Just received a "free" TalkTalk YouView box.

Hi

Today I got a parcel, I had no idea what it is and wasn't expecting anything. Opened it up and it was a TalkTalk YouView box and I was thinking to my self I haven't ordered this.

The letter that came with it said it was free and no contract commitment but I would like to clarify is it actually free and are there any catches? It says not but you know what these companies are like.

Will I have to sing up for the TV service, or will my bill randomly start shooting up 12 months down the line?

Please could someone give me some clarification if this actually a "free gift" or are they going to lock me into a contract and put my bill up when or if I turn it on?

I've looked on the TalkTalk site with the link they put but not sure whether to believe what it is they say.
Thanks

there is no such think as a free lunch. You are either paying for this now and do not know it or.... if you activate, you will pay something extra per month

I guess they are hoping that you will use 'movies/sport/music..." on demand paid content

Or perhaps Talktalk want to launch a fancy new Youview box, and they have a ton of old ones they want to get rid of.

In a way you are right. what was the talktalk broadband essentials now comes with a free you view box. There was a price increase to this package last month. If you do not want the you view box you can downgrade your package to what talktalk call basic, however you loose the free evening and weekend calls which also come as part of the essentials package.

Edited by rego (Fri 09-May-14 22:27:33)

In reply to a post by Computerman142:

I've looked on the TalkTalk site with the link they put but not sure whether to believe what it is they say.

It really is no strings attached.
It's a very good bit of PR for them - it will get lots of publicity, win them brownie points, and generate free advertising.
And they will also hope that you will subscribe to the extra channels (some of which are really very good) or buy movies from the various sources.

What it offers you is:

7-day catch up on TV
pause and rewind live TV
Sky channels, Sports and Movies
Sky Store
NOW TV
TalkTalk Box Office
Japanese (JSTV), South African (kykNET) and Arabic TV Boosts
Star TV
Eros Now
PictureBox
Concert TV

What's not to like?

Edited by deleted (Sat 10-May-14 02:13:38)

Thank you,

I'm still not sure, surely there has to be some sort catch even if it small like iand said "there is no such think as a free lunch". I have emailed TalkTalk about it because when I logged into my account it said "You can keep all the best value benefits of your current package with the great low price of just £8.50 a month plus your standard line rental and get £5.00 off for 12 months on your existing SuperFast Fibre." There is also a button saying Add my free TV service on the splash page before I enter my account. Am I right in thinking that I am going to be charged an extra £8.50 on top of my package which costs the same as essentials TV?

Thanks

surely there has to be some sort of catch

No - there is absolutely no charge for the box and there will be no increase in your monthly payment.
If you want to use the extra channels (like Sky Movies for example) then there is a monthly charge - actually TalkTalk are quite good about this because you can opt in and opt out without long term committments.
Similarly if you want to watch a new release film you have to pay (and this is more expensive as you pay per film.)

But if you just use the box for watching the main on demand programmes there's nothing to pay.

I use a YouView box all the time as my main source of TV and strangely one of the things I love about it is the simple facility of pausing and rewinding live TV. Having got used to this I wouldn't want to be without it!

The price increase has already been notified and will take effect from 18th May, however if like myself as a partially sighted person who does not use TV and therefore the youview box is useless, you can downgrade your package to the simply broadband package and add a call package to your phone which is still one of the best deals around.

"I use a YouView box all the time as my main source of TV and strangely one of the things I love about it is the simple facility of pausing and rewinding live TV. Having got used to this I wouldn't want to be without it!"

Sorry to jump in here but the TT forum is full of people who say their box is a load of rubbish and because of that I have not taken the offer of a free box.
Yours is the first good report that I have read, do you have any problem with the box? i.e. slow to load and freezing etc.

If the you view is of no use or need then yes downgrading to simply is a good idea, but do watch out as there are no inclusive calls on the £3.50 simply package

Are you posting as someone keen to promote YouView or a genuine member of the public who just so happens to be a TalkTalk customer using their model of Youview box.

NOTE: The EssentialsTV YouView box is a pause/rewind only box, it does not have long term storage for shows.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

If the you view is of no use or need then yes downgrading to simply is a good idea, but do watch out as there are no inclusive calls on the £3.50 simply package

£5 anytime call boost takes SimplyBroadband to £8.50, same as Essentials TV. Essentials TV however only comes with evening & weekend calls, so if evening & weekend calls are the only requirement, Essentials TV might be the better option.

I can't find an evening & weekend calls boost for SimplyBroadband.

I decided to give it a go and if any thing happens with TalkTalk I will ring up them up.

Had a look on TalkTalk's my account, they think I don't have it so that's how we get it for free I guess. I may click the add my free TV service for the £5 discount for 12 months but not sure about the can keep all the benefits of your package for a price of £8.50 a month including line rental, I have asked TalkTalk for more info on that.

Anyway I've been playing around with it. I've noticed its a bit slow to load things but other than that its not to bad to say its "free".

In reply to a post by Computerman142:

I may click the add my free TV service for the £5 discount for 12 months but not sure about the can keep all the benefits of your package for a price of £8.50 a month including line rental, I have asked TalkTalk for more info on that.

Essentials TV is £8.50 excluding line rental.

Ah, yeah sorry my mistake

Yes AFAIK there is no evening and weekend call boost on the simply broadband package, however the £5 call add on does include unlimited anytime calls to most UK landline numbers, so where TV is of no importance it is still works out a really good deal.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Are you posting as someone keen to promote YouView or a genuine member of the public who just so happens to be a TalkTalk customer using their model of Youview box.

LoL

In reply to a post by rego:

Yes AFAIK there is no evening and weekend call boost on the simply broadband package, however the £5 call add on does include unlimited anytime calls to most UK landline numbers, so where TV is of no importance it is still works out a really good deal.

A friend just gone onto the Simply broadband and fibre and you are right there is no call package with it. she is not going to use the phone as she have Vonage, and she somehow got a 12 month contract out of them, i have no idea how.

She is not interested in the TV side, she been through this TVoIP thing before with BT vision and said never again. All she wants is a connection,

Hi Computerman,

The box is indeed free, with no catches, contract or limitations. Recently we have sent a number of custoemrs a comepltely free youview box wiht no change to your package or contract commitments. This is the "essentials" version of the Youview box so does not have an integral HDD for recording, but you can puase and rewind live TV, in addition to the catch up/on demand services without any subscription.

You can find more information on our online help site as to Whats Free and Whats Not on my Youview Box to make sure you avoid any charges, however the box will always prompt you if something is premium content and prompt you to enter your pin to confirm you accept charges (such as one off film rentals or the addition of any boost content)

If you do have any toher questions feel free to join the TalkTalk Community where the Online Community Executives can answer any questions you may have.

Cheers

Mark
Online Community Department
TalkTalk

Unlike so many other ISP's Talktalk give the same deals to existing customers as to new ones. So if you are out of contract you can get the same deal as a new customer.

Well I have been using the youview box for a a week or two now. But today it has decided to give up the ghost, it no longer turns on. So back to freeview, its so much faster to navigate than the youview I prefer it, so I think its of to the recycling centre for the youview box, if TalkTalk supports sees this i'm not interested in a new one.