They may take away our channels…

TelstraClear has come under fire for removing four channels from its basic cable TV package. Subscribers were shocked to receive a letter saying these channels – which had been available for years – had been given out “in error”, and would be removed.

Naturally, people were outraged. One user wrote to us saying he was tempted by the Documentary Channel when signing up. “When we spoke to the TelstraClear salesman over the phone, he assured us that [the] Documentary Channel was part of the basic package, and so it was.” However, he recently received the letter claiming this channel wasn’t meant to be part of the basic package, despite the company’s sales pitch “at the outset that the Documentary Channel (and various other channels) were included as part of the basic package”.

Other members have similar stories. One wrote: “I feel that if they are decreasing the service they should be decreasing the fee by the corresponding amount.” TelstraClear’s offer of charging an extra $4.95 per month to have these channels back has gone down like a lead balloon.

TelstraClear said the error affected roughly 10 percent of subscribers, and denied Sky (which provides the channels) had anything to do with the change.

The sticking point for me is that TelstraClear is offering no compensation for its error. One of our members says their contract allows the company to change channel line-ups at any time, but this is still a pretty poor way of dealing with an error like this. However, beyond keeping up public pressure on TelstraClear, there isn’t much that can be done, particularly considering the lack of competition in the cable TV market.

Have many of you been affected by this change? Is it worth considering switching to Sky and its pricing structures? Or do cable TV watchers have no choice but to deal with it and move on?

Tristan Clark - Technical Writer

 

Enjoy the blog? Join the Consumer Facebook fan page.

Comments

Post a comment

Be the first to comment!

Post a comment