Sky TV Rip Off Help

scootar

Hi, I have been speaking to my relative and he is paying over £140 a month for sky, phone and broadband / no sports or movies. His package includes charges for 

sky ultimate tv £44 I can see it for £22 online 

HD extra 
UHD + atmos extra again
broadband 
phone 17 a month 
Multiroom also about 17 extra 

he is a VIP and has been with sky around 25 years 

I priced up the same as he is getting for about 60 as a new customer. 

This seems like such a rip off - can we get money refunded? I will sort out a new deal for him but he has been paying so far over the odds I think it is refund or compensation territory - but maybe it is all legal and it’s ultimately his fault for not being on it. 

I’ve tried to do some downgrades this morning (happy Christmas!) but it won’t let me. And sky is shut for the holdiays. His next bill is Boxing Day (tmrw)

Can anyone offer any thoughts or suggestions?! 

Ayr_Rage

scootar said:

Hi, I have been speaking to my relative and he is paying over £140 a month for sky, phone and broadband / no sports or movies. His package includes charges for 

sky ultimate tv £44 I can see it for £22 online 

HD extra 
UHD + atmos extra again
broadband 
phone 17 a month 
Multiroom also about 17 extra 

he is a VIP and has been with sky around 25 years 

I priced up the same as he is getting for about 60 as a new customer. 

This seems like such a rip off - can we get money refunded? I will sort out a new deal for him but he has been paying so far over the odds I think it is refund or compensation territory - but maybe it is all legal and it’s ultimately his fault for not being on it. 

I’ve tried to do some downgrades this morning (happy Christmas!) but it won’t let me. And sky is shut for the holdiays. His next bill is Boxing Day (tmrw)

Can anyone offer any thoughts or suggestions?! 

It is neither illegal or possible to get any compensation for a situation where, with Sky and many other companies, you really have to be "on it".

You are incorrect in thinking it is refund territory either, inaction by the customer doesn't cut it, they are just paying full out of contract prices.

All contracts, whether completely new or renewals have the discounted period end dates clearly shown in the "welcome" email, you really must make a note and be ready to renegotiate them a month before they expire.

You may be able to remove some add-ons such as HD, UHD and Atmos through the online account but will need to call to get a new deal on TV and broadband.

Before calling make a list of the products you wish to keep and be aware that Sky will only speak to the account holder and they will need to pass security which these days normally requires a telephone password, make sure they know it or have their billing account number to hand, the last 4 digits may be asked for.

Being a VIP does not get you much these days and Sky no longer seem to be matching new customer deals, there is a lot of discussion on the Sky user forum.

https://helpforum.sky.com/

Marry Christmas and good luck!

born_again

scootar said:

Hi, I have been speaking to my relative and he is paying over £140 a month for sky, phone and broadband / no sports or movies. His package includes charges for 

sky ultimate tv £44 I can see it for £22 online 

HD extra 
UHD + atmos extra again
broadband 
phone 17 a month 
Multiroom also about 17 extra 

he is a VIP and has been with sky around 25 years 

I priced up the same as he is getting for about 60 as a new customer. 

This seems like such a rip off - can we get money refunded? I will sort out a new deal for him but he has been paying so far over the odds I think it is refund or compensation territory - but maybe it is all legal and it’s ultimately his fault for not being on it. 

I’ve tried to do some downgrades this morning (happy Christmas!) but it won’t let me. And sky is shut for the holdiays. His next bill is Boxing Day (tmrw)

Can anyone offer any thoughts or suggestions?! 

Contact Sky & sort  new contract 
🤦‍♀️
It's not a rip off. It's personal responsibility. Clearly something they lack. As Sky give you plenty of notice about your fixed term contract with discount ending. Which gives you time to contact them & arrange a new fixed term deal @ a  lower price.
No you won't get a refund....

soolin

I found sky less and less eager to price match for long term users. I’m a veteran of 20+ years (TV only) and they wouldn’t budge at all on renewal when I last tried to negotiate. Due to my age they offered me a £15 special, I kept the sky q box, the ability to record and fast forward etc but lost everything else , and as I was so cross I agreed.

Been over a year now and strangely we manage just fine. Still paying £15 a month and mainly using iplayer, or YouTube. Interestingly sky have never ever contacted me with a single offer , nothing at all. 

kipsterno1

As others have said there will be no comeback or compo Sky clearly communicate the advance charges.

I would not try and make any changes online as this could (not always) trigger a new contract. I am presuming that the current contract has expired and these are ongoing monthly payments. Personally I would wait until they can ring Sky and cancel, this should trigger some more realistic offers.

JSmithy45AD

Ayr_Rage said:

scootar said:

Hi, I have been speaking to my relative and he is paying over £140 a month for sky, phone and broadband / no sports or movies. His package includes charges for 

sky ultimate tv £44 I can see it for £22 online 

HD extra 
UHD + atmos extra again
broadband 
phone 17 a month 
Multiroom also about 17 extra 

he is a VIP and has been with sky around 25 years 

I priced up the same as he is getting for about 60 as a new customer. 

This seems like such a rip off - can we get money refunded? I will sort out a new deal for him but he has been paying so far over the odds I think it is refund or compensation territory - but maybe it is all legal and it’s ultimately his fault for not being on it. 

I’ve tried to do some downgrades this morning (happy Christmas!) but it won’t let me. And sky is shut for the holdiays. His next bill is Boxing Day (tmrw)

Can anyone offer any thoughts or suggestions?! 

It is neither illegal or possible to get any compensation for a situation where, with Sky and many other companies, you really have to be "on it".

You are incorrect in thinking it is refund territory either, inaction by the customer doesn't cut it, they are just paying full out of contract prices.

All contracts, whether completely new or renewals have the discounted period end dates clearly shown in the "welcome" email, you really must make a note and be ready to renegotiate them a month before they expire.

You may be able to remove some add-ons such as HD, UHD and Atmos through the online account but will need to call to get a new deal on TV and broadband.

Before calling make a list of the products you wish to keep and be aware that Sky will only speak to the account holder and they will need to pass security which these days normally requires a telephone password, make sure they know it or have their billing account number to hand, the last 4 digits may be asked for.

Being a VIP does not get you much these days and Sky no longer seem to be matching new customer deals, there is a lot of discussion on the Sky user forum.

https://helpforum.sky.com/

Marry Christmas and good luck!

Unless something has changed (or I've missed something obvious) Sky only make it easy to add stuff via the account. I don't think there's anything at all that can be remove yourself, that requires contact.

I've got a (free) VM stream box from which you can add and remove packages to suit yourself via the account, I've always cursed Sky for not doing similar.

As for the OP's refunds or even (laughably) compensation...

Detail_Merchant

Ayr_Rage said:

You may be able to remove some add-ons such as HD, UHD and Atmos through the online account but will need to call to get a new deal on TV and broadband.

Unfortunately you can't downgrade anything online, not even add-ons such as the HD pack.

The only thing you can do online is upgrade, add add-ons, or re-contract. And some of the upgrade options will involve re-contracting for another 24 months (as kipsterno1 said).

There may be a re-contract option online, but in my experience this promises very little discount from the full list price (e.g. £5/month) in return for locking in for another 24 months. The website tries to make it look better by multiplying out the £5/month by 24 months to say you are saving £120, but compared to the total amount you are committing to over 24 months it is pretty small.

The best discounts seem to be obtained by giving 31 days notice to cancel all the TV (not broadband) and then once the TV has gone off then calling back to see what deal they will give, but there is no guarantee that this will get a deal as good as a new customer.
Also that might not be viable if the person is on Sky+ as Sky are moving away from Sky+, and even Sky Q is not available to order online any more.

Ayr_Rage

Detail_Merchant said:

Ayr_Rage said:

You may be able to remove some add-ons such as HD, UHD and Atmos through the online account but will need to call to get a new deal on TV and broadband.

Unfortunately you can't downgrade anything online, not even add-ons such as the HD pack.

The only thing you can do online is upgrade, add add-ons, or re-contract. And some of the upgrade options will involve re-contracting for another 24 months (as kipsterno1 said).

There may be a re-contract option online, but in my experience this promises very little discount from the full list price (e.g. £5/month) in return for locking in for another 24 months. The website tries to make it look better by multiplying out the £5/month by 24 months to say you are saving £120, but compared to the total amount you are committing to over 24 months it is pretty small.

The best discounts seem to be obtained by giving 31 days notice to cancel all the TV (not broadband) and then once the TV has gone off then calling back to see what deal they will give, but there is no guarantee that this will get a deal as good as a new customer.
Also that might not be viable if the person is on Sky+ as Sky are moving away from Sky+, and even Sky Q is not available to order online any more.

Sorry @Detail_Merchant you are mistaken, some CAN be removed under "Home Set-up" depending on which product you have.

Screenshot from 30 seconds ago.

prowla

It is a rip-off in that i. they rely on you not noticing you've got to the end of your "contracted" time and ii. they penalise loyal customers by increasing prices.

However, there is a whole game to play to keep them honest and it requires you to keep an eye on end dates and then haggling with them to get a fair price.

In my case I decided a couple of years ago that their offering was too expensive and no longer competitive, so I ditched them.

There's probably only a couple of things I would've watched specific to Sky anyway, but I could get a month's Now TV and binge that if I was that bothered.

JSmithy45AD

Ayr_Rage said:

Detail_Merchant said:

Ayr_Rage said:

You may be able to remove some add-ons such as HD, UHD and Atmos through the online account but will need to call to get a new deal on TV and broadband.

Unfortunately you can't downgrade anything online, not even add-ons such as the HD pack.

The only thing you can do online is upgrade, add add-ons, or re-contract. And some of the upgrade options will involve re-contracting for another 24 months (as kipsterno1 said).

There may be a re-contract option online, but in my experience this promises very little discount from the full list price (e.g. £5/month) in return for locking in for another 24 months. The website tries to make it look better by multiplying out the £5/month by 24 months to say you are saving £120, but compared to the total amount you are committing to over 24 months it is pretty small.

The best discounts seem to be obtained by giving 31 days notice to cancel all the TV (not broadband) and then once the TV has gone off then calling back to see what deal they will give, but there is no guarantee that this will get a deal as good as a new customer.
Also that might not be viable if the person is on Sky+ as Sky are moving away from Sky+, and even Sky Q is not available to order online any more.

Sorry @Detail_Merchant you are mistaken, some CAN be removed under "Home Set-up" depending on which product you have.

Screenshot from 30 seconds ago.

You're obviously on Sky Stream, I'm on Q and the only thing I can remove is Discovery+

Paramount+ may be the same but I don't have the subscription. HD & UHD are contact only to remove. 

MouldyOldDough

JSmithy45AD said:

Ayr_Rage said:

Detail_Merchant said:

Ayr_Rage said:

You may be able to remove some add-ons such as HD, UHD and Atmos through the online account but will need to call to get a new deal on TV and broadband.

Unfortunately you can't downgrade anything online, not even add-ons such as the HD pack.

The only thing you can do online is upgrade, add add-ons, or re-contract. And some of the upgrade options will involve re-contracting for another 24 months (as kipsterno1 said).

There may be a re-contract option online, but in my experience this promises very little discount from the full list price (e.g. £5/month) in return for locking in for another 24 months. The website tries to make it look better by multiplying out the £5/month by 24 months to say you are saving £120, but compared to the total amount you are committing to over 24 months it is pretty small.

The best discounts seem to be obtained by giving 31 days notice to cancel all the TV (not broadband) and then once the TV has gone off then calling back to see what deal they will give, but there is no guarantee that this will get a deal as good as a new customer.
Also that might not be viable if the person is on Sky+ as Sky are moving away from Sky+, and even Sky Q is not available to order online any more.

Sorry @Detail_Merchant you are mistaken, some CAN be removed under "Home Set-up" depending on which product you have.

Screenshot from 30 seconds ago.

You're obviously on Sky Stream, I'm on Q and the only thing I can remove is Discovery+

Paramount+ may be the same but I don't have the subscription. HD & UHD are contact only to remove. 

I'm on Q and can remove HD