please empty your brain below
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I am surprised they haven't used the other tactic that they have done on a recently "dished" block of flats in my area. There is now a huge sign on each block saying words to the effect of "These flats can now receive Sky please phone xxxxxxx to order your installation now." The signs are about 50ft off the ground so no one can get up to remove them but they are an eyesore - my eye is certainly attracted to it every day I pass it
peewit | Homepage | 06.07.11 - 8:10 a.m. | #
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I don't get any junk mail from Sky. Why? Cabled area! Non-stop junk mail from Virgin instead!
Chz | 06.07.11 - 8:38 a.m. | #
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Now you have a dish available for your use, you could buy a Freesat receiver, this will work from that dish and get you many free radio and TV channels.
Or buy a second hand Sky "digibox" at a car boot sale and use it without a Sky card, you will still get most of the free channels.
Sky also will sell you a Sky card for a one off payment of £25 and no subscription, (they do not advertise this so much) this will get you a few more channels. They call this "Freesat from Sky".
As I live in a cabled area I get Sky and Virgin sending me junk mail. Virgin are far worse for this than Sky. It seems that Virgin do not like their cable passing by a house with going in!.
John | 06.07.11 - 8:59 a.m. | #
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ditto
Well at least there are printers being kept in business producing this stuff.
B | 06.07.11 - 9:25 a.m. | #
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I am one of the few people on my street without sky, but they don't seem to bother me with marketing. Virgin however send me masses of junk mail imploring me to join them. Which I did. Over a year ago. Their marketing department should really check their subscriber list before wasting the money they're spending!
anne | 06.07.11 - 9:46 a.m. | #
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it'll probably get worse before it gets better in the run-up to London's digital switchover in April of next year, as they try and persuade the last digital refuseniks to sign up to sky instead of freeview / virgin
(although if you think sky are bad, i can confirm that if you live in a cabled area, virgin are far worse for spamming you. Unfortunately I have had to take them up on their offer as I live in a flat with no TV aerial and I don't get a decent signal with a portable aerial. So I was forced to get Virgin just to watch any telly, and their customer service is by far the worst of any utility company I have ever dealt with, which is saying something)
Geoff | Homepage | 06.07.11 - 9:49 a.m. | #
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I am a 'lapsed' Sky user in a Virgin cabled area so have the worst of both worlds! I'm with Virgin, although Sky keep sending me ever-more-generous offers that really are quite attractive and would save me quite a lot of money. But, having lived through the 'customer service' and endless, endless errors that surrounded my leaving Sky (I won't bore you with the detail), I can safely say that I would hack my left arm off and go and personally kill every Sky customer service employee with it rather than ever pay them another penny.
David | 06.07.11 - 10:05 a.m. | #
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I have the misfortune to be in a Virgin cabled area and can confirm that the junk mail is endless even though we have opted out on the mailing preference service.
A few years ago we also used to get doorstep salesmen who promised that I would be guarenteed it would be cheaper if I switched to their broadband package. I would smile and point out that my employer provided my current broadband for free so were Virgin proposing to pay me to take up their service ?
Pedantic of Purley | 06.07.11 - 10:28 a.m. | #
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My block of flats is about to get a Sky dish installed, although Im not interested so wont be getting connected. Looks like I can look forward to a significant increase in spam mail in my future... Is there any way I can get in there first to nip it in the bud?
Geo_rich | 06.07.11 - 10:30 a.m. | #
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I get it all. No TV: the best insult was being told I must have hidden it during the time it took the obese inspector to climb the 70 stairs (no lift) that the City of London allow us for access. Then the Sky cable hangs as DG describes: lurking outside the window to the confusion of marketing people and neighbours alike. CoL told us this was a privilege: Id rather they'd cleaned the windows (once in eight years and inaccessible for height reasons implicit in 70 stairs up.)
Karen | 06.07.11 - 10:39 a.m. | #
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"Looks like I can look forward to a significant increase in spam mail in my future... Is there any way I can get in there first to nip it in the bud?"
If you register with the Mailing Preference Service (can be done online) they can't (shouldn't!) send you personally addressed, by postal carrier, junk mail.
Unfortunately once you are (or have ever been) a customer of a company the MPS standards don't apply. But, all large companies shoud have a 'no marketing' option that you can activate on your account: if you can get to the right person to do it.
I've found that sticking a 'return to sender: unwanted junk mail' label over your printed address, and putting an unopened letter back in the post usually works after about 6 or 7 returned items.
Blue Witch | Homepage | 06.07.11 - 10:54 a.m. | #
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Thank God we do not have a TV license in the Netherlands. Standard cable covers 43 channels cost €125 per year. Big sporting events must be broadcast on terrestrial TV, by law.
Michael | 06.07.11 - 11:08 a.m. | #
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At the moment I can think of even more reasons than usual not to let any communications system connected to the Murdoch empire into my house!
...and yes, we get Virgin's maildrops too - Branson: if we wanted your dross on our telly we'd have signed up by now - get it?
(DG, for someone not interested in sport, you have an awful lot to say about Mr Coe's little festival taking place next year!)
Timbo | 06.07.11 - 11:14 a.m. | #
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Erm... seems there might be quite a few of us just about ready to fling our windows open wide, and shout out "I'm crazy as hell and I'm not going to take this any more"
(Yup, I've had them, too)
RogerW | 06.07.11 - 11:25 a.m. | #
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".....Sky is far higher. It's £234 a year for the most basic package, or £294 for all the main channels, or £537 for all that plus sport, or £624 for all that plus sport and movies". But satellite tv has become one of life's necessities for some, just like a mobile phone. I overhead someone say on a train (into his mobile) "after I've paid for my rent, my food and my phone, I've got no money left". Nuff said ! Sky won't be getting my custom either !
Paul | 06.07.11 - 11:54 a.m. | #
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I couldn't agree with you more, DG. And don't forget that the BBC* gives you fantastic radio stations too: R4, R4 Extra, R3 and World Service,largely unduplicated anywhere else.
*NB: I am not a BBC employee
The Red Shadow | 06.07.11 - 12:05 p.m. | #
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Chicken Little.
Audrey | 06.07.11 - 1:42 p.m. | #
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just wondering what a tv license is *for*. does it take the place of paying for electric? give one a discount on cable service?
jonquil | 06.07.11 - 2:15 p.m. | #
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DG stick all the junk back in the post marked 'Return To Sender - Junk Mail' They get charged for the return which is good for royal mail and, eventually, the volume starts to drop.
Get yourself a 2nd hand skybox and Bob is indeed your uncle if you want to dip your toe into the other free channels not on freeview - there's nothing Murdoch can do about it and that feels good too
Sciurus Carolinensis Nemesis | 06.07.11 - 2:18 p.m. | #
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No cable or dish for us, much to the disgust of our kids!
We are therefore also social pariahs as we can't stand sports, American TV shows, or patriotic back-patting...the Top 3 topics of conversation in my American neighbourhood!! :D
CornishCockney | 06.07.11 - 7:35 p.m. | #
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Blue Witch: the MPS is great, but won't stop junk mail addressed to The Occupier, or hand-delivered items (even if personally addressed).
I now have a Sky subscription. But it's half-price, thanks for a friend who worked there - and I plan to cancel it after the first year is up. That means I've got an HD satellite PVR, and I'll have paid less than the cost of an equivalent Freesat box.
I rarely actually watch any of the channels I'm paying for, come to think of it.
martin | Homepage | 06.07.11 - 8:05 p.m. | #
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It doesn't matter if you are a Sky customer or not. I get bombarded with junk mail to upgrade to Sports or Films or to Phone / Broadband or a second box for my second telly. Err what second telly?
Ditto with Virgin as I happen to be in a cabled area and I have a Virgin Mobile phone. Please take our telly! Please take our Broadband! We have a super douper Virgin thingy box which is better than a Sky thingy box!
It's all just a ridiculous waste but nothing in comparison to other Murdoch empire problems which seem to be leeching their way to the surface at the moment.
PC | 06.07.11 - 8:47 p.m. | #
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No cable round me but I do have Sky. I dropped the Sports as I found I did not have time to watch but I watch Eurosport and more than enough channels to justify the basic channel price. I have a good HD system as well and freeview just does not meet my requirements.
Rick | 07.07.11 - 12:35 a.m. | #
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Even when you get Sky, the leaflets continue. They just focus on 'upgrades', 'HD', packages you don't have...
Will be interesting to see if they back off a little with all the NOTW issues.
Keep up the good work, only blog I comment on.
eastcity | Homepage | 07.07.11 - 7:37 a.m. | #
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Most of those letters (and the ones from other suppliers as well) will come with a pre-paid envelope for applying for their services. Feel free to shred the letter they sent to you and send it back to them in this envelope. They will have to pay for it and the struggling Royal Mail makes a few extra pence!
Adam | 07.07.11 - 8:48 a.m. | #
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I am also in the worst of all junk-mail worlds. Frequent "The Occupier" post from Virgin? Check. Frequent teams of Sky salesmen in the area? Check. Lots of letters from TV Licensing? Check.
I do have a TV, hooked up to my DVD player. It doesn't have an aerial, or a Freeview box attached. It's an analog TV, so it isn't actually capable of receiving any broadcast TV on its own any more. Nevertheless, I'm not looking forward to the day that TV Licensing send someone round to look through my windows, and go "Oh, TV, you must pay us." Because, for some reason, they never seem to believe that I might not want to watch any of it live.
Forest Pines | Homepage | 07.07.11 - 10:56 a.m. | #
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Maybe the solution is to get some extendible tree loppers, cut the dangly cable next to your flat as far back as you can, and mail it back to Sky. They might take the hint then.
[Criminal damage? I thought it was an antenna being used to evesdrop on my mobile phone converstations officer!]
Max Roberts | Homepage | 07.07.11 - 11:14 a.m. | #
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OMG - have you seen what's happened to the value of Bskyb shares??? They've fallen a whole percent point since yesterday!
That's probably you, that is!
(Good work, keep it up ;-) )
RogerW | 07.07.11 - 1:22 p.m. | #
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A global phenomenon, it seems. Though beware, it doesn't stop even if you capitulate and sign up. The payment restructures, the special deals, the various related promotional offers...endless.
And if you have the cheek to try and break free they get very worried, almost paranoid. We were still receiving follow up letters months after cancelling our subscription. It only stopped when we moved house...
Rose | Homepage | 07.07.11 - 3:05 p.m. | #
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No-one has mentioned B.T. yet. We have broadband with them, which I might add is good and on a special deal, so I'm not complaining. However we get endless emails and mailshots trying to get us to have one of their 'Vision' boxes at £12.50 a month. We have a Freeview T.V. which has more than enough channels for a couple of pensioners, and a hard-drive recorder. We can access iPlayer etc. on the Internet if we forget to record. I agree with the Sky stuff though, every weekend paper is stuffed with flyers. Must cost a fortune. Since we get all our bills on-line, the only post we get these days is all junk mail, it goes straight in a recycle bag by the front door.
TinaFromSurrey | 08.07.11 - 9:12 p.m. | #
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It's worth living out in the sticks, evidently. We get no such junk mail, and now a family member has reached the age of 75, the tv licence is free too.
Z | Homepage | 10.07.11 - 9:12 p.m. | #
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