Please could anyone help us to escape the clutches of Sky TV and broadband.

The account is in my wife's name and I pay the direct debit. We decided to cancel all our services with Sky in July 2023 and she rang them to cancel and they insisted we give 31 days notice before allowing BT to install their equipment and start a new contract with them. We duly waited the 31 days and instructed BT to commence and my wife has paid the DD to them since that date.

In the midst of lots of other upheaval in our lives at the time I didnt cancel the Sky DD and it was only on 2nd April 2024 that I spotted and queried why they were still taking out money (we have another DD to them to purchase a Sky Glass TV). My wife rang them and complained and they said we only rang up (in April 2023) to cancel the broadband and not the TV package (which is sounds like a made up reply). She told them we were unhappy with this and would never use them again. If they had just cancelled the broadband surely our monthly subscription wouldve been adjusted downwards (which it didnt).

Two issues which I am not sure how to deal with;

1. They owe me about £300 for providing services that I did not require (and which we had asked them to cancel) - so I want this back if possible.

2. After the Sky box and external Sky dish and bracket had not been requested or collected I dismantled the equipment and sent it to local recycling.


Today my wife received an email saying we still owe a further amount (maybe the 31 days since our April 2nd complaint / cancellation - I cancelled my DDE on 2nd April) and another a request for return of equipment (which has gone).

Our cancellation requests above have been done by phone and you always have doubts about the competency of their advisers when you are discussing options. Secondly there is no paper trail to prove what has been said and done.

My wife says there is no way we will get the money back but I am so annoyed I want to take the issue further and also to get them off our back with letters implying more charges to follow.

I apologise for a non football thread but posters on here have been brilliant in the past in sharing experiences where big companies are ripping off the punters.

Thank you

Can’t help specifically but they are grubby Aholes. I’ve totally cancelled a couple of times in the past and immediately cancel the DD.
Bad news is it does say in the contract that Sky Q boxes belong to them. Prior to that they were yours. I’ve never heard of them coming out to remove dishes, they would probably hope to tempt you back with offers.
Good luck.

If you've got evidence of cancellation then you can't lose even if it means going to the financial ombudsman.

Okay. The first thing to do is try and speak with a Manager at Sky. In a calm manner go through the scenario with them, depending on how that conversation goes mention that there will be a note on their system that your wife rang them, can you get a specific date she rang them and rough time. Explain the issue regarding removing and sending the equipment for recycling. I think you own the dish anyway but they own the box.

Part of this issue is a grey area. Sky will say it’s your responsibility after 31 days to contact them again to cancel, also they sent a signal out to be received, the fact that you had removed the dish etc is irrelevant to them.

I think you need to rely on your honesty coming across to the person you speak with in the hope they’ll do something for you.

In regards to going through their complaints procedure, yes that’s probably worth doing, however, after that’s been exhausted
you could go to the next level of the Ombudsman, my own view is that the contract favours Sky, it won’t cost you anything though to try.

Important. Keep a note, date and time of whom you speak with at Sky (on any occasion) and follow up that conversation up in writing, not only for your records but it will be requested by the Ombudsman.

So first port of call is to ring Sky, if a Manager is not available ask them to ring you back, if you don’t get a call back or you feel you’re being fobbed off you need to go back to them and ask to initiate their complaints procedure, at least that way the ball starts rolling .

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

When you cancel or change anything with Sky - my experience has been that they send email messages confirming these things.
You should have had one similar to this. I had cancelled, they then contacted me days before hand and was reset up and I cancelled again because of the lies someone had told me. They had listened back to the call and gave me the deal the person had offered in the end so I am still with them but the emails do go out.

May be worth checking for those to see what you got.

I’ve always had emails from them if anything was being changed or cancelled although unlike the OP I’ve always found them good to deal with.

One thing mentioned in the thread, since Sky Q, the equipment is theirs so has to be returned should you cancel although I very much doubt that includes the dish.

As part of the complaint ask them for a recording of the conversation when you rang to cancel. The fact that they cancelled part of your services is evidence that they must have taken some instruction from you.

If they are saying that they took an instruction from you to cancel broadband in April 2023 ask for the evidence of this. They should have put something in writing including a request for you to return your router (they send out a prepaid envelope and instructions for return etc).

Any evidence you have of making the calls - dates, time of calls, mobile phone records etc may be useful.

Not sure if you used the MySky app - if you did there could be a record of something on there.

Can your bank help get the money back?

WIth SKY Q it is the box and the remote control they want back from experience.

I have a Sky Mobile account, SIM only and am trying to notify them of a change of address. if you try and do it online it takes you to a page where you select Broadband or TV Package for the house move. When you phone them it asks if you are calling about the account that this mobile number is linked to. When you say yes, they sent a text with a link on how to change address and the call ends. Click on the link and it takes you to a page where you can notify Sky of a house move. For Broadband or TV Package. Round and round in circles......

Thank you very much to all who have taken time out to reply.

I will try and get a few details (in form of evidence) and ring to speak to a manager.

Following recent request they have indeed sent packaging and asked for return of the box only. The bracket and dish was not part of the deal but I’ve shifted it anyway.

Can you not use the direct debit guarantee scheme?

I recently returned my Sky Q box but made sure I got proof of postage from the Post Office. I’ve heard several
People say they returned equipment only for Sky to try charge them.

The Citizen's Advice Bureau are always helpful in my experience:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/