Cancelling Sky - they won't let me!

SnowyOwl_2

Well, this is actually on behalf of a friend who's marriage has recently collapsed.

When things were good in her house the husband subscribed to Sky. Then out of the blue he decided that he wanted to live elsewhere and went. He has been asked by his wife to cancel Sky, but he refuses to lift the phone or help her with anything in any way. He has been paying some money into a bank account for his wife to pay bills for the family home (they have two children) however he has recently reduced this to a fraction more than the mortgage payments. The wife has contacted Sky and explained that she cannot afford their service any more and she wants to cancel. However Sky insists that the cancellation can only be made by the person who started the subscription, ie her husband. He is gone and will not help with this. She has decided to cancel her direct debit to them on the grounds that the husband is giving her insufficient funds to pay the subcription. Is there anything else she should or could do?

spike7451

Unless your friend was added to the Sky account as a secondary account holder,Sky wont do a thing due to Data Protection so the's not a lot she can do without this.She can cancel the DD & Sky will eventually cut her off but they may try & take the money from her debit/credit card if they have ever used this to pay Sky. (They did that to me once)
Good thing is that if the Sky is in his name,then the debt collectors will go after him & not her,so all she has to do is forward the letters onto him.

yorkie98

There is only once circumstance where Sky will cancel a sub without account holder on the line and that is in the case of death. Maybe try a wee white lie??

macman

If the DD is in your name, but the account in his, then cancelling the DD is the right step if he refuses to co-operate. The service will be cut off, but it is his credit record that will be trashed, as the debt will be his-not yours.
I'd tell him that before you cancel it.

Gratis

If, as you have posted, it was your friend’s husband, and not she herself, in any way, who subscribed to Sky, then it is he, and not she, who is contracted personally to Sky and, in consequence, it is he, and not she, whom Sky will pursue for its fees if they aren’t paid.

This situation would appear to be confirmed by the fact that Sky is telling her that only he, and not she, can cancel the contract. You haven’t explained why it is your friend, and not her husband, who has been paying Sky by Direct Debit from her own funds but, if she has no contract with Sky herself, she has (and always has had) no obligation to pay Sky any money at all.

Upon the facts as you have presented them, she should contact Sky, inform them that she is cancelling her Direct Debit to them and provide Sky with the address at which her husband now resides (and at which Sky, or any debt collection agency – and even, if it gets to that, bailiffs – should pursue him for any money that he owes Sky under the contract that he has with them).

You should also tell your friend (and she should remind Sky) that any attempt, by anyone, to harass her in any way for monies owed by somebody else (namely, in this case, her husband) would be a serious criminal offence which she will not hesitate to report to the Police.

Any monies obtained subsequently from her by Sky, without her consent, through her bank account, her credit cards or her debit cards would constitute theft and is pursuable legally as such. (She should remind Sky of that, too.)

She should take the same action with any other person or organisation (for example, perhaps, mobile ‘phone companies) to whom she is paying money to satisfy the personal contractual obligations of her husband.

The Sky box itself (and the dish) are the property of her husband, not Sky.

yorkie98 wrote: »

There is only once circumstance where Sky will cancel a sub without account holder on the line and that is in the case of death. Maybe try a wee white lie??

This is an appalling suggestion; it’s untruthful and it’s fraudulent. Sky, moreover, will then want to know the date of his “death” and the details of the Executor or Executrix of his will in order to pursue against his Estate a claim for any money it is owed under the terms of his contract with them. In any legal action arising from this matter she will be regarded as having acted in bad faith and will lose entirely the sympathy of the court.

macman wrote: »

If the DD is you name, but the account in his, then cancelling the DD is the right step if he refuses to co-operate. the service will be cut off, but it is his credit record that will be trashed, as the debt will be his-not yours.
I'd tell him that before you cancel it.

Precisely. :T

spike7451

Gratis wrote: »

This situation would appear to be confirmed by the fact that Sky is telling her that only he, and not she, can cancel the contract. You haven’t explained why it is your friend, and not her husband, who has been paying Sky by Direct Debit from her own funds but, if she has no contract with Sky herself, she has (and always has had) no obligation to pay Sky any money at all.



Any monies obtained subsequently from her by Sky, without her consent, through her bank account, her credit cards or her debit cards would constitute theft and is pursuable legally as such. (She should remind Sky of that, too.)





This is an appalling suggestion; it’s untruthful and it’s fraudulent. Sky, moreover, will then want to know the date of his “death” and the details of the Executor or Executrix of his will in order to pursue against his Estate a claim for any money it is owed under the terms of his contract with them. In any legal action arising from this matter she will be regarded as having acted in bad faith and will lose entirely the sympathy of the court.



Precisely. :T

It may be that the husband gave the wife money for the housekeeping & she paid all the bills from her account or they cancelled Sky & re-signed up in his name but still with her account details.

I believe Sky would also require a copy of the death certificate as proof,as was the case when I worked for Sky,& Sky would then write off or try to recover the money from the estate from the death date.

shortchanged_2

Are you actually still under the contract period SnowyOwl?

Gratis

shortchanged wrote: »

Are you actually still under the contract period SnowyOwl?

To what contract is it your comprehension of this thread that Snowy Owl is a party?

shortchanged_2

Gratis wrote: »

To what contract is it your comprehension of this thread that Snowy Owl is a party?

Sorry yes her friend. But if she is out of contract (i.e out of a 12 month contract) just cancel the DD.

macman

It's irrelevant whether the OP's ex is in minimum term contract or not. She is not liable either way-the account holder is.

Gratis

macman wrote: »

It's irrelevant whether the OP's ex is in minimum term contract or not. She is not liable either way-the account holder is.

Now, this is getting truly surreal. Where does the OP (Snowy Owl)’s “ex” come into it?

Snowy Owl hasn’t even mentioned whether or not s/he has an “ex”.