Melita upgrade offer

D. Buhagiar

Feb 2nd 2010, 17:15

@ Mr G. Farrugia yes they make your life impossible if you don't follow the correct procedure.
They are all fancy talk.....they tell you to sign for installation of a service but what you sign for is a CONTRACT!

Yes, they are tricking people this way and they are not making money...they're STEALING it!

Mark Piscopo

Feb 1st 2010, 00:21

My friends and I were with Melita Mobile because we were given a free mobile with 15euro a month contract. Now we gave them our mobile because of a very bad reception from Fgura, Paola, Marsascala, Bugibba, Paceville. Honestly people tried to phone me but to no avail, Iam very sorry for these comment but it happened to me!

M G Farrugia

Jan 31st 2010, 21:14

If you decide to terminate the contract Melita try to make it difficult for you. They ask you to send them a letter and they do not accept an email with all the legal details. They insist to send a photo copy of your I.D. Card or passport. They also insist that you give them a reason why you are terminating the contract. In my opinion if you send in an email with all the details is more than enough so why all this hussle to write a letter when another company in the group works hard to promote the internet service. Who on earth today in an IT orientated country like Malta ask you to write a letter and do not accept an email.

J.Mifsud

Jan 31st 2010, 18:50

I also had a bad experience with Melita. I am on a yearly contract so I pay for a whole year to get one month free, I have been doing this for years. A few months ago someone phoned me from melita to offer me three months sports channel at half price for 34 euros. I was very pleased to accept this offer. Soon after I received a bill for a whole year not only for the sports channel but also for the movie channel( I used to have movie channel, but I had down graded before). In other words I was expected to pay nearly 400 euros instead of 34 euros, which was really what I owed as I had no outstanding bills. When I phoned to complain after much hassle, the answer was that I should not have been offered sports channel for three months at half price as I was on a yearly contract. I was flabbergasted especially when they removed the sports channel straight away, and told me that in the future if they phone me again I was to decline any offer as i was not entitled, as I was on a yearly contract. Amazing.

Charles Grixti

Jan 31st 2010, 18:50

Looks like Melita is up to some shennanigans!

A charge for switching from analogue to digital should be borne by the supplier and not the consumer. It is called the cost of doing business. But is seems they want to pass this on to the consumer up-front.

It is analogyous to going to buy a car only to discover that the price quoted by the dealer does not include the car wheels, and you have to pay extra for them!

Or what they do here in Canada, where they charge you a connection fee for piping the gas for heating your home! (although the connections are actually already there and paid by the city through the tax-payers). The point being if they are set up to sell gas into homes, the connections to home etc should be part of their business expense This 'connection' fee is paid by the consumer each and every month. There is also a monthly connection fee, amongst other charges, on mobile phones, making our mobile telephony one of the most expensive in the world.

Maltese people beware as the same unscrupulous and greedy capitalsitic forces are at work all over the world!

Anthony Debono

Jan 31st 2010, 14:20

Have you folks who have had or worse still encountering problems reported to MCA?

J. Duca

Jan 31st 2010, 11:48

Well said Karl Glanville. What about the existing customers. We never benefited from any offers, even when MUTV, Chelsea TV channels to name a few were removed.
Melita, expect an exodus of Sports customers in June.
Hope Go Sports package will be reasonable, because there are other ways to watch sports nowadays.

C Falzon

Jan 31st 2010, 11:24

Funny that more than ten years ago I had summarily cancelled my Melita subscription for reasons similar to what is mentioned in these comments. Interesting how after all these years they have managed kept their 'tradition' intact.

Karl Glanville

Jan 31st 2010, 08:50

"Subscribers would pay €7.76 per month to benefit from up to five months free subscription to the world of sports..."
What about the existing customers like me who are paying 40Euros to have digital + sports? This makes me more willing to switch somewhere else; which infact i will as football from next summer will be transmitted by GO.

S. Camilleri

Jan 30th 2010, 17:39

@Alfred Curmi and others in the same predicament ...
Your two year or 18 month contract is only valid if the supplier, Melita in this case, is delivering on its promise!! If your TV signal is crap and your internet is non existent, then that is enough reason to send them packing and get out of the contract ..... unless they fix it in a reasonable timeframe, obviously.

Get wise ppl... don't let them bluff you around

J Zammit

Jan 30th 2010, 17:32

I have mixed feelings for Melita. On the good side, I am one of the "lucky few" that I know that had a very good experience with Melita Mobile, I have reasonably good but expensive internet (I pay for 20Mb download speed and get an average of 15Mb when monitored with appropriate software while downloading) and have a good service on Hello with bills always matching my actual calls.
But, on the Bad side, I had a very sour experience with Melita with my then TV package. I was paying for the maximum stations at the time, but Melita decided that even though I had paid in advance they terminated two stations from the paid list only because they did not have sports rights and did not want the inconvenience of blocking the stations just while the sports was being transmitted - after all I was not paying for the sports program,had paid in advance but got no compensation or service, so had no choice but to stop the service.

Chris Grillo

Jan 30th 2010, 13:26

I have been a long time user of Melita Cable now...for many years in fact...and it is a bit strange to read about all the problems that customers come up with...

Now I have to make it clear that I have never worked for Melita, or have a relative, sister, brother, uncle or even my dog who has been there....

In all honesty, I have excellent cable internet, good Hello service, and decent (though very expensive) L package.

I say decent, because in this day of hi definition, the picture is sadly lacking in quality. No, make it rubbish. And the logo on the sports channel burns a spot in my plasma tv. I will not be applying for their mobile service though. Utter junk...

So, yes, service is more than ok, prices expensive though. That is my two-pence worth of thoughts anyway.

read the full review from the link below..

http://grillochris.blogspot.com/2009/11/bone-to-pick.html

C. Briffa

Jan 30th 2010, 11:23

Melita is such a bad Experience that I will never subscribe with them again. I had internet service and it was too slow when ever I complained they always told me that I need to pay more in order to get better speed. The fact was that every time I checked the speed it was always lower than that I should have got. Not to mention the trouble to contact their customer care and after all this ordeal they took one month to disconnect my internet service which Obviously they want me to pay!!!. The best issue was, that received a phone call from a Melita supervisor and she wanted to know why I wanted to disconnect my service.

ray sacco

Jan 30th 2010, 08:40

BEWARE! i asked for the sports channel and was given a price. after three moths, the sports channel charge on my bill was increased. when i enquired, the customer care operator told me that i had a three months offer which expired. they never informed me that the price i was given was a three months offer. it would be much wiser for melita to safe guard their present clients than to come out with some new tricks to attract new ones.

J. Grech

Jan 30th 2010, 08:25

Yes I agree with all of you, sometimes dealing with large companies can be a nightmare, this happens everywhere, I am a Melita customer, I find the paying €35 for 66 digital channels (Discovery channels as well) 7 mbps download speed and 50GB download limit which I check reguarly on speedtest.net to be true and a flat phone rate to all local numbers quite reasonable. At first Hello and their mobile service was terrible but now they have improved a lot. In the first year of Mobile service I received the €50 credit in full as they promised as well, can't complain about the rates. Made an appointment to remove the extra digital box as I was not using it, they came when the said they would right on time. Did not receive refund as I didn't pay for them in the first place, got it free with their special offer. I did read contract before signing.

Chris Coleiro

Jan 30th 2010, 08:17

Wow.. does anyone say anything good about Melita?? Well, not me for sure!! Once bitten, twice shy for sure!! I have had too much headaches sorting out bills upon bills to people in my house who never even applied for a service!! Melita should concentrate on offering a reliable service, correct billing, and competent customer service to say the least!
Goodbye Forever Melita... Good thing I applied for GO service..

M Bonnici

Jan 30th 2010, 04:05

Back in time I tried an offer of Melita, I don't remember how much I paid but I had the offer which I could get the "Full" for three months. After the three months I deceided to downgrade to reception only till I deceided to remove all the service. I called to their office to inform them to shut the service and that I was going to bring them back their decoder but I was surprised as they informed me that I had to pay for removing the service.
I asked if they were going to remove the wiring installation but they told me no, only unplugging from the mains socket and the cable socket but must be done from a melita technician. I immediately hanged the phone grabbed the decoder and went to their office and made it clearly that I was not going to pay for this not even a 1c. This ended up in their meeting room about 3 persons entered in trying to convince me for 30 mins until they gave up. Don' t rush and pay them immidiately we have rights and their service is the worst I ever had. It's pay back time Melita

Charles P Cilia

Jan 30th 2010, 01:30

I have written and complained to Melita 6 months ago they promised to get back to me. Not a whisper; what else can I add ? Could write a pantomime about Melita and it would not make a difference to them. They are as customer friendly as a frozen fish finger.

D.Buhagiar

Jan 29th 2010, 22:22

@M. Zarb...They are losing customers all the time and here I'm talking about my experience and people I know. If I had no complaints with their internet and they used to make a profit off me...they won't get a cent now either from internet nor from T.V. service!

Adding to this, not many weeks ago, a lecturer also mentioned his bitter experience with Melita during a lecture...now how worse can this kind of reputation be for a company?

Tricking people and making them to pay for things that they don't know of is the way to FAILURE!!!!

martin saliba

Jan 29th 2010, 21:58

@O. Manicaro . I emailed them on sales@melitaplc.com as shown on my son's contract with melita mobile on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 8:42 PM asking them to tell me where i can find the terms and conditions as i could not find them myself. As of today i have not even recieved an electronic reciept that my ail has been read. Thats their customer care at its best .

Karl Muscat

Jan 29th 2010, 20:02

@M. Zarb They survive because their mark up is very high and they afford losing customers, for now. But a time will come where they wont afford it anymore. They are already losing customer base on mobile service, just 1 year after launch. As for those questioning the offer, Melita have just lost Serie A and Premier League rights. Sky is an emminent competitor and so they have nothing left to promote but the Champions League, which in all faireness is nothing but 2 months of revenue. As for the hidden fees, Melita have no competition. My experience...I had low entry internet and one day I decided to UPGRADE. I phoned customer care and after one hour chaning departments, I managed to upgrade. All was well until I received the first bill. I found the normal monthly fee, plus and additional charge of Lm4 because they upgraded the service!!! I obviously disconnected the service there and then, and to this day (4 years later) I havent paid that bill. Anything but NOT Melita.

M.Zarb

Jan 29th 2010, 19:13

All these complaints, not just here but also on the street and still Melita survives. Why? This reminds me of a computer retail outlet in Malta years ago. Everybody used to complain about this place and the bad after sales service etc.. but this place not only had survived but even grew in business. Which means that there is something wrong here? If the service is so bad of Melita (to which I completely agree that it is) than how come these guys survive? How come people flocked to them when they introduced the mobile service and internet? I personally have their TV service, but will switch soon, but I have never accpeted their offer (even if I would have paid less overall) to take there all in one package, mobile + internet. I do not support a company which is reminiscent of holidays from hell type of thing, only change the word holiday to service. But yet still they survive and grow and grow. something is amiss.

D. Buhagiar

Jan 29th 2010, 18:34

Like Galea L. said what happened to his friend, the same happened to me. When they phoned with all the promotional fancy talk i asked directly what were the hidden costs....the answer? NONE! Second time round I asked again and was told...NONE! Even the installation technician told me NONE!
But when the bill arrived I saw the trick they let me in...A 3 year contract! Shame on you!

Anyway, so to all out there BE CAREFUL, READ TERMS AND CONDITIONS-yes those small little prints, even if it takes you a week to do so

alfred curmi

Jan 29th 2010, 18:23

Well I have the Silver service, but I have to admit that I have a 2 yr contract - still a long way to expire as on May 2011 !!!!! I am not happy - far from it - and I am waiting for the end of my contract to SWITCH to another service - both for Internet and cable television - rates are too high - but mainly BECAAUSE of very poor signals as regards cable tv +++++++ ASLSO Internet service.

Brandon Pisani

Jan 29th 2010, 17:44

Melita have to be blaclisted. I'll give you all a personal example ...

Last November I called Melita to inform them that I will be terminating 'temporarily' all services (TV, Internet & Telephone) by the end of the year as I will be moving to a new home. They informed me that I have to do this in writing (not an email) I did so, but I never received any answer from them, even if 3 wks had passed.

Then I went personally to their offices on the 4th of January and while they they told me they received the letter, the service was still not cut off. They told me they will do so immediately as they confirmed my request for the service to be terminated by the 31-12-09.

Thinking that everything is OK, this week I received 2 bills (1) to pay for the TV service (for the period bt 16/01-15/03) and Internet (for the period bt 08/01-07/02).

Well if they think I will be paying the bills it wont be so!! MELITA ... you will never see me as your customer again ... YOU MAY GIVE SPECIAL OFFERS ... but my offer is to BAN MELITA!

fmuliet

Jan 29th 2010, 16:49

Same thing happened to my partner!!! And when you recieve an offer from melita always make sure to read the fine print, a while ago someone offered us a service upgrade for 3 months, if you can call it an upgrade after all i mean the movies they show have been out for years!!! Well to cut a long when checking the bill (after the offer ended) we found out that we where charged for the service, we called them and the reply we got was that we should have phoned them and told them that we don't want the offer anymore! I mean if sales people phoned u with an offer to upgrade for free for 3 months, should'nt they phone u to see if you intend to keep it after the 3rd month?? That's Melita service!!!!

Simon Swartz

Jan 29th 2010, 16:36

What about the one-time installation charge of €86.19. Shouldn't that be paid by Melita if they want us to change to digital. We are not forced to do so as we will still be able to receive the reception package since it's cable transmission. Who is willing to pay LM30 to change the tv cable ?

Joseph E Briffa

Jan 29th 2010, 15:53

I am afraid I don't quite understand the Melita package offer. Meita are going digital this year thereby enabling owners of digital or digital ready TVs to utilise the technology of their sets to the full, something they haven't been able to do because of Melita's failure to upgrade their service to digital.. I understand that Melita subscribers who do NOT wish to upgrade their current package will NOT be asked to pay more for this upgrading of Melita's digital service.Maybe somebody can clarify.

Joseph Schembri

Jan 29th 2010, 15:11

Do Not Pay for any digital TV service offered by ANY company. This is especially so if they try to tie you down with long contracts. This year even local TV stations will turn digital free to air. With my perfectly legal digital set top box - bought from an independent source I can receive a multitude of channels for free and it is all legal. The companies are playing on people's ignorance.

R. Gauci

Jan 29th 2010, 15:00

Din xi nasba minn tas-soltu minghand Melita?? BEWARE!!

Mark Casha

Jan 29th 2010, 14:34

Thanks a lot L Galea.

U ftakru li min jitwieled tond ma jmutx kwadru. Lil tal-Melita ma tistax tafdahom! Once bitten twice shy dear Melita

Maurice Davidson

Jan 29th 2010, 14:18

No not for me thanks once bitten twice shy, so don't call us we'll call you T.T.F.N

Lorraine Portelli

Jan 29th 2010, 14:08

Please be careful not to be bitten like I was and always ask who you're talking with. I am supposed to get the money back for the analogue box that I payed for back in 1998 as I was told at that time. But now they are telling me that they gave me the money back on services. I always paid the bills and I told them to explain to me at which services I was given the money back. I was given no reply, absolute silence. Just watch out.

Anthony Roberts

Jan 29th 2010, 14:01

Thank you so much for your advice. I changed from Melita to Go, simply because Go is offering a much better service, with improved quality. It is not just about getting things cheaper but get the best for your money. Paying less doesn't mean you are always getting the best quality. So check out what Go is offering as well as they could well turn out to be far superior in their service.

Charlot Attard

Jan 29th 2010, 13:49

It seems that Melita are getting ready to make some offers...Hoping that some competition will begin and some fair prices will come up

s debono

Jan 29th 2010, 13:38

I am happy with my current Melita reception service and seek no upgrades
Melita customer care could not tell me what will happen to the service if I do not upgrade
Will the analogue service be shut down any time soon?

Attard Charles

Jan 29th 2010, 13:24

Why is it that you need to pay an EUR86 installation fee!?, since all the wiring is already in place from your old analogue installation? Clearly nothing needs to be installed or configured elsewhere as temporarily wiring up a digital converter to the old wiring works perfectly!

Josephine Cremona

Jan 29th 2010, 12:20

Melita do not charge for their set top box...the set top box always remains their property. The one time charge is for installation of the service and this is not returnable. Also the contract is for two years.

O. Manicaro

Jan 29th 2010, 12:20

They phoned me yesterday and I've asked for an email of what the salesperson offered me and he said that he was writing the letter while he is on line but till now I haven't received any emails from Melita he also said that its a contract for 2 years but contracts have to be signed by both parties if I am not mistaken.

Be carefull all.

Joe Agius

Jan 29th 2010, 12:03

Mr Galea, you are perfectly right.
When I asked Melita to stop the service after 6 months, they informed me that I was obliged to maintain the service for a minimum of 18 months. I was very surprised especially since I was never informed of this condition. Apparently when the customer signs the installation form, he/she is agreeing to Melita's terms & conditions. They are obviously taking people for a ride.

Ronald Cauchi

Jan 29th 2010, 12:02

.... and more. Once the free offer part is over unless you make it very clear repeatedly that you just want to pay what you actually subscribed for they'll keep charging you for the free(sic)
part of the offer. Writing letters, emailing or phoning gets you no response, just more incorrect billing.

Eric Gahn

Jan 29th 2010, 12:00

Further to Galea L.'s comments if there are problems with Melita's service you can expect to wait on the line for ten minutes or more until someone talks to you, only to rudely tell you that the problem is not from thier side. In my experience Melita only want their clients' money and not give a good service. I did the switch to another (not hard to guess) and have absolutely no regrets. Their customer support setup (including teh staff) is quick, efficient and helpful.

Josephine Cuschieri

Jan 29th 2010, 11:49

Will there ever be a special offer for the substantial number of subscribers who had opted for what was then referred to as 'Silver Package' and who pay 30 euro a month, which amount was was until recently was 28 euro, 50 cents but was "rounded" up to 30 euro. I have been using the Silver package for the past 5 years and all we have been receiving is repeats of repeats of programmes. Maybe some of the packages could be re-drawn for the convenience of those subscribers who have no interest in the innumerable number of sports channels offered in the Silver package.

george attard

Jan 29th 2010, 11:25

Melita are very generous when they dedect competition in the horizon. could this be because of the imminent introduction of SKY in Malta?

EDWARD CIANTAR

Jan 29th 2010, 11:23

The first time you subscribe they do not ask silly questions as to 'reason why you require the service, photo copy of ID card,etc etc...' When you come to remove their service these silly question and submissions have to be forwarded to them, especially the 'copy of the ID card' otherwise they will not remove the service with the result that you continue to be billed.

Paul Barrett

Jan 29th 2010, 10:33

I agree with "Galea. L" but would go one step further:
Do not agree or accept the telephone offers - they talk very fast and the drawbacks to 'great special offers' are so easily missed if you are not listening for them.
They will instantly acceptance by phone when upgrading but trying to downgrade or cancel the same offer is fraught with difficulty.
Insist on a WRITTEN copy of any agreement and read it carefully before authorising it.

Galea. L

Jan 29th 2010, 10:08

Just not to be caught out.
When Melita phoned a friend to try to persuade him to upgrade to digital, he asked them whether if he terminates the service he will get the money paid for the set-top box. The answer was no. The set-top box has to be returned without any payment of the customers deposit. There is also a contract fro a period of time for which the subscriber will have to remain their customer. There may be other small-print restrictions, so be careful, ask for all the conditions, record them so that they cannot later deny and read the small print.