Loading ...You and Yours, a programme on BBC Radio 4 today discussed the new Freesat service, and paid particular attention to the way Currys’ have been misleading customers on requiring installation when purchasing a Freesat digital receiver.
The feature started with the radio presenters talking about how a number of listeners had been in touch to say how Currys’, up and down the country, have been misleading customers regarding the installation requirements of Freesat. The main issue has been staff advising customers that they must take installation, no matter whether they have a satellite dish in place already or not.
No one from Currys’ was willing to take part in the show, but did give an official statement saying that they are aware of the misunderstanding and are working to resolve. They claim that 80% of Freesat Digital Boxes have been purchased without installation, and that installation is by no means mandatory if you already have the required equipment in place.
This however goes against an email JamesE (a member of DigitalSpy) received from Currys’ a couple of weeks ago, which said:
Dear Mr ******,
Thank you for your email dated 14th May 2008. I am concerned to learn that you are unhappy that we include installation with the new receivers. The receivers do not work from a Sky dish and as they are HD, installation needs to be done with the correct receiver and aligned for an optimum signal.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We do value your custom and hope that you will continue to use our stores in the future.
Kind regards,
Stephanie Patterson
Currys Support
Richard Lindsay-Davies, a spokeman for Freesat took part in the show and explained that the way in which Freesat communicated with the major retailers may have back-fired somewhat, and measures are in place to resolve this, with 150 trainers from Freesat currently out at Currys’ stores educating the staff.
Richard went on to explain that Freesat is a platform setup to service the areas that Freeview doesn’t cover, and it has the added advantage of a much wider coverage area, as well as free HD channels. Also mentioned was that Freesat is the only satellite service to provide a free service for a one-off payment, although not restrictly true, Sky do offer such a service.
Its good that these matters are being addressed, and that Freesat are working to resolve these issues.
You can use BBC’s “listen again” service to listen to the show for yourself, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
i purchased a humax hd reciever from currys digital for 149.99 and the chap was more than happy to sell me it without an instalation he also told me last week they were told that they can sell them without instalation(currys princess street edinburgh)
May 29th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Do you remember when, not so long ago, Currys “experts” said they thought that HD DVD, would win the high definition war! no one ever seems to know what they are talking about at Currys.
May 29th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
And it is not just Currys. The phone assistant at Comet phone sales told me that even though I had a sky dish, I would still need to have the installation as the dish needs to be moved to a different angle for it to get freesat. Bought a Humax yesterday from Currys, plugged it in to the dish on the side of my house that had been redundent for 3 years, and hey presto! 76 channels. I also object to these muppetts saying that I need to spend at least £50 on an HDMI cable to get the best ‘bandwidth’ and signal. I refer to the 5 Gadget Show last week when they tested a £120 cable against a £20 one - no difference. These stores are preying on people knowing nothing about this ‘new’ product. It makes me angry!!!!!!