New Subscription Card Dilemma

**bolly1965** · 1st October 2009, 04:39 PM

Hi there,

My Sky has just stopped working today. Reason for this is that I "bought" the system (dish, card, receiver etc) from some friends who were moving back to the UK. Rather than them having to sign up again, I thought it best to order a subscription card in my own name & own bank details etc. However, I have just been told by one dealer that in order to sign up for one of the new Sky cards in my own name from scratch, the receiver (a Thomson make that was new a year ago) would not recognise a new card and therefore I would have to buy a new box as well (on special offer). Is this right as all I have read so far seems to say that if I have all the equipment I can just buy and pay for the card. Confused of Benidorm.

**satandpcguy** · 1st October 2009, 08:29 PM

Welcome to the forum Confused of Benidorm,

You are being told some porkies there.

Any sky card can be paired or matched to ANY sky receiver.
All it takes if for someone, you or their card provider, to contact sky with the card number and sky receiver details and get the card paired up and working.

You DO NOT have to buy a new box for a new card.
You can use your exisiting box with a new card, as long as it is paired up correctly via Sky.

This is just a scam to buy a box and get more money out of you.

DO NOT USE THEM IF THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE SAYING!

Also be careful when using agents / dealers in spain. Make sure the card is registered at your own UK Address, otherwise you may be hit with a yearly "maintenance fee" for "borrowing" the agents / dealer UK address. Best use a UK address you can control, and this can be verified after a month or so as the monthly Sky Magazine will be delivered to that address.

**bolly1965** · 2nd October 2009, 05:46 PM

I assumed as much so thanks for the reply. Why is it that some expat "legitimate" traders seemingly want to fleece you so much? This "company" had a pretty professional website with pics of sales teams, but when I called it was just the one bloke out on a job.

I do have a UK address but no sky is registered there as it is my mates house. My parents have sky so would it be possible to get a new/replacement card sent there (think I can order one from Sky for bout �20?)

Someone has also told me (can u tell I'm not a teckie) that in order for this to work I would have to take my sky box back to the UK, stick the card in there to activate it, then bring the whole lot back. Seems a faff and I was going to go with one of the agent companies but find it a bit annoying that they can charge anything from �120 upwards for the annual charge and then another charge for the card. This may be the only way to get it sorted for me as there is only so much Diagnosis Murder I can take.

Thanks by the way as u appear to be someone who is actually here to genuinely help (unlike some other rip off expat businesses - no offence menat to anyone).

**bolly1965** · 2nd October 2009, 07:33 PM

I assumed that the bloke was dodgy as been treated like that a few times over here (suprisingly by mainly expat businesses).

Update, as I said I am not a teckie, but seems that I still have the Sky Freesat channels working (apart from Sky3) but that means at least I get to watch something. My next thought is that I could, as I have an active freesat card here, phone Sky to upgrade to an actual Sky package giving them my UK address?

**satandpcguy** · 3rd October 2009, 08:42 AM

hi,

you can order a sky card to any UK address, even if they do or do not have a dish or sky already there - sky dont know f you bought a dish from B&Q and installed a system yourself.

you can always get a card ordered to your uk address, get the card posted to you , and then contact sky, and get the card manually activated in your sky box.

ofcourse, I must say, using a sky card outside the uk and roi is against the terms and conditions of your sky contract and sky card deactivte the card should they find out that you are doing this. so when you contact sky either call from spain with all caller ID options available to you, or get someone in the UK to pretent to be you and contact sky on your behalf.

I am almost pretty certain (but not 100%!) that if you order a FSFS card it can at a later date be upgraded to an actual sky subscription card,

My next thought is that I could, as I have an active freesat card here, phone Sky to upgrade to an actual Sky package giving them my UK address?

all blue cards will at some time in october we think will be deactivated. so either way you will need a new white sky viewing card. but you could always give it a go and see what they do.

I assumed as much so thanks for the reply. Why is it that some expat "legitimate" traders seemingly want to fleece you so much? This "company" had a pretty professional website with pics of sales teams, but when I called it was just the one bloke out on a job.

unfortunatley this happens quite a lot and then it starts to give ALL satellite tv installers a bad name. although it is not just in TV that this happens!

Thanks by the way as u appear to be someone who is actually here to genuinely help (unlike some other rip off expat businesses - no offence menat to anyone).

glad to be of help. as you can see from the site and forums i try to be open and honest about things like reception / limitations of channels, problems with systems, helping out people etc and glad that I can try and prove that not everyone is out to rip people off!

**bolly1965** · 3rd October 2009, 09:44 AM

Thanks again. Just ordered a new white card from Sky to my UK address so whenever it arrives (I am back there next week but assume won't have arrived) will take it from there. There could well be many more questions posted in the near future? How hard can it be? Just resent paying all these "management fees" and so on for a service that doesn't take much servicing at all.

Shame I hadn't heard of your company when I first got tv installed over here. Ah well, many hundreds of euros down the drain as I am sure it has been for many other people over here.

Unfortunately, I am well aware that "rogue traders" are not confined to this market. Call me naive, but I would have thought that expat tradesmen would have put service and recommendations above all else, especially as many expats living here are not able/don't have the confidence to deal with spanish dealers. But I guess if they think they have a captive market then many think they can treat people like morons.

Not bitter and twisted at all.

Will let you know how I get on & if it all works OK I shall be right chuffed with myself as a non teckie.