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[BackwardsSuggestions]

While I don't live at home, my mother has Broadband, TV & Talk with Sky and for the last few weeks, the phone has major interference (like, can't hear the person on the other end of the phone bad) and the internet is currently at 0.2Mb/s.

I send an E-mail to Sky and they reply with this:

I see that there is a lot of interference on the line as well and I have sent you a Microfilter free of charge and you will receive it within the next 3-5 working days. Please swap it with the existing one and monitor the Sky Broadband speed for 24 hours.

I understand from your email that you have followed all the troubleshooting steps. One of my colleagues have also performed a line test which indicates a fault within your property.
As you have followed the troubleshooting steps and the issue persists, an engineer visit will be required for the issue to be resolved. Therefore, I would request you to agree to the below mentioned charges:

“In the event that a visit to your house is required to repair a fault with your line and the engineer finds that Sky is not responsible for the fault, you will be responsible for a call out charge of £99.88, plus an hourly charge of £64.63.

They're telling me they can see a fault, but I really don't want someone to come out since there's no way I can pay the charges if for some reason it's not their fault. (What if it's weather damage or something?)

I've tried troubleshooting things myself. Only have the phone connected through a microfilter still makes it un-usable, I've tried many microfilters etc.

So, I have no way of paying that charge but we can't use the phone or the internet (can't load more than one page at a time). Surely they can't do this? It's a pain in the arse, too. I just want it fixed.

 

[Chili]

Unfortunately this is fairly standard practice with ISPs that use the BT line. The charge is essentially what BT Openreach will charge Sky if they come out to fix your line but find out there is a fault on the line caused by your own equipment. All they're doing is passing the charge on to you. If it is a genuine fault with the line then they will fix it for free. When I say 'line' I mean everything up to the first socket in your home (the master socket). Everything after that (any wiring and extensions etc.) is considered your own equipment.

I would recommend investing in something like this for your master socket. It filters the ADSL/voice so that your equipment cannot interfere with the signal. If there is still a problem with it after that then it is likely a problem with the line which they should fix for free.

 

[Fjord]

Have the same quandary here in New Zealand. Internet is dropping out for 2minutes every 30min and if a technician comes I'll get charged $200 if the problem is within the apartment building. I'm only here for two more months.

 

[Arnie]

Sky wireless has been shit in our house this year. If I wire it up it's alright, but the wireless signal is borderline unusable.

 

[JudgeDedd]

I'm with Virgin, I used to be with Sky until I got connection issues and had to refer to BT, with Virgin, it's virgin all the way through so you can resolve most issues over the phone or get a free tech to come and check it out.

I got my Ethernet Cable replaced for free because I ripped it out the back of the Router (angry lol) And on top of that, they gave me a £10 credit on my bill because they didn't have the 30+ metre cable

 

[lifa-cobex]

Try rolling the dice with BT.
Will my internet work tonight?

 

[daviyoung]

I had to go to the bank to stop my direct debit because Sky couldn't work out how to cancel my account.

 

[Nevasleep]

Have you tried using the test socket?

 

[BackwardsSuggestions]

Have you tried using the test socket?

I have a test socket?

 

[Captain Chaos]

Weird, sister in law has same problem and Sky CS being real shitty about it.

 

[Chili]

I have a test socket?

If your master socket looks like this then you can take off that lower panel and there is a socket in there. Plug the microfilter and modem directly into that. That way nothing else on your line is connected except the modem.

 

[Nevasleep]

I have a test socket?

You have if you've got a box which looks like that.

 

[Bo-Locks]

Dealing with these companies is a crapshoot. I had similar problems with Virgin Media but I complained loudly and long enough so that they eventually fixed the problem free of charge. I still left them a few months later and joined BT, who I've been happy with ever since.

Send a strongly worded physical letter (and email) to the highest representative that you can find (not just some random monkey behind a desk). Threaten to leave at the nearest possible opportunity and go to a competitor, unless they sort themselves out and fix the problem.

Trust me, it does work.

 

[BackwardsSuggestions]

You guys seem to help me more than Sky so lemme try this...

I've plugged just the phone into the test socket and it works fine, no issues. Now the issue starts again when I put in the line-extender that the Sky bloke installed. Basically, the sky box is in another room and it needs (well, it seems to work without it ATM) a phone line connected for the first year.

It's basically one of these plugged into the master socket:

with a line going from this to the living room and then connects to another one of these. As soon as I plug this in (Even if it's not connected to anything on the other end) the phone goes balls up and the fuzzing re-starts). The thing is, it worked fine for 6 months and honestly don't see why it would be starting now.

Any ideas?

 

[Chili]

So it seems the problem might be either that plug, the wiring or even the Sky box itself causing the interference. Do you have just the one Sky box? I think Sky recently removed the restriction for requiring it to be connected to a phone line if you have just one Sky box.

 

[BackwardsSuggestions]

So it seems the problem might be either that plug, the wiring or even the Sky box itself causing the interference. Do you have just the one Sky box? I think Sky recently removed the restriction for requiring it to be connected to a phone line if you have just one Sky box.

It's not the Sky box since even if it's off/disconnected, the interference still happened. But as long as they don't moan at me for not having it connected to a phone line, I can survive. Internet speeds are no better but to be fair, I do live in wales. I got it up to 0.7 just now. I can stream a 240p YouTube video. Yay.

I'll still send them an E-mail saying it's their equipment that failed. And not mine.

(Someone about 20 houses up has 5Mbps though)

 

[Clay Davis]

You guys seem to help me more than Sky so lemme try this...

I've plugged just the phone into the test socket and it works fine, no issues. Now the issue starts again when I put in the line-extender that the Sky bloke installed. Basically, the sky box is in another room and it needs (well, it seems to work without it ATM) a phone line connected for the first year.

It's basically one of these plugged into the master socket:

with a line going from this to the living room and then connects to another one of these. As soon as I plug this in (Even if it's not connected to anything on the other end) the phone goes balls up and the fuzzing re-starts). The thing is, it worked fine for 6 months and honestly don't see why it would be starting now.

Any ideas?

it's the splitter or extender. I had a similar problem until I replaced it with one I bought for 99p from my local pound shop. works fine now.

anyway, as mentioned above, if you've had sky for a year and you only have th eone box, you don't need to connect to a phone line any more.

 

[BackwardsSuggestions]

it's the splitter or extender. I had a similar problem until I replaced it with one I bought for 99p from my local pound shop. works fine now.

anyway, as mentioned above, if you've had sky for a year and you only have th eone box, you don't need to connect to a phone line any more.

I may give them an E-mail to see if they'll send me a freebie.

I've only been with Sky 9 months and besides this and disgusting internet speeds, I haven't had many issues with them.

EDIT: What is that thing in the image I posted actually called?