Sky Mobile Con

Markloader

Did anybody else know if you leave sky mobile and they give you a PAK code but then you don't use that; they keep your account open and keep charging you each month?
Should we be expected to know this?
Is it just me but they always seem to be trying to con you out of money by devious methods or small print that was never clear from the start.
I now owe 5 months phone bill which I don't have despite the fact it hasn't been used once and I rang to close the account. It wouldn't be so bad if it was my phone but it's my ex's. 

Exemplar

Markloader said:

Did anybody else know if you leave sky mobile and they give you a PAK code but then you don't use that; they keep your account open and keep charging you each month?
Should we be expected to know this?
Is it just me but they always seem to be trying to con you out of money by devious methods or small print that was never clear from the start.
I now owe 5 months phone bill which I don't have despite the fact it hasn't been used once and I rang to close the account. It wouldn't be so bad if it was my phone but it's my ex's. 

Oh dear.... This is standard practise. Don't use the PAC? Billing remains. Full stop.

pbartlett

have some sympathy with op - you call and tell them to close account, oh and by the way give me a pac, and they don't close the account....

it's not exactly intuitive....

flashg67

Not just Sky - this how the system works across all mobile providers. Feels like this is common knowledge but maybe not, so it could be made clearer what happens if you don't us a PAC I guess. 

Neil_Jones

Markloader said:

Did anybody else know if you leave sky mobile and they give you a PAK code but then you don't use that; they keep your account open and keep charging you each month?
Should we be expected to know this?
Is it just me but they always seem to be trying to con you out of money by devious methods or small print that was never clear from the start.
I now owe 5 months phone bill which I don't have despite the fact it hasn't been used once and I rang to close the account. It wouldn't be so bad if it was my phone but it's my ex's. 

Not Sky's fault you didn't use the PAC code, and also not Sky's fault you didn't notice you were still paying for it five months later either.

As to "should we be expected to know this", that's what Google is for.  If you didn't at least think about Googling it that's your own undoing.

eDicky

pbartlett said:

have some sympathy with op - you call and tell them to close account, oh and by the way give me a pac, and they don't close the account....

it's not exactly intuitive....

But how could it be otherwise..? - a precious phone number could be lost if service is terminated before before the PAC is used. Therefore the PAC with its thirty day validity takes precedence over and eliminates any previous cancellation request. If the PAC is not used, and nothing further is heard from the customer, of course the service continues...

chistery

This is like how people are "fuming" when they don't have their contract cancelled the moment the minimum term expires and can't believe they are still paying for it, and it's the networks fault of course.

So, not a con.

pbartlett

not saying it's a con, but at the least they should  mention to the customer that if they don't use the pac  then the cancellation request will not be acted upon.

chistery

Vodafone make it quite clear in the text with the PAC.

Thanks for requesting your PAC - we're sorry to see you go. If you use your code today, the termination fee that'll be added to your final bill will be £0. To find out how your services will be affected, simply log in at www.vodafone.co.uk/myvodafone , head to 'account settings' then select 'mobile switching'. Your PAC is PAC12345 and is valid until 02/01/2021. Please note: if you don't use this PAC, your service will continue and you'll be charged in the normal way. For info on switching go to www.vodafone.co.uk/leaving  Didn't request this? Call us free on 191 from your Vodafone mobile as soon as possible.

What does Sky say in the email/text with the PAC?

Markloader

I even said I didn't want a PAC but they just gave me one and mentioned nothing about the account wouldn't be closed 

prowla

eDicky said:

pbartlett said:

have some sympathy with op - you call and tell them to close account, oh and by the way give me a pac, and they don't close the account....

it's not exactly intuitive....

But how could it be otherwise..? - a precious phone number could be lost if service is terminated before before the PAC is used. Therefore the PAC with its thirty day validity takes precedence over and eliminates any previous cancellation request. If the PAC is not used, and nothing further is heard from the customer, of course the service continues...

Why "of course"?

As for "how could it be otherwise..?"; one option would be for the account to be automatically closed if the PAC hasn't been taken up within its 30-day expiration.

Markloader said:

I even said I didn't want a PAC but they just gave me one and mentioned nothing about the account wouldn't be closed 

Seems like they've diddled you into agreeing not to close your account.

Unfortunately, it'll be there in the T&Cs you agreed to.