Warning - SKY £75 Pay Once Watch Forever problems

The_One_2

Thanks for all the information guys.

Despite all the information given in this thread, i am being brave and have taken up this offer this afternoon (10/04/09) on behalf of my parents, for 2 main reasons:
1. A far cheaper alternative at £73.40 to Freesat (BBC/ITV), to get the box, dish, card, installation etc
2. After the 4 months, it will offer us most of the decent ethnic minority channels for free that Freeview cannot, Virgin Media will not (despite being with them for 10years) and Freesat wont be doing for quite a few years ...by which time i intend to get a Freesat HD box

I tried dialling the 01506 number on saynoto0870.com, but kept getting passed through to some bizarre depts so hung up and re-dialled the number given on freesatfromsky.co.uk

Got through after 5mins of music asked him that i dont want to set up DD and dont want it connected to a phoneline, he said no DD will be set-up and box has to be connected for 4months then i can disconnect as its mainly for interactive services.

He only took payment of £73.40 from debit card, gave me the job no, contract no and set up a password.

Told him that im aware of the problems with cancelling, so he said he would put a note on the account, so when i ring up to cancel in 3 months the CS rep will see it (fingers crossed) and will go smoothly

So far, installation is scheduled for Sunday 19th April (but an engineer will ring to confirm in the next few days)

And thats about it.

I'll keep this thread updated as and when anything happens.


TheOne

The_One_2

Thanks for all the above info NGM

~jules~_3

Has anyone tried Freesat from sky, I am wondering which to get - the pay once watch forever offer or the freesat.

The_One_2

~jules~ wrote: »

Has anyone tried Freesat from sky, I am wondering which to get - the pay once watch forever offer or the freesat.

If your thinking of spending £150 on Freesat from Sky, i wouldnt bother....instead just spend a little more on the 'proper' Freesat (from BBC/ITV) https://www.freesat.co.uk and for reviews of the Freesat boxes and latest updates visit ww.joinfreesat.co.uk

Others in this thread will be better able to assist you.

The_One_2

I received my Sky Viewing Card today (a blue card with a yellow house on)

On the confirmation letter it said:
Digibox (subsidised) - Nil (price)
Installation - Nil (price)
Total cost - Nil

So that sounds good so far.

But...all the T&C's seem to be for normal customers, is this what others on the thread got ?

Still need to check what's been taken from my bank account

Installation is still for this Sunday AM, so will update then

Skyrage

I recieved a free Sky Plus box through a promotional advert they sent my partner. Apparently because i didn't have a phone line it was a one off payment of £55 this also included instalation and then £21 a month for the viewing. I was told there was no contract as i got the box free and i only wanted the basic package so it was a month by month payment and i could stop it at any time. I stupidly gave them my card details to take this one off payment and the future DD. Had it fitted and happily watched it then i moved house about 6 months later and emailed a cancellation email. Didn't hear anything back from them, cancelled the DD to be safe etc so thought no more of it with the move and so on............

Then suddenly £80 dissappears out of my account saying SkyOnline..Livingston so i automatically reported it to my bank even before i knew who it was as i was in bed the time the transaction took place, the bank cancelled my cards and would look into it. They got back to me and said it was Sky and there was nothing they could do about it because even though i didn't authorise the payment because they had my card details the are entitled to take any debt money owed to them at any point even though i may have cancelled the direct debit.

Does anyone know how i can get this money back and how i can prove that i didn't owe this money? I havn't used the box or the card in 5 months so what am i paying for ?
Seems from what i have been reading above nobody should ever deal with Sky or give them bank details because there nothing but decieving and theiving scum of a company!!!!

Any help much appreciated, Thankyou.

NonGeographicalMan

Skyrage wrote: »

so i automatically reported it to my bank even before i knew who it was as i was in bed the time the transaction took place, the bank cancelled my cards and would look into it. They got back to me and said it was Sky and there was nothing they could do about it because even though i didn't authorise the payment because they had my card details the are entitled to take any debt money owed to them at any point even though i may have cancelled the direct debit.

The slimey customer service staff of your bank are a bunch of lieing toerags (it seems to be almost essential to be one of those to work in a call centre in my experience of such places) who are trying to evade their legal responsibilities under the Direct Debit Guaranteed scheme.

Here is what the Financial Services Ombudsman has to say about such behaviour by bank staff:-

See www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/27/27-directdebit-guarantee.htm

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=+1]banking - direct debit guarantee[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Direct debits are now a major part of daily life, with many people using them each month to pay their household bills. The direct debit guarantee is a powerful safeguard for customers. So it’s important that firms make sure their staff understand its provisions.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Unfortunately, many do not. Here are some of the things firms have told customers (incorrectly) when problems have arisen:[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]‘We don’t operate the direct debit guarantee.’[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]‘You’ll have to contact the originating company for a refund.’[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]‘We need a month’s notice to cancel a direct debit.’[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]‘The guarantee doesn’t apply – because you haven’t suffered a loss.’[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]If you pay by standing order, it is up to your bank to send the payment. If you pay by direct debit, it is up to the payee’s bank to call for the payment, but you will rightly look to your own bank/building society to ensure the smooth running of any direct debits. Mistakes and errors are covered by the direct debit guarantee.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The direct debit guarantee applies to all banks and building societies taking part in the direct debit scheme. It says that:[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]If there is a change in the amount to be paid or the payment date, the person receiving the payment (the originator) must notify the customer in advance. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]If the originator or the bank/building society makes an error, the customer is guaranteed a full and immediate refund of the amount paid.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Customers can cancel a direct debit at any time by writing to their bank or building society. [/SIZE][/FONT]

But you will probably find that it is much easier and quicker to sort this out by sending an email to [EMAIL="jeremy.darroch@bskyb.com"]jeremy.darroch@bskyb.com[/EMAIL] with cc to [EMAIL="crsupport@bskyb.com"]crsupport@bskyb.com[/EMAIL] explaining the mistakes Sky has made.

Emailing these email addresses always leads to blatant errors by Sky's out of control accounts system being rectified without any further hassle. Dealing with Sky on the phone will only put you in touch with robotic idiots who will try to pretend that you the customer are in the wrong while running up your phone bill at 5p per minute.

Putting matters in dispute through the Direct Debit scheme is the only way to do things if the retailer refuses to accept you are right and change their behaviour. If you email the addresses I have listed setting out the history and why Sky have acted incorrectly then another of their many abusive attempts to rip their customers off will grudgingly be rectified.

I would ask for £30 compensation for the time and trouble you have had to go to in putting this right with Sky. Sky normally seem willing to pay compensation at the [EMAIL="crsupport@bskyb.com"]crsupport@bskyb.com[/EMAIL] level when they can see that their front line staff have been totally and utterly in the wrong in their actions.

Skyrage

Thanks for that very useful info, im currently on the phone to the bank as i type!!! Will update when i finish with this lovely call center gentleman who apparently is re opening my case while im on hold....wonder how long i will hold for.......

peter_the_piper

Skyrage wrote: »

Thanks for that very useful info, im currently on the phone to the bank as i type!!! Will update when i finish with this lovely call center gentleman who apparently is re opening my case while im on hold....wonder how long i will hold for.......

I hope you are still not on hold!!!

Skyrage

LOL no im not still on hold...the gentleman kindly told me that he would re open my case and get someone to look into it and give me a call back the next day...two days down the line guess what no call. What a suprise!! I will be ringing them but i have no faith i will get anywhere. They will probably now use the excuse that because i have closed the account to stop any more money taken without consent that their having difficulty tracing it and refunding the money (wishful thinking on my part).
I will update again shortly if any news, thankyou so much though for the advice given above just goes to show if you don't know this stuff your get walked all over......:mad: