Setanta users experience viewing problems
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Watching sport on TV is for many of us a great way to relax and spend time with friends and family. But over the past few months we've received a large number of complaints regarding one particular broadcaster, Setanta.
Frustrating experience
Setanta Sports has become a major provider of some of our favourite sports viewing and in some cases it's the only place to see certain fixtures, bouts and races. When you subscribe to Setanta's satellite service you get 11 exclusive channels for £12.99 a month. But for those of you across the UK who contacted Watchdog it appears that you're having a frustrating time viewing all 11 channels - not to mention getting Setanta to help resolve the problem.
In Hertfordshire, Chris Doyle chose Setanta because he and his family are all sports fans. However, since subscribing he has had a lot of difficulty receiving a good enough picture to watch some of his favourite sports. As a result his family and friends just don't bother coming around anymore.
In Wales, Laura Williams and Allen Jones subscribed to Setanta 18 months ago and have never been able to get a clear picture. With a young family they couldn't go to the pub to watch their favourite teams play so they get their footie fix at home. But the picture problem, according to Laura, was only the beginning of their troubles.
Disappointed with customer service
She has been extremely disappointed with the help she sought from Setanta's customer services, especially when she tried to cancel their subscription.
She says that Setanta: "Hasn't even had the decency to respond. The company left it too long now and it's gone on too much and too little has been done about it."
Professor Martin Tomlinson, an expert in satellite technology, has tested Setanta's signal. He says that one of the reasons people have had difficulties receiving Setanta is that it's broadcast from a satellite called Eurobird 1 whereas most other major channels use the ASTRA satellites. When installers set up your dish they can't point it at both satellites.
When we were invited to Setanta customer Dave Marshall's home in West Sussex, we brought installation expert Kevin Dawson to have a look at his satellite set-up.
It's a simple dish alignment problem. Nine times out of ten it's the dish, skew or cheap cable or a combination of all of them.
In most cases this can be fixed easily and only takes a few minutes. But the key question customers like Dave Marshall are asking is:
"Why didn't Setanta tell me it's an installation problem?"
Setana's response
When Watchdog contacted Setanta it refused to discuss individual customers. It said:
"Most of the time we are successful, and most customers are very happy with the sport that we serve up to them. However, from time to time, and for a variety of technical reasons, a tiny minority of customers have difficulty receiving the signal for Setanta Sports and the other channels that the company broadcasts.
"It is our firm belief that this is not a Setanta-specific problem. Setanta is a television producer. It does not own or operate the satellites that are used to broadcast its programming, nor does it install or service the satellite dishes (or other equipment) that are required to receive its pictures.
"Setanta recognises that in a small number of cases customers may need to adjust the alignment of their satellite dish in order to receive a satisfactory signal from Setanta Sports. As stated above, Setanta does not employ its own fieldforce of satellite dish engineers. However, we will endeavour in future to work more closely with BSkyB to identify customers who could benefit from the visit of an engineer."
The company added:
"Following Watchdog's investigation, we will give further thought to how we might publicise the importance of correct dish alignment, and improve our procedures for resolving problem cases."
Setanta recommends that customers contact the company that installed their satellite equipment in order to make the necessary checks on dish alignment.
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I have been trying to cancel my Setanta account since 28th September 08. I have spoken to 5 different people and told to send emails to 3 different addresses. The last person I spoke to was rude and unhelpful and now tells me to they only accept cancellation in writing. I have found this very frustrating and wont be using this service again I hope people read this and think twice before subscribing.
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My mum was having similar problems but with most channels where all I could get were the blue screen banner at the bottom, after 6 weeks managed to get through to tech support at sky who suggested turning off the sky box and going to the back where you see the wires and try reconnecting the input leads (black) in properly again, if not confident you should get someone who is able to do this for you.
Either that or the wiring inside this lead has become damaged, unscrew the tip of the lead, cut it down a tiny bit then fit together.
Once I did that it has worked fine for 4+ weeks :)
(this is after you have exhausted all possible other ideas)
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I too have had problems with viewing only Football games involving Englands away games. Spent 45 mins on all calls to customer services and advised it was a problem with sky and to report it to them. Rang sky who told me it was just a fault. So i just cancelled my direct debit and later recieved phone calls to ring them and that i would be chased for the debt. I did try and cancel thru the 28 days notice and was told could not cancel.
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I SIGNED UP TO SETANTA LAST SEASON FOR £9.99 A MONTH THEN WITHOUT NOTICE THEY INCREASED MY SUBSCRIPTION TO £12.99 WHEN I TRIED TO CANCEL IT WAS A NIGHTMARE THEY HAVE A 60 DAY CLAUSE THAT WAS NOT CLEARLY STATED IN ADVERTS AND THEY IGNORED NUMEROUS CALLS AND LETTERS THEY OPERATE SOME VERY SHADY PRACTICES IN MY OPINION
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In August I had no signal, Setanta said I had cancelled, I spoke to eight 'CUSTOMER SERVICE' people, in the end gave up ... but they kept taking money from me. Letters were ignored,even the ones typed in red. I finally had the legal department from the credit card sort it out for me.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Regarding your Setanta piece, I must share with you my experinces when I emailed Setanta with the problem of pixelated reception.
I received an email back within 1 day with a list of things to try, including a procedure to eliminate static from the dish, ensuring a cordless telephone was not in use close to the receiver box, checking other channels and verifying the security of the dish.
It still is not fixed but it looks like I need to look at the direction of my dish thanks to you!
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Some of your people had trouble with cancelling. No doubt the method of payment used was Direct Debiit. When paying by this means it is easy to tell your bank to stop accepting direct debits from this source. If you have internet banking you can normally do so online. If after cancelling your bank still accepts a DD, it is up to them to credit your account and recover the money themselves.
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I signed up to Setanta today Picture is unwatchable. I spent 15 minutes waiting to get through to customer service. They couldnt help but said they would phone back in 15 minutes. Guess what? No phone call back. Called up again and this time they disconnected my call due to high volume of calls. Well if they dont sort it soon. I will cancel the subscription and tell my bank not to allow payments.
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Regarding your item on Setanta. We have recently tried to cancel our subscription due to not being able to afford it any more. Having sent the required written notice on 3 occasions we are told that nothing was received and that ALL of their negotiations are made over the phone. We have been paying by direct debit and so stopped the payments. We ahve since received a phone call advising us that if we do not pay a further monthly payment (for which we receive no service) the matter will be placed in the hands of their recovery agents. We await the outcome>
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Considering there is no contract it took me over 9 months to cancel setanta sports. I sent 30 emails (some of which were responded to), made numreous calls and wrote 5 letters of complaint. My account was wiped by Setanta so they said they had no proof that I ever called them or tried to cancel and accused me of altering the email responses that I had received as according to my blank record, I had never sent any emails to them to respond to. Customer services told me it wasnt their problem and when someone finally called me back they left a message saying that they refused to send a written response to my written complaint and although they admitted liability for their database wiping my calls, emails etc, Setanta sports does not refund money for errors caused at their end. (exact words)!!!. After that no one would speak to me anymore as I did not hold an account with them.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I receive Setanta now for 11 months and have never had an issue with it.
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Using the remote control press SERVICES, then SYSTEM SETUP, then ADD CHANNELS.
Change the frequency from 11778 to 11587
Change the polarity from V to H
Now press FIND CHANNELS.
The channels will now appear. Use your YELLOW button to place a tick mark next to each one. Now press SELECT.
A message saying 'channel line up complete' will appear.
Now press SERVICES, then OTHER CHANNELS.
The channels you stored are here, simply select one to view.
Picture is 100% perfect without any interruptions
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We phoned Setanta Sports earlier this year to give one months notice to cancel our subscription. Within 24 HOURS our service had been cancelled even though we had to pay for the remaining 27 days with no access to Setanta. A few weeks ago Setanta phoned us to ask if we would like to re-subscibe to their service again!!
I also think that they should change their contact phone number from 0870 to a local call rate so that people can actually afford to telepone them without fear of running up large call charges, somebody is making a lot of money from these expensive phone calls and its definitely not the customer.
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With regards to your report about setanta,why did you keep complaining about setanta being the cause of the poor pictures when it looks to me like the people that install all the dish's didnt line them up right on line with the sat's in the sky.
thank you,twinsfg
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Satana have a bully department.
My husband and I wanted to subscribe for 4 months of the year for the Indian 20/20 cricket season. It was very easy to sign up but canceling was impossible. We got put through to a department solely devoted to stopping you canceling your contract. They were very aggressive, I must have said no thanks I'd just like to cancel 20 times. Then you have to write a letter. After 2 letters they finally acknowledged they received it and still kept charging me for 3 months!
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HAVING SEEN TONIGHTS PROGRAMME ON SETANTA TV,I AGREE WITH ALL THE NEGITIVE COMMENTS, AS I AM AT PRESENT TRYING TO CANCEL MY CONTRACT, ITS TAKEN 10 PHONE CALLS, AT LEAST 4 EMAILS, AND 3 LETTERS SO FAR, I NO LONGER HAVE SETANTA SPORTS, BUT THEY STILL WANT ME TO PAY FOR IT!!! I CONTACTED OFCOM, WHO STATED THEY WERE AWARE OF PROBLEMS, NOW CONSUMER DIRECT HAVE ADVISED ME
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I am meant to be watching the Liverpool - West Ham game right now. Instead I am typing this out as I can't get a picture. Ridiculous.
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This evening as the live match started lost reception, then the no signal message appeared. Up to then no problems pre match interviews loud and clear, tried to telephone. No answer, usual nobody available then 2 minutes ago BT message Telephone service no longer available!!!!!!
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I have been subscribing to Setanta for the last 2 years and I have had no problems with the satelite signal.
However, I have found their customer service to be appauling.
I subscribed to Setanta after answering an email ad which showed Setanta for £5 per month. There was no small print on the offer to suggest that payments will increase after a start up period.
After approximately 3 to 4 months of paying £5, I saw the payments had increased on my bank statement to £9.99, without any prior warning. I contacted Setanta for an explanation. They stated that the £5 per month was an offer for the first 3 moths, then payments increased. I stated that there was not any mention of this on the email I had received. However, as I had deleted the email, I had no proof to send them. I continued to subscribe to Setanta for the £9.99 payments.
Around about April 2008, I saw that the payments had again increased to £12.99. I was not made aware of any increase in price by Setanta and only by checking my bank statement was I able to see this. I contacted Setanta yet again. They stated that this was a new price but appologised for not updating me with increase. I stated I was not happy with the new price and asked to cancel, which they stated I had to write a cancellation letter. However, I have not signed any contract which is tying me in with the subscription.
They then offered me the same package for £5 per month for 3 moths as a good will gesture for not updating me, which I accepted.
After the 3 months had passed, the payments again went up as they had stated. I called Setanta to cancel as I was not happy with paying £12.99. They then said they could again reduce the payments to £6.50 per month to which I accepted. 3 months passed and I was still paying £12.99. I contacted them again for an explanation, to which they appologised and stated the request was never actioned. They then offered me £7.50 for the next 6 months. I was not happy that my request was not fulfilled on the previous occasion and asked that this offer was confirmed in writing to me as I never received any corrispondence from them for any previous offers.
I have found that any time any offer has been put to me by Setanta I have to do the chasing to make sure that it is actioned. They seem to forget about you once the phone conversation has ended. I was never kept updated with price increases and never receive any details from them of offers they have promised over the phone. I do receive emails from them which show whats comming up on Setanta but nothing which is helpful to my subscription.
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All of my setanter sports channels currently arent working. Im am not pleased at all. i shall be on the phone immediately.Terrible company
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I went to buy a Digital TV Recorder with Freeview and chose the DigiHome DG250DTRA08 because it came with a "free season ticket" for Setanta Sports
I have this problem and only on Setanta: The picture & sound won't stop jumping and freezing.
So I won't be renewing it when the free season tickt is up.
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Unbelievable,I have been subscibed to Setanta for almost a year,with no problems what so ever.I watch your feature tonight and start getting pixellation,then no signal at all.I know my dish is alligned correctly and my equipment is not faulty as i was a Sky engineer for a number of years.
On the phone right now to try and get an explaination from Setanta.
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On the 14th October I sent them an email and on the 4th of November I got this response.
Every time it rained setanta went off, I've was just watching Liverpool v West Ham tonight when it started to rain, and went off. I'm now watching it again after following their instructions...
For signal problems we advise our customers to:
1. Press Services
2. Select option 4 for system setup
3. Then select option 4 for add channels.
4. Now type in: 11585 for Frequency.
5. Now type in: H for the polarisation.
6. Click down to find channels and press select.
7. Move down to SETANTA SPORTS.
8. Now press the YELLOW button on your remote control and press select.
9. Now scroll back to other channels and select SETANTA SPORTS.
10. Your Setanta Sports should now be on.
Worked a treat for me!
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I never had a problem with Setanta up until now but since 8.30pm Ive had message stating no satellite signal is being received and I cant access any Setanta channels but I cant access my Sky channels.
I have tried calling c/s but so much for employing more staff as all I seem to get is all our operators are busy, please call back or once you press option 2 then 3 all you get is the engaged tone.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!
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I only seem to have problems when I want to watch Liverpool matches! Tonight is a case in point. The signal broke up on about 25 mins and has now completely gone. I only signed up in November, and am already thinking about cancelling after the minimum 2 months. I am also concerned at the posts regarding Setanta's lack of customer service. It had better improve... and quickly. RR
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I honestly believe that the poor signal is NOTHING to do with installations and EVERYTHING to do with bandwidth. For example, for the first time since I have been a subsciber, Setanta has just gone off line. There's no rain and no wind so nothing to affect my dish and now it has come back on at half time! It's no coincidence, I just think that Setanta are turning down the power to save money.
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I have had the same problem for several months now at one point a setanta customer service agent told me I should cancel my subscription , they took over 3 weeks to contact me after I sent a recorded delivery letter someone talked me through the process of retuning to a new signal but I still get the problem I cant watch the liverpool game tonight, Sky have told me that there is not a problem with the dish.
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I rushed home so as to watch the live football tonight and got as far as 20 or so mintutes through the game when the picture started to break up and then eventually went. this is the first time i have had problems of this sort whilst watching any Setanta channels so i just dont't believe their statement of getting your dish aligned properly. needless to say i will be trying to phone them tomorrow and i will probably end up cancelling my direct debit too if i cannot get some kind of refund.
i have been a subscriber for around 2 years or more so i just dont understand this.
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They must have sorted the problem as I can now watch the channels again
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Setanta reception is diabolical!! Tuned in to watch the live match tonight, only to find that the Setanta chanels go down again!!
I've emailed them and all they say is "check your dish alignment"
What a cop out. The signal on every other channel is perfect, as is my reception.
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Up until today, I have had no problems with Setanta or any of its channels, and now for the 1st time tonight, Setanta 1,2 and news is off line however I can still receive NASN, so telling me it's a satellite dish problems is impossible. However, can't get through to tech support because of the high call volume. Really frustrated and annoyed. And I am a huge Liverpool fan which makes the whole thing much, much worse.
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Yet again I'm having severe problems with Setanta. I've suscribed to them since the day they started due to their SPL coverage. I regularly have problems with viewing especially during poor weather, esps rain. I've called their C/S who have given me instruction to log onto a different frequency although this will only resolve the problem for 7 days. After this the signal is lost and I've to try again. There is therefore a way for this company to improve their coverage but they just don't want to do it, I'm assuming because of costs. Even now I can't view the Liverpool game and the C/S line just keeps cutting me off. I'm not a happy customer.
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My top tip! You can cancel setanta subscription free of charge between 10-15 days after subscribing. It is under section 8 of the setanta sports digital subscription terms and conditions. Section g, 2. After sending your various emails to a collection of I think the last count was 3 setanta sports email addresses, numerous phone calls, speak to Neil, he is a team leader and perhaps the only useful person I managed to speak to. Cancel your direct debit within 4 days of subscribing, that don't seem to take the money out of your account before then. I urge anyone to report them to trading standards, if they have paid for a service they have not received.
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I have been a member of setanta for about 6 months for the sport coverage. No real problems to date except reception intermiottent. Tonight, after the Watchdog piece, I was watching Liverpool v West Ham and reception disappeared completely. I have just cancelled my direct debit and sent a complaint to them via email. I don't expect a response. What a waste of £12.99 over the past few months....
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Right on cue - Watching Liverpool tonight 20 mins into game - NO SATALLITE SIGNAL! This is the second Liverpool match I have tried to watch and this has happened - never seems to happen any other time - what's the point!
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i have been thinking about getting Setanta via my sattelite dish. So i was more than happy to take up their "promotional" offer of 2 months free trial.
Only got connected today, so the first big thing i wanted to watch was the liverpool v west game. All going well until around 25mins into the first half, and NOTHING!!! So missed the remainder of the first half. Funny though how the connection seemed fine once the ads came on!!!!!
oh well, think i know where my money is going for sports now!!!!
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I have had Setanta for 2 months no problems, until after tonites program. Watching Liverpool match static pictures then no picture. How errie. Had no picture now for 30 minutes.Suppose they must know I watched the programme this is their way at getting me back.
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I was watching your coverage of issues with Setanta in tonight's show having just switched over from the Liverpool West Ham pre game coverage suffering no apparent issues with my connection and confident that I was going to watch the game. Now at 8.59, I have seen nothing of the game and my signal is totally non existent. How can Setanta claim on their home page that it is an issue with the way my dish is set up when it received a perfectly good signal 30 minutes previously. No game, no number to call, no recognition from Setanta of their failings.
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I've just lost signal for all setanta channels for the 5 minutes leading up to half time in the liverpool v. west ham match. I'm watching in folkestone in Kent, the weather is fine and all other channels I've checked are braodcating without an issue...
the only reason I subscribe is for the live games and LFC.tv but if this carries on I'll save my money and listen to the good ol' BBC 5 live commentary!
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I am trying to watch West Ham v Liverpool tonight on Setanta Sports. The first 15 minutes of the game i received without no problems then all of sudden blue screen and i am NOT receiving a satellite signal. I will be cancelling tomorrow because the service being provided is unacceptable.
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I too have been trying to cancel my subscription - initally by telephone and then confirmed by letter on August 5th. On the telephone I was informed that my cancellation would not take place until two months from the date of my next payment!(Setanta have gone ahead and taken this from my account) I was told that this was pointed out to me when I ordered the service and it was also was included in the welcome pack - which incidentally has not even now arrived.
I requested a transcript of my "joining" conversationas evidence - and in spite of two further requests for this by e-mail and a recorded delivery letter that too has failed to arrive.
My husband telephoned Setanta as a potential new customer and was informed that cancellation is one month's notice. This completely contradicts the only response I have received - this morning!- in which I was told that 56 days is the cancellation period.
This company is impossible to deal with in a normal way as their goal posts are permanently on the move, and I would never do business with them again
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Saw Watchdog tonight regarding Setanta signals. We have been with them for 6-8 months never had a problem before but watching the Liverpool via Westham game this evening we have experienced alot of problem in the viewing of this signal on the program they said it was due to poor dish and cheap cabling. We updated to HD service of sky last year so our cabling and dish are well up to date but we are still recieveing problems
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I've had problems since the summer. They blamed it on Sky. Sky checked the dish alignment, changed the Sky+ box twice (it was faulty), and all seemed to be fine. Watching Liverpool v West Ham tonight, ok for half an hour then started freezing, then disappeared. I rang one of the Setanta numbers in the Services list, and got Holiday Inn reservations, then rang the other number, got a subscription line! I then tried to get a number from the internet, couldn't get through to their site! I give up. I'll try to cancel tomorrow.
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Thanks supergossy, just read your instructions and have managed to get the game. Just goes to show there are no issues with my dish just with the set up. Are Setanta using the dish as a scapegoat??
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My picture came back for the 2nd half of tonight's game, during which, the commentator mentioned that 'we' understand that some viewers may have lost their pictures during the first half. Apparently this was due to adverse weather conditions in Europe, which were affecting satellites in Europe - all out of Setanta's control. So how bad is the weather in space? Methinks Setanta's top brass is seeing all the bad press it's getting and using their live broadcasters to issue some lame excuses for poor service. What a Kopout. Bit like the match, as it happens. C'mon u reds!!!
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Good evening all,
I know that you have had problems tonight watching the Liverpool v West Ham match on Setanta. This was due to circumstances beyond our control; a very heavy snow storm in Luxembourg where our satellite signal is uplinked from. Please see the statement below that is now on our website- setanta.com.
Due to heavy snowfall tonight at Setanta's Luxembourg satellite uplink facility, the signal carrying Setanta Sports was interrupted for several minutes during Monday evening's programming. Many homes were affected by this loss of signal for which Setanta would like to apologise.
I hope this clarifies tonight's issues and once again our apologies.
Ben
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Following on from my previous comment. It seems its only sky subscribers that are having the tech problems due to satelite tv. thing that frustrates me is we pay the £12.99 while other Setanta get it for free, like cable/freeview. Is this true? If so, just buy a free view box and then 'try' to cancel ur sky one.
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setanata stated european wide issue all other channels are fine why does this affect sentanta ?
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Hi All. Anyone who goes through a frequency change must realise that this is only a temporary fix. There is a problem with your hardware so have it serviced. If there was a problem with your car you would service it. If you are like me you will spend more time watching television than driving.
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hi i worked for setanta and this was a crazy place they hire so many students .they would send out the encryption just before the match was to begin knowing that this would encrypt the none paying customer but also knowing that this would cut alot of paying customers ,they would have to ring up to get signal sent and if we sent it three times that week there card would be blocked so they would have to wait till they get a new card in the post and starts all over again.. they will never pass you through to a manager because thats what we where trained to say .. if you want to cancel your subsription they never recieved it unless it was registered post ..where it went i dont know?
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From another internet site Setanta have a terrible customer care history.
In fact all they care about is obtaining more money even if you have correctly followed the cancellation terms. I received a monthly email from Setanta with their future programme schedule and in the very small print at the very end was notification of a price increase. Very sneaky. Immediately sent a recorded letter of cancellation and cancelled the direct debit. Eventually received a letter from them indicating
that they would not cancel as requested but they would review in the future.
Then started to receive threatening telephone calls stating that they were due money and the recovery was in the hands of debt collectors. As instalments were paid in advance was not due them any further money. The threatening telephone calls eventually stopped. Would never have dealings with this lot again.
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At the heart of the problem with Setanta, in my experience, is that its customer service is
terrible.
In the past year as a Setanta subscriber correspondence has persistently gone unanswered; they've claimed and/or taken payments that weren't due; disconnected me in error twice after I claimed the overcharge back from my bank; taken almost 3 months to cancel my subscription; and persistently telephoned and written as if they were the aggrieved party.
In my experience, problems with Setanta regularly snowball, because its systems and customer service are inadequate.
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you wont believe this . But after the show i switched over to Setanta to watch the Liverpool match and no picture for first time in 2 years. However its back at 10.30pm.
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If you think Setanta via satellite is a problem,don't try Freeview or Broadband for the service. The poor bandwidth of chanell 32 on Freeview gives a very poor picture quality:grainy, watery, poor definition. I gave it up a year ago. Broadband produces a mini screen version of the same problem.
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I used to subscribe to Setanta when I was a sky customer. Because they never answered the phone, I signed up using my credit card through the TV set. When I switched to Virgin Media (where Setanta is free), I rang and cancelled, but they kept charging me. First Direct said they couldn't cancel a charge on a credit card, but could 'claw' charges back. They were aware of Setanta doing this a lot, but said that they give up eventually. I subsequently sent two recorded delivery letters to Setanta asking them to stop taking payment and never heard from them at all, although FD were right, they gave up after three months.
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I would like to express my absolute disgust and disappointment with Setanta Sports.
As a previously loyal customer, I was outraged at the way things have been dealt with and I am extremely tired of this on going situation with sentanta that no one can seem to resolve.
I subscribed to setanta sports a long time ago where I paid a direct debit monthly payment of £9.99, this was all fine but just short of a year down the line I cancelled this as I was moving away from home and no longer required it. A couple of months later I discovered that I was actually in fact still paying a subscription of £12.99. After contacting Setanta Sports it appeared to be a little more confusing and that there was in fact two accounts at my address. However I no longer stayed here but was informed the account had been activated and I was paying for this, after speaking to my father he had never activated setanta and certainly did not give setanta authorisation for myself to pay for it. I was then told that I could pay a cancellation fee of one month £12.99 and this would be resolved and to write a complaint letter to claim my money back for previous charged months. This seemed like my only viable option so therefore gave my debit card details to pay the fee to unsubscribe over phone. After writing various emails, I was told that the previous months would be credited back to my account. As far as I was aware the matter had been resolved.
Then on the 10th September setanta had taken £12.99 out of my account and have done so every month since and still taking these unauthorised by using my debit card details given for the cancellation fee! By this time I was incredibly furious and justifiably upset as I thought all issues with setanta had been resolved.
I am outraged that after many phone calls and emails that something like this could happen especially after expressing that I no longer lived at this address!
My experience with Setanta has resulted in my lack of confidence as a setanta customer as I feel cautious of the fact that service like this may happen again, I will be opting never to subscribe to Setanta in the future, so this does not result in the same inadequate and distressing experience.
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I never had viewing difficulties until about a month ago, but then went onto other channels like itv1, bliss, biography and d-max and was getting no sat signal received or the picture kept freezing (also other channels were fine, so dont know whether the above channels use eurobird like setanta).
Rang up sky, the engineer was here for about 2 hours - he tried 2 boxes and they turned off, then changed the dish aswell and now picture is perfect, infact may be clearer than it was before.
I understand there was a problem that affected all Europe yesterday when the setanta channels went down - according to the commentator there was anyway.
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I'm still waiting for a refund from Setanta after cancelling in May. After six letters (sent registered post) I got my first response back from them - a one line letter saying they would refund me £25 of the £36 claimed. No explanation and no apology. I will be sending my reply to each of the directors' home addresses in the hope that they might do something.
and to add insult to injury, they keep sending me letters asking me to resubscribe!! take me off your mailing list you pathetic bunch!
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I've been a setanta subscriber too for over 18 months now and last night was the first time in ages that I could sit and watch the game live. My picture went after 20 minutes and I tried for 35 minutes to get through to customer services. Having got through at about 3 minutes to 9pm I spoke to a disinterested based gent who either repeated a pat phrase about a contract or grunted at me. They upped my fees to £12.99 without informing me and my argument was that if I bought something from a store and it was faulty then I would receive a refund. Add to this the 35 minutes at 85 p per minute!!!! When I put it to him that they didn't give a monkeys about me so long as they got their money each month, he still came out with the pat response. I asked to speak to someone more superior and he simply cut me off. What disgraceful customer service!!! No resolution, no interest, no real response and at a severely expensive cost to my wallet in cash struggle times!! Why did they ever relieve SKY of their brilliant service. They may have had a monopoly but at least they were helpful and it didn't break down. I was left extremely dissatisfied and also Liverpool only drew!
I don't swear so I'm sure I was one of his polite customers. When I tried to ring back the place shuts at 9pm. How convenient!
Is there anything we can do!!!
Yours increasingly angry Jonathan
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I thought I was the only one with this problem..and like many others you get the family round to watch a paid monthly live footie game....only "YES...the picture jumps and does all the tricks you dont want it to do"
We phoned to be told, its the sky box or the picture...which ever was the best so basicly we were fobbed off.....We tried saying "NO" as the picture on the other sky channels were perfect, but not setanta...So the out come...."NOTHING" we just had to grime nd bare it and watch England in the freeze...which my mum did enjoy as it froze on David Beckham...lol
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Watched the Liverpool v West Ham pre match build up for 1 hour and no problem,15 minutes into the game and could not view as no satellite signal being received? This is the 3rd match that Liverpool have played on Setanta and on all 3 occasions unable to view,when I called previously I was advised there was no picture because of the rain but last night it did not rain and there was not a cloud in the sky so why no signal.Called customers service who was engaged?and once through was on hold for over 10 minutes so gave up.I will be cancelling with them as I am a Liverpool fan and cannot view any of their games.WHAT A RUBBISH COMPANY
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This is not a new experience and we have been unable to watch many items on the setanta channels. I wonder if making some sports or competitions only viewable by such a disappointing channel was really a good idea, not only are half the viewing public unable to watch their favourite teams or sports because they do not subscribe but those who do pay out are missing out as well. Why are we not getting a reduction in the amount being charged as we are being let down so frequently, it seems all to easy for the price to go up but the service is not improving, we are just being charged more for different excuses
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Hi,
I phoned them 3 times last week to cancel my subscription and each time I called I got a message saying we can't answer your call at the moment due to the amount of inquiries being made please call back again later.Then I got through to them they told me to send an email and account would be canceled when I get a returned email sent to me. Ended having to send 3 emails before I got a reply. Poor Poor Service. No wonder people are leaving them.
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1. It is made tremendously difficult to cancel subscriptions.
2. Customer services is appalling
Watchdog and the BBC should take on board the complaints about Setanta it is getting. Jonathon Ross was taken off air for less complaints.
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I was trying to watch the Liverpool/Westham match on Setanta Sports last night when the picture pixellated and went off with the "No satellite signal being received" showing. This was the same on all Setanta channels but all the rest were OK.
I recorded Watchdog to watch later and was interested to see your comments on Setanta, it fitted my experience exactly. I was unaware that Setanta used a different satellite, as far as I remember there was no mention of this when I signed up. I live on the south coast so the signal should be acceptable.
I shall probably now fit a "Scottish" dish to see if that improves things.
Fred
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please help im losing the will to live, all i want to do is cancell my subscription,this is a joke,another big company thats takes your money first,then it all goes the shape of the pear
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I have never experienced any problems with setanta sports. After watching your programme on the 1/12/08 about the problems with setanta sports picture and customer service, i went to go and watch the liverpool vs west ham match on setanta, fundly enough i couldnt and had a comletely blank screen, nothing there! i view my setanta through a digi box with a card! i decided to phone setanta to find out what's going on, i waited on hold for around 10 mins then got a recorded message saying there lines were busy and to phone back later and got cut off! i got cut off 3 times and never got through to complain, extremely bad customer service and a very unhappy customer that pays good money for the channel!
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I have also been trying over the past couple of weeks to cancel my contract with Setanta Sports and the line is always engaged.
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I'm having the same problems,pixelating picture only on setanta. Yet when I take my sky box to France it works perfectly.I installed a larger dish in France and and get excellent coverage on all channels therefore must be the alignment of the dish at home,missed lots of sport on setanta, spoke to their customer services,useless!
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i phoned setanta to cancel and was told ihad to cancel in writing this idid straight away this was on the 24 october i informed them that i would pay my subscription on the 22 november then cancel my direct debit they had their payment then istarted receiving letters, phone calls, and text messages about my account when i eventually managed to speak to some one they told me to email them with the details which idid to the address they gave me this morning i recieved a letter telling me they did not recieve the money from the bank when ichecked was paid to them on the22,so i phoned them again and they informed me that i can only cancel by email and the address they had given was obsolete so if you have setanta and can not have access to a computer you can never cancel it
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Hi all,
My email to Setenta Sports says it all:
SETANTA SPORTS
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Sir or Madam,
Your organisation is by far the most frustrating company I have ever had the need to deal with and so I am cancelling my subscription with you.
My details are;
[Personal details removed by Moderator]
I have made my final payment by Direct Debit today (03/12/08) and wish you to cancel my subscription immediately. I DO NOT WANT ANY MORE MONEY TAKEN OUT OF MY BANK ACCOUNT AFTER THIS DATE. PLEASE CONFIRM TO ME BY RETURN THAT THIS REQUEST HAS BEEN ACTION.
The reason I am cancelling is as follows;
Constant interference on live matches leading to not being able to view the live games (this is despite no other channel having the same issue only Setanta Channels!)
I contacted you via your website asking for my subscription to be cancelled on Monday 1st December. You have still not done me the courtesy of replying. IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL CUSTUMER SERVICE?
Your organisation does not publish a phone number to ring in to for customer service, only giving the offer of writing in via the website. WHY IS THAT? IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL CUSTUMER SERVICE?
I phoned and spoke to a customer advisor who took all my details and asked me to hold on and promptly disconnected my call! IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL CUSTUMER SERVICE?
I phoned again and spoke to another customer advisor who told me that my original correspondence via your website would not be classed as an email and therefore would not be enough to cancel a subscription. Why does it not say this on your website? IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL CUSTUMER SERVICE?
Having spent 25 minutes on that 2nd phone call getting no were, I asked for a Supervisor to ring me back. I am still waiting for a Supervisor to ring me back and I do not hold out any hope of anyone ringing me. IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL CUSTUMER SERVICE?
It is for all of the above reasons that I choose to cancel my subscription Immediately.
PLEASE DO ME THE COURTESY OF REPLYING IMMEDIATELY TO CONFIRM YOU HAVE ACTIONED MY REQUEST.
Rest assured I will no longer be dealing with your organisation ever again and unless you make some major changes to your customer service and product offering, I feel sure you will loose 1000’s of customers, who like me will vote with there feet.
I await your reply,
Mr Lloyd
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I’m a full Sky satellite subscriber and added the Setanta satellite package in August 2008. Since then I have been unable to view action on Setanta Sports. The picture pixelates, skips, freezes, or at worst no signal is received. I have emailed Setanta in accordance with their website instructions to complain but have never received a response. I rang Sky as they installed my dish and equipment. Sky said it is possibly a dish alignment issue and would cost £65 for them to send an engineer to realign my dish.
After BBC Watchdog had ended (1/12/08) I switched channels to Setanta Sports 423 for the Liverpool v West Ham live game only to see ‘No Satellite Signal is being received’.
Enough was enough and after hearing of so many others having trouble and the lack of customer care I decided to cancel. However, when I rang Setanta the recorded message stated they were unable to handle my call at the moment and hung up. I tried again with the same result.
I suggest Setanta should advertise that to subscribe to Setanta may require dish realignment at extra cost.
I also suggest that BBC Watchdog broadcast Setanta’s address for subscribers wishing to complain and/or cancel and that this should be by recorded delivery with a copy to BBC Watchdog. Setanta would then have no excuse, or would they? If they did ‘we would let you know’.
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cancel by email requests@setanta.com
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any problems with signal do this
services button
select option 4
select option 4 again
change frequency to 11585
change frequency to h
go to find channnels and press select
list of channels comes up
press yellow on setanta sports
little tick appears
press select
should say channel line up complete
then go to services, other channels and select setanta sports
PICTURE PERFECT
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any questions ask me???? will be glad to help
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Had the same problem trying to cancel my subscription , I sent three e-mails, phoned twice and was cut off twice after being on hold for 20 minutes each time, sent a letter by recorded delivery and the only way I managed to stop them was by contacting the credit card company and disputing the charge, they got back the two months Setanta had already taken after my e-mails and letter ( copies of which I supplied to the credit card company) and the bank kept an eye on the account and retrieved two more subsequent payments and finally setanta stopped billing me and cut off the service.
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During the Liverpool-West ham game on Monday 1st Dec, we spent about 45mins waiting on the phone to try and speak to someone at Setanta. We never even got through, another game we haven't been able to watch.
We want to cancel but are concerned about all the problems we heard other customers having.
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I have been with Setanta for over 2 years now. I am trying to cancel my account with them but it has been a complete and utter nightmare.
On the 1st of November I sent an email to them advising them I was canceling my account. I received a reply from a member of the customer services team saying that my request would be processed and my viewing terminated 30 days after the next payment was made on the 12th of November.
To back this email up I also sent a registered letter to them which was signed for on the 5th.
A payment of £15 was taken from my account on the 12th and I canceled the Direct Debit 2 days later, abiding by the notification I had given them in the email and letter sent to them.
On the 27th of November Setanta cut my service, 15 days short of the promised 30 days for which I had paid for in advance. I then received a letter on the 1st of December saying I was in breach of contract and any monies due would be passed on to a debt collection agency. Please call the 0871 number above.
I did try....lost count how many times I tried...but after about 3 hours of trying I gave up so sent them a strong email instead.
Next day I found another number for them..[Personal details removed by Moderator]..so called that and ended up speaking to Lee...wouldn't give me his second name....a member of the technical team who told me that my viewing was switched of early because I, and not them, had canceled the direct debit. He told me that he was sending an email, as we spoke, to head office telling them that I had called and my account was up to date, I was canceling the account and assured me I would receive no more standard letters...hooray!
This evening...I received an email from another member of the customer services team telling me that my cancellation request could not be processed as there was no valid method of payment on their system. Please call the 087 number.
I just cannot believe that a company like this can continuously get away with what they get away with. They are an inept company who obviously don't have a clue what one department is doing from the next.
Avoid them like the plague as they are just not worth the hassle.
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try cancelling topup tv!
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I can't believe Setanta didn't just tell us to get someone to look at out dish alignment!
Everytime it rains you can bet we can't watch the Football match we've been looking forward to.
Brilliant customer service... NOT!
Andy in Surrey
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I would just like to stress after watching your programme regarding Setanta I was foaming at the guy from Setanta speaking about customer service, Setanta have no customer service at all.
I have been in a battle since May 08 with this company and am now having to go to the small claims court to relaim £60 in charges because of their error.
I called on 3 April 08 to cancel Setanta and was told to call back on 3 May to confirm cancellation, called again on 3 May to be told no notice had been put on. I was then told would have to give another 30 days told them I'm not. They also took £10 when they should not have and the mortgage was not paid due to this, so we incurred a £30 charge from the bank and also from the mortgage provider. They fob you off all the time saying I have to go to my bank for the charges, I told them no its your error.
They don't full investigate complaints and certainly do not reply to any letters you write. I was told in an email to send proof of charges to be look at then they tell you Setanta don't refund charges, they don't seem to admit to errors either.
Setanta are a disgrace and its a case of word of mouth, because I tell everyone considering them not to.
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Also when you call Setanta you have to select the correct numbers for the dept you want. When I did this the young guy told me he would have to put me through to someone else and cut me off.
Security is appalling he called me by my first name and did not even know it was me on the other end!!!!!!!
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I thought I had signed up just for one moth only to find out that the minimum is two months. I have tried to cancel by phone but I must send an E-mail or letter. Unable to get through with E-mail I have sent a letter by recorded delivery. I paid for the first month by credit card and they have said they can't cancel without Setanta approval. I am a pensioner, can someone please help me!!!
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We tried to sign up to Setanta but when it was confirmed we couldn't receive their service we decided not to proceed. They signed us up anyway and refused to cancel it so we cancelled our direct debit and now Setanta have passed on a debt of £21.98 to a debt collection agency. Their an absolute joke of a company.
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Just a small word of caution. I am a Sky engineer, and while dish re-alignment may help cure the problem, be careful. If it done wrong or more biased towards the Sentanta Satallite this could affect your viewing of other Sky channels. This was not made clear in the feature. As the professor said it the feature Sentanta and most other Sky channels use different satallites, in fact Sky recieves signals from about 6 satallites.
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The cancelation is a real joke when it comes to setanta. They told me to go to the bank and the bank to me to to speak to setanta. I went round about 3 times. Something needs to be done about it.
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It was a strange coincidence that we had never had any trouble with Setanta until an hour after the programme! We wanted to watch the Liverpool game but at first it was very jerky and then it stopped altogether! We have never had problems before so why now? And after the match the ordinary Setanta was fine - why? We haven't tried to watch a live game since but will be interested to see what happens.
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Without doubt Setanta sport customer services are the worst company I have ever dealt with. I was on hold for 1 hour after being transferred from customer services to to the customer loyality team only to be told that i needed to put my request in writing to them. They then had the cheek to charge me £12.99 instead of £5 without informing myself. I have sent 2 written letters and 10 emails into themselves and have only received 2 emails back both unsatisfactory. Nobody from that company is willing to take responsibility for anything and hide behind their terms and conditions. I hope the company goes bust for the way they disregard their customer and lack of respect shown.
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I signed up to setanta in November last year for the boxing. I decided to cancel the package in June this year, when I called setanta they advised me to send a letter to them stating I wanted to cancel. After 3 months they were still taking payments from my account, when I questioned this they stated that they had never received a letter from me and they would not cancel my account. After much arguing over the phone I eventually got my account cancelled and then changed my bank card to be sure they couldn't take any more money from me. I am now receiving letters stating that they will be sending in bailiffs to collect outstanding money which I do not owe them. One of those letters has a new account number on it, after speaking with yet more reps it appears that they have cancelled my account only to turn my multi room package into a single room package and given me a new account number. I am totally disgusted with the way I’ve been treated by setanta sports and have threatened them with legal action but this has been ignored time and time again. My advice to anyone thinking about getting this package is DONT!
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i originally took out a contract with setanta as a promo for £1 a month for first 2 month and subs fee of 12.99 which suddenly increased to a further £2,anyway they cancelled the subscription(well put an imbargo on it) said i shouldnt have got it . after months of fighting a lovely lady refunded me the money ,and offered me 2 months foc subscription,but before the offer expired,i decided to send a email on 19/09/08 to cancel,on 13/11/08 they took a payment of 12.99 out of my account without my knowledge using the last 4 digits of my bank card,and also incurring me with a £35 charge from bank,as it wasnt banks fault,they bank would not refund,and setanta said they dont refund charges ,which was on there terms and conditions,so i was told by a team leader,i asked him were it said this and he could find it. i spoke to several people 5 of whom i got full names for and some claiming to be team leaders,and then some saying they were not allowed to give out there full name,i was even told my contract would not be cancelled till 8/12/08 ,nearly 4 months later.i was also told by one agent he would release the call,as he had got me so angry,and i said the word "CRAP",which he classed as a swear word,(i laughed. i work for customer services myself and if a customer wants to speak to a manager or team leader ,we get one.i phoned again today (05/12/08) after several times of trying to get through to billing and complaints dept,of which i had no luck, so called the subscription line and HEY PRESTO got through easy as pie, i said to agent "isnt that funny",to which his reply was "are you being sarcastic" to which i replied "after all the hassle i have had with your company so far ,yes". he cut me off ,is this improved customer service,I THINK NOT SETANTA..*NICKY I HOPE YOU USE THIS *.
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Email and letter sent 1st December cancelling Setanta sports
Received confirmation cancelled on 3rd Dec (this months payment also debited from account on 3rd Dec)
Mailed back to confirm cancellation on 4th Dec as states will not be effective until 30 days after next payment i.e. January 2009
Received phone call on 5th Dec stating cannot cancel and email was not received until 3rd Dec (even though sent on 1st through web form) After 15 mins of being told cannot cancel DD hung up on customer service rep (Male)
Received phone call on 6th Dec (female) again stating appears email received after payment date so cannot cancel until after next payment, went off spent approx 10 mins on hold to be told can see why I am unhappy due to delay in email being processed so would need to phone customer services to ask for cancellation to be processed on original date i.e. 1st Dec
Attempted phone call received 11am on 7th Dec from Setanta (missed call)
Phone call received from Setanta at 13:50 on 7th Dec (Mark?) stating cancellation due on 25th Jan??? Again refused to accept email was not processed for 2-3 days and said not their problem, I cannot cancel, offered 1/2 price subs for 3 months, told them no chance as did not want service anymore, again persisted in stating will have an o/s debt with them which I will continue to be telephoned about, told him if Setanta continue to phone I will seek my own legal advice as this is now tantamount to harassment, he just said would continue to be phoned, at which point I said goodbye and terminated the call.
Even with the recent publicity on Watchdog looks like Setanta are not changing their ways at all!!!
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Almost every time a live football match comes on the picture goes wonky! Customer service take you through the same old routine and tell you it will take up to an hour to come good - not much good when you want to weatch a football match lasting 90 minutes. They blame evrything but themselves. It is impossible to get the servioe cancelled. I think they just palm yopu off and hope inretia makes yo forget till next time!
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I would tell anyone who is cancelling an account with setanta that after their last payment to MAKE SURE AND CANCEL THE DIRECT DEBIT WITH THE BANK! Otherwise they will keep taking your money for as long as they want to.
I had an account and when I moved had to cancel and it was just a nightmare. I phoned and was told to email them to cancel which I did. I received an email to say they had got my email. I then paid my last months subscription and I cancelled my direct debit with the bank (thank goodness). One month later i get a letter to say I havent paid Setanta. I called and they said they had not cancelled my account and had not received my email. I then sent a further 2 emails to them and still was getting letters telling me I had not paid. This is the best bit though on my 5th call (after 4 emails) they said that it was their fault they had not cancelled my account and had a record of my calls and cancellation but had lost my emails and the best way to resolve this problem was to give them my bank details so they could take payments! This is 2 months after I stopped getting their service!! When I said no chance he suggested that I should write a letter to cancel. So I have given up. I just put their letters in the bin and ignore them now. They are getting nothing out of me. The customer service is a joke. They are fast enough to sign you up but if you want to cancel goodness help you!
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I sent a letter in October 2008 to cancel my subscription and I'm still being charged. I've sent emails asking to cancel and keep getting a standard response that I must put cancellation in writing.
I signed up for the £9.99 offer (pre-summer) and they've been charging me £12.99! I can't get onto a human person when I ring their UK office.
I've really had it with Setanta and I can't even remove what I thought was a direct debit payment authority with my bank because they keep charging my visa card every month because I stupidly gave them my 3 digital security code.
Going to write another letter and send it Recorded Delivery!
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We were rung at 8 p.m. by setanta regarding our 'cancelled' account. Demanding we give our bank details again (I had cancelled direct debit after getting cancellation number and sending emails to them) I reiterated their cancellation clause to them - 30 days and in fact they had 39 days. We have now received a threatening letter demanding that we contact them for non payment of account! They took their last 12.99 on 27 Nov 08. They beggar belief. Please please watchdog do try and help people who want to cancel. Their bully boy ways should not be allowed. I explained to them by phone and email numerous times that my husband has heart problems - and our finances (pension)do not allow for Setanta, especially at the speed they hike their rates up. HELP...
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hi
i had a new sky+ box installed on 12/12/2008.
i asked the installer to check my dish.
he said it was set up badly.
now i can watch setanta sports with no problem.
this could be the answer to many peoples problems.
peterleic
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i tried to cancel setanta on sep 29th and was advised of the 30 day notice and got the email address so emailed them.i cancelled the payment on the card aswell.tonight i got a phone call from them saying i owe them money as my account had not been cancelled and was now in erreas and that if i did not pay my outstanding balance would be sent to a "3rd party collection agency".i paid it and got a new email address and sent yet another email.then to top it off i get another phone call from them asking my credit card details again which i refused to give them.still waiting for it to be cancelled or for at least an apology for threatening me.setantas customer services is appauling and to think that as i work for a retailer thats meant to try and sell it its a complete joke.i wait to see if my account gets cancelled or if i get taken to debt collectors then so be it.im not paying anymore money and im not being threatend
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Having been offered 3 months for £5.50 with no re-connection fee I agreed to go back to Setanta. They then proceeded to overcharge me for the first two months and charged me a reconnection fee. I incurred £60 worth of bank charges for this. I contacted the company and was told they had made a mistake and I would get a call within 24 hours for a refund. No call came. I contacted them a week later and was told the same. No call came. Next week the same. So I asked to speak to a manager. I was told the manager was not there that day and there was no one else there I could speak too regarding this, However no call came. Then they sent me a letter saying I owe them money and that the debt is being transferred to a debt collection agency. I contact them again and eventually speak to some one who claims to be a manager. He tells me I do have to pay a reconnection fee, and when I ask if they record the calls, He tells me they do but he doubts if they keep records back as far as October 2008. He assures me someone will contact me within the next two days, then two weeks and then maybe a week totalk about my refund and that they will continue to chase me for the money I owe them. I said I will continue to chase them for the money they owe me, So here I am another very unhappy consumer who feels let down, and still trying to get my refund for what they have overcharged me and will also endeavor to get my bank charges reimbursed. So far this has cost me £60 in bank charges £20 for oversubscription fees, Telephone fees which I havn't added up and a lot of wasted time. Please be warned.
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I have been trying to cancel my Setanta subscription since the beginning of October and made numerous phone calls. I finally sent the letter below today.
At the beginning of October an email was sent via. your weblink asking how to cancel a subscription. Having had no reply I telephoned on 24 October @ 13:45 hours and was told it had already been actioned from the email and final payment would be taken in November with service ceasing at the beginning of December.
I had no service from 30 November on Setanta channels so assumed it had been actioned. A charge was then made on 4 December for £12.99. After various telephone conversations of approximately 30 minutes length on each occasion I have finally been informed the cancellation needs to be in writing with a request to Newry for a refund of the £12.99. My credit card company have been informed to not accept anymore charges from you so whether you cancel or not now you will not be paid!
So - can you please arrange the £12.99 refund and it would be nice if you also refunded the telephone costs.
Your staff are very unhelpful, presumably trained to not accept cancellations, and I have been given 3 different addresses (by three different personnel) to communicate with by letter so all three are receiving a copy of this – if you have anyone else who needs to know please circulate this letter to them. I have also been given 2 different email addresses (by the same member of your personnel team) for communication – one of which does not exist so I was extremely grateful for that one.
Perhaps you could change your website to include a link to cancellation of subscription which would really help people. You never know if you set this up properly you may just be able to delete the link for REFUND QUERY.
I would love to say it has been a pleasure doing business with you but it would be a lie.
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as again ,i too am another person complaining about bully tactics by setanta sports,i was telephoned out of the blue by top up tv,for a free 3 month term of setanta,with no obligation to subscribe in october 2008,low and behold they had taken a payment of £10.99 from my account with out me being informed,they had set a direct debit up with my bank,and as far as i am concerned this is theft,i have had to write to them to cancel,and also i have canceled the d/d,i wash my hands of them,this is theft of the highest degree i feel sorry for all the people who have been mislead by this company.
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What terrible Customer Service.
Last night I rang Setanta to take out a 2 months subscription for £30.I specifically stated that I wanted to watch the Everton v Chelsea match that started in 20 minutes time. I paid my monies by Mastercard and was then told it will take an hour or so for connection to be made. I said this was not acceptable and therefore wished to cancel. I was told I could not cancel but would have to ring customer services and give 30 days notice. Again, I said this was unacceptable and wanted to speak with a Supervisor - I was cut off. I called back and spoke to a helpful Supervisor who assured me that if I called customer services in the morning, they would back out the transaction.
Tthis morning i called Setanta - having explained the situation i was told there is nobody available in customer services to take my query. i asked to hold, but was told that i would be holding up a valuable telephone line. I insisted on holding - for 15 minutes, before the operator told me again nobody was available. I said I was amusing myself reading the Watchdog blog site with 105 entries and therefore I was happy to hold as I was determined not to be another Setanta victim - I was cut off again.
I called again, another helpful person who listened intently, promised to fix the problem, put me on hold for another 21 minutes. A "floor walker" (supervisor?) came on teh line - very helpful. I was told to write in, recorded delivery to Newry. I was also "offered" to increase my commitment to Setanta and I could be offered a discount...... What a shambles. I mentioned how appalled I was at the number of Watchdog complaints - he made it clear that many of those cannot be trusted.
I then had a manager come on the line who threatened to cancel my account and terminate the call if I in any way mentioned Watchdog and blog sites - citing that his people are on a minimum wage and simply doing their best to provide support. I said that all I wanted was for the account to be cancelled!
Finally, he told me that the operator last night could have backed out the transaction whilst I was still on the line. I was also told that I am actually subscribed for 3 months when I was told it was 2 months. So now the manager will send a mail requesting a copy of the taped conversation (only the one where I paid, ignoring the two where I was cut off)and will process a refund............Mmmm.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
There's also a number of comments about similar issues with Setanta on Victoria Derbyshire's blog on the 5Live site!
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Well, I have been a customer of Setanta for about one year now. Like you, I watched the Watchdog programme about Setanta and thought that I was lucky as my signal was not pixellated or frozen. Not until I turned over the channel to watch the Liverpool match. Unlike most of you, I didn't complain and thought that this was just a one off. I have since noticed that intermittently the signal is lost - especially when a big (sorry to all you hardened footy fans) premiership game is being broadcasted.
Tonight, my family was looking forward to watching the Manchester United match but just after half time, the picture started to break up and finally froze. I remembered back to Watchdog and came looking for help.
Can I say a big thank you to whoever suggested making changes to the channel settings. It worked like a charm!!!!! ALL I HOPE IS THAT THIS IS NOT A TEMPORARY FIX AND THAT WE CAN ENJOY WATCHING MORE SPORTS IN THE FUTURE!!!
[Company details removed by Moderator]
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Further to my entry no 99 We have now had Christmas greetings from Setanta threatening us with debt collection agency unless we settle out 'oustanding' account. Prior to receiving this letter we spent a complete day fielding calls from Setanta.
One operator, previously agreed that cancellation of service would commence from 19 Dec. However they pulled plug on 14th. They now owe us!!!!!!!! Has anyone actually had a copy of their account statement?
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I also tried to cancel my Setanta subscription - in Scotland the product had been declining since the start of the fotball season.
Twice, I lost my picture - once during a game - but the Setanta logo and "technical fault" message was still on the screen so it was clearly a broadcast issue rather than a reception problem. When I watched one game in which the cameras were covered in rain (it really was like watching through a wet window), I had had enough.
Not so easy, however. the guy I spoke to on the phone (26 October) gave me an email address, which I used to send my cancellation. When I heard nothing back, I telephoned and a woman confirmed they did have receipt of my cancellation.
On 2 November, I got an email, which confirmed my subscription would be cancelled "30 days after your next payment", which should have been 26 November, and offering me the chance to stay. (My cancellation should really have been effective from my previous payment date of 26 October.)
I replied that they hadn't even addressed my complaints. I received no further communication.
Yesterday, I discovered that they had taken a further payment on 30 December.
Does the "incompetence" of this company only ever end up costing the customer money?
************
25/10/2008
Acct. no. ********
To whom it may concern,
I hereby give you notice that I wish to terminate my viewing contract with Setanta.
I had considered doing so some time ago, after the increase in subscription cost.
However, since the start of the season, broadcasts of two Celtic games have been interrupted - one during play - without any explanation or apology that I have ever seen.
Today the Hamilton v Rangers match is being displayed with several cameras covered in rainwater. This is not what I expect of a professional broadcast media and I certainly will not be paying for it any longer.
**********
Setanta Customer Services
02/11/2008
Dear ******** ******
Thank you for your e-mail.
I am sorry to hear that you no longer wish to subscribe to Setanta Sports. Your cancellation request will now be processed and will take effect thirty days from your next payment.
At Setanta Sports we strive to provide a wide variety of content for all our customers and we hope that you will be subscribing again in the future. If for any reason you would like to withdraw your cancellation request please contact us on 08712 00 33 22 were we will be happy to take your call from 9am until 9pm Monday to Sunday.
Yours sincerely
[Personal details removed]
Customer Services
***********************
02/11/2008
Dear Darren,
Thank you for your reply - more than a week after I sent my cancellation notice, after I was forced to telephone to check that it had even been received due to the absence of any acknowledgement and without giving any indication that my reasons for cancelling my subscription had even been read.
It is customer service such as this that has made me decide to cancel my subscription.
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I too am having massive issues with setanta. Cancelled on the 20th Oct after 3 emails, got a answer on the 2nd Nov (doing well) Cancelled Direct debit on the 10th Nov after they took there last payment on the 5th Dec. They then sent three letters saying that i must contact them about my Direct Debit. Called them only to be told my account wasn't closed and they never sent an email. So i got angry and then this email they never sent magical turned up on there system. Account closed Channels off on the 5th Dec, Payment also taken on the 5th as they had re set up the Direct Debit, Now spent £7ish on calls to get 12.99 back. Some Team leader called Barry today told me they dont have a head of customer services and only Refund dept can authorise a refund and they are way to busy. Put all sports back on the BBC where they should be !!!! Ok then sky can have some but only becouse its in HD!!!
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Luckily, I've finally ended my subscription after numerous calls, emails and letters; but just to make sure that no further money was taken from my account, I cancelled my credit card details with my bank.
I now inform everybody I meet about my overall experience of Setanta, which is not a good one!
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The saga continues, probably best illustrated through my latest email to the company.
I hope watchdog will revisit this story soon.
====================
To: customerservices@setanta.com>
date: 7 January 2009 15:53
Subject: Refund of unauthorised payment from my account
--------------------
Acct. no. *******
To whom it may concern,
I cancelled my account with Setanta Sports on 25 October, receipt of which has now been confrimed three times on the telephone and once by email.
On 2nd November, I received a confirmation that my account would be cancelled 30 days from my next billing date, which should have been 26th November. However, I found that my account has been debited on 30th December, prompting me to complain and cancel my direct debit to prevent further unauthorised payments being taken from my account.
Despite promises that the accounts department would call me on Monday to arrange a refund, they have not contacted me. I have had automated calls, which I have now found were from "customer loyalty", rather than customer services.
They had been alerted because I cancelled my payment for a contract that had been terminated.
Having spoken at length to "customer loyalty" to explain this - which is, after all, a case of Setanta being at fault at every stage - I was told that, despite the fact I had done everything correctly, I should not, "always be pointing the finger at Setanta", due to my having referenced myriad complaints found on the BBC Watchdog site.
Today, I received my second text message, asking me to call Setanta "urgently" (my 1471 service confirms that no attempt was made to call me). When I called this 08712 number, described as "charged at a sufficent rate to deter time wasters" (http://www.alphatalk.com/0871_national_rate_numbers.asp
), I was put directly on hold.
At this rate, I am apparently expected to pay more in telephone calls than the cost of my refund.
It seems a very simple thing to do - cancel the account when asked and stop taking payments that are no longer authorised. Instead, Setanta seem to be intent on taking my money illegally and trying to avoid paying it back.
Perhaps someone at your company would be as good as their word and simply refund my payment without trying to make me pay for the privilege.
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Another Setanta freak here.
I signed up to watch Liverpool matches. Match 1 -
local rain = no signal. Match 2 no-one got a signal countrywide. Match 3 was on Setanta Ireland not the uk!
When I read the web-wide horror stories about Setanta and their habit of withdrawing payments AFTER written termination I instructed my bank to withold payments. I have since wrestled with them until finally reaching a verbal agreement that I would pay 1 more month and terminate on 13/1/09 Not so. They cut me off on 31/12 and have sent me a threatening letter for the final payment.[Personal details removed by Moderator]
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It appears i am having the same problem with cancelling my subscription. After spending 10 mins on the phone whilst they tried to convince me to stay with them they told me i had to put notice in writing which i did. They have still kept taking payment, after phoning again they achnowledged the cancelation phone call but they hadn't received anything in writing. they now say that the 30 day notice period is only affective from when they achknowledge in writing which means they will try to take payment again next month even though the first cancelation phone call was on the 14/11/08. Apparently there was not any supervisors available to speak to. I still havn't got achlnowledgment from Setanta. Worried by this i searched on the net to see if i was the only one having this problem, appears i'm not, didn't take long to find hundred of complaints. As for picture quality issues i have also had problems, the picture quality appears to be perfectly fine until 5-10 mins before the start of match which i lose satelite signal/freezing pictures/poor quality, the picture then resume after and hour or two
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on the day the program was shown we had that day taken up the offer advertised in the paper, saw the program and thought oh no!!! tried to watch the liverpool game which was exactly as watchdog had said it would be therefore tried on numerous occassions to cancel each time told yes cancelled then when you call back to check no its not cancelled. i have sent lots of emails and also letter in writing. we dont even watch the channel now and cant wait for it to be switched off - i do hope watchdog will chase them up again as they are still taking our money.
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I have, today, just commenced the cancellation process! I phoned the only number I could find on the website - at the FAQs tab. after being on hold and an attempt to persuade me to stay at reduced cost, I was told to e-mail [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]My next payment is Feb 10th, so I now have to put up with something I rarely use until Mar 10th. Having read some of the horror stories on this blog, I shall attempt to e-mail them with my cancellation request every day, and cancel the DD on Feb 11th!
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My husband and I have been trying to cancel our subscription to setanta since june 2008 we have sent numerous letters and e mail only to find that they never recieve them setanta contacted us today to say that my husbands visa card was due to expire and to ask us for a different card to continue the subscription, to which we replied that we have been trying to cancel our subscription, they have just phoned back and told me to send yet another e mail to setanta but i was told by the person i spoke to that i should be reimbursed for the last 6 months I will let you know if I get any joy and hopefully others will be able to follow suit
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Oh Dear, after reading all these comments I have an idea of what is instore for me!
I purchased Setanta subscription as a Christmas present for an Uncle who loves sport. He never recevied a watchable picture and according to Setanta's technical dept (after several calls) never would because he lives in shared accomodation.
I was told that although he has never received a picture I cannot canel the subscription within 30 days. After approx 15 telephone calls, a number of texts (from them to find out why I am not paying), an exchange of e mails, several people have verbally confirmed that my subscription has been cancelled and I do not have to wait the 30 days. But the records at Setanta never get tied up. I dont think I have had one conversation where the person at Setanta could see the previous correspondence. I still get Text Messages telling me to phone them to sort out my account (hugely frustrating as you know (because I was daft enough to do it several times) that you go through to the automated line, queue, select the options and then they dont know about your previous conversations. To add insult to injury you actually pay for the call! I have cancelled my direct debit and I have been verbally intimidated / threatened for doing so. Some of the quotes from conversations with Setanta include "it is not our problem" "we cant help you" "my team leader is too busy to talk to you".
My 75 year old uncle still gets post from Setanta and is distressed that this still continues. I do hope Watchdog get back on this case.
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I have been a costumer with setanta twice now and each time i have joined i took about two mins till set up , but when i try to cancel it took six mins just two get to talk to someone , and when i did i was told they couldnt answer anything about leaving setanta , l have e,mailed and phoned to cancel with them but dont seem to get anywhere , i think watchdog should look into setanta and see there dirty work for themselves and publicly exspose them for what they are .........
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I was wondering if anyone with Setanta received an email saying that December was going to be free and that we would get the £12.99 back in February? I called Setanta today because I did not get the £12.99 back and they seemed to be unaware of this email!! If anyone got it and still has it could they send it to me so I can forward it to Setanta.......because I thought the money would be put back I am now getting a charge of £30 from my bank due to being overdrawn!!!:(
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We decided to subscribe to Setanta when we saw an add at the begining of december in one of the sunday papers advertising free subscription for 2 months at the cost of £1 to set it up. We took up the offer and decided after the free period we would not continue subscribing so as per the instructions on the letter which stated if you wish to unsubscribe it must be done between the 10th and 30th day of subscription, otherwise it would run on at a cost of £10.99 a month. We phoned Setanta as it said in the letter to cancel and was told that it had been done and would end when the free period was finished, but we should put it in writting and was given an address. We wrote the letter and posted a few days later, that was it so we thought. This week whilst checking my online banking i noticed they had infact taken £10.99 from my account which had caused me to go over my agreed over draft limit (i hadnt obviously budgeted for it ) therefor i have incurred a bank charge of £20 due Setantas incompetence. My partner called them and was told that a MANAGER would phone and try to deal with the problem, we waited and 2 days later my partner decided to phone again this time we were told they had no record of a letter and nothing could be done unless we write another letter to cancel, as my partner was in the middle of explaining that this simply wasnt good enough the Setanta "customer service rep" hung up the phone !! So he rings back and speaks to someone else who tells us the address we wrote to was wrong and gave us another address to write to, or we could email to cancel. I have today emailed them to cancel and explain how unhappy we are with their so called customer service and that i would like a refund of the money they took plus my bank charges.. We shall see what happens next, i will be stopping any future payments to them.
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Where do i start?
When getting setanta on sky
the equipment you are using e.g SKY BOX/DISH ETC
this has nothing to do with setanta as they only send out/broadcast a signal!this is also stated in the t&c's(people should read these as they are important)
setanta have a tech support team who are excellent as i have learned because i have had numerous signal issuses due to poor installation of my sky dish,box!AND WHEN I RING SKY I AM TOLD ITS SETANTAS PROBLEM EVEN THOUGH ITS NOT!
setanta tech team can do so much but if u have hardware problems they can not help!!
and cancellations seem simple to me u send a letter of e-mail to them,and most people do not have the correct info,they read blogs and things such as this instead of contacting setanta directly!
Happy days!
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FAO supergossy !!! THANKS so much. Your instructions worked perfectly.
I was given a subscription for valentine's day ! and nearly through the tv out of the window yesterday. Was down at the inlaws earlier and their signal was fine so reckoned it had to be my signal. Was nearly going to get the other half to cance (so glad I've not had to do that). Perfect picture now, just hope it's not affected any other channels ! :-D
Thanks again.
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I subscribed to Setanta Sports as one of my daughters Christmas Presents in December 2007. I paid my subscription regularly by DD every month. In October 2008 I tried to cancel my subscription, I called them and e-mailed them and was told I should write in to cancel, which I did. I was happy to pay the months notice subscription but then they took another payment out of my account in December 2008. I was advised in order to get a refund I should send them a copy of my bank statment showing the payment taken in error - which I did. I was then informed they would not be refunding the final subscrption payment as they had not received my original cancelation letter. I have now called them at least four times and written at least four letters. I have sent them copies of my cancelation e-mail and a copy of my original cancelation letter. They are still refusing to pay me back the subscription payment the took for December as they deny receiving my cancelation letter of October - even though they have had a copy of it. I have just called them again to complain and was told If I want to dispute the decision I must write (again) to Head Office and make a further request. I would like to call their Head Office but I am unable to get a telephone number for them. I am furious.
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Please Watchdog Please re-visit Setanta on your programme, they are so frustrating and are making money from people who either can't get their service or don't want it but are unable to cancel due to the incompetence of Setanta Sports. I am furious.
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I agree with Warriorbarbi1, please re-visit Setanta as their service is beyond a joke. After weeks of trying and various calls to customer services i finally managed to cancel my subscription. 2 days later Setanta called me offering a £6.50 for 3 months deal which i accepted.
A week later i sat down to watch a game and my subscription cut off. i called Setanta with the problem and they stated they had no record of the offer or of me paying, a fact i later proved to them with a copy of my bank statement. They stated i had to pay £6.50 again and ring the day later to get a refund.
I agreed as i had a houseful of people to watch the footy. A week later i get a letter through my door stating i had been charged £29 for reconnection and on a £12.99 per month contract.
After calling their customer services several times, writing letters with bank statements i finally got a response apologising for the mix up and stating they would refund my money.
However i have just checked my online banking and not only have they not refunded my money, they have taken another 12.99. Straight back onto their customer services who state my refund was paid (it wasnt as my bank statement proves) and i have to write to them again claiming refunds with evidence!!
This service is pathetic, a premium rate price for an amateurish brand and there are several threads online just like this one. I also have friends who have had similar ordeals.
They have confirmed that my subscription is now cancelled but i want my money back as they owe me at least £35, im absolutely raging!
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Looks like there is a lot of people who have shared the same experience as i have, which is a very poor, unprofessional one by Setanta Sports.
After numerous phone calls to what they call "Customer Services" and numerous different excuses, i eventually just cancelled my Direct Debit, after they had taken a total of £50 out of my account, and to this day never seen one second of Setanta Sports action! One of the last excuses i was told for the reason why i could not receive my Signal, was that they had actually sent me the WRONG Signal!! As frustrating as this was, if was pure laughable!
AND, still to this day have not received a response to the complaint letter which i sent back in November 2008, requesting my fee back, which i have never received.
Would advise anyone who reads this, NOT to subscribe to Setanta, and waste your money on something else instead, cause that is all you will be doing.
Rant and Rave over (though i could carry on),
Setanta Sports - Unprofessional, Amateur, Appalling!!
An extremely mad would be subscriber. GGGRRRR!
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They do not leave you sign out when you want to do so, every time you ring them there is always someone there badly mannered who will not help at all.
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I wish i had read all this before subscribing
i mean i remeber watching the show and so when i subbscribed i thought surely they wouldve been bothered enough to take some action
and now im caught in the net
paid an unbearable amount for dish aligning, changing the dish etc and still problems
Frustrating iis an understatement... its a simple job subscribe and watch... i wanted to watch the united vs tottenham match which was extrvagant based on bbc commentry :( and now im missing all the IPL action and Setanta refuse to reinburse my cost of watching pixels and glitches... Never again am i subscribing setanta!!!
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