Sky mobile - letting customers pay for lesser packages - check your package!!

Tigertedd

I’ve just asked sky mobile customer services if I can temporarily upgrade my package, as I’ve ran out of data this month. I remember when I first signed up I was told you could move up and down your packages at a whim, and it would be just £5 to move up to the next package and get all the data that comes with.

The answer I was given was:
“Having a look at your account we do have an offer for you to upgrade both of your sim plans to 8GB per month, we don't do 5GB anymore so if you upgraded you wouldn't be able to downgrade back to this.

You currently pay £15 per month for 5GB, where we now offer 8GB for £15 per month as well. Would you like to upgrade to this plan for both sims at no extra cost?”

I should be quite happy with this result, I’m getting 3gb extra and not paying anything for it.

But I couldn’t help asking, if the £15 for 5gb package has become £15 for 8gb, why haven’t I been on 8gb anyway.

The only reason they can give is because I didn’t ask them to upgrade me. The new package has been available on sky.com to view, I should have checked, and asked to be upgraded.

My analogy for this was:

“It's like if I bought the same cat food every week, but the manufacturer has changed the box size from 500g to 800g for the same price, but the shop still gives me the same small box cos they've got some left over and lets me keep paying the same amount blissfully unaware. While every new customer is walking out with the new 800g box, paying the same amount I am for my same old 500g box. The lady at the checkout keeps taking my money, probably sniggering under her breath, letting me believe that I'm getting what I paid for, when she's got every opportunity to say 'did you know you could go and get one of those 800g boxes for the same price. We don't even offer these 500g boxes anymore, there's just a special stock in the back just for you.’”

Surely that’s not right. The onus should be on sky to let me know that a new package is available at the same price, and the old package has been discontinued.

They would’ve happily let me pay for 8gb a month forever, and only given me 5gb a month. There only excuse is that it was okay for them to do that as long as I never found out. That’s pretty much literally what they said to me. And now I’ve found it, they don’t intend to back date. They have made the new packages available to look at, but as a current customer, I have absolutely no reason to look at that area of the website unless prompted to do so.

If nothing else, I urge all sky mobile customers to check their package.

But I’m putting in a complaint to get 48gb of data added to my account. (3gb x 8 months x 2 accounts). Their one argument against this is that I signed a contract for 5gb a month for £15, and they’ve delivered on that contract. This sounds horribly like they might have a leg to stand on. They’re not technically wrong, but my god that’s dodgy, isn’t it?

If I can uphold my complaint, is there potential for thousands of customers to make similar claims. A new PPI, but with data instead of money. Or am I the only idiot that didn’t know this change took place in September?

PHK

I think that's a ridiculous analogy.

Phone companies re-jig tariffs regularly, generally you stay on the tariff you signed up for. If you're on a rolling contract then it's up to you to check out what the best deals are. If your in minimum term then they're not obliged to let you change.

Tigertedd

Fair one. I wasn’t sure if I was being overly sensitive about this.

It really doesn’t sit well with me though. Something about it seems extremely off.

mobilejunkie

If it's a normal upgrade (despite what you said) you'll be on a new contract with a new mnimum term - and one which may well be dearer than elsewhere.

Your headline is very misleading - and you don't seem to understand the nature of a mobile phone contract.

Tigertedd

It’s not a normal upgrade. With sky you can jus switch between packages mid contract, so I haven’t started a new two year contract.

I guess the frustrating thing is, if I’d have known about this in September, I could have switched to getting 8gb for my £15 instead of 5gb, there’s nothing stopping me, and no reason I can’t. There’s no difference at all to my contract other than I’m getting more data for the same money.

So if nothing else, the advice to check your package is good advice. If you’re paying for a 5gb package (don’t know if it applies to other packages), you can simply ask to be changed to the 8gb package and there’s no new contract or anything. Even if you don’t use 8gb, it will all go into your piggy bank, so a few months down the line you can downgrade to the 4gb package and save money.

There’s literally no reason not to do it, it’s a no brainer.

But there’s no reason I would have known that. Their must be more people in the same position on the same package.

My grievance is that surely you’d get an email saying something like: ‘you are on our 5gb package. We have reviewed our packages and are now discontinuing this package. You are able to stay on this package for the remainder of your contract, but for the £15 your currently paying, under our new package structure, you can get 8gb, or you can downgrade to our 4gb package and pay just £12 a month. Please contact us if you’d like to change your package.’

How difficult would that be?

It’s annoying cos I generally like sky. They’ve sent me emails about being able to get sky go for free because of my vip status, and using sky services without using data, they’re generally very good at communicating benefits. But it seems like they’ve purposefully hidden this change away, so as few people as possible take advantage of it.

BoGoF

Your analogies and expectations are frankly absurd. If they had reduced the data for £15 from 5gb to 3gb would you be happy if they applied that to you. The contract you signed was for 5gb for £15, end of.

As an aside, in general phone companies seem to be giving you more data for your buck. For example you could have switched to Vosafone recently and got 100gb for your £15.

Tigertedd

I wouldn’t say it’s an absurd analogy. I can use it with your example too.

The car food company starts making 300g boxes of cat food instead of 500g and they’re the same price. But because I’ve been a good and loyal customer for many years, the shop keeps the last of the 500g boxes in the back just for me. But I’d expect them to tell me, ‘when these run out, you’ll only be able to get the 300g boxes’.

I’m just !!!!ed off cos it’s basic communication. Just send me an email letting me know that I can now get 8gb for the same as what I’m paying. Maybe they’re not obliged to, but isn't that just basic customer services.

In my analogy, if I’m too stupid to see the big display of 800g boxes at the same price, you could say that’s my problem. But wouldn’t it be basic customer services for the check out girl to point me in the direction of the display, rather than letting me keep buying the same 500g box?

With most companies it would mean signing into a new contract on new terms, but with sky you can chop and change mid contract. All I needed to do was know that the option was there, and I could have changed anytime in the last 8 months. And it’s not a big display that I stupidly missed, it’s on an area of their website where an existing customer would never need to look at.

BoGoF

Spoiler alert - companies are there to make money at your expense, not be your friend.

Sooner you accept that then the less !!!! off you will be at normal practice.

d123

Tigertedd wrote: »

I wouldn’t say it’s an absurd analogy. I can use it with your example too.

The car food company starts making 300g boxes of cat food instead of 500g and they’re the same price.

It is an absurd analogy, you are trying to compare physical items like foodstuff to a service for the provision of a non-physical item.

The nearest analogy would be how you can be on a more expensive gas or electricity tariff because you’re too lazy to keep track of newer plans.

moneysaver

Posters too focused on your analogy. You may have brought this to some peoples attention as per your headline. well done.




Moneysaver

[Deleted User]

moneysaver wrote: »

Posters too focused on your analogy. You may have brought this to some peoples attention as per your headline. well done.

Making people aware to keep an eye on offers isn't a bad thing obviously but unfortunately the OP then went on a rant and talked nonsense. And that was before they tried using silly analogies that didn't fit.

Perhaps they should have left it at just the headline?