Parents charged £115 for basic package, 3 times current cost

[Mikalourus]

My mum asked if I could speak to sky sales today to try get her package a bit cheaper, her voice is going due to a medical condition. My mum is terrible with numbers and my dad had a brain haemorrhage then a stroke a couple of years ago so he is in no state to organise his bills. I feel a bit guilty now as for the last few years he is always ranting about the cost of sky. I just assumed he didn't know the costs as he will go on about mars bars costing 2 pence when he was a kid, and assumed he probably had the sports packages, etc.
 
After speaking to an agent I was told their bill is £115 a month for a basic skyQ package; sky signature and netflix, and superfast BB. They use the record, pause and rewind and generally watch terrestrial stuff; eastenders, etc. Unsurprisingly they have a platinum account with sky whatever that means.
 
I have been looking at the packages and this should come in at £38 a month. The agent started offering free boxes for other rooms, etc, none of which they need or will ever use so I just wanted as basic a package as possible. The line then disconnected mid call.

Is there something I’m missing here? I don’t watch tv or have a tv package at home so I’m not sure what I’m looking for. Their contract is up so I’m wondering if they perhaps been paying a contract at an old extortionate rate? Is there any recourse to have their bill credited with the overpaid amount? Overpaying by over 3x is obscene and in my opinion sky should have an obligation to inform customers, especially vulnerable people such as my parents. It's almost predatory.

[Daniel0210]

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@Mikalourus wrote:

My mum asked if I could speak to sky sales today to try get her package a bit cheaper, her voice is going due to a medical condition. My mum is terrible with numbers and my dad had a brain haemorrhage then a stroke a couple of years ago so he is in no state to organise his bills. I feel a bit guilty now as for the last few years he is always ranting about the cost of sky. I just assumed he didn't know the costs as he will go on about mars bars costing 2 pence when he was a kid, and assumed he probably had the sports packages, etc.
 
After speaking to an agent I was told their bill is £115 a month for a basic skyQ package; sky signature and netflix, and superfast BB. They use the record, pause and rewind and generally watch terrestrial stuff; eastenders, etc. Unsurprisingly they have a platinum account with sky whatever that means.
 
I have been looking at the packages and this should come in at £38 a month. The agent started offering free boxes for other rooms, etc, none of which they need or will ever use so I just wanted as basic a package as possible. The line then disconnected mid call.

Is there something I’m missing here? I don’t watch tv or have a tv package at home so I’m not sure what I’m looking for. Their contract is up so I’m wondering if they perhaps been paying a contract at an old extortionate rate? Is there any recourse to have their bill credited with the overpaid amount? Overpaying by over 3x is obscene and in my opinion sky should have an obligation to inform customers, especially vulnerable people such as my parents. It's almost predatory.

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@Mikalourus 

Discounts may have recently expired or be ending very soon. Sky will have told your parents the date the discount was ending when they took it out. You could compare a previous bill to their latest bill and see where the amounts differ
www.sky.com/bill.

If the discount has ended you/they will need to contact Sky to try to negotiate a new deal which will require another 18 month minimum term contract. Sky are not obliged to offer them another discount so if they are offered something acceptable they need to agree to it there and then because if they decide to think about it the offer may no longer be available when you/they call back.

You/they  can either call Sky or use the following link
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/cancel-sky-tv#contact-leave

I'm afraid Sky are not obliged to reimburse any amount since the discounted period ends. The onus is on the customer to note when it ends. 

[Mark39]

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@Mikalourus wrote:

 
I have been looking at the packages and this should come in at £38 a month.

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If you've been looking online, that will almost certainly be the subscription price for a new customer. An existing customer who 're-contracts' with Sky (that is, negotiates a discounted deal subject to an 18 months minimum term) is unlikely to obtain the same price. 

[Mikalourus]

So £115 is accurate for an existing customer on a basic package?

[Mikalourus]

So £115 is an accurate representation of a monthly subscription without discounts at sky?

[caesarome]

You haven't just got the basic package as you have Netflix along with Broadband so the more services you have the more you pay. If you look at the breakdown of your bill it should show you the cost for the TV side and also the broadband.

[Mark39]

I don't know off the top of my head what the undiscounted list price for each package is. If they're not 'in contract' that's what they'll be paying. 

[Mikalourus]

Ok so is £115 a fair representation of basic sky, "with netflix and broadband". Are customers paying wildly different amounts for the same thing or something, why is this question so difficult to answer

[caesarome]

Depending what offers people have in their accounts will determine what they are paying so if there is no offer on the account then you are paying the standard price for those services.

[GD1]

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@Mikalourus wrote:

Ok so is £115 a fair representation of basic sky, "with netflix and broadband". Are customers paying wildly different amounts for the same thing or something, why is this question so difficult to answer

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We can't tell you what other customers are paying, as they will have negotiated a deal for them.

As already advised the price they are paying will be without discounts, again this is detailed on the bills sent.

[Mikalourus]

What is the cost without a deal? What is the maximum cost of sky basic with netflix and superfast boradband

[Mark39]

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@Mark39 wrote:

I don't know off the top of my head what the undiscounted list price for each package is. If they're not 'in contract' that's what they'll be paying. 

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You may be able to find it yourself by looking at the 'legal bit' for each of the products they have.

[GD1]

@Mikalourus  Have you looked at the bills as advised, these will detail what is being paid for and what the charge is against each package.

[Mikalourus]

£39.50 for broadband, £34 sky signature, £7 ultimate tv, £19 sky cinema £9 sky HD. It's totalling £108, not sure why the agent said £115, maybe they're due a price hike again. They've no idea why they have cinema or any of the other addons.

Best solution is switching providers and getting them a fire stick. Thanks for the replies.

[doc-ab]

Which Netflix package do they have and what speed broadband do they have?

sky signature full price is £36.50

Netflix standard with adds is included 

Netflix standard no adds is £10

Netflix premium is £15

BB super fast is £28 

do they also have HD?

£115 is way too much and they are paying the loyalty penalty. You should be able to get a much better deal. Do they need sky at all?