Difficulties transferring to Sky from Virgin

[Najinski]

On 23/7 I placed online order to transfer broadband, TV and telephone from Virgin.  Within moments emails confirming the order were followed by emails cancelling it. 

Called Sky placed the order again price shifted from 61 pcm to 63, within moments emails confirming the order were followed by emails cancelling it. 

Called Sky a second time placed order again price shifted from 63 pcm to 66, within moments emails confirming the order were followed by emails cancelling it.   

23/7 I submitted a complaint.  

25/7 Sky Stream box arrived.   3 days later installed it.  Sky Go does not work.  Sky VIP still says I do not exsits despite being beyond the 30 day cancellation period.   Still having to use Virgin broadband.  Paid £46 by debit on 6/8 and when linking Netflix it goes up to £52.some pence, do not know precise amount because on my Sky account I do not have any products so billing does not show.

I followed the "how to complain link" and it is useless you get thrown into customer services that seems to be staffed by a sub-committee of the United Nations.   

I escalated my complaint and I am now trying to deal with the "Executive Support Team" - I have had emails from close to a dozen different people often tell me different things.   When  I first wrote this message it had the email address for Exec support and I am not allowed to share it.   This is an email address operated by Sky for Sky customers so odd that it cannot be shared with a community of Sky users.  It appears giving an eamil address to a customer service department is a form of hate speech, hey ho.   

I have refused to accept telephone calls.   I have a demanding job and on 23/7 spent over 2 hours on the phone.  I am disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act 2010.   

I went to OFCOM, they replied within 24 hours.  

My complaint raised on 23/7 is over 5 weeks old once it hits 8 weeks I can go to arbitration. 

Anyone else reading this got any other tips/pointers or advice would be grateful at the moment I am paying close to £150pcm to 2 companies for something that I was told would cost £61 from Sky.   

[TimmyBGood]

@Najinski 

Several issues there, but the crucial one seems to be the automatic cancellation of the broadband order.

Tilo get some more information, putting the address into the BT Wholesale Availability Checker should indicate which broadband provisioning type is applicable.

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL/AddressHome 

It's the table and the two text lines below it which are most useful.

Remove any personal information (such as the address itself) if you post an image.

[Najinski]

Thank you 

Visited the site and got the report 

I cannot cut and paste or add it to the reply but note it states 

VDSL Range A (Clean)

61

44

17.5

10.5

39.4

Unavailable

Exception

VDSL Range B (Impacted)

60

40

17.1

9.7

35

Unavailable

Exception

"Our records show the following FTTP network service information for these premises:-Single Dwelling Unit Residential OH Feed crosses busy road requiring two engineers. FTTP is available and a new ONT may be ordered.

As a fibre priority exchange, FTTP has priority over other products if available at the address As a WLR withdrawal exchange, product restrictions apply

SOADSL is not restricted at the exchange"

Seems Fibre is available.   

Sky told me Virgin had declined the OTS.   

Virgin emailed on 20/8 advised OTS on their system from 23/7 and then on 28/8 in a tel call advised it was not until I referred to their email.  Likewise the person who called me let slip that OFCOM had contacted them hence a tel call out of the blue and contrary to previous request of investigate and email only.  

OFCOM advised the "gaining provider" (Sky) has control and can compel the OTS and use industry dispute process to compel the OTS.  Sky have told me twice to contact Virgin to cancel the OTS and then go to their site and repeat the order.

[JimM1]

@Najinski Fibre is the only thing that is available no other choice, but it still does not explain why Virgin are declining that sky switch the service over to them! You may just have to look at the VM e-mail very closely incase it has if you do not contact us we will decline and refuse the switch or something's along that line!

[Najinski]

Noted 

VM email state the OTS is active.  

OFCOM gave clear advice on the process.  Once OTS in in Virgin cannot reverse it. The process is the same when switching bank accounts; energy suppliers & mobile service providers. 
OFCOM have intervened with Virgin already (as stated in my post) 

I have had various "excuses" from Sky and none comply with OFCOM guidelines or the email from OFCOM that Sky have in their tiny incompetent hands. 

[TimmyBGood]

@Najinski 

Single Dwelling Unit Residential OH Feed crosses busy road requiring two engineers.

[Najinski]

Two engineers is not a reason to cancel the request less than a minute after it was acknowledged.  Added to that multiple excuses for the cancellation given and that was not one of them.  Also told several times that fibre is available.  Not a single dwelling I'm a semidetached with other neighbours.  Not in the middle of nowhere and definitely not on Mars - hey ho back to the numpties Sky employ. 

[TimmyBGood]

---

@Najinski wrote:

Two engineers is not a reason to cancel the request less than a minute after it was acknowledged.  

---

It is if there's no likelihood Openreach will actually carry out such an installation at this point in the commercial FTTP rollout.  Sky (and any other Openreach client ISP) simply isn't permitted isn't going to get local authority permits and deploy a cherry picker.

[Chrisee]

@Najinski it is Openreach not Sky who are declining the order likely because the practical difficulty of running an overhead cable across a busy road. The database is a guide but the local Openreach team know the details and it is not unusual that this happens where practically the job is too difficult or is uneconomic. 

Nothing much you, Sky or for that matter Ofcom can do to change that.