Sky Cancellation Period

CityTiger

I know there are already a few threads on this but wouldn't mind some personal advice on best next steps.

Basically cancelling my Sky contract and moving to Virgin. Sent them the letter with my full name, address, phone number, and account number on and requested cancellation of all services and then signed and dated the letter.

Today, around 2 weeks after I sent that letter I get two letters from them. One advising the Phone and Broadband will be switched on 20th August when Virgin install and another asking me to call them as they are 'missing security details' needed to complete the cancellation.

Called up, they did the usual trying to find me a better deal but ended with me saying I wanted to proceed with the cancellation. They were then saying that the 31 days notice start from now.

My argument was that it should start from the date I notified them in writing. They are trying to claim that anyone could have written that letter and they can only start the notice period after they have confirmed security details - saying its not their policy but its something enforced on all providers by Ofcom.

After an hour on the phone trying to point out why a signature was enough to start a contract and should be enough to end it and how its a sneaky way to add a couple of weeks extra on our final bill I was getting nowhere so just asked they proceed with the cancellation.

I would like to take this further though as I am sure they are in the wrong - its certainly morally wrong if not legally.

What are my next best steps, go through Sky complaints or go straight to Ofcom or some other organisation?

pen1

Hi CityTiger,

Cancellation issues at Sky are generating a substantial number of complaints , most noticeably on the Sky forum and on Twitter.

The issue that appears to have caused you difficulty is that although it is not a requirement of Sky's terms & conditions, in practice Sky are apparently adopting a second stage to cancellation, that is effectively barring customers from completing their right of cancellation solely by letter, fax, or email via sky.com .

The method is to respond to correspondence, with a letter/email saying something on the lines of (apparently, they try to ring you several times first):

We have received a request to make a change to your Sky account. Unfortunately we don’t have all the security information we require to be able to process the request. ..... We need you to contact us on ....... to confirm the security information which will allow us to complete the request. ....If we do not hear from you then we will take no action on your account, meaning all details and/or services will remain unchanged and active.

The issues are being discussed in multiple threads on the Sky forum, including:

http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Billing-Payments/Remove-a-package-or-cancel-your-subscription/td-p/763558
http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/My-Sky-Account-Management/Cancelling-package/td-p/1239106
http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/My-Sky-Account-Management/Cancele-my-sky/td-p/1224592
http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/My-Sky-Account-Management/Cancellation-problem/td-p/1224376

Although some staff have assured online, that notice periods are back-dated to the point of receipt of the original correspondence, customers have indicated examples in practice, of this not happening.

All the legal guidance that I've researched, indicates that date of receipt is closely defined- dependent on method of sending- as being within a few working days of sending, and in some instances the date of sending.

In terms of complaining to Sky, you would need to follow their Code of Practice, which would eventually allow you complain to an ombudsman, if the issue wasn't resolved to your satisfaction.
http://help.sky.com/my-account/complaints/sky-customer-complaints-code-of-practice
http://help.sky.com/my-account/complaints/how-to-complain-to-sky

Others have indicated that they have provided feedback to Ofcom concerning Sky's cancellation policies.Ofcom monitor pay-tv, phones, and internet consumer experiences through an online monitoring form ("Tell Ofcom") .This and further information are available at:

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/customer-services/
https://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/formal-phone-company

pen1

Kurtis_Blue wrote: »

Why waste any more time on it? just don't pay the final bill full amount, just pay what you owe.

If they feel like taking you to court I'm sure you have copies of the cancellation letters.

Anecdotally, it appears to me, that there's been an increase in anger online lately, over cancellation issues at Sky, and more customers indicating that they are taking control of the situation themselves, by preventing Sky from taking payments they don't believe are due.