Sky overcharge then restrict service

Distillerdude

At the beginning of the month Sky tried to take £115 out of my account via DDR, when the correct amount should have been £70. As I only had £75 in this particular bank account, the DDR failed.

I called up to query the large bill and found that they had double billed various things from the last month in error. They agreed to reduce the bill to the correct amount £70. At this point they asked me when I would like them to retry the DDR, and I said Tues 19th in order to get the money together. They agreed.

Then a day or so after the phone call, they again tried to take £115 by DDR, which of course failed again. Then on the 15th June, my Sky TV service was restricted. In the previous phone call, they lead me to believe that they understood that the situation was their fault and that nothing would be restricted before the 19th.

When I called to complain about the restriction, they said there was nothing they could do. They could not control when restriction happens.

The only reason why I have been unable to pay this bill was because the failed DDRs lead to £10 charges from my bank! I needed until the 19th to arrange for enough money to be in the account for the DDR.

Obviously, as I was so incensed by the customer service here, I asked to be put through to the cancellation dept to cancel Sky TV but was told that I could not arrange cancellation until I paid the outstanding balance on the account!

So I've got to wait until Tuesday, pay the £70 o/s balance, and then arrange cancellation (which I'm sure will not be an easy process). Absolutely ridiculous!

I wouldn't be as annoyed with Sky if their customer service actually tried to help me here, but I'm constantly told that each advisor can't do anything. "We can't turn your restricted TV back on", etc, when the whole issue is they're fault to begin with.

It's getting to a stage now where I'd rather have no TV then carry on with Sky.

Obviously going to claim back the £20 bank charges here too, but I suppose two failed DDRs will not help my credit file either!

Anyone been in a similar situation or have any success with Sky complaints?

smackaine

Once the DD procedure has started, no measure of credit on the account will take effect until the following bill date, any billings agent worth his salt should have known that.

What should have happened was a credit placed, a payment taken manually and your DD cancelled at the bank, by you. This means you have complete control over what goes and can confirm there and then that the outstanding balance is paid.

Write or email rather than call to claim your bank charges, phone is a no-go. Best of luck!

skyinsider

At Sky, if your DD fails they cut you off. To re-instate your services they will take payment for the DD that has been missed. The next bill will be a 'double bill' for the bill period from when they switched you back on until the billing date, they then will take a month in advance This is explained in the terms.

So in effect, if you miss your payment you forfeit a months payment and have to pay it a second time.

This is in lieu of missed payment charges

Buzby

And yet people STILL say DD is the only way to pay...?

I think not!

spike7451

skyinsider wrote: »

At Sky, if your DD fails they cut you off. To re-instate your services they will take payment for the DD that has been missed. The next bill will be a 'double bill' for the bill period from when they switched you back on until the billing date, they then will take a month in advance This is explained in the terms.

So in effect, if you miss your payment you forfeit a months payment and have to pay it a second time.

This is in lieu of missed payment charges

Tosh....The other month when my Sky was cut off because the direct debit wasn't set up correctly,all I had to do was make the payment online & change my payment method to DD,my Sky was back on within a few minutes.
Same as earlier in the year when a DD was missed,all I have had to do was either pay the missed instalment online or wait for DD to be taken a second time.
At NO TIME did I have to pay a double payment,pay a month in advance or anything like that,the most I have ever had to pay was the missed payment of £21.50.

GillyR-J

My DH is self-employed from home and like many people in our position we are dependent on others paying us on time. Last month was a rough month and my Sky DD failed twice which led to initially a restricted TV service followed by a few days later restriction on our phone line ie we could receive calls but not make them. We did not lose our Broadband at all. As soon as we had funds we paid the outstanding DD payment plus I paid for phone calls made since the date of the DD. I paid by direct debit and set up the DD again.
The TV came on a few minutes later the phone restriction was lifted 24 hours later.
I had tried to move the DD date back to further in the month when I knew we would have funds but the overseas call centre were less than helpful.
The only thing I can say is that their staff are less aggressive than those haridens at BT!

spike7451

GillyR-J wrote: »

My DH is self-employed from home and like many people in our position we are dependent on others paying us on time. Last month was a rough month and my Sky DD failed twice which led to initially a restricted TV service followed by a few days later restriction on our phone line ie we could receive calls but not make them. We did not lose our Broadband at all. As soon as we had funds we paid the outstanding DD payment plus I paid for phone calls made since the date of the DD. I paid by direct debit and set up the DD again.
The TV came on a few minutes later the phone restriction was lifted 24 hours later.
I had tried to move the DD date back to further in the month when I knew we would have funds but the overseas call centre were less than helpful.
The only thing I can say is that their staff are less aggressive than those haridens at BT!

You can change it online;

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

nhussa22

It is true that once the services get restricted, there is no physical way to put your services back on. It's all controlled by the system and can't override it at this moment in time. It is being looked into however as with any system, nothing will ever be perfect.

It may sound harsh but everyone is responsible to check and query their bill if it's abnormal. You are given 14 days notice before the dd is processed. If you have a busy lifestyle, I suggest you make a note in your diarys or calendars to check your bills.

SkyMan

I have to explain this a litte better here. I work for sky customer services.

Here's an example:

You owe sky £10 on the first of each month (you wish). This payment covers you from the 1st of the month until the 30th/31st. If the direct debit fails, they will try again for the same amount on the 10th. If it fails again, you will be cut off until you pay the balance and set your direct debit back up.
This is fine if you pay the overdue amount that month, as you are paid up till the 31st anyway, so your normal £10 will be due on the 1st of the next month.

HOWEVER

If you don't pay your overdue £10 until (for example) the 15th of the FOLLOWING month, you will be switched back on, but have not paid the £10 for that month yet. So on the 1st of the FOLLOWING month again, you will be charged from the 1st till the 31st, plus you will be back charged to the 15th of the previous month, meaning your bill will be £15 or so.

If you scale this up to sky's prices, this means a £50 bill would become £75 and so on. It can be more or less, depending on what day you pay the overdue bill.

If you pay Julys overdue £10 on the 1st of August, you will be switched on, but have missed a payment for August.. So on the 1st of September your bill would be £20 as you are paying from the 1st of September till the 31st, plus back-paying to the 1st if August when you paid only Julys bill.

I hope that all made sense.

But if sky billed you for the wrong amount, they can amend the bill BEFORE they submit for the direct debit. This is why it's important to keep an eye on your bills. After the payment has been submitted for, wether it be the right or wrong amount, that's how much they are going to take. In this case it would not be corrected until the following bill.

I hope this has helped you in some way

apollo1064

i had very similar issues. and the situation would not be resolved by normal means.
might i suggest you do as i did which DID get results and a very generous discount.
i found the Sky CEO's email address [EMAIL="jeremy.darroch@bskyb.com"]jeremy.darroch@bskyb.com [/EMAIL] and wrote explaining my whole situation. within 24 hours a lady from the Executive support team called dealt with and rectified everything. she also gave me a very generous repayment and a discounted package. i was very satisfied. she also said if i ever have issues again to call and ask for her personally and she will assist.

i hope my advice yields satisfactory results for you. good luck.

incidently. the phone number for the executive support team is 08442 411646