We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Cancelling Sky Confusion
Options

Ladylusiphur
Posts: 22 Forumite

Hi all,
This is another one of those threads where people’s responses will be things like ‘you should have checked etc…’ and don’t worry, I know this. I’m writing this more as a warning to people as much as a request for advice. Cancelling Sky is clearly one of those rights of passage we all have to suffer at some point in our lives.
But anyway, In October/November last year we decided to move to Virgin Media. We were paying a fortune for a pretty average package with Sky, probably our own fault for not negotiating more often, and were unhappy with the internet speeds.
We were told that Virgin handle the cancellation with Sky, and not to worry about anything. Similar to what happens when you switch energy providers.
Prior to Virgin switching on we received an email from Sky saying ‘sorry to see you go, your broadband and phone packages will end on 15th November’ so I believed this meant that everything was running smoothly with the cancellation.
Fast forward to January and I receive my bank statement, notice that 2 further payments have been taken from our bank. Strange I think, and cancel the direct debit. I did mean to ring them about it but looking on the internet it does say that sometimes you might be charged in the last month etc, so didn’t worry too much.
This week we received a letter from Sky, saying we were in arrears and that our services had been stopped, and that our phone and internet would also be cut off if we didn’t pay.
Now I’m confused. Surely, if our packages ended on 15th November as Sky themselves stated, they can’t be cut off now as well so why are they threatening this?
The email from them didn’t mention TV, but I (clearly wrongly) assumed that it was all just in the works due to being made to think a cancellation was going through as expected. Had I not received anything from Sky at all I’d have rung up to check or cancel myself, but the email just gave me misinformation. If they weren’t cancelling anything why send that email? I’ve since read online that Virgin don’t cancel your packages and you have to do it yourself, so it makes it even more weird that they send emails out saying that any part of the package is being cancelled.
Has anyone had similar experiences like this? I feel like it’s part my own fault for not double checking, but they’re equally to blame for making me think that they had received and accepted a request to cancel when they had no intention of doing so. Why not just send an email saying ‘no, we can’t do this, you need to ring us’. Would make things easier for all parties involved!
This is another one of those threads where people’s responses will be things like ‘you should have checked etc…’ and don’t worry, I know this. I’m writing this more as a warning to people as much as a request for advice. Cancelling Sky is clearly one of those rights of passage we all have to suffer at some point in our lives.
But anyway, In October/November last year we decided to move to Virgin Media. We were paying a fortune for a pretty average package with Sky, probably our own fault for not negotiating more often, and were unhappy with the internet speeds.
We were told that Virgin handle the cancellation with Sky, and not to worry about anything. Similar to what happens when you switch energy providers.
Prior to Virgin switching on we received an email from Sky saying ‘sorry to see you go, your broadband and phone packages will end on 15th November’ so I believed this meant that everything was running smoothly with the cancellation.
Fast forward to January and I receive my bank statement, notice that 2 further payments have been taken from our bank. Strange I think, and cancel the direct debit. I did mean to ring them about it but looking on the internet it does say that sometimes you might be charged in the last month etc, so didn’t worry too much.
This week we received a letter from Sky, saying we were in arrears and that our services had been stopped, and that our phone and internet would also be cut off if we didn’t pay.
Now I’m confused. Surely, if our packages ended on 15th November as Sky themselves stated, they can’t be cut off now as well so why are they threatening this?
The email from them didn’t mention TV, but I (clearly wrongly) assumed that it was all just in the works due to being made to think a cancellation was going through as expected. Had I not received anything from Sky at all I’d have rung up to check or cancel myself, but the email just gave me misinformation. If they weren’t cancelling anything why send that email? I’ve since read online that Virgin don’t cancel your packages and you have to do it yourself, so it makes it even more weird that they send emails out saying that any part of the package is being cancelled.
Has anyone had similar experiences like this? I feel like it’s part my own fault for not double checking, but they’re equally to blame for making me think that they had received and accepted a request to cancel when they had no intention of doing so. Why not just send an email saying ‘no, we can’t do this, you need to ring us’. Would make things easier for all parties involved!
0
Comments
-
Ladylusiphur wrote: »We were told that Virgin handle the cancellation with Sky, and not to worry about anything. Similar to what happens when you switch energy providers.
Who told you this?Ladylusiphur wrote: »Prior to Virgin switching on we received an email from Sky saying ‘sorry to see you go, your broadband and phone packages will end on 15th November’ so I believed this meant that everything was running smoothly with the cancellation.
That should have been a warning since it only mentioned BB and LR.Ladylusiphur wrote: »I feel like it’s part my own fault for not double checking, but they’re equally to blame for making me think that they had received and accepted a request to cancel when they had no intention of doing so. Why not just send an email saying ‘no, we can’t do this, you need to ring us’. Would make things easier for all parties involved!
I'd have to say it's entirely your fault I'm afraid (dependant to the answer to the first part above). Never, ever take an automated email as gospel. Phone up and check.
Have you still been paying for the full package or just the TV package?0 -
There have been several similar threads where customers have seemingly "allowed" their new supplier to handle the cancellation of their former provider's services and ended up in arrears as a result.Ladylusiphur wrote: »they're equally to blame for making me think that they had received and accepted a request to cancel when they had no intention of doing so. Why not just send an email saying no, we can't do this, you need to ring us. Would make things easier for all parties involved!
Honestly, is it really so difficult to give Sky (or Virgin etc) one month's notice directly ? Sky are not to blame here, if anyone (other than yourself) it's Virgin Media for apparently offering to cancel on your behalf.
However, Virgin obviously only undertook to oversee the transfer of broadband and telephone. It's very pertinent that these were the only services mentioned in Sky's E-Mail.0 -
Switching either to or from Virgin probably needs to be checked it's being implemented correctly more so that moving between 2 company's that use Openreach....generally if you are taking your phone number to the new company , ( so in your case Sky to VM) then porting the number to the new provider should initiate the closure of the phone account with the company you are leaving, but because you can have broadband and TV from Virgin independently from the phone,and TV from Sky independently of phone/broadband , it's best not to believe the new company if they say they will sort everything out, because it seems they can act on your behalf and issue notice to quit for the phone, but probably not always for TV or broadband0
-
Yes, as I clearly said in my original message, I'm aware it's my fault for not checking or ringing up sooner, I don't dispute that.
If the TV is separate to the phone & broadband then it was my responsibility to make sure about after receiving the email. I get that also.
However, what I do take issue with, is receiving an email from a company saying they're cancelling 2 specifically named services in the middle of November, and then continuing to charge me my full package price for another 2-3 months. (well, ongoing, as they've tried to take February also) If they'd just been charging me for the TV I'd say, well fair enough, my mistake for missing that bit of it. If they weren't cancelling it, then why send an email?
I'm someone who quite happily admits it's probably mostly my fault, and again as I said originally, this is more of a warning about my experience if anybody else receives something similar rather than particularly looking for a solution. I'm sorting that out with Sky directly.0 -
Ladylusiphur wrote: »I'm sorting that out with Sky directly.0
-
Ask Sky to explain how they can bill you after the phone and broadband were (correctly) ceased on the 15th November as you received 2 further bills for those services after they were supposedly ceased.
Something to consider is the notice Virgin gave to Sky ( on your behalf ) , you normally have to give around 30 days notice to Sky to quit their services, so if for arguments sake they were advised by VM on the 1st Nov to port the number on the 15th then that's only around 2 weeks notice so Sky may add the other 2 weeks to the 'final' phone /broadband bill, which could arrive weeks after the 15 Nov.
The mystery debits could be something like that, but that wouldn't explain how they can threaten to cease your already ceased phone and broadband.
I have assumed you ported your Sky number to VM, if you got a 'new' number from VM it could be VM cancelled the original request to Sky to port the number and if they did cancel the order , without telling you, and just gave you a new VM line etc then Sky would be totally unaware that you no longer wanted their services , and that would be VM messing up and in that case it's VM that should be offering to compensate you.0 -
On a slight tangent, when I moved home I terminated my contract with Bt . I told them I was leaving the country. This of course avoids being talked into staying with them when I wanted a clean break .
I am not a fan of being tied into contracts ,so I have freesat & Netflix
However, I posted a thread about sky taking direct debits out of my account while I was on a free entertainment pass for 6 months.
See above .
As mentioned above, virgin should take some of the blame here if they were going to ensure a smooth transaction.
I think the best way to resolve issues with most companies these days is via live chat. Saves lots of running around .
When I left Bt they sent me a letter demanding £33.78 final warning sent to my old adddress. They never told me about this payment when I left . Maybe you had a similar thing with sky ?
Hope it gets sorted0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 351.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.6K Spending & Discounts
- 244.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 599K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177K Life & Family
- 257.4K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards