Serious questions have got to be asked of Foxtel and their owners, News Corporation and Telstra, two Companies that put themselves up as being among the “Best out there” when it comes to service and the delivery of content to a set top box.
After returning from a three week, trip overseas, I recently discovered that my Foxtel iQ3 which is my second box in 12 months was refusing to let me get access to any Foxtel programs including free to air TV stations.
I also discovered that nearly all my Foxtel recordings were blocked and nothing had been recorded for three weeks. The message “Entitlement Loss” was splashed across all my recorded programs.
Despite my bill being paid I was presented with a message saying that an “upgrade was required” before I could access any Foxtel Channel. After checking the software update in settings, I could see clearly that I had the latest software.
After rebooting the system which included removing the HDMI cable I was still unable to access my system.
In the past I, have often I have had to remove the HDMI cable simple to get a picture to the screen due to previous problems with the iQ3 box.
Ironically another iQ2 box which was in another room was operating normally without any access problems, this box is on the same account as my iQ3.
When called Foxtel support, my drama really started to unfold.
I was told that I did not own a Foxtel box, that my home phone number was not on the Foxtel system and that there was no Foxtel connection at my home. When I pointed out that I was a Foxtel customer via my Telstra account I was again told that I did not exist on the Foxtel network.
After giving my full name, address and home details five times to the Foxtel support representative, who kept referring to me as “Mr. David” I had the bright idea of going back to the box to access the SIM and serial number on my iQ3 box.
After handing over the codes I suddenly discovered that Bingo! I did exist.
Remember these are two big Australian organizations who are using uneducated call center staff in the Philippines who have still not worked out that consumers in Australia have Christian names and Surnames.
Despite this the support staff insisted on again rebooting the box, and when this failed I had to reboot it again without the HDMI cable in.
When I pointed out that the box was constantly slow, struggled to find recorded content and was a pitiful excuse for a set top box especially as Foxtel is one of the most expensive pay TV services in the world let alone Australia the operator finally concluded that I needed yet another new iQ3 box.
Currently there is over 250,000 of these boxes lying dead in a Homebush NSW warehouse this is despite News Corporation and their technology partner Telstra claiming that they have “The Best” streaming and content delivery system in Australia.
Not only have I lost all my recorded content I was also not offered any compensation for the inconvenience or loss of programs.
The frightening part is that Telstra, who are supposed to be the content and technical whiz kids in the Foxtel partnership were at CES 2017, spruiking their ability to deliver medical and health services and automated smarthouse technology.
They are also the same organization who have struggled to deliver a stable mobile network or constant broadband support.
Three days later I am still waiting for my third iQ3 box to arrive.
I wonder how long I will have to wait for this box to fall over?
PS: I also have a Fetch TV and it is sensational. Fast, easy to operate and in two years has never once failed or had a problem.
