over charged by sky

[jason howells]

hi

 

ive got sky and the multi room box and all was good until

 

i received a letter saying they were gunna charge me full for the multi room unless i could prove the box was in my house as i didnt have a phone line to the box ,

so i rigged up a temparary line from the front of my house through the lounge and dining room and into the conservatory

they said the signal was there and that the charge would not happen but they didnt say by the way you need a full time line and i thought that was the end of it ,

 

To my horror as i dont really look at my bank statements my wife does that and she thought it was a normal amount as we have tv phone and broadband,

 

but we came back from holiday and i happened to open and bank statement and saw that they were over charging,

 

i ran them and they said that has been the case for over 2 years amounting to over £1000 ,

 

they basically said tuff and they would not be refunding ,

that cannot be right ,

 

i know i should of paid more attention to my bank ststements and would of picked this up earlier

but we are lucky that we have good jobs and are always in the black

i know we are fortunate but as i said my wife thought it was normal,

 

can anyone help

 

as this is surely not right that they can just take £40 odd per month extra just because no phone line ,

 

they also havent written to us since i proved the box was at our address or a phone call to say do you know we are charging you double

 

they have just kept taking and

 

surely this isnt right

 

anyone have this experience with sky i would appreciate any help

[dx100uk]

so they are saying because you extra box is not 24/7 to a phoneline

thy cant prove its address so are charging you?

 

dx

[jason howells]

yes that is basicly it because they couldnt beam a signal down the line they have charged me double it is a complete joke i know ive been stupid not checking statements but as i said we are fortunate that we are always in the back but that doesnt make it right that they can just help themselves to extra cash just because a phone line isnt connected

hi

 

ive got sky and the multi room box and all was good until

 

i received a letter saying they were gunna charge me full for the multi room unless i could prove the box was in my house as i didnt have a phone line to the box ,

so i rigged up a temparary line from the front of my house through the lounge and dining room and into the conservatory

they said the signal was there and that the charge would not happen but they didnt say by the way you need a full time line and i thought that was the end of it ,

 

To my horror as i dont really look at my bank statements my wife does that and she thought it was a normal amount as we have tv phone and broadband,

 

but we came back from holiday and i happened to open and bank statement and saw that they were over charging,

 

i ran them and they said that has been the case for over 2 years amounting to over £1000 ,

 

they basically said tuff and they would not be refunding ,

that cannot be right ,

 

i know i should of paid more attention to my bank ststements and would of picked this up earlier

but we are lucky that we have good jobs and are always in the black

i know we are fortunate but as i said my wife thought it was normal,

 

can anyone help

 

as this is surely not right that they can just take £40 odd per month extra just because no phone line ,

 

they also havent written to us since i proved the box was at our address or a phone call to say do you know we are charging you double

 

they have just kept taking and

 

surely this isnt right

 

anyone have this experience with sky i would appreciate any help

[dx100uk]

not really my bag

 

but I have heard that they are clamping down on these people that take their skyboxes to their Spanish retreat

 

let me pull I string.

 

dx

[MaxxPower]

Unfortunately I believe it's in the Terms and Conditions that Multi-Room boxes be connected to a phoneline 24/7 as Sky will randomly check the box is at the correct location. This is due to people giving the boxes to friends/families so that a totally different house can get Sky TV for a fraction of the normal price. If their check can't reach the box, then rather than the multi-room price you get charged the full price of an additional subscription.

You may be able to get some kind of goodwill compromise from Sky if you agree to keep the box connected in future and/or threaten to leave, but I doubt you have much legal recourse in forcing a refund from them.

[jason howells]

they dont want to know so i cancelled everything and will be letting everyone i come in contact with what they have done

people might take them to spain or wherever and if they are caught be sued etc but im just a honest customer that has been scanked by them surely they know where the signal is going and can pin point but know they have just helped theirselves to my money

[IdaInFife]

as maxx has explained - when a sky customer wants to have multrioom they have to agree to have ALL boxes connected to the telephone line at ALL times or you agree to pay full price for the second card as they remove the multiroom discount.

 

As Maxx advised i cannot see any recourse there are few threads in already in this forum regarding the same issue. - even one with court action where the OP lost.

 

The reason there is little recourse is that when multiroom is ordered, a viewing card is sent and the card is attached to the t and c's so its impossible to say they were not received.

[jason howells]

its still not right to just take money out of someones account just because their Tand Cs say so they are crooks i have been with them for years and years a loyal customer and this is how they treat people knowingly scanking them , no contact over last 2 years just kept creaming off the top , if i was using at another address its a case of fair play the games up but they know this not to be the case and they dont want to give me a dime and they knew by my reaction as i cancelled and told them to shove it that i wasnt trying to con them .think the law on this type of thing has got to change

[IdaInFife]

they don't just take money - although they could

 

you get 3 warning letters over a span of 3 - 5 months prior to paying the full price letting you know that there is a problem with advice on how to rectify it

[jason howells]

they don't just take money - although they could

 

you get 3 warning letters over a span of 3 - 5 months prior to paying the full price letting you know that there is a problem with advice on how to rectify it

hi and thanks for input but i didnt get 3 letters i got 1 and i put a temp phone line in to prove it was at my address and they said that was the end of it that is my gripe as it wasnt the end of it they just kept taking extra cash and yes i was a lot lapse in not checking [edit]

Edited July 27, 2013 by dx100uk
no need for that - dx

[jason howells]

no matter what sky think is right or wrong

what they have done to me is wrong and they know it

 

they are just blood suckers who dont give a [edit]

 

 

but thats fine ive managed to get 5 of my family and friends up to now to cancel sky

 

so it might not change the world

 

but any penny that isnt going in their pockets makes me feel a whole lot better

 

i just hope i can get more THE RIP OFF MERCHANTS

[dx100uk]

instead of ranting

 

have written them a polite letter asking if they could come to

some gesture of goodwill with you.

 

it is well known that people never read the small print.

 

dx

[jason howells]

i did my friend and what has made me rant as you so well put it is they didnt want to give me as much as a month refund

let alone the £1000 plus they have scanked from me

 

they were not polite

 

they said i would get a reply to complaint within 72hrs

 

im still waiting

 

i said shove it it and have gone else where

 

and am telling everyone one i can and the more i get to cancel the happier i will feel i have been with these [edit] for years!!!!!

 

loyalty well that dont mean diddle

Edited July 27, 2013 by stu007
offensive language

[gemspan]

Hi there

 

Sorry, I know this is an old thread but just wanted to add my tuppence worth here.

 

I'm sure that when Sky instal multi-room they have to instal a new phone extension at the same time.

 

When you get your original sky fitted, a phone line is installed (even if it isn't going to be used as your main telephone line) so that your sky box can be plugged into it.

 

Did an engineer fit your sky box or was it sent through the post?

 

If it was the latter then it should have come along with strict instructions.

 

If it was installed by an engineer then Sky are at fault for not providing you with a telephone line at that point.

[porkyp1g]

To be fair to the op,

 

my sky installer said that the one in the spare room didn't need to be connected to the phone line.

 

If I ever have any issues, I will get sky to come out and install the line if that is what they want.

 

However not checking your bank statement in two years?

 

Seriously, that is asking for trouble and that can't be down to sky.

 

I think there is middle ground here as faults lie on both sides.

[gemspan]

Every multi-room box needs to be attached to a phone line... That's part of the contract. If your engineer said it doesnt need to be connected then he is wrong and probably just wanting to finish early. If the box is not connected then Sky can charge you for an extra subscription. I'd advise you to get in touch and get that phone line installed asap. I think the OP said that his wife takes care of finance and that's what she thought the Sky subscription was for what they had. I don't think there is any middle ground here.... Sky were supposed to instal the phone line, they didn't instal it and they had no right to take the money and should pay it back. It's shocking!

[porkyp1g]

Well the ops wife would have seen what sky were charging before the extra multiroom and afterwards, the price change would have alerted her.

 

Besides, where did over a £1000 come from over two years? Sky Multiroom is £11.25 a month, if this was put on top of the OPs original sub, then the cost over two years would be £270. Some exaggeration there, maybe this has also crept into the facts of the case?

[porkyp1g]

Every multi-room box needs to be attached to a phone line... That's part of the contract. If your engineer said it doesnt need to be connected then he is wrong and probably just wanting to finish early. If the box is not connected then Sky can charge you for an extra subscription. I'd advise you to get in touch and get that phone line installed asap.

 

Well I will wait and see if anything crops up. I know of some who don't even have their primary box connected, and lots more who don't have their multiroom box hooked up, and they haven't been done yet. If Sky let me know there is an issue, I will contact them in due course and let them know of their error. If they don't then happy days.

[griffzilla]

Well the ops wife would have seen what sky were charging before the extra multiroom and afterwards, the price change would have alerted her.

 

Besides, where did over a £1000 come from over two years? Sky Multiroom is £11.25 a month, if this was put on top of the OPs original sub, then the cost over two years would be £270. Some exaggeration there, maybe this has also crept into the facts of the case?

 

If the additional box isn't hooked up, they charge you for the entire Sky subscription for each box, not just the £11.25 a month. So at £50 for a monthly subscription, £1000 is about right!

[porkyp1g]

Hmmm, still think that the OP is responsible for his account, whether that is him or his wife. The fact is it wasn't flagged in over two years, isn't down to Sky. Looks like the op has cancelled his Sky account, so maybe we are past the point of middle ground. I just don't think it is fair to lay the whole blame down at Sky.

 

On a side note, I see thread after thread across the board where people haven't checked their bank accounts in months, or years in some cases. I find in this day and age of fraud and identity theft, to not check your account on a regular basis quite dangerous. I check mine every few days, and sometimes every single day, just so I can spot any issues as they arise. I guess a lesson to be learned in a lot of cases is use whatever you have to hand to keep yourself out of trouble, checking your bank statements and making companies aware of any errors as soon as you can is one.

Edited September 28, 2013 by porkyp1g

[gemspan]

If Sky are taking money that is not due to them...it is entirely the fault of Sky. If the engineer was supposed to instal a phone line and didn't...it is entirely the fault of Sky. In any contract there are two sides. If Sky's contract states that the box has to be connected to a phone line that they fit...that is what they have to do. Whether it's noticed in the first month or a year later is of no significance. They have still been taking money that is not due to them because of their incompetence.

 

With all due respect, it's not up to you to cast judgement on the way somebody operates their bank account. If the OP's wife was not aware of the cost if it was ordered by her husband then why would she think there is something wrong? Perhaps checking their account every day but thinking this is actually what was due on a monthly basis to Sky. Sky are at fault here....nobody else!

 

Another thing that should be noted. If Sky cuts off your service you must remember that you pay for Sky services one month in advance. If you have no service for, say a week and you pay your bill...you are entitled to a refund of the money for the time you had no service. Sky are making a killing by doing this and lots of people don't know that fact.

 

I have no sympathy for organisations like this who are overcharging their customers and refusing to do something about it. I would personally take them to the small claims court.

[IdaInFife]

 

 

 

Another thing that should be noted. If Sky cuts off your service you must remember that you pay for Sky services one month in advance. If you have no service for, say a week and you pay your bill...you are entitled to a refund of the money for the time you had no service. Sky are making a killing by doing this and lots of people don't know that fact.

 

can you point us in the direction where it is stipulate an entitlement to a refund of this nature?

[gemspan]

Hi Ida

 

I recently had this problem with Sky and got a full refund for 8 days. You are unable to cancel your Sky package while your account is on block and when you become reconnected you have to give 31 days notice. You have therefore paid for a service you haven't received if your account is blocked...and you can't use that time as part of your 31 days notice.

[porkyp1g]

If Sky are taking money that is not due to them...it is entirely the fault of Sky. If the engineer was supposed to instal a phone line and didn't...it is entirely the fault of Sky. In any contract there are two sides. If Sky's contract states that the box has to be connected to a phone line that they fit...that is what they have to do. Whether it's noticed in the first month or a year later is of no significance. They have still been taking money that is not due to them because of their incompetence.

 

With all due respect, it's not up to you to cast judgement on the way somebody operates their bank account. If the OP's wife was not aware of the cost if it was ordered by her husband then why would she think there is something wrong? Perhaps checking their account every day but thinking this is actually what was due on a monthly basis to Sky. Sky are at fault here....nobody else!

 

Another thing that should be noted. If Sky cuts off your service you must remember that you pay for Sky services one month in advance. If you have no service for, say a week and you pay your bill...you are entitled to a refund of the money for the time you had no service. Sky are making a killing by doing this and lots of people don't know that fact.

 

I have no sympathy for organisations like this who are overcharging their customers and refusing to do something about it. I would personally take them to the small claims court.

 

Not saying this was the case of the OP, but what are Sky to do if the customer disables the line? Sky write to them advising to re-connect or their sub will go up. I am led to believe this is what they do first, before banging the price up. Not all cases are like mine, where the engineer didn't install the line. Some people do abuse the system and take their box to another house etc and this is Sky's way of trying to stamp it out.

 

Like it or not, it's in the agreement. It's down to the customer to check correspondence, check account statements and check online billing on a fairly regular basis to check all is OK with ANY bill, and this could have been avoided/minimised. The price would have been one amount and then the OPs wife would have seen it nearly double at some point, how can she think this is normal and the 'correct price'?

[gemspan]

Clearly no telephone line was installed as the OP said when they were informed they hooked up a temporary line. At that point in time Sky should have visited and installed the line. We can argue this til the cows come home. Sky's obligation is to install a telephone line with a multi-box. If they didn't do it then the customer is not liable. I appreciate what you are trying to say but it makes no difference if the telephone line wasn't installed when Sky installed the multi-room. They did it wrong and the customer incurred charges because of it. Sadly, I know that this happens a lot because I used to work for Sky....albeit for a very short time because I was appalled at the way customers were treated.