Foxtel - One of Australia's Worst Companies? Rant Post

spacebanana on 02/01/2024 - 10:40
Last edited 02/01/2024 - 10:40

I have never really been a fan of Foxtel as a company, as it feels that they are taking advantage of their exisiting, often elderly, customer base by charging extremely high rates while offering much lower rates to new customers. But then again, it is very similar to what power companies and many other companies do, so maybe it isnt that bad.

A recent experience has left me feeling highly disgruntled and frustrated with Foxtel.
My elderly parents pay somewhere in the vicinity of $135 a month for the premium Foxtel package, which includes OnDemand and Foxtel go, they pay a little bit more for an extra set top box and they quite often use the Foxtel Go on their iPads whilst at various medical appointment (dialysis etc).

In the middle of December, Foxtel introduced ads into the middle of the stream for FoxtelGo and OnDemand services ontop of the ads at the start and end of each episode. Again, highly annoying especially as it was without notice, but that is Foxtel's rule to change and we do have the option of leaving.
What is infuriating is that when these ads play, they often break the stream, which after my testing either cuts the audio, takes you back to the start, or freezes the app. Out of over 20 tests on numerous devices, it only got past the ads and continued the stream twice. This app has never been good, it has always been sub par, but at least it did what it said, albeit very slowly.

How can a company have so much distain toward thier customers that they feel they can implement a revenue generating change with no notification or testing of the impact?
I think they are relying on the fact that the customers are often elderly, and won't complain, or won't know how to complain.
When I left a review and contacted them, they said this is part of their new ad strategy and they haven't seen any issue with the apps…

You may ask, why not change or cancel? We have invested quite a bit in getting my parents setup and trained on this system, we even bought Telstra TV boxes so they could use the voice commands. Teaching them how to use something else would be annoying to them, and a waste of a whole day for me.

TL:DR: Foxtel has always treated their customers like human garbage, and they are relying on the elderly and apathetic to continue to support thier outdated business model. I am not happy about it and wanted to complain on the internet.

Their other reviews support my experience, I hope anyone else who experiences this will also leave a negative review for them.
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/foxtel-go/id569457984

Am I being dramatic? Are they a good company? Would love your thoughts.

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Comments

  • Seaeagles on 03/01/2024 - 22:31
    +1

    Does anyone actually pay full price for Foxtel.

    I haven't had it for years but when I did I signed up for an offer that was under half price, once that contract ended I rang up to leave and always got a half price or less deal again which I done for years knowing I would get an offer to stay.
    When I decided I didn't want it anymore and still got offered a half price deal which I declined.

    • infinite on 03/01/2024 - 22:34

      Does anyone actually pay full price for Foxtel.

      Not that Ive ever known of. They run package discounts all the time and then let people keep the plans permanently. It's why all the old's stick with them.

  • BartholemewH on 03/01/2024 - 23:25

    My olds had the same package, with Telstra everything else. Got them to ditch it and got them a fetch TV mighty. Even with channel packs/netflix/prime it's much cheaper than Foxtel. They haven't looked back.

  • Nebargains on 04/01/2024 - 07:28

    Personally I like Foxtel and think a lot of the hate is completely unfounded. It's a luxury service, you don't have to sign up to it.

    I primarily watch sport, so watch nearly every AFL game, watch most of the NFL games that are shown, watch some College Football, NBA, F1, NHL and of course the cricket.

    Obviously I could do that with Kayo but that's yet another streaming service for which I hear no end of complaints of whereas Foxtel has been flawless the entire time I've had it.

    The movie catalogue is good plus a huge variety of shows that you can stream or watch as they are shown.

    Whereas Netflix is mostly rubbish IMO, once you've watched the good shows that's it, endless scrolling looking for something. Disney+ and Amazon Prime are ok but I only subscribe one or two months at a time when something comes up that I want to watch.

    I only pay $70pm (some people pay less) for all channels so perhaps my opinion would be different if I was paying $100+ like some.

    • spacebanana on 04/01/2024 - 10:19

      Is that you Patrick Delany? Just joking.. Fair enough mate. I obviously completely disagree.

      Have you ever used Foxtel Go for watching sport? I feel that it would be imposible to not have any complaints about that..

    • Roman Sandstorm on 04/01/2024 - 20:39

      I agree.

      Well, there's at least one other sports fan!

  • THICKnSLOW on 04/01/2024 - 07:48
    +1

    Having cancelled Foxtel a decade ago for my folks, they are now happily using online on demand apps for their entertainment. They initially missed the BBC and Sky News, but have moved on to ABC News instead. The rest of the content they can find or find similar via the other apps. No ads at least.

  • Wilson Wallace on 04/01/2024 - 08:36

    Never liked them.

    Order 5 Foxtel boxes, ask anyone on Ozbargain if they want to share a Foxtel service, enjoy.

    And yes, it still works and yes, it’s the same as the password sharing for paid streaming service .. kind of.

    • spacebanana on 04/01/2024 - 10:16
      +1

      I did think of this for family and friends, but not many seem to have it installed already, plus no one really even wants it haha

  • ruddiger7 on 04/01/2024 - 09:40
    +1

    My parents have been with these grubs for 30 years now. They pay heaps and dont even get basic shit like movies anymore. They sting you $10 extra dollars per month just for High definition. Not 4K, High (profanity) definition from like 2001. They're thieves and run by (profanity).

    • spacebanana on 04/01/2024 - 10:15

      Totally agree, I can't believe that is still something they offer as a premium extra!

  • Chandler on 04/01/2024 - 11:37

    Ads, DRM, and shitty, privacy-invasive apps… take your business elsewhere.

    Surprised this isn't already commented here, but: teach them how to use Plex (although it is not that much better on the privacy side…) and find them a good Plex-seller (doubt that is the right term…) and save yourself the heartache and some money to boot.

  • Drakesy on 04/01/2024 - 11:47

    Foxtel should've been left in the 90's where it actually had a marketable point of difference.
    If i were you i'd get them off the plan and sign them up to netflix/stan etc.

    Harvey Norman, Foxtel and Qantas are all companies that lets be honest, belong in the bin.

  • cyrax83 on 04/01/2024 - 13:06

    I can't believe Foxtel is still around and in business. But there are enough people who are elderly or not in the know who are happy paying it I guess. Or people use it for sports.

  • Look Up on 04/01/2024 - 14:08
    -1

    Am I being dramatic?

    Yes

    Are they a good company?

    There are no good or bad companies, only good or bad products/services which you choose to purchase after weighing the pros/cons for your individual situation

    Teaching them how to use something else would be annoying to them, and a waste of a whole day for me.

    You seem like a logical person who can spend time writing a coherent post about a problem

    Can you dedicate the same amount of time and effort on the solution to solve the problem?

    • SpainKing on 04/01/2024 - 15:03
      +3

      There are no good or bad companies

      Yes there are

      • sauce2k on 04/01/2024 - 16:39

        Name a few? I also don't think there are good companies, everyone will be profit driven towards the end. Some may start with good intentions, eventually lost in the money pot.

        • SpainKing on 04/01/2024 - 17:05

          I think there are many good companies in the philanthropy world like the Fred Hollows Foundation, 80,000 Hours, The Life You Can Save, Second Bite, Give Well etc.

          Outside of effective altruism not-for-profits (which still aren't always good) it can be hard to find but I don't believe they're all bad. I even think the Mr. Beast YouTube channel (which would definitely have a company) has much more positive impact than it does negative (unless it's separate from his Beast Philanthropy channel)

          Can you think of how these companies are not good as a result of the allure of the money pot?

  • MrThing on 04/01/2024 - 16:38
    +1

    cancel, thread over /t

  • imurgod on 04/01/2024 - 16:55

    I agree. I know a fair few elderly (and even not-so-elderly) people who almost live in fear of cancelling their Foxtel sub despite constantly whining about it.

    Of course once you cancel, you don't miss it at all and are glad to be out. I went through this with my parents and grandparents a few years back.

    Foxtel provides a pretty horrible service and I remember when they rolled it out, the premise was that it was completely ad-free, given you were paying for it… then they added ads in between and now it's as bad, if not worse than FTA TV it seems.

    Then there's the fact that all they ever do is rerun the same, tired tv over and over again.

  • Roe Jogan on 04/01/2024 - 17:21
    -1

    who the F uses foxtel? is it 2005?

  • Barrj46 on 04/01/2024 - 17:28
    +1

    Why continue to pay $135 a month? Do this and they will cut the price seriously for a period.

    Call their contact number and select option 7 (cancellations)
    When they answer, tell them that you want to cancel.
    They will ask why
    Tell them due to financial reasons
    They will then offer some serious inducement to remain a customer - 1/2 price for 3 months is typical.
    Shortly before the end of the 3 months, do it all again
    Repeat….repeat…..repeat.

  • ode1online on 04/01/2024 - 21:51

    I'd call them, tell them you want to close the account, they will drop the cost of the package.
    If you have OLD foxtel equipment, tell them to replace them at their cost aswell.
    You should be ok for at least 12 months before they start talking about an increase.

  • ProlapsedHeinous on 04/01/2024 - 21:53

    Imagine paying 135 per month to be treated like garbage. Theres a reason why your parents are getting ads. Because foxtel know you will continue to pay them so why not rip them off for more? they might as well charge double too.

  • nikey2k27 on 04/01/2024 - 22:17

    Get them to let you tell them there leave you get much better my brother who on NDIS will not let me do but public Trust keep pay it

    • Protractor on 05/01/2024 - 09:51

      Drop your phone?

  • Aneurism on 05/01/2024 - 06:10

    The irony is that if they called Foxtel with indication that they would like to cancel, there is some possibility they would be offered a discount for a period of time before needing to repeat.

  • payless69 on 05/01/2024 - 06:53

    You are prepping your new Tesla:

    Suddenly you have only one of 2 choices to kill time at traffic lights: Foxtel or Pornhub. Hard choice!

    • Protractor on 05/01/2024 - 15:10
      -1

      One option will involve a lot of reaming.

  • Protractor on 05/01/2024 - 09:50
    -1

    You could stop the bleeding by helping the oldies get off Foxtel. (IF! that's what THEY want)

  • cybapete on 05/01/2024 - 10:29

    if your parents can use foxtel go on an ipad i'm sure they can use netflix or binge or stan just as easily
    you could sign up for all three for half of what you are paying for ads on foxtel

  • rlf on 05/01/2024 - 14:29
    +1

    Surely anyone under 40 is using an IPTV service these days for <$100 a year.

  • vlahka on 05/01/2024 - 19:23

    We have foxtel primarily for my elderly parents too. Otherwise I'd throw the rancid company out and never look back. You're lucky your parents know how to use it without help. I'm having to constantly do this or that for mine and they keep using the same lazy excuse of I know how its done because I'm younger. Does my head in.A bloody hdmi button confuses them, even after knowing about it for decades. But yes, foxtel are prime garbage.

  • mckayver on 06/01/2024 - 01:24

    This is why Australia is leading the way in torrenting TV shows and movies.

  • DiscoBandit on 06/01/2024 - 10:44
    +1

    I agree that Foxtel is awful, but don't underestimate decrepit old people. I briefly worked in a Foxtel inbound call centre, at the time their deal was something like $129 for your first month, including devices and technician visit. Here are the main types of elderly customers who called us:
    1. "That seems like a good deal, but I don't watch TV. Could you tell me about your TV shows?" Followed by a half hour of me telling them about popular shows of every possible genre only to get "no, I wouldn't like that" as a response each time.
    2. At the end of the half hour phone call, when I had to read the cost breakdown, they'd say "I thought the technician was free. I was happy with $129 when the technician was free, but now that I know the technician is included in that price I don't want it. Bye."
    3. "Oh my god, Curtis stone is so dreamy. Can I have all of the cooking channels?"
    4. "I meant to call customer service but I just saw this number on TV and called it. Also I'm not waiting for you to transfer me to them, bye."

    We had to do extra training if too many of our calls didn't end in a sale.

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