A customer had trouble getting Sky TV installed in their new rural location, despite multiple attempts and contacting Sky in various ways. Eventually, the account was cancelled and the payments refunded, but the customer expressed frustration about being in debt for a service they couldn't use.
In March, my wife and I downsized from our house to a flat in a rural location . In our previous house we had phone, broadband and TV with Sky , paying £94.50 per month.
Sky said it couldn't connect the phone or internet in our new location, but that we could keep the TV at a reduced rate of around £50 per month. An engineer came to set up the TV connection in our new home, but found having Sky TV in our flat wouldn't be possible, either.
He said it would be hard to install a dish here, and even if we did, the building was in a 'dip' and surrounded by tall trees which would block the signal. He did a test to see if we could get the online streaming version of Sky, which doesn't require a dish, but the signal was poor and the speed slow.
Therefore the engineer said we would be able to leave our contract early. We explained this to Sky in calls, emails and online chats, but it has not cancelled our account. We are constantly met with a brick wall. I eventually cancelled the direct debit in frustration, but the account is still open and I worry we will now be in debt for a service we can't use.
G.E, West Sussex Leafy: But the trees surrounding G.E's new flat mean he cannot get a Sky signal RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share Helen Crane, This is Money's consumer champion, replies: Contracts for premium TV packages can be iron-clad and notoriously tricky to escape. In a case This is Money's sister title Money Mail covered recently, a customer could not get out of their Sky contract after they had to move out of their home for months when their fridge freezer exploded and caused a huge amount of damage.
Most Sky customers have a minimum contract of 12 or 24 months. If they leave early, they are charged fees which can be up to £38 per month for TV, £48 per month for broadband and £7 per month for landline phones, depending on the package they have. These are intended to stop customers moving to rival providers. There are some exceptions to the rule, though.
You may be able to leave penalty-free if you are moving to a house that already has a Sky package - for example, moving in with a partner - or if you move to a location Sky's network doesn't reach. CRANE ON THE CASE Our weekly column sees This is Money consumer expert Helen Crane tackle reader problems and shine the light on companies doing both good and bad.
Want her to investigate a problem, or do you want to praise a firm for going that extra mile? Get in touch: helen.crane@thisismoney.co.uk This was the case for you. Getting Sky TV when you live in a flat can be tricky, and being out in the sticks brings even more challenges.
Some flat-dwellers are able to have their own Sky dish, but they will need permission from the building's managing agent and freeholder to put one up, and many don't allow it. It also relies on having somewhere to safely install the dish, which is also close enough to your flat for it to pick up a signal - not always easy in a large block.
Some buildings have a communal Sky dish which new residents can be connected to, but this wasn't the case in your new home. If there isn't already one in place, residents can club together and request one - but again, they will need permission from the building's management and will usually need to foot the bill themselves which can be a costly business. This is why many apartment-dwellers opt for streaming services such as Sky Stream and Sky Glass.
After even the internet-powered streaming service failed to get you a reliable connection, you reluctantly accepted that you'd have to wave goodbye to Sky in your new home. But getting your contract cancelled was hardly a breeze. When you contacted me in mid-April to ask for help, you said: 'I've wasted hours on the phone explaining over and over what has happened, only to be told I'm speaking to the wrong department.
Read More What you can LEGALLY do to stop cars ruining the council-owned verge by your house: DEAN DUNHAM 'I've made and escalated complaints and still Sky has not cancelled the account. This has been going on for weeks. I don't get why Sky is making it so hard.
' You then cancelled the direct debit, but kept receiving emails from Sky and were then worried you would be chased for the £50 per month debt. I contacted Sky to ask it the same question. It said the contract had been cancelled at the end of April - but no one had bothered to tell you. It apologised for the delay in cancelling, which it said was due to delays in identity and verification checks.
Some of the information you gave didn't match what was on Sky's records, but the firm didn't communicate this properly. Sky has now refunded you the payments you had made in March and April for a service you didn't have, as well as cancelling the charges on your account and also paying you an unspecified amount of compensation.
A Sky spokesman said: 'We're very sorry for the experience G.E had when trying to cancel his Sky TV service after moving home.
'As Sky TV services were not available at his new address, he should have been able to cancel his account without delay, and we apologise that this didn't happen as quickly as it should have. 'The account has now been fully cancelled with no early termination charges, any remaining balance cleared and a refund arranged. ' CRANE ON THE CASE
Sky TV Contract Cancellation Rural Location Difficulties With Installation Financial Worry
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