Page 1 of Does anyone here work for Sky??? Question needs answering

I recently moved to a property with a minidish installed from the previous owner. So I bought a second hand box, and card, so that I could use it for freeview. I picked up most channels, apart from 3, 4, and 5.

I was told to call Sky, and that they could enable the card for these channels.

Anyways, I called Sky, and first off the bird on the phone told me that the card number never ever ever starts with a `0`. I eventually got her to punch in the number (which obviously was legit!), and she told me that my only option was to sign up for a years subscription, and to get a new installation with a new box etc. She also said that my current box would now be useless, and that I cannot use it any longer even for freeview.

Is this all a load of Bull or what?

Anyone know how I can get 3, 4, 5??????

Cheers in advance!!!

I don`t work for Sky, but here`s my tuppenn`orth...

Yes, what the woman said was a load of bull, but you knew that already. :D Basically, there are two types of free channel on Sky - Free To Air (FTA - for which you don`t need a card at all), and Free To View (FTV - for which you need a valid card, but not a subscription - at present, only ITV, C4 and C5 fall into this category). By the way, don`t confuse this with Freeview, which is digital telly through an aerial, not through a dish.

So, to get 3, 4, and 5, all you need is a valid viewing card. Your existing card is probably a first-generation one (light blue in colour), which isn`t valid any more. Only the second-generation cards (dark blue, with a picture of a house) can be used now.

Right, how do you get one of these cards? Apart from buying one second-hand, there are two options:

1) Take out a Sky subscription for the minimum period, then cancel it. The card will still work for 3/4/5, even after you`ve cancelled. (Contrary to what the woman said, you do not have to get a new Sky installation in order to take out a subscription!)

2) The "Pout" method, described here. A bit dodgy, but doesn`t cost anything.

Mike

Cheers M8! do you know if the pout method works? If I try to order a new card, will it go to the guy who originally owned the box?