So much more to 'upgrade'

22 September 2015 - 02:01 By Wendy Knowler

"I am so pleased I read your article, as that got me going." Jenny Werry of Claremont was referring to In Your Corner of four weeks ago, about two Multichoice subscribers who'd complained to me, separately, about what amounted to "lying by omission" on the part of the pay TV company's third-party sales agents, On Air.Multichoice no longer supplies or repairs the old SD PVR and DualView decoders, so if they break, it won't repair or replace them, meaning subscribers are at that point forced to buy the latest Explora decoder, which retails for around R2000.Multichoice appointed On Air to cold-call Multichoice customers who still have old decoders to "help them upgrade" with a supposedly special deal: a DStv Explora, DStv HD decoder and XtraView installation for R169 per month over 24 months. And the two decoders are linked under one subscription.But the sales script failed to reveal that DualView and XtraView are worlds apart: DualView allows subscribers to have one decoder, and one subscription, but watch two different channels on different TV sets, each with full PVR capability.What the new, pricier Explora can't offer is DualView technology, so when watching the "second" TV, subscribers can't pause, rewind or fast forward; they can't watch their favourite shows on Catch-Up, they can't watch Box Office movies, and they can't record a show.To do that, they need a second Explora.Because On Air failed to disclose this reduced functionality, Multichoice swapped their second, HD decoders for Exploras at no extra cost.In that column, I wrote: "Clearly anyone else who wasn't told the full story by On Air would be entitled to similar compensation" and suggested they contact Multichoice directly.By the time Werry read that column, she'd accepted the deal, and called Multichoice to complain that she was in a worse position than she had been before her "upgrade"."I was told that there was nothing that could be done as the HD decoder doesn't have a hard drive, but not once was that disclosed to me by On Air in my telesales call," she told me.So, to restore the functionality she'd had on her two TV screens before her "upgrade", Werry paid R2000 for a second Explora, plus R550 for its installation."And on top of that, I'm still liable to pay for that On Air deal at R169 a month for two years, while its HD decoder sits in my cupboard."On reading that In Your Corner column, Werry contacted On Air, and requested that the recording of her sales call be e-mailed to her, in order to prove the lack of full disclosure.She was later told by On Air that her HD decoder would be replaced with a second Explora.On explaining that she'd already bought a second one, so she needed a refund instead, On Air agreed to give her a refund, but based on its lower cost price for the decoder and installation, which she refused.I took up Werry's case with Multichoice, saying that if she was indeed misled, she was entitled to a refund of her outlay on the second Explora. I'm happy to report she's since been refunded in full.Pam Barlow-Ramshaw also took my advice and e-mailed Multichoice to complain about being misled by On Air, but got an automated response and nothing else for two weeks.At that point I took up her case with Multichoice and this week she, too, will be getting a second Explora at no extra cost.Many others have contacted Multichoice and On Air to complain that they were similarly misled, stating that the recording of their sales call will prove this, and entitle them to a second Explora as compensation.Desmond Kock of East London wrote: "After reading your articleI phoned On Air and demanded either my old PVR decoder back or a second Explora decoder."Thanks to you I now have a second Explora decoder installed for free. Thank you."It's your right to have a recordingThe Consumer Protection Act states that when marketing any goods or services, suppliers "must not . express or imply a false, misleading or deceptive representation concerning a material fact to a consumer, or fail to correct an apparent misapprehension ."So if you believe you were misled during a telesales call, insist on the call recording, or mandate, as it's called. It's the telesales equivalent of your signature on a written contract.While the act does not expressly confirm a consumer's right to a copy of recordings, the National Consumer Commission's view is that "the voice recording is the only proof of the transaction, and thus, the consumer is entitled to a copy whenever a dispute arises".CONTACT WENDY:Email: consumer@knowler.co.zaTwitter: @wendyknowler..

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