I hope I have got this in the correct place!

I have received a letter today from Pastdue Credit solutions saying that I owe Sky £70+.

Now here's the problem - I don't!

I closed my account with Sky quite properly giving the required notice, which ended on 21st September.

Like all accounts, Sky collected in advance for my services,

I was charged for the period up to 21st September on 22nd August.

I also paid, on 23rd August, an early termination fee of £148

(I was dissatisfied with their service due to the signal disappearing for weeks on end three times in 12 months - and had already twice paid £65 for engineer visits to "fix" this).

And that was the last I ever heard from them until today.

I have had no bill from Sky,

I have had no explanation of why they claim I owe this money - nothing. Just a demand for money from a third party.

Now I have just found out that I can still access my Sky account billing.

I sensibly went and checked.

And yes, my account was closed, and it looks like there may have been a small amount - £1.93 - outstanding when my account was closed, although they never asked for it.

I had cancelled my direct debit because I had read more than a few stories about them continuing to raid peoples accounts for money they weren't owed!

And lo - in October, a full month after I had cancelled, there are 2 debits on my account, completely unexplained, for £35 each. Which I can't owe because I wasn't a customer!

Pastdue's letter arrived today, and they say I have to pay by 4th December.

Which is not going to happen because I don't pay bills that I haven't been sent and that I don't owe.

The thing is

- I have no clear idea what to do next to best protect myself here.

I am 59 years old and have never had a debt in my life, so I am completely lost.

I am more than up for a fight

- it's not in my nature to roll over to anyone.

I just don't know where to start.

I don't want this ending up on my credit file or to have debt collectors at the door (although I suspect they won't be there long - my dog tends to intimidate the hell out of everyone!).

Help... what do I do next!

well firstly they cant harm your credit file

sky accounts dont show.

2nd Pastdue are a DCA

a DCA has no legal powers whatsoever

they ARE NOT BAILIFFS

IMHO you owe then nowt THEY OWE YOU!

pers if i'd had to of paid twice to get engineers out to supposedly fix their system

i'd be demanding that moneyback!!

as well as the unlawful termination fee of £148!! what!!

pers id be getting those payments back from your bank.

sky don't and wont do court

they don't want the bad press

Oops, it looks like it was the wrong place. Thank you, whoever moved it.

no issue

well firstly they cant harm your credit file

sky accounts dont show.

 

2nd Pastdue are a DCA

a DCA has no legal powers whatsoever

they ARE NOT BAILIFFS

 

IMHO you owe then nowt THEY OWE YOU!

 

pers if i'd had to of paid twice to get engineers out to supposedly fix their system

i'd be demanding that moneyback!!

 

as well as the unlawful termination fee of £148!! what!!

 

pers id be getting those payments back from your bank.

sky don't and wont do court

they don't want the bad press

I know

- I do actually feel that they owe me too!

But I'm not going to argue about that because I accepted the contract terms.

To get a Sky engineer costs £65

(and they did pay for one of the visits because I was going ballistic and saying I would leave then) and that is the contract term. And the early termination fee is a contract term.

I agree that I think they are unfair, especially considering that I had been a customer for 15 years.

But I didn't try to wriggle out of the terms

- I agreed them and I pay what I owe.

That's how come I never have debts!

But I am furious about this because just adding random amounts after I have left for nothing in particular and then handing it straight to a DCA is extortion

- and, since I can see when those charges were added,

they handed it to the DCA within days of adding them!

Can a DCA issue court proceedings?

And I know I am totally clueless here - can they not add this to my credit file?

If I refuse to pay

- and say why

- what could they try to do next?

Don't get me wrong

- they are getting paid over my dead body.

I just want to have the tools and knowledge to fight back.

Give me an employer (or an employee, occasionally) and that is childs play for me.

Here I am stuck.

Ridiculous I know...

yes but T&C's can be argued against and as with the banks/credit cards/ etc that charge letter/phone/etc fees they can and are reclaimable as they are unlawful penalties.

if you look at PDC's letter carefully, you'll see it mentions 'their client' which is sky.

so thus the debt hasn't been sold and only the owner of a debt can take you to court

and as sky don't do court..no chance

sky accounts do not show on credit files as they are not credit.

seems like you should have cometh here a good while ago and we could have helped resolve your issues with the box/signal.

easiest way is to pop to your neighbour friend relative, and pop you box on their cables

see if it works there

if it does then its not your box but the dish/cable/LNA [out on the arm] that's faulty.

most turn out to be faulty LNB's which cost

time for a strongly worded letter to their ceo me thinks

or at the very least get that moneyback!!

Thank you, and you are probably correct that I ought to have come before

- but it never occurred to me! I know it wasn't my box.

I know exactly what it was (well, without the technical terms)

- it was a part of the satellite dish, which I was told they had replaced.

And even with my spiffing new hip (replaced three weeks ago) I don't think I'll be replacing any satellite parts myself - the house is 3 and a half floors on the front!

However, I am annoyed enough now to go the whole hog.

Could you please point me to the relevant legislation or some templates, or whatever it is I need to reclaim those charges?

And thank you for your help. It is appreciated.

I would simply write a complaint to the CEO of sky.

your story here and how unfair it all is esp all the cancellation charges.

so sounds like you've had the LNB replaced then?

oh and the boxes are yours that's why so many are on ebay etc,

if its not a modern day box sky Q+etc

I would simply write a complaint to the CEO of sky.

your story here and how unfair it all is esp all the cancellation charges.

 

 

so sounds like you've had the LNB replaced then?

oh and the boxes are yours that's why so many are on ebay etc,

if its not a modern day box sky Q+etc

Ok many thanks for your help. Sorry I didn't get back earlier but I've had a really horrible day. This week is going so well!

I'll write and tell them, politely, to get ****** and I'm happy to deduct the £1.93 that I may actually owe them from what they owe me. Let's see what they say. I doubt I'll see a penny back, but if they back off and leave me alone then that's a price I'm willing to accept. Like I'm ever going to be a sky customer again after this!