Loss of Broadband, Sky Talk and Change of Landline Number
I am a VIP Customer who has been with Sky for eighteen years and am complainingin the strongest possible terms about the appalling customer service I have received from Sky.
On Monday 10th I contacted Sky Customer Services to just remove the inclusive call facility from my home telephone number. (It advises you on-line that 30 days’ notice would be required for this charge to be removed.) The Sky agent, who I think is based in Bulgaria, understood my request as he confirmed that future calls would have to be paid for after the notice period.
However instead of cancelling the inclusive calls, he cancelled my broadband and Sky Talk completely with immediate effect in error. He told me this had happened before hastily transferring me (to who knows where) for this to be corrected. The call cut off within a matter of seconds.
I made a subsequent call lasting over an hour to Sky CS and spoke to a very helpful agent called Ervil? also in Bulgaria. He couldn’t resolve the situation but did manage to transfer me to someone in the UK called Paul. Paul explained that as the broadband had been cancelled a new contract would have to be raised and it could take at least ten days for this to be actioned.
I was understandably very unhappy with the fact my broadband and home phone could just be cancelled in such a way and even unhappier with the response. Paul said he would speak to his manager to see if things could be speeded up as this was Sky’s error and get back to me.
I heard no more apart from an automated message to say my broadband had been cancelled.
My husband and I are in our seventies and classed as vulnerable. There is no way my husband would have been able to contact Sky and deal with this as it has been far from straightforward. We were then left with:
- Crucially No LANDLINE
- Losing our long term landline number - completely unacceptable
- No intruder alarm
- No surveillance cameras
- No wireless heating controls
- No printing facility
- No Alexa music streaming
- No baby monitor for granddaughter when she stays
- Unable to access paid for service such as Netflix and Amazon Prime on multi room. (We only use our living room on a daily basis in the summer where this is required.) No online banking.
- No Amazon Music, You Tube Kids and other streaming subscriptions
- Crucially NO INTERNET
On Tuesday 11th July, I waited until midday to see if I would be contacted with an update of how Sky intended to resolve the situation but heard nothing. Presumably in the ‘too difficult to handle’ box.
Consequently I endeavoured to try and speak to someone at Sky that might be able to help. However I tried EIGHTEEN times to get through, mainly being told that there was no one available due to staff training or my calls did not fall into any of the normal categories for progressing through the system. I was sometimes just cut off and I was left at a loss on how to proceed.
Do you actually realise how poor your level of response is when customers call in? It is not that Sky receives less complaints, more a case of it is made impossible to complain.
If I had not pursued this, Sky would have done nothing to resolve the problem and have charged me for a further month’s services!
Eventually I tried another number I managed to find, a Technical Helpline, which initially went through to Mumbai, this was a further waste of time. I was advised to redial the number and the call might perhaps be picked up in the UK. I tried the number again and this time it was Bulgaria, with an agent who was at least prepared to do all she could to help to correct the problem.
She thought our existing number could be retained but took further advice and confirmed that though Sky had terminated my broadband in error, nothing could be done to reinstate our existing number and a new broadband contract would have to be raised with a new Sky Talk number.
This call to set up a new contract took another hour but my broadband and home phone would not be up and running for at least a further ten days.
I was promised a call from her Manager the next day between 3pm and 4pm to sort out compensation but this did not materialise. (Initially it was suggested for four days later, which I said was unacceptable.) No call was received then or since.
I subsequently received two emails, the first stating our broadband and existing number would be connected on 20th July, followed by another one the same saying it would be a new number. This resulted in another call to Sky to clarify the situation, to be told our original number was no longer available.
The fact that our landline number has been lost and a replacement has been issued is going to cause immense inconvenience. I have now got to try and contact everyone including my doctors and the hospital with the new number, as I am waiting for a call for surgery. Our landline is currently the main contact number for medical purposes.
Though we do not have brilliant mobile reception, I had to use my mobile to receive emails. I accessed my Sky Piggybank data to top up our mobile telephones constantly with data in the meantime, as we had no broadband or home phone. Thankfully I had this to fall back on.
This data was being stored to offset a replacement telephone at the end of one of our contracts. I need to have this 50 GBs of data restored. (195 GBs on 10th July reduced to 125 GBs on 20th July.)
So with breath taking incompetence, Sky had managed to cancel my broadband and home telephone in a stroke while I am supposed to give 30 days to terminate a contract!
Some serious investigation needs to be done to find out how this can happen.
I have repeatedly tried to raise a complaint form regarding this but it fails to submit. Another way to avoid dealing with complaints presumably
Now this situation is resolved, some serious compensation should be made for all the time this has taken to deal with, the loss of our home telephone number, subscription services, compromised security and services as well as extreme distress.
Please Sky, do customers the courtesy of dealing with complaints promptly. The loss of our landline number is extremely distressing and we are not sure how to contact some of our very old family and friends.
Over two weeks on, I have not received any contact from Sky. If I hadn't pursued this relentlessly, we would have no broadband or house phone and would n doubt be billed for a month's charges as we hadn't given the required notice!
I have now sent a letter to the Director of Chstomer Services and hope this will result in some compensation.
