topic Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing in Account & Billing

Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Amna4 — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:16:56 GMT

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding several serious issues I have encountered with Sky Mobile. These issues pertain to incorrect billing practices, a lack of transparency regarding international call charges, poor network coverage, and an inability to access my billing information, all of which have caused significant inconvenience and financial hardship. 1. Failure to Provide Accurate Billing Notifications I recently discovered a direct debit of £166.00 from my account, of which only £16.99 was my regular monthly charge. The remaining amount was due to international calls that I was never properly informed about. While I received a vague text message stating that my charges had increased, no specific amount was mentioned, and I was unable to access my bill due to ongoing errors with your system. It is unreasonable to expect customers to "check Google" for international call rates, as suggested by your representative. Most other networks provide immediate or prior notifications about charges when making international calls. Sky’s failure to do so resulted in my incurring significant charges without being made aware of the exact cost. Had I been informed of the actual charges or been able to access my billing information, I would never have continued making international calls. 2. Inability to Access Billing Information For several months, I have been unable to view my bills via the Sky online portal due to persistent errors. This means that I could not monitor my charges and usage in real-time, which directly contributed to this issue. Sky has access to the billing PDF, but I do not, which is a serious breach of transparency and customer service standards. 3. Network and Service Issues Additionally, I have been facing ongoing network issues in my area, including extremely poor signal strength and an inability to use mobile data in locations such as malls. Despite these long-standing problems, I continued paying for a service that does not meet the expected standards outlined in our contract. I have already contacted your technical department about these network problems and followed all the steps and troubleshooting processes provided by your IT support team. Despite these efforts, the issues persist, and I continue to experience inadequate network performance. This indicates that the problem is on Sky’s end and not due to any fault on my part. 4. Contractual Concerns I understand that Sky has referred to the contract I signed 7 months ago, stating that international charges are mentioned there. However, it is impractical to expect customers to refer to their contract before making every call, particularly when Sky failed to provide real-time or post-call charge notifications, as many other telecom providers do. 5. Actions Taken I have taken the step of cancelling the direct debit authorization due to the unauthorized and unexplained charges. Until this matter is resolved, I will not be making further payments to Sky. Resolution Requested: In light of these issues, I am requesting the following actions: Immediate cancellation of my Sky Mobile contract without penalty due to the failure of service delivery and billing transparency. A full refund or removal of all international call charges added to my account, as I was not adequately informed about these costs before or after the calls were made. Compensation for the stress and financial burden caused by the unexpected £166.00 debit and the persistent service issues. I trust you will take this complaint seriously and respond within 7 days. If I do not receive a satisfactory response, I will be escalating this matter to CISAS (the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme) for independent arbitration, and I will also be reporting this issue to Ofcom for investigation into Sky’s practices regarding billing transparency and service quality. I hope we can resolve this matter promptly and without further escalation. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to your prompt response. Sincerely, Amna

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

PandJ2020 — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:18:49 GMT

You can't raise a complaint on a public forum.

Try here: https://www.sky.com/help/articles/how-to-make-a-complaint

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

caesarome — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:20:44 GMT

@Amna4

This is where to make a complaint:

https://www.sky.com/help/complaints

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Daniel0210 — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:28:27 GMT

@Amna4

As you've stated you've cancelled your direct debit you've breached your contract so unless reinstated your Sky services will be restricted and you won't be able to speak to Sky.

edit: @Amna4 your duplicate thread on the Mobile board has been removed as you already have this one.

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Amna4 — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 16:24:32 GMT

Okay I reinstated. Now please suggest me a solution for these issues?

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

PandJ2020 — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 16:33:06 GMT

@Amna4 wrote:
Now please suggest me a solution for these issues?

You realise we're other customers here and not Sky customer services?

We can only give our opinions on your circumstances. (I would note the contract does make it clear about call charges and a link to the tariff. Yes, you would be expected to check it before making International calls. Only certain numbers are inclusive in your plan)

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Amna4 — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 06:13:55 GMT

Contract i signed in Feb. Do you think that before making any call internationally an average consumer checks the contract first and then call?

Other networks don't work like that

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Daniel0210 — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 06:27:45 GMT

@Amna4

I have never had the need to make international calls on my Sky mobile but should the need ever arise I'd certainly be checking the most up to date tariff to see the relevant charges to that country. It's surely down to the individual to make themselves aware of this information to prevent this very scenario. .

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Amna4 — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 06:33:28 GMT

It is not 100% my fault that I did not check tariffs before because when I used Giffgaff and O2 they always used to provide real-time data while during the call so I never had to check for those. They always used to notify me. It's the responsibility of the network provider as well to tell customer that this much amount has been deducted to will be deducted if you want to continue with call or not.

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

MarkGoldsmith — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 06:52:50 GMT

@Amna4 wrote:
Contract i signed in Feb. Do you think that before making any call internationally an average consumer checks the contract first and then call?

Personally I would say it's an individuals responsibility to check and understand the various call rates that are part of a phone package they have signed up to, particularly if intending to make calls things like international calls which are outside most standard call packages and allowances.

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Mark39 — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 06:53:23 GMT

You're, making a big assumption that all networks work the same way. You're 100% responsible for managing your financial affairs, including checking your bills, not Sky.

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Daniel0210 — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 07:07:45 GMT

@Amna4 wrote:
I am requesting the following actions: Immediate cancellation of my Sky Mobile contract without penalty due to the failure of service delivery and billing transparency.

Sky are under no obligation to release you from the contract you agreed to.

A full refund or removal of all international call charges added to my account, as I was not adequately informed about these costs before or after the calls were made.

I'd be very surprised it any of these charges were reimbursed as the calls were made and the charges incurred.

Compensation for the stress and financial burden caused by the unexpected £166.00 debit and the persistent service issues.

There is no provision for compensation in this scenario.

I'm afraid your expectations are unrealistic.

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Amna4 — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 08:01:02 GMT

Firstly I don't make international calls regularly. It was one of the odd. Second thing is that I wasn't being notified about the amount that has been charged. I wasn't able to access my bill. I still can't access it then how would I be able to know what are the charges I am going to encounter. I noticed this when the amount has been debited from my account. That is not fair on consumer. Sky must need to improve their services in terms of transparency. Apart from this, Sky services are very poor and over priced as compared to other networks.

Overall I am not happy with Sky at all. Poor coverage, poor quality of Internet, poor packages in contrast to their prices, poor user interface of their app, lack of transparency in their charges.

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Mark39 — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 08:28:55 GMT

What have you done about the problem with viewing your bill?

Re: Complaint regarding multiple issues including Billing

Amna4 — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 08:32:37 GMT

I have informed Sky that I can't view my billing. I don't know what is the issue. They said they will look in to it but I am still not able to access it