NOW TV

[HH16]

This may be a stupid question! When you first sign up for Now TV do you get given a stick or box? Asking due to elderly parents who took up a Now Tv deal about 3 years ago (from a salesman in a shopping centre) and have never actually had or used it. They only queried it when recently their monthly cost increased dramatically but have only ever had a Now router for their broadband. Also turns out it took more than 2 months to get the router as initially their package was sent to an unknown address in a different part of the UK. I have tried to speak to someone about this but can't get anyone to tell me anything as although I can access their account online apparently I didn't give the correct validation password and parents have no idea what else it could be so nobody at Now will help me! I have also discovered it is very difficult to cancel without this. Should they have a box or stick??     

[RoyB · Accepted solution]

@HH16 

It’s not a stupid question at all - the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask, and should have - but the answer is no.

Although Now give out routers for broadband, they have never given out boxes or sticks for streaming. Though they did originally sell modified, Now-badged, boxes and sticks at heavily discounted prices.

But they have now stopped even that. The thing to do first is check if your parents can get Now anyway, as an app on their smart TV if they have one. And if they can’t, and they want it, then a Roku, Firestick, Google, or AppleTV box can supply it. All, except Apple TV, for under £50, starting at £30 for a Roku Express HD. Curry’s or Argos are good places to get one.

https://help.nowtv.com/article/what-devices-can-i-use-to-watch-now

So what have they been paying for, for three years? Hopefully just the broadband, and not any of the streaming services, which are £9.99 a month for Entertainment, same again for Cinema, and £34.99 for Sports.

With your current issue, I suggest you send an edited version of your post to:-

customerservices@ NowTV.com (without the embedded space, needed here for technical reasons)

as nobody from Now will read your post here, and I have always found Now very helpful in responding to emails, my favourite way of contacting them.

It’s quite possible Now will make them a much better offer to stay, if the price is the only reason for cancelling, though if they can now get FTTP (fibre to the property, which Now don’t offer) that’s a good reason to jump ship, even if only over to Sky Broadband, who do offer it, and for not much more than Now’s discounted price would be.

[HH16]

@RoyB Thank you for your response. My parents believed they initially signed up for TV and broadband/phonecalls but I think they were initially paying £16.99 a month which then went up to about £34 and for the last couple of months has been £46. I couldn't find any e-mail contact so I will try the one you have given me.  On phoning 'thinking about leaving' number which seemed to be a foreign call centre the person was not helpful and unless I came up with a password that my parents have no idea about they would not help me! I can get into their account online. Can I assume that the monthly bill would have a breakdown stating TV cost if they were paying for that? I have signed them up for a new provider now but might have stayed if they had been helpful and offered something. Thanks again.

[RoyB]

@HH16 

£16.99 would be broadband and calls alone, heavily discounted for the first year, which would by now have gone up to £34, less heavily discounted for the second year, and £46 would be the current undiscounted price.

So no, they haven’t been paying for TV and not getting it/not using it.

If you had been able to talk to Now, you might have got it back down to around £34 a month for this year, but I imagine the new provider will have beaten that. It pays to keep an eye on price hikes as each 12 months goes by, and to ask the provider to do better - always assuming they don’t ask you to jump through mysterious password hoops 😛