In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Notification by email is easily enabled in My Home though.

Only when you are aware of the option, the majority of forums get you to opt in/out during the registration process, and unless I missed it when I joined here I was not aware of it until someone pointed it out, and a tiny flashing envelope doesn't actually stand out that well.

@Saltank - hope it does the trick for you, no doubt you'll update the thread.

In reply to a post by izools:

Sky don't report to credit reference agencies so don't get intimidated by red letters whilst you wait for OTELO to resolve the complaint and get the account closed fee free.

If Sky don't report to credit reference agencies I wonder why my payment history with them is on my credit report??

One thing they do if they don't receive a payment after a default notice is terminate all your services a couple of weeks later until they receive the payment. With broadband you could end up having to pay a reconnection fee as well because you may end up with an inactive line.

In reply to a post by Saltank:

I did have my back up, which I managed to cancel through much pain and suffering (VM 100Mbit which wasn't fit for purpose was shut off last night)!

Not exactly a backup if it disappeared while you were still having problems. A fit-for-purpose backup would have been one that you didn't cancel *at all* until your Sky install was up & running, and proven working. Cancelling any time before this was a risk. Cheaper, certainly, but a risk.

I don't think it is Sky's fault much. Openreach seem to playing fast & loose with dealing with end-users on installs & upgrades - and seem to get away with it with impunity. EOI seems to be a label to hide behind sometimes, while the admin/information/escalation process seems so slow & cumbersome. It is worthy of a complaint to Ofcom.

What is more important to you right now? Phone or broadband?

If it is broadband, then a PAYG mobile dongle might be a good bet, or one of the MiFi-type devices. We have one for such backup moments, but useful when travelling or on holiday.

I'm in a bind because I don't know what will happen if I cancel this Sky Fibre order and try to go with another provider, if it gets pushed back even further than 7th January it will make matters even worse. So as I see it I'm kind of stuck with Sky?

I imagine that the problem will be worse - you'll get to another ISP who'll treat you as normal, and with no leverage to get priority. Meanwhile, the real culprits (Openreach) will just put you to the back of the queue again.

And if the line is already partially done, you might find that it already has some tags on it that make cancelling difficult too.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Otelo is now Ombudsman Services. Note, (as always with them and CICAS), the need for a deadlock letter or eight weeks following an impasse before they can intervene.

Sky don't report to credit reference agencies ....

?
I find that hard to believe. Do they state this in some legally binding format? Do they instead refer payment defaulters to debt-collection agencies, who do? Do they take payment defaulters to court, with the risk of costs and a CCJ?

Edit - I see you've added rather a lot while I was typing my queries .

There is nothing in the contract between the customer and sky giving sky permission to share data with credit reference agencies. Therefore for them to do so would be illegal (breach of data protection). At least this was the count when I was with them. That was a couple of years ago now, though.

I had both the Sky accounts I've had referred to debt collection agencies whilst complaints were outstanding - for months - of course after eight weeks on each I referred them to the ombudsman.

There will be little doubt sky wont' have resolved the issues within eight weeks if my experiences are anything to go by.

Throughout all of this no data whatsoever appeared on any of my credit files with Equifax, Experian, and Call credit, despite the accounts being in hand with debt collection agencies.

Once you write to a DCA advising them that the balance is disputed and a complaint outstanding they cease action. Besides, whilst they may threaten it utility providers don't take such small balances to court. Not in my experience anyway.

Edited by deleted (Sun 16-Dec-12 16:14:54)

In reply to a post by simon194:

In reply to a post by izools:

Sky don't report to credit reference agencies so don't get intimidated by red letters whilst you wait for OTELO to resolve the complaint and get the account closed fee free.

If Sky don't report to credit reference agencies I wonder why my payment history with them is on my credit report??

One thing they do if they don't receive a payment after a default notice is terminate all your services a couple of weeks later until they receive the payment. With broadband you could end up having to pay a reconnection fee as well because you may end up with an inactive line.

Disconnection of services from Sky is irrelevant when you've transferred the services elsewhere.

When did Sky start reporting to credit reference agencies then? Have they changed their contract terms? No data relating to any of the Sky accounts I've held has ever appeared on my credit files and still doesn't to date. Are you sure it's data about your Sky account?

Besides, reporting a balance that is under dispute to a credit reference agency is a breach of data protection and tantamount to defamation of character.

I had VM erroneously report a default on my credit file for an account I had to dispute and this was, after settlement of my formal written complaint, expunged in its entirety and they gave me £250 for the trouble.

In reply to a post by izools:

In reply to a post by Saltank:

Read a lot of the feedback/complaints on here about installing "Infinity", and it has cemented by decision to switch back to BT for my phone a couple of years ago, then not long after ...... Broadband as well. So when I got the message a couple of weeks ago that we were being upgraded to BT Infinity, I was well pleased, as it was a couple of months earlier than they first indicated. Strangely enough the BT engineer made all the same noises I've read about on here, then changed tack and announced that no matter what problems he encountered, he would pull out all the stops to get me connected, and would install the Infinity box where I wanted it. I don't know if it was anything to do with that fact that I support the same football team as him
One thing threw me though, as I now have my existing black hub sitting on top of a new cream coloured Infinity box, when I thought my old hub was being replaced with one new hub/box or whatever. Also, someone has really screwed up with the design of the new box, as the four named connections "phone, DSL, LAN1 & LAN2 lights" and the BT Openreach logo are upside down. To correct this you would have to have all the wires going in to the back of it trailing over the front of your desk, table, or whatever surface you have it on ..................... Doh!
Down to the nitty gritty, my download/upload readings have rocketed from:
08/12/12 01:28Sat 15874 Kbps 896 Kbps Home DSL
to:- 14/12/12 16:24 Fri 36437 Kbps 8043 Kbps Home DSL

However, the live streaming quality has not improved any where near 100%

@izools
Your experience is interesting and useful . However:-

In reply to a post by izools:

Once you write to a DCA advising them that the balance is disputed and a complaint outstanding they cease action.

isn't quite the same thing as

Sky don't report to credit reference agencies so don't get intimidated by red letters whilst you wait for OTELO to resolve the complaint and get the account closed fee free.

which is what really worried me about your advice to the poster.

Besides, whilst they may threaten it utility providers don't take such small balances to court. Not in my experience anyway.

Ummm, maybe.

In reply to a post by shrimper1:

One thing threw me though, as I now have my existing black hub sitting on top of a new cream coloured Infinity box, when I thought my old hub was being replaced with one new hub/box or whatever. Also, someone has really screwed up with the design of the new box, as the four named connections "phone, DSL, LAN1 & LAN2 lights" and the BT Openreach logo are upside down. To correct this you would have to have all the wires going in to the back of it trailing over the front of your desk, table, or whatever surface you have it on ..................... Doh!

It's primarily designed to be wall mounted, then the cables come out the bottom and the writing is the correct way up

Nor is there any such thing as an "Infinity box". (Maybe the Home Hub could be called that ). Looks like another poor person whose been misled by the BT TV adverts, and doesn't realise FTTC is available from nearly all other ISPs as well.

Just for the record, I'm neither poor or misled, I've tried most of the others and decided to keep with the ISP who provides the infrastructure - still I suppose you will pick holes in that!