The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has had several contacts asking for advice from people who have received letters and leaflets offering insurance cover for satellite TV systems.

Letters can often be from agents or satellite providers themselves, suggesting that customers need to take out further insurance cover, as the cover they previously had has run out.  The letters ask customers to contact the company to renew.

The OFT is advising people to:

•       Check – did you even have any satellite insurance cover?  Has the cover run out?
•       Check with your home contents insurers and find out if you are already covered under your home insurance policy.
•       Think about whether you really need the insurance cover?  Do you know the likely cost of repairing or replacing your system?  Check with local installers/repairers to find out what they would charge.  You may find that a new system will not cost you much more than the annual insurance premium quoted.
•       Do not provide any financial details until you have taken the above steps and decided to accept the offer - in particular do not give your credit or debit card details as these transactions can be difficult to cancel with your Bank.

Andrea Tabb of the Office of Fair Trading advised:

"If you feel you need this type of insurance, shop around and ask for quotations from local service providers.”

“If you are unsure and would like to speak to someone about correspondence or calls you have received, you can speak to one of our Consumer Advisers on 686500. “

“Remember, you can reduce the amount of unsolicited ‘junk’ mail you receive by registering with the Mail Preference Service at http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/.  You can also reduce the number of telesales phone calls you receive by registering with the Telephone Preference Service at http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html or by calling 0845 0700707. ”