# Not being charged for TV by NTL



## Tacos (27 Mar 2009)

A few months ago i noticed that for some reason NTL had decided to stop charging us for TV.    We have the regular TV package, no sports or movies.    We also have broadband and phone with them.    After the unbelievable problems we had with them at the start trying to get everything set up I decided to just leave it and not bother saying anything to them.

Anyway last week our reception kept going and i rang them up and the option to ask for help with TV wasnt on the list on the phone.   My worry now is that if the reception eventually gets so bad that we need to get someone out we will be faced with "oh you havent paid us for x months " etc etc.

Would anyone know could they come back to us and ask us for back payment of TV for those months?   We never asked for the TV to be stopped and we do NOT have one of those dodgy boxes.    NTL's stupidity never ceases to amaze.


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## gillarosa (27 Mar 2009)

Was it during the bad weather though? if so it may have been just a temporary glitch in your TV reception.
If they finally discover that they have let you slip from their billing radar I imagine they may just present you with a bill covering the last receipt from you to that date, thought I can't say for sure, I've never been lucky enough for a utility provider to forget about me! lol


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## Guest128 (27 Mar 2009)

Im sure if they did ask you to back pay you could challenge them on it, but my experience is that the billing department is *completely* separate from the maintenance department (if one exists!) so I would be surprised if they noticed.



Tacos said:


> we do NOT have one of those dodgy boxes.



Why not? They're great 

NTL also forgot about us in my last place, I was there 2years and never got a bill, coupled with the dodgy box it worked out quite nicely!


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## Tacos (27 Mar 2009)

Yep we're definitely not being charged any more.  Yknow when you ring up and it says press 1 for tv, 2 for bb, 3 for phone, etc-there is no TV option for me!    And i think thats what dodgy box people do -disconnect their TV part from NTL.

Are dodgy boxes any good though seriously?  ive heard mixed reports.   Just couldnt be bothered getting one myself cos i dont watch enough TV to warrant the purchase and/or possible hassle associated but i mean if NTL ring me up demanding money back cos they switch me off, i wonder how i could prove that i didnt ask for it to be switched off!

Maybe its up to them either way to proove that.


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## Guest128 (27 Mar 2009)

Tacos said:


> Yep we're definitely not being charged any more.  Yknow when you ring up and it says press 1 for tv, 2 for bb, 3 for phone, etc-there is no TV option for me!    And i think thats what dodgy box people do -disconnect their TV part from NTL.
> 
> Are dodgy boxes any good though seriously?  ive heard mixed reports.   Just couldnt be bothered getting one myself cos i dont watch enough TV to warrant the purchase and/or possible hassle associated but i mean if NTL ring me up demanding money back cos they switch me off, i wonder how i could prove that i didnt ask for it to be switched off!
> 
> Maybe its up to them either way to proove that.



For the dodgy box to work you still need NTL TV coming in, the basic analogue connection will do. I've had no trouble with it, €125, plug it in, bang, all the channels.


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## chrisboy (27 Mar 2009)

FLANDERS` said:


> For the dodgy box to work you still need NTL TV coming in, the basic analogue connection will do. I've had no trouble with it, €125, plug it in, bang, all the channels.




If you have broadband, you dont need the analogue signal. It's on the broadband cable..


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## Guest128 (27 Mar 2009)

Really!! How much is BB package alone per month?


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## chrisboy (27 Mar 2009)

Think i pay 25 per month..


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## MB05 (27 Mar 2009)

Don't jump ship just yet as I think they finally got around to upgrading their encryption and are start to roll it out.  I heard some of the guys in work saying that about 10 channels are now scrambled - setanta, mutv, celtic tv, adult channels etc.  Apparently they started with these first as less people subscribe to these than movies etc so it was easier to migrate these over first.


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## chrisboy (27 Mar 2009)

MB05 said:


> Don't jump ship just yet as I think they finally got around to upgrading their encryption and are start to roll it out.  I heard some of the guys in work saying that about 10 channels are now scrambled - setanta, mutv, celtic tv, adult channels etc.  Apparently they started with these first as less people subscribe to these than movies etc so it was easier to migrate these over first.




Heard a lot of stories over the last few weeks and it seems the new nagra 3 will be in soon enough.. Wondern how long it takes to break it!!


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## Sully1 (27 Mar 2009)

My parents have the box and lost 10 channels in the last week. There are no codes available yet to unscramble the channels - apparently they have to wait for the same channels to be scrambled in the UK before they will find codes to unscramble the channels............or so they have been told!


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## car (30 Mar 2009)

Sully1 said:


> My parents have the box and lost 10 channels in the last week. There are no codes available yet to unscramble the channels - apparently they have to wait for the same channels to be scrambled in the UK before they will find codes to unscramble the channels............or so they have been told!



Its not codes thats the issue, its the encryption level.  Your current ntl is broadcast in nagra 1, this was originally hacked as far back as 1999.  When NTl changed the codes, the same hack was used to get the codes and released into the wild via websites and phone txts and friend of a friend so everyone got the codes within a few days of them being released, however as of Mar 2009, there is no known hack for nagra 3 and as such there are no codes to get. (all info freely available on web)

You will hear lots of scams.   
"A friends cousins box is still working after buying an upgrade"
"You can chip the box, only cost 100e"
"the new cards will work in the eurovox, I think itll be 50e"

Avoid all of them, anyone who says "sure its only a matter of time" really doesnt understand the technology and has no concept of time.    Not to say it wont ever be hacked but Id be unplugging a dodgy box if I had one.

If you dont want to pay for Sky or NTL, get satellite FTA and watch sport online is best way forward,  and has been for quite some time in my house, I'll never look back.


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