Sky migrated from Gmail to Yahoo mail but left emails behind

miniemma

Hi all

On 3rd April Sky migrated their mail system from Gmail to Yahoo. In doing so they have left behind any emails that were archived on the Gmail system and only transferred emails that were labelled, sent or currently in the inbox.

For a month they have told us that we have to individually forward the emails left behind in the old system to the new system! I have 11,000 emails left behind. Others have many more.

There were other more complicated methods using email clients and fudging POP settings that many would be unable to complete. I used this method and after 8 tense hours I think most emails came across. There were a few errors but there is no way of telling which emails have not transferred.

Sky have now said they know how to transfer the missing emails, over a month after the migration date but only for those that request it and after many false claims of customers being at fault!

I know the word compensation is frowned upon on these forums but surely the fact that many will have gone ahead and spent hours transferring emails over is worth something? Even though Sky now say they can do it for us.

I think Sky will hide behind the fact that the email is supplied for free or simply included in a broadband package.

paddyrg

Can you stay with Gmail and dump sky?

miniemma

paddyrg wrote: »

Can you stay with Gmail and dump sky?

Unfortunately not, the email addresses are all @sky.com and were just using the Gmail technology as such. This has now been moved onto the Yahoo interface.

Amazingly, since posting this, I have been offered £25 off my bill. The next step is to make sure this happens for all.

fluffnutter

You have 11,000 emails left behind? How many did you have to start with? Seriously, no one needs 11,000 emails. That's just e-hoarding. Sky's probably done you a favour by losing them.

paddyrg

Not really - part of the besuty and appeal of GMail is that it's advertised as never having to delete an old email...My archive goes back to 2007ish, about 40,000 emails. Yes, I have had occasion to refer to ancient ones I'd have deleted in the olden days!

fluffnutter

paddyrg wrote: »

Not really - part of the besuty and appeal of GMail is that it's advertised as never having to delete an old email...My archive goes back to 2007ish, about 40,000 emails. Yes, I have had occasion to refer to ancient ones I'd have deleted in the olden days!

If you wouldn't have kept them if they'd been on paper, then the same applies to electronic communications. The idea that there's no space requirement involved in keeping electronic data (or at least not physical space in your own living room) just taps into the secret hoarder in all of us. It's bad for the psyche. Get rid of the cyberjunk! Feel free!

Hintza

A number of years ago when I was working abroad I lost an email account in the UK and that was when I decided you do not want an email address attached to your ISP.

Your story goes to confirm my view.

System

paddyrg wrote: »

Not really - part of the besuty and appeal of GMail is that it's advertised as never having to delete an old email...My archive goes back to 2007ish, about 40,000 emails. Yes, I have had occasion to refer to ancient ones I'd have deleted in the olden days!

It's not Gmail though. It's sky email which has switched to a different service provider. If you want Gmail them get a gmail account. I believe they take seconds to sign up to?

mttylad

I have over 200,000 emails in my gmail account.
(I'm on a lot of yahoo groups)

One of gmails claims was that you never need to delete any emails.

Before this happened I would have downloaded them all using pop3.

Altarf

miniemma wrote: »

For a month they have told us that we have to individually forward the emails left behind in the old system to the new system! I have 11,000 emails left behind.

So why not -

1. Set up a new gmail account;
2. Migrate all the emails from the old gmail account to the new account;
3. Set up forwarding from the Yahoo account to the new gmail account; and
4. Set up the "send as" feature in the new gmail account with the Sky email address.
5. Forget about the new Yahoo account and use the new gmail account.

Migrating emails from one gmail account to another is completely straightforward. It takes a period of time if you have a lot of emails, but Sky did announce this last November.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=migrate+gmail+from+one+account+to+another&l=1

miniemma

Thanks Altarf, I have already done that but there are many many users who will have been scared off even by instruction number one. AND all pop and imap from the old gmail system ceased on 3rd May, one month after initial migration, so anyone who has not already done it now has to continue to wait for Sky to pull their thumb out.

What I meant when I wrote the sentence you quoted was that was the only solution Sky provided! I put a post on the Sky forums saying pretty much what you said and a fair few people managed it until it was stopped