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Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:55 pm
by notorial dissent
Unless Sky is different from any of the other carriers I have worked/dealt with, they measure their success by the number of subscribers they have and very carefully don't tell you how many delinquent, collection, and write off accounts they have. And yes they will sometimes do some very stupid things to keep the numbers up, up to and including all but giving the service away, but the department that does, retention, that is not the same as the one trying get the money, collections, and they are rated by how many customers they retain, not what it is costing the company to do so. And ouch but that bill is high.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:04 pm
by NYGman
Works once, maybe twice, but it will stop at some point. They do record these and review there next time. Let's see how long they can actually go without paying.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:11 pm
by Firthy2002
Some people got second chances at winback deals. I never figured out the criteria.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:22 pm
by NYGman
I do call the NYT everytime my subscription is about to drop the last special offer they gave me, in order to get a new deal. Been doing it for years without issue. Will be calling Time Warner Cable soon too, as my 1yr term is ending shortly. I am sure like the NYT they will also give me a new deal. However difference is, I do pay every month, and an on time. They have good reason to want to keep me, and I have nothing to lose offering to cancel if no discount is on offer. This isn't limited to these two, I have also done it with my electric supply company, and others.

Well worth doing, but again only if you pay. I just hope these morons don't ruin it for the rest of us

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:14 am
by notorial dissent
They are supposed to record all this in the acct notes, and I suspect they do, but that doesn't mean the retention people look or care, what concerns them is "saves" that is what counts for them, which means they really don't care if you go away after they "save" you as long as they get the points for the save. Not a very bright system, but that is pretty much how it works.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:57 am
by TheNewSaint
In my current low-end cube-dweller job, I sit next to the retention team, and that's exactly the situation. They are tasked with preventing cancels, and have considerable leeway. Most of them give away free stuff like it's The Price is Right. So it's plausible that someone found a retention exploit.

Especially if Sky is losing as much business as cable companies in the US are right now. They're getting killed by the streaming services. ESPN is the only thing keeping the cable industry alive.

Though I still find it hard to believe they would go beyond debt forgiveness (the wipe "200%" of existing debt" mentioned in the screenshot) to save a chronic past-due account. Unless that reflects the value of a free month, waiving re-activation fees, or some such thing that doesn't really cost the company anything.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:07 am
by NYGman
I guess that's the thing. Costs have already been expended. The equipment is installed and the infrastructure is already up. There is little cost to them, to reactivate, and some will undoubtedly pay again. Others will scam them as long possible, before finding another provider and repeating.

I left TwC years ago, due to a billing dispute. They had overcharged me and I had refused to pay. Not to sound like a FMOTL but I was right, they were wrong, and it was about $27, there was no way I was paying, it was not right. That, and their customer service were just rude to me, and didn't get what I was telling them. They threatened to turn me off, to make me pay, so I just switched providers and never looked back, until I moved that is, and put TwC in my wife's name to avoid any potential problem, even thought it had been over 10 years by that point. So there are always options, you could cycle through them all, and that could take some time.

I will add, no impact to my credit report from this...

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 2:48 pm
by TheNewSaint
NYGman wrote:I guess that's the thing. Costs have already been expended. The equipment is installed and the infrastructure is already up. There is little cost to them, to reactivate, and some will undoubtedly pay again.
The thinking is that it's far easier to keep an existing customer than get a new one. This is probably true, but I think there are two flaws in this argument:

First, some customers aren't worth keeping. Ones that don't pay, constantly demand special treatment, or are otherwise a pain in the ass, should not receive retention offers. Companies should have better internal information sharing along these lines. Retention efforts should be judged on quality, not quantity.

Second, if a good customer wants to cancel, it's already too late. Good customers don't cancel over small differences in costs, but because the product failed them over a long period of time. Throwing a few dollars at them, using what are basically high-pressure sales tactics, annoys the customer and does not address the real problem. Even if you keep them, they're still a cancel waiting to happen.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 3:56 pm
by daveBeeston
Im one of the community Oracles on the Sky help forum and you get some people openly asking how to get out of paying on the official Sky forum, and then they react with insults/accusations/threats when we tell to pay what they owe.

Currently the gripe of the month is people having to pay to upgrade to Sky Q and asking how they can get out of paying for it by way of threatening Sky that they will leave, its having no effect and Sky are accepting the cancellations instead of offering deals to stay, which is leading to complaints that Sky have accepted the cancellation.

Some people just want something/everything for free and you'll never change that mentality in them.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 5:55 pm
by notorial dissent
As I remember from the bad old days, two of the ways they valued a cable/satellite company was by the number of subscribers and by the number of "new" subscribers per quarter, and trust me when I say those were probably as close to made up numbers as their very creative accountants could manage. Which isn't to say they were moderately accurate, but didn't really reflect the true picture when you figure in the promos, rebates, not really freebies, and other things they used to inflate their numbers. I can't really imagine it has changed much.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 5:59 pm
by mufc1959
I've been a Sky customer for over 20 years - no cable where I live - and what really irks me is that there are a ton of incentives for new customers, but nothing for loyal customers. It would be such a small thing for Sky to say, okay, as you've been loyal to us for so long, you can have Sky Sports free for a year.

I'm seriously thinking of moving to Now TV. (Yes, I know it's owned by Sky, but I can get most of what I like to watch on the Now channels, I think.)

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 6:06 pm
by notorial dissent
First universal rule of companies like this, they don't care a jot about existing customers. It is a fact of life. Which is to say they don't care until you threaten to quit or go elsewhere, then all of a sudden they are generally very attentive.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 6:10 pm
by TheNewSaint
mufc1959 wrote:what really irks me is that there are a ton of incentives for new customers, but nothing for loyal customers.
If anything, it's the opposite. Companies seem to gouge the loyal customers. I just noticed my long-time high speed internet provider has been steadily ratcheting up my fees, to the point where I could save significant money by switching to a competitor.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 6:52 pm
by NYGman
TheNewSaint wrote:
mufc1959 wrote:what really irks me is that there are a ton of incentives for new customers, but nothing for loyal customers.
If anything, it's the opposite. Companies seem to gouge the loyal customers. I just noticed my long-time high speed internet provider has been steadily ratcheting up my fees, to the point where I could save significant money by switching to a competitor.
Tell them that, and most of the time they will give you the current deal or special offer, at least that has been my experience. Sometimes even within the contract period too.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 10:25 pm
by longdog
What I really don't get is why anybody would pay anybody anything for Sky TV... Or any TV for that matter but particularly Sky.

I've not had a TV for over a decade and don't miss it at all. I do like some TV... Old Top Gear is a favourite but I'm a big fan of The Walking Dead and American Dad! and this is where my real beef comes in.

I have most of American Dad! on DVD and episodes run around the 20 minute mark which means to fill a 30 minute slot at least 33.33% of the time is going to be adverts which make me want to climb a tall building with a 30-06. :mrgreen:

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 7:02 am
by grixit
We haven't had cable in about 8 years. i watch what's available online for free and do without anything that isn't. Meanwhile, my SO watches old favorites and an occasional special on Netflix.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 7:04 am
by grixit
As for the cancel/reresuscribe cycle, i am just old enough to remember when some people would make a career out of doing that with the Columbia Record Club.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 11:23 am
by daveBeeston
mufc1959 wrote:I've been a Sky customer for over 20 years - no cable where I live - and what really irks me is that there are a ton of incentives for new customers, but nothing for loyal customers. It would be such a small thing for Sky to say, okay, as you've been loyal to us for so long, you can have Sky Sports free for a year.

I'm seriously thinking of moving to Now TV. (Yes, I know it's owned by Sky, but I can get most of what I like to watch on the Now channels, I think.)
There is no such thing as a loyal customer, you don't pay for the service because you like the company you pay for the service because you want it, as for offering Sky Sports free they do quite often(along with other offers) check your offers in your mysky page.
Its also worth calling up and asking what they can do for you as they say "if you don't ask you don't get"

Im a NowTV customer so if you have any questions feel free to fire them at me and i'll answer them if i can.

Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 9:59 pm
by letissier14
Carl Cunningham, admin on BTBAB goes on a deleting spree of members because they said they liked smart meter's, which according to Cunningham goes against the ethos of BTBAB

Deleted members are shown in grey names

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Re: BTBATB...Beat the Bailiffs and the Banks...IS worse than GOODF!!

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 10:20 pm
by JimUk1
Orwellian?

A) Carl possibly smokes to much you know what.

B) He's never been somewhere like China (where I've had my bag raided for anti -regime literature on arrival!)

C) Most likely is a petty thief that thinks he should get free energy.

If you want to calibrate your smart meter then simply do the math! It is not that hard for anyone with an education Carl....sorry what am I saying?