Europa charging for new box

Started by beachlife, June 30, 2014, 18:13:07 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

beachlife

Have been with Europa for less than 18 months. When I first went with them they recommended the motorola box which I purchased from them pre programmed. I have received an email from them stating motorola no longer will be upgrading the box or parts. So want me to stump up another discounted 79.95 (usually 129.95) as they will turn off my television connection from August 1st. Strange that I can buy the same box they now want me to buy for less than that so not much of a real discount ( shows they were making a good profit on the hardware as well as the service they provide).

I know that several people after me joined Europa and were recommended a different box. Coincidence that Google sold their Motorola set top box unit in December 2012 to the Arris group, about the same time I was recommended a motorola box by Europa.. I wonder if Europa had a number of boxes that they wanted to sell off at a good profit and then fleece customers later for a different box.

I have been in touch with Europa but they in effect say tough. I see no reason why they need to turn off my TV service just because they no longer say they can get spare parts or the box will not receive upgrades. They have made a corporate decision to turn off my service, to force me to get a new box if I want to continue with them. I could understand, if eventually my box no longer worked and spare parts were no longer available or the upgrades did not work but I would imagine this would under normal circumstances be some time but not after a month. I have had plenty of hardware where the software was not upgraded by myself or the hardware system itself but have worked with no problems for years.

Have any other Europa customers with the motorola or any other box had an email from them informing them they need to purchase a different box as the service will be stopped on !st August?

I was a strong advocate for people joining Europa, however following a less than sympathetic response from them after such a short time with them, I would advise people to avoid them.

Lulabell

Hi Beachlife,

We had a phone call on Thursday informing us of this decision, to which we were not very pleased!! As you when we started using Europa we were supplied a Motorola set top box. A week or so after when looking on their web site we saw that they were advertising the Mag 250 box with pause, rewind and fast forward, so I rang them to ask if we had these options on the Motorola box and they told us no we didn't. When I asked why we didn't get the Mag  box in the first place, they just said that was how it was, basically the luck of the draw. Now considering that in May last year (which is when we started our subscription with them) they started their new catch up service, and we were among the first to have it and it was free for the first month as a trial, so you would have thought that they would have supplied the better box, but no we ended up with the number two Motorola box.......... They emailed us all the options on Thursday and having talked about it all weekend I do have to admit we have ordered the new box today, what we didn't realise was that they would take the money out of our bank account today >:(, a total of 69.44€........49.95 + 7% iva and 14.95 + 7% iva  postage and packaging. I have to admit we have had more than our fair share of run in's with Europa, their customer service leaves a lot to be desired!!!!! I suppose we have just taken the easy option by getting the new box :(

Lulabell

beachlife

#2
Quote from: Zurich-Kabel-TV on June 30, 2014, 20:32:54 PM
hopefully i can help you ...the motorola box is very old tech ..regardless of when you brought it .they want to upgrade you to the MAG250 which is a faster better and can do a lot more and in the future   . they employed a company to install this system upgrade ..that company have since installed a much upgrade version with us .so this is the correct thing to do for them and their customers
HOWEVER
to demand payment for the box in a lump sum and if anyone can tell me their magic post rate plus local taxes ,is not good business  sense  .they could have added a monthly replacement charge to their very high bills but they did not ...please ask for our prices and channel line up ...
if anyone has a MAG250 we can offer a free test of our line up on their box ,no CC/bank details ..we dont even need to know where you live ..

I understand that the mag 250 is a better box, so wonder why they supplied some customers with the motorola and some with the Mag 250. Maybe because they had a number of these which they had bought  when Google sold the motorola, dumping it on customers with the knowledge that they would be able to go back later and charge them for a new one.

Personally I don`t want all the bells and whistles that a new box " may" bring me. I am happy with just watching the channels I could already view. However Europa seem to have made a corporate decision to turn off the signal to customers on 1 st August. Hardware will still work even when its not receiving upgrades, obviously there will come a point when it may not but why can`t customers decide to update the box at that time ?

beachlife

Quote from: Lulabell on June 30, 2014, 22:18:24 PM
Hi Beachlife,

I have to admit we have had more than our fair share of run in's with Europa, their customer service leaves a lot to be desired!!!!! I suppose we have just taken the easy option by getting the new box :(

Lulabell
Totally with you on the customer service, its awful. You would think that it would be working 7 days a week and certainly into the evenings when more people will be watching.

I wonder if I get a Mag 250 if in the near future I will get another email telling me that I have to replace the Mag 250 for another technical reason?

Ryan air got some stick but compared to Europa its customer service and support is world class.

Just want to make other people on the forum  be aware that if you are considering Europa you get a company which the bottom line is more important than customer support and service. This is a shame as the product they have when it works is very good.

Lulabell


please stay calm ,let us help ..our mail order price from germany for the MAG250 is about €90 ,,,so if you are paying around this amount it is ok ...
BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THE MAG250 is becoming the STANDARD box for IPTV ,so you DONT HAVE TO HAVE THE EUROPA SERVICE - we can offer you a free test of our service .you would pay no money and we would not require any details . you would just need to press buttons from your sofa and you can have a weeks test.so when you have plugged in the MAG250 ,even if you are on EUROPA PLEASE CONTACT us 10-10 and we will help you out free of charge to install the box you have brought ..
..
[/quote]


Hi......we tried to find a web site for you on the internet after reading a previous posting you had put on here regarding UK TV, but unfortunately we couldn't find anything, must admit though we are only basic users of the internet so maybe it was there but we couldn't find it  :-[
Our new Mag 250 box should arrive in the next week or so, so we will keep you in mind to try and help us out if we need you......

Lulabell.....

beachlife

Quote from: Lulabell on July 01, 2014, 14:02:00 PM

please stay calm ,let us help ..our mail order price from germany for the MAG250 is about €90 ,,,so if you are paying around this amount it is ok ...
BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THE MAG250 is becoming the STANDARD box for IPTV ,so you DONT HAVE TO HAVE THE EUROPA SERVICE - we can offer you a free test of our service .you would pay no money and we would not require any details . you would just need to press buttons from your sofa and you can have a weeks test.so when you have plugged in the MAG250 ,even if you are on EUROPA PLEASE CONTACT us 10-10 and we will help you out free of charge to install the box you have brought ..
..


Hi......we tried to find a web site for you on the internet after reading a previous posting you had put on here regarding UK TV, but unfortunately we couldn't find anything, must admit though we are only basic users of the internet so maybe it was there but we couldn't find it  :-[
Our new Mag 250 box should arrive in the next week or so, so we will keep you in mind to try and help us out if we need you......

Lulabell.....
[/quote]

I have been in contact with ZKTV and it looks like you can get a cheaper option and a better option 1000 minutes of free local and UK calls a month. I don`t get back till September to the island but I reckon I am strongly tempted to go with ZKTV and buy a Mag250 on Ebay. So even if you get a box I would get in touch with them once you get your box.

hostman

My IPTV is through ZKTV we love it best picture we have had since living in Tenerife and that includes what used to come through the satellite. 67 English channels including all the BBC, ITV, channels etc. It also includes 14 day catchup on every single channel no need to record anything nowadays!

Deso

Quote from: hostman on July 01, 2014, 15:10:21 PM
My IPTV is through ZKTV we love it best picture we have had since living in Tenerife and that includes what used to come through the satellite. 67 English channels including all the BBC, ITV, channels etc. It also includes 14 day catchup on every single channel no need to record anything nowadays!

Amazing!!! Someone in Tenerife suddenly pops up extolling the virtues of a system being advertised on the Fuerte Forum.

Call me an old cynic....... ;D
Regards, Neil
Looking forward to the day I tick the "One way only" box when booking flights to Fuerte. [:)]

beachlife

#8
Quote from: Deso on July 01, 2014, 18:28:01 PM
Quote from: hostman on July 01, 2014, 15:10:21 PM
My IPTV is through ZKTV we love it best picture we have had since living in Tenerife and that includes what used to come through the satellite. 67 English channels including all the BBC, ITV, channels etc. It also includes 14 day catchup on every single channel no need to record anything nowadays!

Amazing!!! Someone in Tenerife suddenly pops up extolling the virtues of a system being advertised on the Fuerte Forum.

Call me an old cynic....... ;D



Actually I posted about my issue on the Tenerife and on mainland Spain forums about the issues I was having as know that Europa tend to monitor them more as there are more mugs I mean customers there. So perhaps members of the Tenerife forum decided to share their views with others, as we all have the same issues more or less.

It seems to have worked as Europa seem to be actively trying to contact me rather than giving me hard luck thats the way it is. However awaiting to be convinced that its not better to switch due to the costs and service that I have discovered since I have had this issue.

beachlife

Have left Europa as found better iptv provider ( ZKTV - who post on here) which has more programmes and also allows me to not pay for months when I`m not in Spain ( I`m a swallow here for winter only). Also changing adsl to faster 10 mb which I can also stop and start with no problem.

After trying to tempt me back by 2 similar offers which I rejected they finally offered me a free Mag 250 with iva to pay. If they had offered me this in the first place I would still be with them. This is what should be offered in the first place to all motorola box customers under 2 years since sign up. Have lost faith in the company and I think they have shot themselves in the foot. Companies who take their customers for granted eventually suffer in time, even Ryanair have learnt this lesson and are trying to be more customer friendly. News soon gets around with the internet and even more true in the Canaries where word of mouth is a way of life!!!

Can`t help thinking that the reason an offer was made to me was because I have posted on lots of Spanish and Canary forums on the issue I had. The standard offer given to me and everyone else will probably be accepted by many people as they can`t be bothered, companies know this and no doubt make a decision about the cost to them in money terms and the effect in poor publicity. The more people spread their annoyance when confronted with poor customer service the less likely hood companies like Europa will try to get away with it. Unfortunately there is no small claims court in Spain, I have used this route with companies in the UK who have provided poor service to good effect.

Lulabell

Hi Beachlife,

After seeing your post we have spoken to ZK TV and we are going to go with them. We have rung Europa and asked them why they have offered you your box for free and we have had to pay for ours which is not good customer service, we should all be treated equally, to which this was denied!!!! They girl I spoke said that Europa would never give anything away as all hard ware costs too much!!!!! I asked her why you would post on a forum that you had been offered this?? She just said that she has never heard of anything been given away for free!! I was so annoyed with her that we have asked Europa to  recall our set top box from Madrid where it is sitting at the moment and to credit our bank account with the amount we have paid out. They took the money out of our account within 30 minutes of us agreeing to buy a new box so lets see how long it will take to get it back in our account. We have to give them written notice that we are leaving them before the 15th July so that's the next email......

Lulabell  :)

beachlife

Quote from: Lulabell on July 02, 2014, 17:36:50 PM
Hi Beachlife,

After seeing your post we have spoken to ZK TV and we are going to go with them. We have rung Europa and asked them why they have offered you your box for free and we have had to pay for ours which is not good customer service, we should all be treated equally, to which this was denied!!!! They girl I spoke said that Europa would never give anything away as all hard ware costs too much!!!!! I asked her why you would post on a forum that you had been offered this?? She just said that she has never heard of anything been given away for free!! I was so annoyed with her that we have asked Europa to  recall our set top box from Madrid where it is sitting at the moment and to credit our bank account with the amount we have paid out. They took the money out of our account within 30 minutes of us agreeing to buy a new box so lets see how long it will take to get it back in our account. We have to give them written notice that we are leaving them before the 15th July so that's the next email......

Lulabell  :)

This shows that we have made the correct move in getting away from them. They only offered me the box as I kicked up a fuss in forums, in fact they managed to get my post deleted on 1 forum.

To make sure my good name is not in doubt here is the email I received.

From: kate@europa-network.com
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2014 12:20:12 +0200
Subject: RE: Request to contact you

Dear xxxxxxxx,

I have just seen this email with regards to the MAG-250 and now know you are Beachlife. I have discussed this with my peers and we have agreed to replace the box to you free of charge. You will just have to pay for the postage and packing (14.95€ +IVA)
I hope that this will be to your satisfaction and if you would like to go ahead, please let me know. As you are not here at the moment, please let me know the date you will need it shipping to you.

beachlife

#12
I have sent 2 tickets to their system to inform them I am informing them I want to terminate the service I have with them. I have also sent an email to the person who sent me the offer informing them of me terminating my account and asking for an email back confirming they have received notification. I have managed to cancel my next direct debit ( August) with them online. I want written confirmation that they have received my notice of termination, as from their actions they will try to deny you have given it!!!!

If I were you I would just accept the Mag 250 as might be easier to use that to connect to ZKTV I would imagine it will be a nightmare to get money back from them. As the box may be setup with their configuration check with Paul of ZKTV if this will cause any problem, I`m sure there will be a way of resetting the box to its factory configuration.

Lulabell

Hi Beachlife,

I was not disputing that you were not telling the truth, it is the attitude of the staff that work at Europa. They are always right and we "the punters" are always wrong..... I have asked they recall the box and refund us as I have already stated, the main reason for this is because we had catch up TV with them, if we had accepted their box it would then have tied us in with them for another 12 months contract from the date we receive the new box. After all the run in's we have had with Europa and their customer service, I have realised (especially after reading your posts as well) that taking the easy option is not necessarily the way to go and I cannot face another 12 months of them and their service.

Lulabell  :)

beachlife

Quote from: Lulabell on July 02, 2014, 20:50:58 PM
Hi Beachlife,

I was not disputing that you were not telling the truth, it is the attitude of the staff that work at Europa. They are always right and we "the punters" are always wrong..... I have asked they recall the box and refund us as I have already stated, the main reason for this is because we had catch up TV with them, if we had accepted their box it would then have tied us in with them for another 12 months contract from the date we receive the new box. After all the run in's we have had with Europa and their customer service, I have realised (especially after reading your posts as well) that taking the easy option is not necessarily the way to go and I cannot face another 12 months of them and their service.

Lulabell  :)

I didn`t mean to imply that you thought I was not telling the truth lullabell, just wanted other forum readers to understand that when talking to Europa they will try to distort the truth. This is why I prefer to communicate with them by email as you have a paper record. Its easy to promise anything on the phone as their word against yours. Which is why I would like an email confirming they have received my cancellation, which I am still waiting for after my request by email and posting 2 tickets on their own ticket service (or lack of service). They say it can take a while to get a reply, here`s an idea employ some more people as this has been the case for ages.

Problem is the company is money lead, rather than putting the customer first the bottom line is more important with Europa. This is a model that can work for a while but eventually even mugs (sorry customers) find these type of companies out.

bridlife

I assume that if they cut you off on August 1st, then you also lose your internet also , since it goes through this box.

Deso

Quote from: Zurich-Kabel-TV on July 04, 2014, 13:47:47 PM
we unless im missing something the telephone line is connected into your ROUTER ,and then to the motorola box ??? . so no you should still have internet ,but you are overpaying for no service ..

It is actually connected to your Modem or Modem/Router, but that would be splitting hairs.   :D  :P
Regards, Neil
Looking forward to the day I tick the "One way only" box when booking flights to Fuerte. [:)]

bridlife

What are the competative alternatives to Europa. Phone , Internet and English T.V

beachlife

#18
I`ve now got my Mag 250 quicker than I thought. So hoping to try out ZVTV before I get to my villa in September as ZVTV have said they can test the box is working from the UK  so if there is any problem I can get box changed before I get back to the Canaries. So will report back here regarding picture quality and program choice compared to Europa when I get a trial of ZKTV. Customer service seems to be better so far with ZKTV, rather than Europa still waiting for 3 tickets (on their internal system)and an email to Europa confirming they have received my notice to leave and asking for confirmation they have received it.

potash

Beachlife now you have a mag 250 contact potash for more info

beachlife

Quote from: potash on July 08, 2014, 09:51:45 AM
Beachlife now you have a mag 250 contact potash for more info

Have sent you a personal message potash.

Lulabell

An up date for you all, below is an e-mail we have received from Europa:

Dear Mrs. XXXXXXXXXXXXXX,

Unfortunately, Tenerife Forum will not allow me to reply to your thread publicly. I am sending you this message to confirm that we have refunded your card with the 69.44â,¬ that was taken on the 30.06.14 for the payment of the Set Top Box.

Charlotte will be sending your account for cancellation as of the 15th of July as she discussed with you this morning and there will be no termination fees incurred.

I have sent a copy of this private message to your email address and I would appreciate that you amend your post to reflect my comments.

I am sorry that we were unable to help you and sorry that we have lost you as a customer.

Kind regards,

KXXXX

In response to this e-mail we, we do except the apology from Europa, and we can confirm that we have received a full refund.

Also just to update you all again, we now have our landline, adsl and mobile phone with Telephonica, all in package for 38â,¬/month including tax, we get 8.5mb with Telephonica a lot cheaper than the 3mb at 26.95â,¬ with Europa. Just waiting for our new set top box should arrive early next week then we will be using ZK TV, 18â,¬/month for UK TV which includes free catchup.......can highly recommend, Paul has been so helpful.....

Lulabell


Lulabell

Right a quick up date...............

Firstly a big thank you to Europa for giving us the kick up the back side that we needed to source a better system when they decided not to support the Motorola set top box and switch the service off from 1st August meaning no more UK TV.
We now have a superb system, Movistar land line & Internet all for 38â,¬. We also went for the Movistar Fusion Mini which if you take a contract out at the same time for a mobile phone you get a Samsung Galaxy Young mobile phone for 20â,¬ 500 mins free calls per month, and 100mb data free each month. We now get 8.5mb for 19.95â,¬ instead of the 3mb for 26.95â,¬ from Europa and we get 1000 free mins call's to the UK instead of the 200 mins from Europa.
We also now have ZK-TV all set up and running and it is brilliant, seriously the picture is sharp, sound quality is very good, ( we used to have a horrible buzzing like a drone of bee's with the Motorola box ), the fast forward, pause and rewind is great to have, you can zoom through the ads!! there's 60-odd TV channels plus the radio as well and excellent customer service..... We can highly recommend it, it's 18â,¬ per month. You have to buy the Mag 250 set top box, but Paul talks you through the set up once you receive it, it is so simple.........
Another plus is because you pay in advance for your TV, if your not here on the island and using it, you can suspend the service until you are back here, but you will still have to pay for your land line and internet. All in all we are very happy with ZK-TV.....

Lulabell

beachlife

Great news lulabell. Glad you have got everything set up and running. I`ve got my box and have set it up here in the UK with support from Paul ( ZKTV), who gave me a test to check it was all set up correctly from me when I`m out in September.

I think that Europa have shot themselves in the foot. At first I was angry at the stance they took and the lack of customer care. However, it seems that they have actually forced me to look closer at the service Europa was providing and realised that I could get a much better deal else where.

I can only echo lulabells` recommendation to drop Europa and switch to telefonica for your adsl and go for an iptv service for your television.

Lulabell

Sangria, I have messaged you.....did you get it??

Lulabell

beachlife

Europa will also require you to pay for the month after you stop the service and despite the lack of service will threaten to pass your details onto their legal department.

For 1 months payment which in my case was 28.85 euros, sure they are going to pay a solicitor and chase up a debt of less than 30 euros, just shows you the money is more important to them than customer service. Its amazing they were very quick to respond to me when they wanted money, no problem with employing enough people in that department, but when I had problems with the service it was always difficult to get in touch with them.

If you are intending to move away from Europa it is in your interest to cancel the service ASAP. Buy a Mag 250  box on Ebay. You can contact Paul on ZKTV or potash (forum member) to get the iptv service. Setup is very straight forward and if you have any problems then Paul or potash will guide you I`m sure. Paul even helped me setup the box while I was in the UK before I go in September.

TamaraEnLaPlaya

If anyone is interested we have a surplus MAG250 (in Corralejo). Please PM me through the forum.

Terry M

I think what you have to bear in mind, is that in the UK we have been used to always getting Set Top Boxes for free. In Spain, things are different, very different. Also the service is below par , notably Movistar.

Terry M

Internet speed is broadly based on where you live and how many people live there. In the UK, we at Virgin Media (aka Telewest, ntl etc.) began building a network in 1992 using fibre cable, as opposed to co-ax cable. This is extremely expensive to install, and was only possible due to American funding and Government legislation, keeping all our competitors at bay. Sadly, we didn't cover the less populated areas, but it didn't matter we were only committed to cover 80 % of the Country, in population. Unfortunately Fuerteventura is one of the least populated areas of Spain, and is probably last on the list for conversion to fibre. Having said that, the new Technological park , just outside Rosario, is capable of high speeds using fibre, but then they are hoping to encourage big business customers, so hopefully Fuerteventura may soon be deemed more important than neighbouring Islands like Tenerife and Gran Canaria.