Teleast

 I am a client of Teleast Digital and have my Telly and Internet with them, and over the past couple of weeks I have noticed my channels were doing odd things. I have also heard some verof weeks I have noticed my channels were doing odd things. I have also heard some very interesting things about the company. This made me very curious, so I decided to do some research (I have nothing else to do, so this was quite entertaining).

The first thing that caught my attention was that some channels were working, and some weren't. But the bizarre thing that caught my attention the most was that before the paid channels had a $ symbol next to them, but they now didn't. I know that if the encoding on the card was not activated, those channels would not work. So I took the card out to see if they would still work; they did. That's when I really noticed something peculiar. Firstly, that the card I took out, was not from Teleast, but from Torresatelit TV, S.A, I know this company and I felt like I was being tricked.

I phoned my friend, who is also a client of Teleast, and I asked him if he knew what was going on with the Telly, and he told me to first cancel my direct debit from the bank, and since it was not being encoded, I could watch the telly for free! Secondly, he told me to cancel any payments to Teleast, so I did. Thirdly, he told me to just ignore their phone calls for the moment.

I did what he told me, and to my surprise, it actually worked! I can watch telly for free and I got 42€ when I cancelled the last two payments!

I have carried on hearing talk about the company, and I don't think they are fully legal, I could be wrong, but something smells fishy with them. They are putting up billboards, putting leaflets on cars advertising their low priced TV, well now I know that is just not true.

If you are a client of Teleast, like I was, then try what I did and let me know how it goes!

I know there is continuing verbal and published contradictions. mostly from Torresat.

I also notice that the blue info. programme panels under the pictures are now blank??

My system also works without the Torresat card (I am with Teleast Digital) but if the direct debit is cancelled, what happens re. the digibox and dish. This would surely mean they can collect and leave you with nothing??

Hi

Many years ago I used to be a customer of teleast. Then, and I assume still today, teleast are basically a franchise/collection company. In other words they re-broadcast another companies signals and charge you the same as the broadcasting company. I understand that they are now on at least their 4th company,  in about 6 years,  which they have got into bed with. I wont bore you with the history but once I discovered how they worked I stopped using them.

To be brutally honest any company that re-broadcasts BBC and ITV are illegal as neither can, do or will grant a licence to anyone in Spain to re-broadcast their output. Saying that, at the moment, the authorities are not doing anything about it. However who knows what will happen in the future. The only way to get 100% legal U.K. terrestrial T.V. is for you to have either your own or community satellite dish and watch Freesat. If you bring out your own sky card you are breaking the T & C of sky and on the off-chance they find out, they will cut off service to your card, not only here but back in the U.K as well.

As stated on other threads at the moment the strength of signal on Freesat is fantastic due to the fact that they are using a different satellite AT THE MOMENT. I have heard that some time next year the signal, here in Spain, will be very much weaker and you most probably will then need a much bigger dish than now. I am not an expert, just an ordinary member of the public. I am sure the experts will comment on the above. Good luck

steone, from what I have read and been informed, you would appear to have the situation correct.

It is a shame that some companies are advertising a smaller, all singing and dancing gizmo dish that gives super reception!!

As a novice, I think it is solely the "temporary" satellite that is giving the improved viewing!!

I was informed that a new satellite will be launched in October of this year and if successful will unfortunately require a larger dish, to that which is currently being installed in many areas.

A very genuine installer told me to "suck it and see", whether the present temp. satellite becomes permanent or not.