Sky billed me for 2 accounts - whats my legal position?

Sophiej · 20 April 2017 at 10:41AM

I must confess Ive been fairly hands off with my finances but now am really paying attention. When I downloaded my bank statements (as opposed to looking at them on a screen) I saw two regular payments to Sky, about two weeks apart. I checked with my bank & it turns out that when I moved in 2011 instead of Sky moving the account (which they have done before, & since, several times) they set up a new account & didnt close the old one.

As soon as I realised I rang them and have had quite a bit of fobbing off, as various people 'need to talk to management' because its a decent amount of money. They have mentioned that I 'didnt close the account' which is a) HIGHLY unlikely as Im relatively efficient with moves & b) not relevant as they always do these moves as moves & Ive had a lot of them since 2006 when I joined, all of which have been fine.

Does anyone know what my legal position here is? I will escalate this to court if need be.. but I would love to know if this has happened to anyone else.

Marcus-H_2 · 20 April 2017 at 10:47AM

go back to them - how was the service moved? did you just move the receiver yourself & plug it in? ask to speak to a manager - if you get fobbed off, then tell them that you will raise the issue with the regulator (ofcom) when you hang up.

macman · 20 April 2017 at 12:33PM

Are you seriously saying that you didn't notice the duplicated payment (even on screen) over more than 5 years, and across at least 60 bank statements? I think I'd describe that as rather more than 'hands-off', given that the sum involved must be at least £1,500, and possibly much more?
As long as you can prove that you initiated the move (paperwork, account records?), then I don't think Sky can dispute your claim, but a refund of that size will require authorisation from a fairly senior manager, so I'd give it time.
What I would do to speed up the process is to make a formal complaint in writing (don't phone or email): that puts the ball firmly in their court, and gives them 8 weeks before you can involve the Ombudsman.

[Deleted User] · 20 April 2017 at 3:07PM

As above, put it all in writing to:

Customer Complaints
Sky Subscriber Services Ltd
PO Box 43
Livingston
West Lothian
EH54 7DD

This is presuming that you did initiate a move and didn't just move and then take up a new customer offer.

I'm as equally flummoxed how anybody can miss paying 2 subscriptions to the same company for 5 years but then I've had to disappoint many a customer at work when they've realised that they've been paying for a sub to our services for up to 6 years with no knowledge of it.

Unbelievable Jeff!!!

Sophiej · 21 April 2017 at 12:43PM

You are of course both right..how could I have missed it? I started a (successful) business & am not great with that sort of thing anyway..I guess I wasnt looking for it. Ive spotted fraud before but Sky is not something that I see as a problem.

It definitely was a move & I didnt just take the Sky box & take up a new offer (the new one was more than the old one). I did get a new Sky box as part of it I think & will definitely have the paperwork somewhere.

They have said it would need management approval so Ill start the process in writing now & keep phoning. Its not like I need the money deperately right now but Im definitely not letting it go. They must have had other people with Sky at that address & had me at another address so how they could have missed it is beyond me as well.

Buzby · 21 April 2017 at 1:29PM

It isn't fraud. It can be a mistake, but if you cannot be bothered to check, the blame is yours too. Get them to investigate- and see what happens!

Sophiej · 25 April 2017 at 3:27PM

So Sky were supposed to ring me back..& quelle surprise havent. They have dug up an old landline number from somewhere for a previous address & been ringing that. The chap I spoke to yesterday was very nice but couldnt help, they were supposed to ring me today on my mobile but havent. They have put all sorts of notes on the file about 'tried to contact customer but no reply'. The last one saying 'will try one last time'. Which they havent, of course, now they have my actual number.

macman · 25 April 2017 at 11:28PM

Have you submitted a formal written complaint as advised?

Sky billed me for 2 accounts - whats my legal position?

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