A frugal life is an easy life!

Beware of Satellite system care ltd (SSC) cold calling homes with Sky tv equipment, trying a very clever sales technique, to persuade you to change over your sky insurance to their own insurance cover.

A very distraught elderly neighbour came to me today, distraught that this "company" had cold called her.
They insinuated that they worked alongside Sky TV and were able to offer her a lower price per month for her equipment insurance.
SSC then claimed this would include "6 months free insurance cover"

The satellite System care sales person then gained her confidence by asking her which bank she was with, then quoted the first four digits of her bank card number.
My neighbour was then asked for the remainder of her long card number and the 3 digit security number on the back of her card, to "set up the direct debit"
She was given a new number to call and told her new documents would arrive in the post within the week.

Nothing wrong there then?

24 hours later, my neighbour went to her bank to withdraw some money out, to find that her account was almost empty!
After enquiring if payments had gone in, she found that she had no money because Satellite system care ltd had taken £170 from her account!
As a direct result of being misled, my elderly neighbour will now be billed for bank charges totalling over £100 as well.

* Satellite System Care Ltd are nothing to do with Sky TV, Sky TV have never heard of them.
SSC sales staff, when questioned, deny that they say anything about having something to do with Sky TV.
They admit that their information comes from a data marketing company - the name of which they refused to give me (which is illegal) - which pass on details of customers with official Sky equipment.

* Satellite system care sales staff promise they can offer a lower monthly price of insurance because the price of insurance with Sky TV is fixed.
At no point in the sales pitch/call did they inform my neighbour that the price was £170 for a three year policy. There was no mention of this being paid in full, instead, a monthly amount was quoted, lower than that of the official Sky TV insurance price.

* Satellite system care sales staff offer "6 months free equipment insurance"
What SSC staff don't tell customers is that this "6 months free" is at no point is it included within their "three year cover" policy!
Sales staff have admitted that this "6 months free" is additional at the end of a three year policy.
When I asked their sales staff, "At what point during the three year period of insurance cover is there 6 months free cover?" SSC sales staff replied, "None, there isn't a 6 months free period within the three year cover!"

* Satellite system care sales staff/cold callers, gain trust by finding out which bank their sales target is with, then quote them the first four digits of their card number.
Each bank has the same first four digits on all current account "long card numbers" - their sales office admitted they have a list at the side of them, of each bank's first four digits included on current account long card numbers!
This backs up their sales pitch, that they are in some way working with the official Sky TV. Again their sales staff deny this is the case when I questioned them on it.

* Satellite system care sales staff asked for the three digit security number on the back of the card.
This is not required to set up a direct debit with any bank!
When I asked why them why they were setting up a direct debit, when they were taking the full three year price out of her account, they replied, "You are just asking awkward questions now!"
I pushed this further, "When you send out the insurance paperwork, why do you not include direct debit guarantee information?" - No reply.

The old addage should apply, regardless of your age, if you are cold called, DO NOT enter into any conversation with them, simply put the phone down on them.
Cold callers on your doorstep or via the telephone cannot be trusted!

My neighbour has reported this to their bank and have been told that it's now being dealt with by the bank's fraud department with an eventual full refund in the coming weeks.
This will not help my neighbour in the short term, no money for food and bank charges to be fought against because of direct debits coming out this week. They have also had to have all their cards changed and issued with new numbers.

I asked Satellite system care's sales staff, "Why would my neighbour agree to paying out £170 for three years cover, when that is the only money they had in their account for the next two weeks?" SSC sales staff just denied they had misled anyone.

SSC sales staff say that their customer service can issue a cheque for a full refund as well as pay to cover bank charges.
I'm sure they could, but I doubt it.
I quoted posts from the "Who calls me" website, where posters claim to have been left waiting for refund cheques for months in some case and have also been miss sold this insurance, SSC sales staff had no answer to their claims.
http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/08448000405/3

Do yourself a favour if satellite system care ring you up, put the phone down on them, give them a wide berth!

UPDATE:
Not only is bad enough that Satellite System Care (SSC) are misleading and making false representations about "monthly" protection payments, then taking 3 years worth out of bank accounts in one lump sum without any notification, but to add insult to injury, Natwest are now complicit in their fobbing off by their "fraud investigation team" 

After being assured that this company was "under investigation" by the Natwest fraud team, passing details on to them would allow a short investigation to take place, so that my elderly neighbour could have her money refunded back into her account.
Four phone calls over two weeks were made, to attempt to get a form sent out from Natwest to fill out so they could look at it.
When it finally landed, it was swiftly filled in and sent back recorded delivery.
My elderly neighbour has just phoned me, absolutely distraught!

Natwest have told her she cannot have her money back as she gave card details to the company.
It's fine for SSC to mislead on cold calls, it's fine to then state they would take a monthly payment, it's fine for SSC to then remove 3 years worth of monthly payments from her account without any notification what-so-ever.

The company SSC obviously know that this is a standard response from banks as they themselves will not refund neither now, will Natwest, even though they have already instructed my neighbour that this company is being investigated by them, for fraud and given assurances she would be refunded under the visa chargeback system.

Another shining example of obligations being dumped in a shameless attempt to save Natwest money.
Other options still open to us are a small claims court case or a financial ombudsman complaint - which would take anything up to 2 years.

UPDATE:
Satellite System Care Ltd do not appear on the Financial Services Authority register, as they must do by law, before they can sell insurance products. This also applies to their director, which I can find no trace of.
Their website has now mysteriously vanished... AVOID!

 

See how we won my friend's money back:

Satellite-system-care-0844-8000-405-refunded