examples of digital rip-off

"Agamemnon" wrote in message
...

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...
As part of the PARAS campaign we need to collect instances in which
vulnerable people have been ripped off as a result of the analogue
switch-off. These could be cases in which people have been conned into
buying an unneccessary aerial, buying a new TV rather than a set top box,
or subscribing to a pay-TV service in order to receive the basic
channels.

If you have any examples of this sort of thing please post them here or
contact PARAS on the website. All incidents will remain completely
anonymous.

Ok. Add the incident I reported last year of my dad being ripped of by
Comet who sold him a SCART lead he didn't need for a LCD TV with built-in
Freeview.



Bill


That was nothing to do with it. That was some old fool who AGREED to BUY
a SCART lead when he did not require one to connect to an external device.
I remember his son moaning on and on about how stupid his dad was, but in
this case the shop was NOT at fault. The man requested a lead, then agreed
to
buy it. He wasn't conned in any way.

"Ian Jackson" wrote in message
...
In message , Agamemnon
writes



Ok. Add the incident I reported last year of my dad being ripped of by
Comet who sold him a SCART lead he didn't need for a LCD TV with built-in
Freeview.

Maybe he would need a SCART lead to feed the TV video output to a VCR or
DVD recorder?

--
Ian

It was some stupid story about a man going in to a shop one day to buy a TV.
He bought the TV and *ASKED* for a lead to connect to his VCR, he was
sold a SCART lead as *THAT IS WHAT HE WANTED*. His VCR did not
have an HDMI connection!
His son was furious with him because he had bought another SCART lead
when he already had one. His dad seemed to think he would need a new one
so agreed to buy it for a price his son said was unreasonable. It is a
shame his
son took little interest in his shop visit or he might have gone with him to
the
shop!
There was no con, no deception, no forcing people to buy. The man wanted
the SCART lead so he bought it. If his son has such a big problem with what
his dad buys then that is an argument between the two of them, nothing to do
with a newsgroup or a shop. Maybe that is why his dad went to the shop
without him!
As far as I know this was never followed up with the shop, his son just kept
crying on newsgroups to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately no one did.

"James R" wrote in message
...

"Ian Jackson" wrote in message
...
In message , Agamemnon
writes



Ok. Add the incident I reported last year of my dad being ripped of by
Comet who sold him a SCART lead he didn't need for a LCD TV with built-in
Freeview.

Maybe he would need a SCART lead to feed the TV video output to a VCR or
DVD recorder?

--
Ian

It was some stupid story about a man going in to a shop one day to buy a
TV.
He bought the TV and *ASKED* for a lead to connect to his VCR, he was

He asked for nothing of the kind. He's already got half a dozen SCART leads.

sold a SCART lead as *THAT IS WHAT HE WANTED*. His VCR did not
have an HDMI connection!
His son was furious with him because he had bought another SCART lead

You are a LIAR!

The con man in the shop tried to force my father to buy a SCART lead by
falsely telling him the Freeview TV needed on. My dad told him no. Then the
con man made him think the SCART lead was an HDMI lead. Neither did the TV
require and HDMI lead buy my father has nothing with an HDMI output to
connect to the TV. It's a rip-off scam practiced by Comet since they more a
greater commission and profit on selling SCART leads worth £2 for £20 than
they do selling television. Before SCART leads it was extended guarantees
which cost more than the item that you actually bought would have been worth
after the manufactures guarantee expired, and even still they are doing that
one.

"James R" wrote in message
...

"Agamemnon" wrote in message
...

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...
As part of the PARAS campaign we need to collect instances in which
vulnerable people have been ripped off as a result of the analogue
switch-off. These could be cases in which people have been conned into
buying an unneccessary aerial, buying a new TV rather than a set top
box, or subscribing to a pay-TV service in order to receive the basic
channels.

If you have any examples of this sort of thing please post them here or
contact PARAS on the website. All incidents will remain completely
anonymous.

Ok. Add the incident I reported last year of my dad being ripped of by
Comet who sold him a SCART lead he didn't need for a LCD TV with built-in
Freeview.



Bill


That was nothing to do with it. That was some old fool who AGREED to BUY
a SCART lead when he did not require one to connect to an external device.
I remember his son moaning on and on about how stupid his dad was, but in
this case the shop was NOT at fault. The man requested a lead, then
agreed to
buy it. He wasn't conned in any way.

He requested nothing of the kind. He was conned into buying a SCART lead he
didn't need by the salesman, who when my dad told him he didn't need a SCART
lead conned him into thinking he was being given a discount on an HDMI lead,
which he didn't need either since he has nothing with an HDMI output.

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...
As part of the PARAS campaign we need to collect instances in which
vulnerable people have been ripped off as a result of the analogue
switch-off. These could be cases in which people have been conned into
buying an unneccessary aerial, buying a new TV rather than a set top box,
or subscribing to a pay-TV service in order to receive the basic channels.

If you have any examples of this sort of thing please post them here or
contact PARAS on the website. All incidents will remain completely
anonymous.

http://www.paras.org.uk/01-intro.shtml

Here's another one.

My dad went and bought a universal remote control to replace the broken
remote on my sisters Virgin/NTL cable box thinking because it said cable on
the packaging it would work with the box. The remote doesn't even have an
EPG/Guide button on it and has no codes whatsoever for either Virgin, NTL or
Samsung who make the Virgin/NTL box. Another ****ing digital rip-off. These
remotes should not be allowed to be sold or advertised in the UK as
replacements for cable TV in the UK unless they can full control all
Virgin/NTL boxes.


Bill

Agamemnon wrote:


Here's another one.

My dad went and bought a universal remote control to replace the broken
remote on my sisters Virgin/NTL cable box thinking because it said cable
on the packaging it would work with the box. The remote doesn't even
have an EPG/Guide button on it and has no codes whatsoever for either
Virgin, NTL or Samsung who make the Virgin/NTL box. Another ****ing
digital rip-off. These remotes should not be allowed to be sold or
advertised in the UK as replacements for cable TV in the UK unless they
can full control all Virgin/NTL boxes.

See:

http://www.redremote.co.uk/

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

In article , Agamemnon
wrote:
My dad went and bought a universal remote control to replace the broken
remote on my sisters Virgin/NTL cable box

Why? What's wrong with buying the right thing for the job?

Rod.
--
Virtual Access V6.3 free usenet/email software from
http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtual-access/

On 13 Feb, 01:16, "Bill Wright" wrote:
As part of the PARAS campaign we need to collect instances in which
vulnerable people have been ripped off as a result of the analogue
switch-off.

Parents became bored with their analogue TV about 3 years ago and
decided to replace it after a minor fault. Shop sold them a digital,
on the reasonable grounds that it would have a longer useful life.
OK, so £500 for the world's smallest flatscreen TV doesn't look such a
good deal today, but it wasn't out of line at the time.

They then discover that the reason the old TV had "failed" was
actually because the aerial had blown down (alu mast corroded) So they
call out an aerial installer. He tells them not that the mast has
failed and the antenna is OK, but that they need a whole new aerial
and downlead to be "digital compatible" and their new analogue /
digital set won't work otherwise. So he installs one. Presumably
because he's shifting old stock while he still can, this new aerial is
an _analogue_ antenna.

It works fine - a short line of sight to a major transmitter means
that any piece of wet string gets a good signal. But doubling the size
of the job needlessly and then not even supplying the same part that
you claimed is shoddy.

On Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:03:20 +0000, James R wrote:

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...
As part of the PARAS campaign we need to collect instances in which
vulnerable people have been ripped off as a result of the analogue
switch-off. These could be cases in which people have been conned into
buying an unneccessary aerial, buying a new TV rather than a set top
box, or subscribing to a pay-TV service in order to receive the basic
channels.

If you have any examples of this sort of thing please post them here or
contact PARAS on the website. All incidents will remain completely
anonymous.

http://www.paras.org.uk/01-intro.shtml

Bill

How about an aerial firm (very well known) trying to sell people aerials
they do not need? damaging existing installations in order to secure
and justify work not required? A company not able to name those they
accuse of poor work in fear of being sued?
You should look closer instead of spamming newsgroups with your
advertising rubbish for you and your friends.


Umm.. I'm sure all that does go on. However.

The article the link points to has lots of decent information written in
a nice clear way, most of which says 'you probably don't need anything
doing, and if you do here's the simplest and cheapest way to do it'.

Also, it's anonymous. No company names are mentioned or recommended at
all. There isn't even a form for getting a quote for work, only to ask
questions for free.

James R, I think you may be pointing your bile at the wrong place. This
wasn't Spam, it was useful advice. In fact, they appear to be on your
side, but actually doing something about it instead of whining.


Disclaimer: I'm not connected with PARAS and don't have any industry
connections at all. This is the first I've seen of it. I just actually
RTFA'd.

Andy Dingley wrote:

snip
They then discover that the reason the old TV had "failed" was
actually because the aerial had blown down (alu mast corroded) So they
call out an aerial installer. He tells them not that the mast has
failed and the antenna is OK, but that they need a whole new aerial
and downlead to be "digital compatible" and their new analogue /
digital set won't work otherwise. So he installs one. Presumably
because he's shifting old stock while he still can, this new aerial is
an _analogue_ antenna.

What do you mean by, an _analogue_ antenna?
--
There's probably no god, so stop worrying and enjoy your life.