Top Up TV Reviews
Latest Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“awful company”
Written on: 02/05/2013
wont let you speak to a manager if you have a greivance and they are rude as hell. They are expensive as well avoid at all costs. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Rock bottom company”
Written on: 27/04/2013 by angma
I tried top up TV, setting it up was a nightmare, and after a few months viewing, decided this was not for me. Now comes the tricky part - Cancellation! When I phoned them,they promised special offers galore to try to get me to stay with them, but I refused and was charged a cancellation fee. Just when I thought I had seen the back of this outfit, they charged my card for another months subscription. I had to make another call to them on an 0871 number and pay through the nose yet again. So,... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“WORST SERVICE EVER!!!”
Written on: 15/04/2013
I have had top up tv for years... well ive been paying for the service... hang on what service! its a joke I thank god that i can get freeveiw plus now as that is essentially what the box has been used for... recording tv... DONT GET TOP UP TV service is terrible no replacements of faulty items box glitches doesn't record flickers basically its terrible an inconvenience at best (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“awful top up tv ”
Written on: 18/11/2012 by nottopuptv
This was my first ever QVC order. I was tempted by the "clearance price" for top up tv with 2 months free sports channels - but it seems you get less than you pay for. I ordered in on Wednesday evening and it arrived promptly this morning (Friday). Impressive looking packaging. Opened it up plugged it in - it all works. Then the problems begin - trying to get the top up tv. Top up tv seem to have an extensive range of "0844" numbers and "0871" numbers. There's one in a paper insert in this... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“DIRE, TRIPE, CROOKS!”
Written on: 09/11/2012
Having thought that a few extra channels at a reasonable price was a good, I proceeded with the BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER, no service, rude customer service (when you can finally find a valid number for them), I cancelled my Direct Debit (which got their attention), just today I got a £70 debt collection letter (which I paid, unfortunately!), NEVER EVER TOUCH TOP UP TV (you WILL regret it!) (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
★☆☆☆☆
“My Dad's terrible experience with Top Up TV”
Written on: 07/02/2012 by ITOA
My Dad had Top Up TV as at the time he felt that SKY was an expense as a pensioner that he could do without. Howevever, he simply was not getting the TV choice he required and as a family we insisted he used some of his pension to pay for SKY Sports and enjoy what he used to love playing as a spectator from his own armchair. All went well and we e-mailed and phoned to cancel his Top Up TV payment of £25 per month. After numerous attempts he cancelled his Direct Debit and amazingly this... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Stay away”
Written on: 06/02/2012
I have been with these people for 10 months, waiting for the 1st of march to able to cancel my 12 months contract. They withdrew channels a couple of months ago and did not put alternative ones. If you want to pay to essentially watch freeview or very old episodes of popular series, then this would be ok. I have disconnected the box, just waiting a few more weeks to cancel. Customer service people not nice in general, (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“Top Up TV Customer Service”
Written on: 30/01/2012 by LANDEWEDNACKLAD51 (2 reviews written)
Having been dissatisfied with ESPN subscribed through Top Up TV, I went on their web site on 3 Jan 2012 to get contact details. Much to my dismay there is no telephone number, email address or postal address for them. Obviously they don't want you to contact them. I then found some old correspondence with a telephone number on which when I tried to contact then I found was out of date. I then googled top up tv phone number and found a number on another web site. On phoning Top Up TV it took... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Do not touch with a barge pole!!”
Written on: 06/01/2012
Top Up TV is all a massive joke, i have had 3 boxes and 1 scart lead been sent to me. (I even had to argue for them to send me another scart lead as they say the warranty is only for the Freeview box not its accessories!) All 3 boxes have done the exact same thing, they all seem to have been resetting. So when your sat watching TV it would just automatically go off for 2 minutes then come back on for 30 seconds. I then called them and spoke to their technical team who the advised me that... (read more)
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Showing 1 - 10 of 97 Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“"useless rubbish - stay away!"”
Written on: 27/10/2011
They give you cheap or free trial and if you give them your card details you will loose lots of money. "useless rubbish - stay away!" (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“RIP OFF TOPUP TV”
Written on: 13/10/2011
Bought box changed my mind did not sign for parcil went back to tutv now i have to wait 14/28 days for my refund paid £69.99 now thay say i will have to pay for connection fee what connection ? so i lose £20 customer servce stinks So keep your money, steer clear from toptv (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Customer service - what customer service”
Written on: 05/09/2011
I bought a Sharp box a few years ago; it was the the only freeview+ box in the shop. I had no intention of signing up and paying to watch programmes that weren't worth watching when they were free. In any case I choose what to watch, not someone else. The thing that really annoys me is that you cannot delete channels (how many shopping channels do I need? none is quite sufficient), something that I can do on my other three freeview devices. The only option is to use the favourites... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“useless rubbish - stay away!”
Written on: 31/08/2011
We are on our umpteenth box! Even though we pay for additional channels we do not get the top up service half the time - the boxes do not record and one box continually said hard disc missing! We are currently trying to cancel our contract - the company try and blame the signal etc but the boxes do not even have the record facility they are supposed to have - a bit of bad weather freezes the picture The boxes seem to work when they arrive and then deteriorate or stick /glitch constantly... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Awful service and even worse customer service!”
Written on: 16/08/2011 by benjyyy (1 review written)
I originally signed up to ESPN as part of a free 3month deal in January and although the picture wasn't great (very compressed) I decided to keep it at least to the end of the football season. I don't actually live in the house it is in it is my parents house and my dad likes to watch the football and the odd rugby match. When I talked to customer service about quitting she offered me 2 months more free ESPN (or so I thought). My parents got Sky installed in July so no longer would be... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Had nothing but problems with this company. Poor value...”
Written on: 14/07/2011
Had nothing but problems with this company. Poor value for money and poor customer service. As stated in some of the below reviews, they will do everything they can to prevent you from cancelling. I highly recommend that you do not bother wasting your time or money with this company. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“extremely bad customer service. the service agents are...”
Written on: 10/04/2011
extremely bad customer service. the service agents are very ignorant. I called them many times but speaking to the agents is like speaking to a brick wall. Cancellation team will highlight the reconnection fee and cancelling is almost impossible. (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“I used TUTV for many years but have now cancelled the...”
Written on: 23/03/2011
I used TUTV for many years but have now cancelled the service as it no longer seems to offer value for money.
I think I'm right in saying that the price has increased twice in a year. Given that 3/4 of the programming was deleted straight away it doesn't seem worth paying for anymore.
As others have said the programming is pretty poor (ten year old episodes of American shows anyone?)plus the same shows are repeated over and over again. (Fawlty Towers is a classic, but how often would you...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I have had different freeview boxs over the last few...”
Written on: 16/03/2011
I have had different freeview boxs over the last few years.
Topuptv in the worst as far as menus and reminders. It's annoying when looking through the tv guide even if you pick 10 seconds. Give me the choice to press a button if I need more info.
The reminder is totally useless. Other freeview providers have the reminder pop up and give you a 30 second count down before auto switching channels. TUTV the reminder stays on screen a few seconds, fades off and stay on channel.
If you are looking...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“God awful product. Customer service/technical team...”
Written on: 24/01/2011
God awful product. Customer service/technical team have no idea at all. Don't even think about buying it. (read more)
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Showing 11 - 20 of 97 Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“Desperately disappointing. I live in Cumbria and the...”
Written on: 09/12/2010
Desperately disappointing. I live in Cumbria and the recently upgraded Caldbeck transmitter is about 5 miles away and clearly visible from our house. The analogue signal was switched off earlier this year, we are 100% digital.
The Thomson box still only shows a 70-80% signal strength/quality and sometimes glitches. Recordings have failed.
The box itself is very noisy (hum) and hard to use compared with my Sony HDRs with, for example, no time-period skip forward only Fast Forward,...
(read more)
★★★☆☆
“ I have written about this before and will repeat...”
Written on: 26/11/2010
I have written about this before and will repeat myself. The reason so many are having problems with their boxes is signal quality. At the moment in my area for instance, the signal is not up to full strength so because the signal is split between the both hard drives, it pixelates. If I use the same signal for my freeview on my tv only, then its fine, no problems..
give the box a chance once all freeview signals are digital and then see what problems you have. until then do what I have...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Had it for over a year, get repeat after repeat,...”
Written on: 09/07/2010
Had it for over a year, get repeat after repeat, customer service tries hard but hampered by a totally useless system.Some of the topup tv programs are poor quality American junk. Also last year a download ruined every top up box in the country and to add insult to injury you had to ring a premium rate phone line YES !! you had topay to get their mistake fixed!!
Would not reccomend it at all. The tompson box they supply is the most unreliable electrical appliance in the history of...
(read more)
★★★☆☆
“ I have been paying sky for about 1 year and wanted to...”
Written on: 18/04/2010
I have been paying sky for about 1 year and wanted to see if I could reduce what I pay. I went back and tried top up tv on the free months package. Unfortunately I still have the same problems as before, despite my signal and quality reading 7or 8 out of 10 I still get failed recordings or freezing pics. I have traced the problem back to how much strength my box is taking to be able to use the two hds. until the signal is increased on my transmitter ian get think I will have the same... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I've had top up tv for a while now and have had so...”
Written on: 16/02/2010
I've had top up tv for a while now and have had so many problems, I am fed up of ringing them up and having to wait 24hrs to be able to watch the tv again especially after I had an op and had to have bed rest. I may as well just pay them the money and not recieve any tv at all I wouldn't recommend this to anyone and can't for the life of me think why i stay with them I've learnt my lesson. (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“I have been with Topup tv for a few years now. The...”
Written on: 11/02/2010 by djvr (1 review written)
I have been with Topup tv for a few years now. The very first box I had with them was very good ... that is until they changed and I got the Thompson box and then from then on it was awful. I went through about four boxes within the first three months of the changeover. It then settled down for a couple of years and I now experiencing problems and have had another four boxes within the last year. This last box is not a Thompson box but a Sharp box which is a lot better than the Thompsons... (read more)
★★★★★
“Excellent DTR....been with TUTV Anytime since the...”
Written on: 30/01/2010
Excellent DTR....been with TUTV Anytime since the beginning. The box is a completely different machine since it was launched in 2007. New softwae upgrades have improved the box alot, adding new features.
Reliabilty is very good....you have a choice of the 8 Day Freeview+ or the 14 day Top Up TV EPG.....both have seies links, and both seem fairly reliable.
The Menu system is easy to navigate, and recordings can be set with just a couple of clicks on the remote.
The remote is excellent...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I had an earlier Thomson recorder which worked well...”
Written on: 12/01/2010 by Ex TUTV (1 review written)
I had an earlier Thomson recorder which worked well until it went wrong so I decided the buy the later Thomson model. This is a completely different animal. The only good thing about it is that it will record a guard time before and after a recoding in case the programme starts early or overruns. Otherwise it often forgets to record at all, the forward or reverse play will frequently jump to a totally different part of the recording. It frequently crashes so that the tv indicates no live... (read more)
★★★★★
“Had problems at first with recordings but this was due...”
Written on: 11/01/2010
Had problems at first with recordings but this was due to a rubbish aerial I had, since installing a better one the top up recorder has behaved really well. very good quality picture and sound. Also still being supported with software updates which continue to improve it's features.
Only thing I don't like is the box styling, however the newer recievers are much better looking
(read more)
★★★★★
“does what it's says on the box, easy to set up, very...”
Written on: 11/01/2010
does what it's says on the box, easy to set up, very good value for money (read more)
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Showing 21 - 30 of 97 Reviews
★★★★★
★☆☆☆☆
“God awful product. Will not work at all and I live in...”
Written on: 21/10/2009
God awful product. Will not work at all and I live in a really good reception area. Customer service/technical team have no idea at all.
Dont even think about buying it.
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“The boxes (Thomson) are pants, repeatedly failing no...”
Written on: 13/10/2009 by T5Andy (2 reviews written)
The boxes (Thomson) are pants, repeatedly failing no matter how many times they are replaced, the customer service is ignorant, ill informed and ill mannered.
They laboured under the delusion that their boxes had a one year warranty (soon corrected by myself with reference to http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/rights/gen_rights_en.htm#gar).
Even when they did replace the box the replacements quickly developed the same (seemingly generic) defect. I honestly don't know how these people manage...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I used Top UP TV a while back and caused me loads of...”
Written on: 26/09/2009
I used Top UP TV a while back and caused me loads of problem. The box never worked! When it first arrived, I had to send it back cos but when it came back, they gave me a new problem on top of the original problem to deal with. If this wasn't bad enough, cancelling my subscription with them was extremely difficult. I'm with Sky now and they are really bad with all the same problems especially with their customer service but even they are a step up to topuptv. Sky provide bad service but... (read more)
★★★★☆
“Have been using Top Up TV since the service started,...”
Written on: 29/08/2009
Have been using Top Up TV since the service started, improving in quality constantly (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I don't often write reviews but feel compelled to in...”
Written on: 22/07/2009
I don't often write reviews but feel compelled to in the case of TopUp TV. I've used the service for about 3 or 4 years. It's a basic service, but I knew what I was buying and have no complaints on that score.
My complaint is the very poor reliability. I have the Thomson DTi6300 recorder. It has failed a number of times. Each time it seems to be caused by a bad software download / update. I have missed many of my favourite shows as a result of this. When I emailed TopUpTv withy...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Very disappointing. ”
Written on: 17/07/2009 by Happy2Review (7 reviews written)
Very disappointing.
Bought a PVR/DVR which had a TopUpTV offer bundled. Read all the literature, thought it sounded good value for quoted £9.99 and decided to give it a go.
Original card didn't work so waited 4 days for a new one. Card arrived, popped it in and programs began to be saved later that day.
Tried to watch a couple of recorded programs and the quality was jumpy and not enjoyable at all.
Received a letter the next day saying TUTV would take £30.00 out of my account after 1 month...
(read more)
☆☆☆☆☆
“i have been with topup for 3 years. the system has...”
Written on: 03/07/2009
i have been with topup for 3 years. the system has never worked properly. I cancelled by letter. they maintain they never received this. I spoke by phone to them on three seperate dates confirming that I had cancelled. they keep billing me each month and threaten debt collecters if I don't pay. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“We subscribed to top-up TV for about few years but are...”
Written on: 13/06/2009
We subscribed to top-up TV for about few years but are just about to bin it. At first the service seemd quite good. The set-top box worked well and although I wasn't particularly interested in the stuff it downloaded my son found the documentaries and kids stuff fun.
As several people have noted however the service has got worse and worse over the last 6 months or so. Half the free view channels are unavailable through it - we can get them through the inbuilt tuner on our TV though. It...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“It'd be oh so good if it actually worked reliably....”
Written on: 01/06/2009 by tahrey (1 review written)
It'd be oh so good if it actually worked reliably. Unfortunately it doesn't, so I've gone back to VHS for the time being! Though some of the sting is taken out of the failure by the fact that it was someone else's unwanted present, and that I was trialling it to take over from our Virgin cable box (the replay / iplayer feature is WELL worth the subscription fee - not much more than TUTV's, mind - all by itself)... so we can just use that to catch up anything significant that the tape... (read more)
Tahrey's Response to tahrey's Review
Written on: 04/06/2009
How I wish there was an edit button so I could put "this works a lot better if you view it on its own page" at the top of my screed. But I wish more that the line spacing / formatting would carry over to the main (collected reviews) page properly :p
Reply to this comment
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Showing 31 - 40 of 97 Reviews
★☆☆☆☆
“I bought a Top Up TV DTI6300 box last April 08 and...”
Written on: 20/05/2009
I bought a Top Up TV DTI6300 box last April 08 and received an email in May 09 informing me of the trouble with the box which I had already experienced but was unable to find out how to deal with it. I then received another email from them after my complaint by email to Top Up and rang the number they supplied, and as I am not subscribing to Top Up they informed me that all they could do was for me to keep on doing what they suggested with the box - turning it off and on etc. etc. etc. and... (read more)
☆☆☆☆☆
“i have had two Top Up TV boxes in the last 18...”
Written on: 16/05/2009 by cathy666
i have had two Top Up TV boxes in the last 18 months.Terrible service,box keeps locking me out and can't turn it on.Now told it is corrupt and i need yet another box.They proceeded to then want to charge me for this as i am ouwith my 12 months.This being taken from the time i got my first box.They not only want to charge me,but put me into another 12 months contract!!!!Will be cancelling very soon,and going with sky. (read more)
☆☆☆☆☆
“Have used Top up TV for a couple of years now. However...”
Written on: 15/05/2009
Have used Top up TV for a couple of years now. However have become totally frustrated with the whole thing. box keeps corrupting recordings. freezes all the time and now picture all jumpy on the top up channels! When trying to cancel which took several weeks being passed from pillar to post when finally getting through. They tell me I am tied until November which was news to me. Also A lot of programmes on the Top up are repeated several times no consistancy. (read more)
☆☆☆☆☆
“I have been a subscriber to Top up TV since it began...”
Written on: 11/05/2009
I have been a subscriber to Top up TV since it began and i would have to say the service has steadily got worse and worse over the years. The set top boxes that they supply are rubbish, constantly freezing, failing to record and on occasion very noisy. The customer service department are uniterested and treat you like a fool when you can actualy get through to them. I will be looking for an alternative and i would think twice before commiting to Top up TV. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Top Up TV is ok when the box works, but i have had...”
Written on: 08/05/2009
Top Up TV is ok when the box works, but i have had too many problems with it and have now given up on it altogether (read more)
☆☆☆☆☆
“ I have not even completed the Top Up TV30 day free...”
Written on: 08/05/2009
I have not even completed the Top Up TV30 day free trial and have been trying to cancel the service for 6 days now. This is the most un-reliable, poor service i have ever had from any company. As the phone number is 0844 i dread to think what my bill will be. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I am so fed up with this To Up TV box. If it's not...”
Written on: 08/05/2009 by scottfx12 (1 review written)
I am so fed up with this To Up TV box. If it's not losing signal, it's needing retuned. Sometimes i get channel 5 five then it disappears - a problem with the aerial they say - funny that my tv with built in freeview doesn't seem to struggle. I would not recommend this box to anyone and i've only had it 5 months. I keep losing recorded programmes due to fault after fault. Bring back the video recorder, all is forgiven! (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“after paying what i thought was a one off fee for a...”
Written on: 07/05/2009
after paying what i thought was a one off fee for a months top up tv, to enable me to recieve setanta, i have paid £80 since january. also i have this morning recieved a letter from top up tv saying they have not recieved any payment, oh and have lost all channels on the same day the letter was sent! i,m also annoyed that they have helped themselves to my bank account, without my consent. worst service ever. no customer service unless youre spending money. i,m having a moan on this site as... (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“The Top Up TV box is cheap but gives you many of the...”
Written on: 07/05/2009 by Yahoops (2 reviews written)
The Top Up TV box is cheap but gives you many of the features of the Sky+ box (without the Sky channels of course!). After some initial technical problems, it's not too bad, just the occasional need for switch off/on. It is very noisy, all the time, probably eats leccy too! A very cheap DTR. Topuptv channels are for the tv addict only though. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Product not too bad it does freeze and sometimes...”
Written on: 04/05/2009
Product not too bad it does freeze and sometimes programmes do not record or download, but on the whole its ok. The biggest gripe i have is customer service is it USELESS, been waiting nearly 3 weeks for replacement box they sent to wrong address. Everytime i ring(when i can actually get through and not sit in a queue listening to awfu music) i am told something different by a differnt person, they just do not know what they are doing. It took me 15 minutes and lots of insisting to speak to... (read more)
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Showing 41 - 50 of 97 Reviews
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Guest's Comment
Written on: 16/06/2011
I am in the process of cancelling and they make it as hard as possible insisting i phone on the last day of the month even although i have sent an e mail with the information. I CAN ONLY AGREE WITH EVERY WORD OF THE ABOVE