Unfair charging by Tata Sky

So I recently shifted my house within Mumbai. I did not know that the new place already had a Tata Sky connection. The previous owner had to leave the cabling and mini-dish (which is Tata Sky's rule for relocation).

I moved in with my STB (including the digicard), plugged it in and it is working as it is supposed to!

So I canceled my request for relocation and instead, just filed a request to change my address.

Now today, I get a call from Tata Sky B'lore landline number saying that I will be charged Rs 350. As per some stupid policy of theirs, address change qualifies as relocation, irrespective of whether a Tata Sky exists at the new address of not.

The minimum they charge for relocation or change of address is Rs 350 so by some un-explained rule, I am supposed to pay that.

The as-usual-rude-and-blocked-mind tele-executive could not understand my case and insisted on sending an engineer at my new house to 'test if everything is working fine'. She also 'threatened' that if I refuse to pay Rs 350 for change of address, I will be blocked from all future technical support.

What is my remedy in this case?

Send them a mail and then escalate the issue to TRAI...

My problem with Tata Sky got solved as they *reluctantly* agreed to waive off Rs 350 (the female sounded as if she is doing a big favor on me!).

However, I ran into a new problem today.

I wish to move my television WITHIN the same room but found that the cable is only 9-10 mtrs long. As per the Standard Installation contract, I was entitled to 15 mtrs of cabling.

I called the Customer Care for additional 5 mtrs of cabling. However, the executive is telling me that this will be treated as a case of "Relocation within the Same Premises" and I will be charged Rs 350 + Cost of cabling @ Rs 10 per mtr.

I want to understand why does Tata Sky want to charge me for something that I was originally entitled to?

I am still willing to pay for 5 mtrs cabling but in no way should I be asked to pay Rs 350 as relocation expenses.

My other option is to get the entire 15 mtr cabling that I left behind in my old house and do the connection myself.

Has anybody else faced the same thing? What can be the solution?

The first charge they asked for was unjustified, the second one isn't

In the first case, they had no overhead, but scheduling a technician visit etc has a fair bit of overhead costs and I think it's fair of em to charge you for it

If you want to avoid paying the 350/-, you should do it by yourself

There is some online forum to protect consumer interest. Read it somewhere here.

And why do you call the 2nd charge justified?? Was I not entitled to 15 mtrs cabling at the time of original install? Their technician duped my parents by providing only 10 mtrs.

So now if I am asking for my original 5 mtrs back, and still ready to pay for it, you call that justified?

I dont mind paying a nominal amount for technician visit, but Rs 350 is highly unreasonable, IMO.
Link please?

So, in short, ur only grudge is that 350/- is too high for a technician visit? Only if everything worked by our desires.If u want their service, u have to pay their charges and not 'something' that u like.If u think its high, u r free to use other alternatives @ the risk of losing future technical support from them(including loss of warranty).

and abt the cable length query, its not like they have to install 15meters of cable even if u need 2meters only.The catch is that they will install upto 15 meters free @ the time of INITIAL INSTALLATION and even then, anything above that has to be paid extra.So, what if the previous owner said he just wanted that 10 meters which was fine until now? AFAIK, they are not entitled to provide u the remaining 5 meters for free since this is NON-INITIAL INSTALLATION.

Also, how were ur parents duped if the connection was taken by someone else?

^^ +1, you just stole my words

OP, you need to understand that it's not a question of the cost of the wire, there is a operational cost involved for Tata sky which is what they are (and should) charging you for (and not for the stupid wire)

Say my STB is right behind the window where the dish is mounted. Now why would the technician install 15 mtrs of wire there? so he runs a short cable length of 1 mtr

Now say 1 month later, I decide to shift my STB to another room 10 mtrs away from the dish and I call up Tata sky..assume they do it for free
15 days later, I have a change of mind and I want to shift my STB to another room so I call em up again, and again and again

Should they keep doing it for free each time?

I dont think you read the entire post, or there is a chance you didnt understand it correctly.

I didnt say I mind paying the service charge. But it has to be a justified one, not irrational, based on some rigid manual book. We are dealing with humans, not robots here. They should have the ability to understand the problem and suggest solutions accordingly, not charge a flat rate for EVERYTHING!
Dude, do you have Tata Sky at your house? In no circumstance, can you have 2 mtrs cable length. You would need at least 5 mtrs even if the dish has been installed just outside your window.

I agree, the catch is to install UPTO 15 mtrs, but within that lenght, they should keep a leeway and not charge the customer exorbitant amounts for something they are entitled to.

And re-read the post. I said I am fine to pay for additional 5 mtrs, which is peanuts anyways. What I objected was to brand this under "Relocation" and then charge me Rs 350 which is their charge for relocation.

At best, this qualifies as 'Service visit' for which they usually charge Rs 125, AFAIK. And I already said it, but since you dont read it completely, I reiterate - I am fine with that kind of figure and justification.

why don't you quit whining, get the cable run from your old home and do it yourself
It'll take 10 mins, won't cost you anything and you don't lose anything at all

As for the losing your warranty bit, I don't think you intend to call Tata Sky after extending the wire asking them to void you warranty as you did a DIY move

Valid point.

So you wish that they charge you Rs 350 everytime you change your mind?

I dont think its their fault in that case. They are justified in charging such high amounts for such high frequency of service requests.

However, my case is quite the opposite. Its my 1st service request in 2 years. And I dont change my mind to keep shifting mt DTH every 15/30 days.

Atleast for poorer customers like us, they should charge less, right?

You take away the purpose of a forum like this by using such words.

Its not whining btw, its an effort to ask around whether others have faced similar problems and try to see whats the best solution.

And in future, if someone faces a similar problem and searches on the WWW, at least he will have something to back up his complaint to the Customer Care.

Oh frack, you have to leave the old equipment at the old place?
what if i say the new owner doesnt want it here and to remove it?

Im going to relocate soon, and the new place doesnt have tata sky, is it better to disconnect old and take a new one or simply relocate?

@Party Monger - Its no use, whether you leave your equipment or take it with you.

Tata Sky will charge you minimum Rs 350 as a service visit charge (irrespective of whether you are still under warranty) since thats their flat fee for a relocation.

But as my case goes, I guess it would have been better to carry the cabling from my old house since I could have done the DIY and did not have to spoil my mood reasoning it out with these morons.

No i mean if a cancel this connection, and get a new connection in the new house, is that beneficial, im yet to do the math, but if anyone has considered it already?