Can you pay Sky bill monthly at the bank?

danielley

Hi there,

I have been asked by a relative to have their Sky bill paid by DD out of my bank. I have said no because I have done similar things before and I have found it really stressful chasing for the money etc.

Anyway, is there anyway that you can be billed by Sky and then pay the bill at the bank? My relative says no, but I just wanted to check for them

Thanks

spike7451

Yes you can,call them & ask them to set it up on invoice payment,then they'll send you a bill with a payment slip at the bottom,alternativly you can pay using debit cards on a non recurring basis.

http://www.sky.com/helpcentre/account-and-billing/payments-and-billing/change-your-payment-method/index.html

maginot

There are loads of different ways to pay, DD is obviously the most convenient. Why have they not got their own current account?
I woukd not do this for anyone unless I was paying for them (read the numerous threads in lending money/being a guarantor etc) the fact they haven't got their own account suggests they may not have paid previous debts.

danielley

Thank you so much for that

Buzby

I'd add DD is the most risky, as it removes no responsibility from the customer, yet let's the merchant take what they want, when they want, as often as they want!

You are right to be concerned - Sky will charge an additional fee for be invoice, but as that is the choice of the viewer, this is not your concern.

smackaine

AFAIK, invoice can only be had by customers that are currently on invoice, it can't be selected as a new payment method.

The charge used to be £4.

flashg67

Buzby wrote: »

I'd add DD is the most risky, as it removes no responsibility from the customer, yet let's the merchant take what they want, when they want, as often as they want!

yes but they have to tell you of any changes beforehand under the DD agreement or the bank will have to refund at your request.

TBH, traipsing to the bank every month, unless you live/work next door to one is a pain in the harris as far as I'm concerned.

Buzby

How they 'tell you' of these advance charges has changed - the number OD days has fallen to 5 (not the original 10/14). They also have complete freedom on how they do this. It used to be a letter, but can be an email, text or instant message.

Since 5 days is not enough time to let the customer prevent a debit that is already in train, any customer action will be limited to trying to get any money back after the event - and of course, any penalty charges imposed as the result of a reversal (called a 'consequential loss') is explicitly excluded from any consumer claim.

The alternative, is of course to use a Diect Credit, where he consumer controls the access to their payments. Nobody needs to traipse round to a bank counter, so if you believe that's the alternative, it is no wonder you've been misled by the nonsensical DD 'guarantee'.

spike7451

smackaine wrote: »

AFAIK, invoice can only be had by customers that are currently on invoice, it can't be selected as a new payment method.

The charge used to be £4.

Not quite,I cancelled the Sky direct debit by accident when removing old DD's from my account online,then went to re-set it up on Sky's website when I realised.
Last month,I got cut off,when I went to check why,I found my billing method had gone to 'Invoice' & the money was still in my account.Quick payment made online & re-set my DD & the service was back on within the hour.

skyinsider

The official line is that Sky do not offer invoice as a payment method. That being said, if you don't have a continuous payment method on file you will be switched it invoice... and be charged £4 per month for that facility.

If you are on invoice, you will not be able to receive any discounts on phone or broadband products.

spike7451

skyinsider wrote: »

The official line is that Sky do not offer invoice as a payment method. That being said, if you don't have a continuous payment method on file you will be switched it invoice... and be charged £4 per month for that facility.

If you are on invoice, you will not be able to receive any discounts on phone or broadband products.

I wasn't charged £4 for going onto invoice when the DD was'nt set up properly the other month.