24 replies to this topic

[night heron]

If you just joined again to watch the Euro's you will have been stung like me with the two month minimum, though the first you know about it is when signing up.   However the real sting comes when it's time to cancel.  Setanta seems to have written the Terms & Conditions so they can extract a third month's fee if the mood takes them. (Hard to make immediate sense of it - which is probably the idea.)   I rang and asked about it and they said to "take their word for it" that I could ring "a couple of days before the first 30 days was up" to cancel.  I pointed out that was not allowed in the Conditions.  The Setanta operator then found the rule and agreed that if I cancelled 31 days (say) from the date of joining instead of exactly 30 days, then I would be liable for the next two months fees.   So there seems to be a double-bind that even if giving Setanta 29 days notice (for e.g.), you will be charged for two additional months i.e. three altogether.     Here's the rule.  May be there's a way to interpret it that doesn't imply a deception?

"  If you are on a month-to-month subscription, you may at any time after the first 30 days give Setanta notice that you wish to cancel your subscription. Notice of cancellation must be given via telephone. Cancellation will take effect 30 days after the date on which you give Setanta notice. This means that if your next Monthly Debit Date after giving notice of cancellation falls within the 30-day period, your credit card will still be debited on the next Monthly Debit Date, and your access to the Services will cease one month after that final Monthly Debit Date. You are not entitled to receive any refund for the month or any part thereof so billed, or for any month billed prior to your giving notice of cancellation."

This is in the Foxtel forum, for two reasons.  1) Foxtel Sports package at about $1000 a year is a rip-off not including the Euros.   2) Foxtel should take some responsibility for the deceptive sales and cancellation tactics of channels who pay them for distribution.

[BamBBBam]

night heron, on 06 June 2012 - 10:05 PM, said:

) Foxtel should take some responsibility for the deceptive sales and cancellation tactics of channels who pay them for distribution.

Yeah! Just like Bigpond should take responsibility for the dodgy websites that appear on my computer.. and you can get Foxtel + sports for around 55 per month, way less than 1k p.a.

[doodlefeatures]

Foxtel/Fox Sports should have bought the rights so the matches a) would be free, and in HD

[sydneyranger]

doodlefeatures, on 07 June 2012 - 08:23 AM, said:

Foxtel/Fox Sports should have bought the rights so the matches a) would be free, and in HD

Nothing on Foxtel is free ! fs

[doodlefeatures]

I currently pay $160 odd a month, if Euro 12 was being shown on a channel I already have I'd still be paying $160 odd a month

[wheelz]

sydneyranger, on 07 June 2012 - 09:53 AM, said:

Nothing on Foxtel is free ! fs

Here we go again.

[djpower]

Setanta also seems to be doing some confusing deal wit Setanta-i subscription it was on their website yesterday being advertised as being $9.99 per month now its $16.99 per month someone questioned Setanta about this on facebook and they said the price was previously $16.99. We reduced it to $9.99 for the last few months as an offer. It has now been returned to the standard price of $16.99.

[MattWinter]

In the past I've subscribed to setanta and then cancelled a month or two later (for things like the euros) - haven't had any trouble.

But looks like they've put theses clauses in now to try and stop people doing that. Problem is the channel is a waste of time for a lot of the year for the majority of people.

[Hosko]

night heron, on 06 June 2012 - 10:05 PM, said:

This is in the Foxtel forum, for two reasons.  1) Foxtel Sports package at about $1000 a year is a rip-off not including the Euros.   2) Foxtel should take some responsibility for the deceptive sales and cancellation tactics of channels who pay them for distribution.

Its got nothing to do with Foxtel, Setanta are a 3rd party channel provider. Foxtel don't want anything to do with but they are legally obliged to carry their signal. Its for that reason you have to phone Setanta directly to have the channel added and not the Foxtel call centre.

I have Setanta as soon as the Euro's is finished I'm cancelling. I hardly watch it and for $15 a month its not worth the money.

[Sambo90]

Wish ESPN could get Euro 2012, then we'd have their quite good broadcast of the event.

[night heron]

FIFA have to take a huge amount of the blame for the sorry state of affairs with Setanta.  They let Setanta buy the rights knowing that most countries would be fed Setanta's dark ages SD and with only  one match commentator.   It is a really unintelligent and profiteering decision.  FIFA should have had a requirement for any broadcaster who won the bidding war to show their second most important (after the World Cup) sporting event to the world in HD.

Edited by night heron, 10 June 2012 - 12:09 AM.

[sydneyranger]

night heron, on 10 June 2012 - 12:08 AM, said:

FIFA have to take a huge amount of the blame for the sorry state of affairs with Setanta.  They let Setanta buy the rights knowing that most countries would be fed Setanta's dark ages SD and with only  one match commentator.   It is a really unintelligent and profiteering decision.  FIFA should have had a requirement for any broadcaster who won the bidding war to show their second most important (after the World Cup) sporting event to the world in HD.

This has nothing to do with FIFA, this tourney is a UEFA run tourney. The Holland v Denmark match currently has two commentators. Setanta only have the Australian rights. Please do better on your research next time !

[BigVic]

Don't have Setanta and wish that Fox Sports got exclusive rights for Euro 2012. Then we would've got it in HD.

[night heron]

The main thrust of the criticism is that the only way to watch the biggest football competition in the world is in SD and at a cost of $50 in your lounge room.  Aussie viewers are being taken for a ride.  However it seems many people are quite happy with this arrangement.   Thanks SydneyRanger for the UEFA / FIFA correction, and yes the single commentator for Russia V Czech may have been an early one-off.  It's true I didn't swot this.  Over and out.

[djpower]

SBS should also being showing their highlights on SBS HD rather than on SBS2 at 5:30pm also the 1 game SBS has shown so far   was almost delayed by 2 days and started at 11pm after live cycling what a waste of Martin Tyler talent

Just to clear things up Setanta coverage is going into Australia and Singapore.  With the 2 matches per day Setanta has been providing their own commentary for 1 of those games with them taking the single man commentary from the International feed for the other.  HD is a let down but everyone should of know that before they signed up and SBS is no better for not showing their daily highlights show and all of their 8 matches in HD,

[blairy]

Nearly all the football I watch these days is in HD and I struggle now to watch SD... especially poor quality SD.  Perhaps that makes me a bit of a snob.

If Setanta's PQ and AQ is as bad as the SBS highlights then I'm pleased I didn't sign up for Setanta.

There is a feedback form on UEFA's website where you can let them how poor this is all is.

http://www.uefa.com/...back/index.html

blairy

[blairy]

Watched SBS Euro 2012 highlights last night.  A little while later I'm watching WC qualifier against Japan (in HD).  The difference in PQ is stark.

blairy

[midlife5]

Watching the highlights on SBS is like watching a YouTube clip, looks absolutely atrocious on my 55 plasma. Is the picture quality on Setanta this bad?

[Yella]

Finished up watching England v France on Setanta online streamed to my plasma, and yeah the quality was not great, but TBH I was just pleasd there was zero lagging.  And for a cost of $16.99 I can't complain.

[BoagsStGeorge]

Agree, the Setanta PQ is at best ordinary. Has anyone else gotten really annoyed at the watermark and score bars being in a location primarily designed for a 4:3 aspect ratio. It truly beggars belief. Amateur at best.
I don't really like hurling and gaelic football that much so will Cancel as soon as Euros has finished.

[murgles]

BoagsStGeorge, on 19 June 2012 - 11:10 PM, said:

Has anyone else gotten really annoyed at the watermark and score bars being in a location primarily designed for a 4:3 aspect ratio. It truly beggars belief. Amateur at best.

Yeah, but many channels still have watermarks in a 4:3 safe area.Even Fox Sports HD has logos that are 4:3 safe. Do they really think that somebody who subscribes to Foxtel HD would be using an old CRT screen?

What is extra annoying is that the score bar and Setanta watermark don't line up horizontally. One is higher than the other!

[blairy]

Watched the final on SBS HD this morning...one minute I'm enjoying a quite good HD broadcast then a blue screen then grey then blue then I'm getting SD broadcast with audio about 2 seconds ahead of video.  HD came back and then disappeard and then came back during the rest of the broadcast.

Must have been something to do with the 'leap second'

blairy

Edited by blairy, 02 July 2012 - 08:01 PM.

[Yerolo]

So I accidently signed up on a 12mth contract Pre-Euro (around April) thinking it was $9.99/mth for 3 months   (http://www.setanta.c...ubscribe/Foxtel).  When I chose option 1, I read it as 9.99/mth for 3months and $15.99/mth if you wanted to sign up on a 12mth contract. Am I the only one who read it this way ?  

Anyway, I was told by the friendly Setanta staff "Too bad mate. It tells you youre on a 12mth contract in the confirmation email"  (well, you dont get that confirmation email until after you sign up)...I told them I was also happy to pay the difference over the last 3mths if they charged me the Option 2 16.99/mth....still waiting to hear back about that

I guess I may be stuck with it for another 9mths, Oh well....Liverpool are in the Euros I guess  

[cont]

Yerolo, Unfortunately I too signed up on the 12 month plan. I called them admitted my error & was told i Have to pay the 1st 3 months & call back then. Hopefully they'll cancel me then

[Yerolo]

I called up again today (after waiting 48hrs to a reply to an email), and they bluntly told me the only option I had was to pay out the remainder of the 12mth contract (well if I was going to do that, Id think Id prefer to keep it)

I have passed the matter onto the Dept of Fair Trading and also contacted by CC company for advice. I strongly believe the wording on their website is inadequate/misldeading, if it was alot clearerI dont think I would have made the error.