SKY TV charging me after I moved to Virgin

JulieDiana

In August 2016 I bought a new TV from PC World. This is not something that happens often - I am a low-waged single parent of two young boys, relying on Working and Child Tax Credit - I don't have any spare money at the end of the month. However, I had inherited some money from my Granddad, and we needed a new TV. At PC World we were won-over when the sales assistant put our details into her calculator and worked out that we could get a more economic deal with Virgin than Sky, including Fibre Optic broadband, which appealed to my 13 year old. My recollection is that the sales assistant told us that Virgin would 'do everything' - ie the transfer would happen automatically. We signed up, and I received an email from Curry's/PC World outlining what we had purchased. I received an email from Virgin confirming the date of transfer and when their engineer would visit. Neither of those emails told me I ought to be pro-active in informing SKY of the planned change. Our TV went over to Virgin, as did our broadband and landline. I presumed this meant the transfer had occurred. Call me naive! It was only 2 days ago (November 4th) that I saw that Sky had continued to take out approx £56 per month for their TV services, despite us not having used SKY since the Virgin installation on 12th September. I even gave away our SKY box! This amounts to approximately £150 for services we did not use. We had been SKY customers for just two months short of four years. I phoned SKY but every representative I spoke to just sounded me out with 'terms and conditions' and that even though the broadband and landline transferring had been done automatically, apparently I should have known to contact them directly regarding the TV. They all were adamant that there was no way I was entitled to any refund, and in fact, are continuing to charge me for another month as cancellation notice. This has left me feeling very upset. I have two sons (13 and 8) and Christmas looms. We have missed SKY TV but consoled ourselves that at least we were saving some money. Now I discover we have not only not been saving money, but paying more than double what we were paying before! How can these multi-nationals between them not refund us if only out of good-will?

mije1983

Sky are correct I'm afraid. You didn't cancel your contract with them. Your only possible recourse is through PC World, although proving that you were misled (if they did of course) is going to be an uphill battle.

Virgin have no authority to cancel your Sky account (if indeed they even knew you had Sky which is doubtful), and Sky would have no idea you had taken out a Virgin Media contract so would have no reason to randomly cut you off.

JulieDiana

Thank you so much for your help. I am feeling very cross (not least with myself!), but to have you tell me what I cannot hope for is helpful. I will just have to go through the ££ grieving process ! Thanks again. x

Neil_Jones

The TV has always been separate to the internet and the phone. That is their core business after all. It is possible to have Sky and Virgin together if you really wanted to, they are two separate things, not like the internet connection which can only (on broadband at least) be with one provider at a time.

If you haven't done so already, phone Sky up and cancel, actually cancel. It is in their T&Cs that this takes 31 days, and the Sky box was given to you in the first place.

You may want to put the issue in writing to Sky's head office and you may (strictly no guarantees on this) get some sympathy and a good-will gesture, but you're more likely to get a stock reply along the lines of what you've already been told.

DCFC79

Who did you give the sky box away too ?

Not sure what you will do if they ask for it back (if they do)

mije1983

Neil_Jones wrote: »

It is possible to have Sky and Virgin together if you really wanted to, they are two separate things, not like the internet connection which can only (on broadband at least) be with one provider at a time.

You could have Sky and Virgin BB/phone at the same time as Virgin use their own network, whilst Sky use BT's. Which is why neither would have known the OP was in a contract with the other.

brewerdave

In fact the OP is very lucky that they are not being charged for phone/broadband by Sky as well:eek:; since they are on separate networks the normal "BT" style transfer system shouldn't have worked - not sure HOW Sky knew the phone/broadband had been lost to Virgin. There are quite a few people who keep a broadband service from Virgin as well as a BT based system.

jem16

brewerdave wrote: »

In fact the OP is very lucky that they are not being charged for phone/broadband by Sky as well:eek:; since they are on separate networks the normal "BT" style transfer system shouldn't have worked - not sure HOW Sky knew the phone/broadband had been lost to Virgin. There are quite a few people who keep a broadband service from Virgin as well as a BT based system.

If it involved a number transfer then that would have cancelled the phone/broadband.

brewerdave

jem16 wrote: »

If it involved a number transfer then that would have cancelled the phone/broadband.

I didn't know that BT numbers were transferrable to Virgin:o

[Deleted User]

DCFC79 wrote: »

Who did you give the sky box away too ?

Not sure what you will do if they ask for it back (if they do)

Why would Sky ask for the box back? Unless it was Sky Q (unlikely), then the OP was free to do whatever she wanted with it as it was her property from day one of her subscription.

Buzby

brewerdave wrote: »

I didn't know that BT numbers were transferrable to Virgin:o

Well, I transferred my BT number to Virgin 5 years ago (and never regretted it).