No broadband, connection - how do I report? can I cancel in these circumstances?

[Cpeak]

Hi there,

On Saturday night our local BT box got wiped out by a van. This has wiped out broadband, phone and TV at our house. I've now heard that the box has been hit in the past (it is placed in a ridiculous position on the corner of a bend in the road!). The last time this happened I understand it took 2 weeks to fix. As a home worker this has made life very difficult.

I see that auto compensation is available once reported - but I can not see anywhere you can contact Sky to report this. Does anyone know? or is this effectively reported once you do a broadband check?

We've only been in contract with Sky for 6 weeks (previously cable and not effected by this crash) - This incident is already making me regret my decision. In circumstances like described can you break/cancel your subscription without high cancellation charges? I need broadband and 2 weeks without would be very problematic. 

Thanks for your help and advice. 

Chris

[daveNOS]

@Cpeak You can't cancel due to this without incurring large early termination fees, the incident is outside of Sky's control.

It may take a while to get it fixed and will largely be down to the availability of Openreach in your area(they own the network) and it will affect all ISP's that use the Openreach network.

Working from home has zero bearing as you are paying for a domestic only service.

You can report the issue to Sky by calling(the forum does not allow numbers to be posted here). 

[Cpeak]

Thanks for replying. 

I've tried calling various numbers found online but you simply get an automated message saying they are aware of a fault in my area. I really do not know if this means it is 'reported' and therefore we'll get some compensation at some point. 

I realised that I got a broadband price rise notification the day after my account was activated and installed! However, this is dated 40 days ago now. So I don't even think I can use this as an option to cancel. It does though feel wrong to notify you of a price increase (starting in April) the day after your service is installed. 

[Daniel0210]

@Cpeak 

I believe price increases for brand new customers are normally paused for 60 days before being implemented.

[Cpeak]

Hi @Daniel0210 

Thanks for your reply ... I am overwhelmed with Sky's generosity of providing 60 days notice from the start of the contract until a price rise. 😉 I could imagine what my customers would say if I tried to pull something similar. 

So in summary I'll have to wait it out - potentially two weeks without telephone, broadband or tv. I'm too late to get out of the agreement and way too early to cancel.

Well, I really hope the fact they are aware of the fault means that I will get some compensation back for the lack of service when it is eventually resolved. 

Thank you.