15% increase on my broadband and what has happened to Sky Customer Service ?

[LorraineEllen]

I saw from my Sky account that sky intend to increase my monthly charge by 15%. I was a bit surprised to say the least. I've tried 6 times on various numbers used previously to talk to a human, the automated phone service takes you so far and then doesn't acknowledge mobile phone number and cuts you off or sends you a link to the mobile it won't acknowledge. The online chat agents have a script that says increases are about 10% (clearly not the case for me) and don't deviate from that. This isn't what I expect. Been with sky a long time - but if this is how they treat customers I'll be reconsidering when my contract is up for renewal. Or is it just the case skyndont want to talk to people questioning charges on Friday ? 

[Mark39]

The percentage increase quoted by Sky (and other providers) reflects the increase in the undiscounted price of the products you subscribe to, not the discounted price you may be paying.

That's because not everyone has a discount, and amongst those who do, the discount differs from one customer to another. 

[PandJ2020]

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@LorraineEllen wrote:

This isn't what I expect.

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There's been 'large' increases every year to the list price.  It isn't a new thing.

...when my contract is up for renewal. 

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As per the contract, you don't have to wait for renewal.  You have the right to leave without penalty.

But bear in mind all major providers have a price rise - some lock in a CPI (or RPI) + x% increase which has recently been larger than Sky's increase.

[LorraineEllen]

I'm aware of increases in charges and discounts etc etc etc. my frustration is the complete inability to speak to a human and a telephone system that is inconsistent in responses. It's almost although they don't want to speak to people, but that's OK. Yes, all companies increase their charges - fact of life - but customer service needs to step up if costs are high. Sky used to be the best customer service hence my long relationship with them. Other providers are now improving their customer service and stability of service too so sky no longer have the advantage. 

[PandJ2020]

I've always voted with my feet.

[LorraineEllen]

Suspect I will too. 

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@LorraineEllen wrote:

I'm aware of increases in charges and discounts etc etc etc. my frustration is the complete inability to speak to a human and a telephone system that is inconsistent in responses. It's almost although they don't want to speak to people, but that's OK. Yes, all companies increase their charges - fact of life - but customer service needs to step up if costs are high. Sky used to be the best customer service hence my long relationship with them. Other providers are now improving their customer service and stability of service too so sky no longer have the advantage. 

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Not sure I completely agree with the "other providers are improving their customer services".

Is the Sky customer service experience getting worse? From my experience certainly based on the past however I don't think it's much different to a lot of companies. Most conpanies outsource their customers services to third party companies based offshore, who provide a call centre services for multiple companies simultaneously. Unfortunately as this is becoming more common the people you end up speaking with end up being script readers who generally don't fully know the T&Cs and products/services in-depth for the company you are phoning about.

to me this experience is fairly standard with a number of customer services teams I've had to call throughout the years for various companies.

[marykev]

Listen its simple,if you cant get hold of the humans then just cancel your direct debit and they will soon get  in touch ............ Simples.

[PandJ2020]

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@marykev wrote:

Listen its simple,if you cant get hold of the humans then just cancel your direct debit and they will soon get  in touch ............ Simples.

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No.  That's the worst possible way to deal with it.

that puts you in breach of contract, liable to late payment fees and possible further action.

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@marykev wrote:

Listen its simple,if you cant get hold of the humans then just cancel your direct debit and they will soon get  in touch ............ Simples.

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Well that is 100% incorrect. Cancelling your direct debit doesn't cancel your Sky contract, all that will do is put you in debt to Sky, who will restrict your serices, add on late payment fees and then pass your debt over to a debt collection agency. All of this having a massive negative impact on your own credit rating.

Its not that difficult to get hold of Sky. I did it a couple of times over the past few months to negoiate a new contract and get a few issues resolved. Rang the number, listen to what the automated bot was saying, correctly responded to the bot then got through to customer services. Yes once i had to wait about 30 minutes on hold, but another time i got through within 5 minutes. Some issues can also be resolved by the Sky Help Team on all the usual social media platforms (Facebook and X), again i've had nothing but great service from that team recently for issues that they are able to resolve.

[Daniel0210]

@marykev 

Definitely not a wise move. They won't contact apart from telling the customer to set up a new payment method.

[GD1]

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@marykev wrote:

Listen its simple,if you cant get hold of the humans then just cancel your direct debit and they will soon get  in touch ............ Simples.

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That is the worse advice to give anyone as per the reason outlined in @PandJ2020  post