with Sky.
Satellite Direct, Satcover, Satellite Assured, Digital Services, Nationwide Digital Services South Coast Satellite(Dave Reynolds) are all one of the same and they are supported by Data Partnership who supplies your details.Once they get your credit card details by pretending they are SKY they are free to deduct money as and when .Then you have to try and get it back!!!!!
my company is still trying to get from SCSS the service charge for a job carried out on behalf of them on the 23rd January for a customer of theirs, they have eventually sent a cheque dated 13/04/2007 which has subsequently been returned with “REFER TO DRAWER” emblazoned upon it.