To think I shouldn't have to pay for my own bloody Sky remote - Sky should!

[ZeroMinusZero]

I've been a loyal Sky customer for about three years. My remote has been dodgy for a while and has finally conked out. I have to buy my own replacement. What's with that? I pay for this service and have done for years. I didn't have to pay for the box or remote when I joined, yet I have to pay for replacements if they break of their own accord? I am furious and will be moving to Virgin forthwith.

Surely I'm not alone in this....?

They are about a tenner in Argos! Do you expect whoever made you're telly to supply you with a new remote if that one packs in? YABU

YANBU! My play and pause buttons only just work, and the channel + - conked out long ago, but I have to pay for a replacement!

Yabu. They won't last for ever, not with regular use and abuse.

If your car tyres wore out after 3 years you would replace them. If your shoes wore out after 6 months regular use you would replace them.

If your remote control wears out, you replace it.

I do think that with the nature of sky service there is an argument that they ought to supply you with the equipment you need in order to use it, and update that equipment.

Its the same as a contract mobile, you are no longer in a fixed term contract or under warrenty so why would they replace it?

Considering how much they charge every month, along with the competition from other service providers, and the option for customers to save a lot of money by using freeview...I think as a gesture of goodwill, it would be a good idea to offer reasonable replacements/repairs for free...for as long as the customer is paying monthly.

Just good customer service really.

Mind you, I can't complain, I have recently arranged for my mother to have a new sky+ box (upgraded from the old box that wasn't sky+) for a grand total of a fiver (usually £60 installation charge), and a reduction in her package giving her a saving of over £20 a month.

I agree with you OP. You are paying for an ongoing service with Sky, so imo, they should provide equipment so you can utilise that service. However they get around it by telling you that after a year, you own the equipment, not them and what you are paying for is ability to receive their service if your equipment is up to it.

If you have a choice then get cable. Wish I could.

Contract mobile you get a new phone every year or so.

We don't have cable either

The difference between shoes or tyres and a sky remote is that you don't just pay once for your sky..you continue to pay them so they should Supply a new remote...yanbu

redlac but I don't pay LG £30 a month in order for them to make the TV work. I pay Sky £30 a month to send Sky signal down my line.... which I can't use without a working remote.

Every time my phone has ever had a problem my phone company, 3, have always done something about it. Even when it's been Blackberry-specific problem not a 3-specific problem.

Yeah, and my ISP should replace my computer when it breaks!

The select button of my sky remote has fallen out so have to do ti via the box manually until i can get a new one. I would leave Sky but cannot get a cable service like Virgin here, or decent terrestrial tv with an aerial.

YANBU but Virgin didn't replace a broken one we had either so are just as bad.

Yanbu

Cancel the service then restart it again in a month or so.

You'll probably get new box too and some m&s vouchers.

I've just cancelled sky as I find it a complete rip off, £40 per month for the same shit repeated on every channel

We get our replacement remotes for free

Don't cancel and join again after a month. They will not treat you as a new customer as your old account will still be accessible.
I used to work on customer service for sky, these requests used to do my head in. You are paying for a television service, that's it. If your remote breaks after 3 years you replace it yourself.

YANBU, but don't switch to Virgin. They're shit!

YABU. You can buy the remotes in Maplins, Tesco, and most other places that sell remotes. You are paying for the satellite service, not the equipment.

We've had Sky for 20 odd years and STILL don't have a Sky+ box. We must be the only people that don't have one, I've told DH to cancel but he "Doesn't want to get into all that"

Sky remotes, I've bought one or two of those over the years too!

My sky + remote packed in last week. I bought a new one on eBay for just over a tenner and it arrived in a couple of days.

If you moan about having to pay for the remote, then pray that your actual box doesn't give up the ghost because you'll have to pay to sort that too if you're out if contract.

My play button stopped working and they just said it wasn't supposed to work just use the pause button! Threaten to leave and they'll offer you it half price that's what they did for me do we have everything for £36 a month including sky+hd.

I'm with you Op - they expect you to continue paying for their service but don't provide the equipment to use it!

The sky box still works - you just have to get off the settee to press the buttons on the box. Okay so your don't pay LG to get a service so would you expect the BBC to replace your aerial if that fell off your roof?