SKY TV “extra charges”

GaryT27

I have recently been trying to help my elderly parents with their Sky TV package.
I wanted to see if they were eligible for an upgrade to a new Sky Q system, which would work better for them.
They gave me permission to have a look at their account. When I looked at their most recent bill I was horrified to see an “extra charge” of £70. I had a look at the full statement and the only description for this item was “debit adjustment”, which gave no explanation whatsoever.

I had a look at the previous month’s statement, same extra charge, same amount. I went right back through all of 2018 and some of 2017 (as far as the online history went), same recurring charge. I got a horrible feeling in my stomach that they were being well and truly ripped off and had been for quite some time.

You may ask yourself why didn’t my father, the account holder, notice the high bills. He’s 80 years old, he just thought that’s how much it cost! He’d also gone for paperless billing, for a minor reduction in monthly costs, without thinking how he would check how much he was being charged and what for. He has no access to the internet.

I promptly rang Sky and after a half hour wait managed to speak to someone. My Dad confirmed I could speak on his behalf about the account. I explained the situation and asked what the monthly recurring “extra charge” could possibly be. There was a pause and an admission that it didn’t look right. On further investigation after the lady had spoken to her manager, she informed me this had been on the account since 2016! She said it was a “CLA charge” and was probably something to do with an incorrect multi room charge using the phone line. I wasn’t convinced she really fully understood what it was and why it was there. Only that it was an error. She promptly agreed to credit 2 years worth of charges (approximately £1,500). I asked about the rest of it, going back to 2016, but she said it was their policy to only refund a maximum of 2 years. Beyond that they believe the account holder should’ve taken responsibility!

An admission of guilt was evident in the way the credit almost instantly appeared in the account following our conversation.

I’m posting this to see if anyone has advice how I should pursue this further and also to make people aware. I’m not convinced a huge organisation like Sky TV should be able to get away with randomly billing loyal, long serving customers, with extra charges for a sustained period of time, arrogantly getting away with it until somebody spots it,intervenes and then Sky capping how much money they decide to refund to them after admitting it was their mistake. Money that wasn’t theirs to take in the first place.This does not sound right, isn’t that theft?

My parents are very grateful that I’ve spotted this and managed to get some of their money back but apart from my desire to get them ALL of their money back, it makes me wonder how many other victims are out there, going unnoticed.

Any advice you can provide on what next steps I should take to pursue this would be greatly appreciated.

tired_dad

isn't there a 6y rule for this sort of thing in law? Can you pressure them in small claims court? Not sure but definitely check. Whatever their policy is they cannot go against a legal thingy. I'm not sure but check

GaryT27

Thanks. Will probably start by making a formal complaint to Sky, then small claims if I don’t get anywhere.

Jackson7148

GaryT27 wrote: »

I have recently been trying to help my elderly parents with their Sky TV package.
I wanted to see if they were eligible for an upgrade to a new Sky Q system, which would work better for them.
They gave me permission to have a look at their account. When I looked at their most recent bill I was horrified to see an “extra charge” of £70. I had a look at the full statement and the only description for this item was “debit adjustment”, which gave no explanation whatsoever.

I had a look at the previous month’s statement, same extra charge, same amount. I went right back through all of 2018 and some of 2017 (as far as the online history went), same recurring charge. I got a horrible feeling in my stomach that they were being well and truly ripped off and had been for quite some time.

You may ask yourself why didn’t my father, the account holder, notice the high bills. He’s 80 years old, he just thought that’s how much it cost! He’d also gone for paperless billing, for a minor reduction in monthly costs, without thinking how he would check how much he was being charged and what for. He has no access to the internet.

I promptly rang Sky and after a half hour wait managed to speak to someone. My Dad confirmed I could speak on his behalf about the account. I explained the situation and asked what the monthly recurring “extra charge” could possibly be. There was a pause and an admission that it didn’t look right. On further investigation after the lady had spoken to her manager, she informed me this had been on the account since 2016! She said it was a “CLA charge” and was probably something to do with an incorrect multi room charge using the phone line. I wasn’t convinced she really fully understood what it was and why it was there. Only that it was an error. She promptly agreed to credit 2 years worth of charges (approximately £1,500). I asked about the rest of it, going back to 2016, but she said it was their policy to only refund a maximum of 2 years. Beyond that they believe the account holder should’ve taken responsibility!

An admission of guilt was evident in the way the credit almost instantly appeared in the account following our conversation.

I’m posting this to see if anyone has advice how I should pursue this further and also to make people aware. I’m not convinced a huge organisation like Sky TV should be able to get away with randomly billing loyal, long serving customers, with extra charges for a sustained period of time, arrogantly getting away with it until somebody spots it,intervenes and then Sky capping how much money they decide to refund to them after admitting it was their mistake. Money that wasn’t theirs to take in the first place.This does not sound right, isn’t that theft?

My parents are very grateful that I’ve spotted this and managed to get some of their money back but apart from my desire to get them ALL of their money back, it makes me wonder how many other victims are out there, going unnoticed.

Any advice you can provide on what next steps I should take to pursue this would be greatly appreciated.

As above make a formal complaint with SKY directly. They will have to gain acceptance from the account holder to close the complaint by law. They may be sneaky and send email stating that if they don't hear from the account holder within 24 hours they will consider the complaint closed. If you can make sure that the complaint stays open, it will eventually land on the desks of the higher ups in the company. Now for a fact I know that a complaint costs the company money. So the longer you keep the complaint open the more likely they are to refund you the cost that your father is due. If they don't respond to your complaint or if it goes on for a long time you can then go to the financial ombudsmen who will then speak to SKY on the account holders behalf.
I hope you get the money back for your father!

GaryT27

I’m pleased to say that I did make a formal complaint after a second attempt didn’t work. The guy I spoke to was very helpful and fully understood why I wanted to pursue the additional monies that were owed. He put the complaint into management for me on Friday and rang me back today. Good news, they have agreed to return the rest of the money to my Father from 2016 (£900). Money they shouldn’t have taken in the first place!
You were right, they asked me I wanted to formally close the complaint. I said I just wanted to get him all his money back and I did.
Justice has prevailed ��
Thanks for all the advice. These forums are a great way for people to help each other.