Slamming Victim?! Broadband changed without consent

[User820749275]

Just wondering if anyone else has gone through something like this — I’m genuinely shocked this can even happen.

Here’s what’s happened so far:

About a week ago, I received a “Sorry you’re leaving us” letter from Sky. I immediately called them to say I hadn’t requested any switch and had no intention of leaving.

They explained that sometimes this happens if someone else accidentally uses your address when signing up for broadband, or has recently moved to the area and reassured me that they had stopped the cancellation request and my WiFi wouldn't be switched off. 

Fast forward to today, and my WiFi suddenly goes off. I called Sky again, and was told that their cancellation request had actually been rejected by Openreach, and the switch had gone ahead anyway. When I asked how this was allowed to happen they said "the rules had changed 6 months ago where the request isn't automatically accepted". 

Now I’m being told:

• There’s nothing Sky can do today, and I have to wait until tomorrow just to request a switch back — which can then take up to 7 days.
• Sky say they don’t even know who the new provider is. And they can't find out who the new provider is as they just rent the equipment from openreach. 
• I have received no contact, no bills, no equipment, and never gave my details to any other provider — I have absolutely no idea who has taken over the line.

I’m now left without broadband for what will be at least 8 days, which also means I can’t use most of my Sky TV package either, since it relies on WiFi.

What I don’t understand is:

• How can Openreach reject a cancellation when the account holder is saying it’s not authorised? This is my home- my account- my address and none of these details have been given to any other provider. 
• How can a provider take over a line without any contact or verification?
• And how is it that Sky can’t see who the provider is or take any action to restore my service right away? They're saying the only thing I can do is call them tomorrow morning to reactive my subscription. They didn't even inform me that the request to stop the switch to openreach has been rejected! When I asked to file a complain about this they just said they could and would have to immediately close the complaint! 
  

This seems like a huge flaw in the broadband switching system. Has anyone else had this happen? Would really appreciate any advice or shared experiences. I'm concerned that this can be used for fraud. I researched "slamming" but I have never even spoken to a new provider or as little as researched deals. 

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, as someone said, this is the new 'One-Touch Switching System'.  Sadly, when the rules serve to reinforce a mistake then the rules are not fit for purpose and need to be changed but that's likley to take a while.  Sadly, that’s this country for you today.

Be aware that other posts suggest it might be quite a bit more than 7 days.

[Suz67]

Hi

I notice it would appear you have had the same problem as me.  This time it is the opposite.  I have had a letter from Sky business saying that the customer is taking over the broadband and talk on my premises.  This is a residential address and I was not allowing anyone to use business!  I phoned my provider and everytime they cancelled they couldn't and even when I upgraded, this was cancelled by Sky.  I have today phone sky business (again) and  I can't cancel because I don't know the customer name.  To me this is fraud.  I have emailed Sky the letter they sent (?) so I am hoping this is enough to get this cancelled.  But reading your issue I am still in doubt.  I hope you now have everything sorted

I was told by my provider to contact Ofcom and I did,  but they can't do much.  I have also contacted Action Fraud, but still await an answer.

[User820749275]

Sorry to hear. Unfortunately, we tried everything as well and Sky just couldn’t stop the switch going through as apparently who owns the lines rejected their request to stop the switch?!

It was honestly a nightmare – we ended up without broadband for just over two weeks. The only option in the end was to wait for the switch to happen and then switch back to Sky the very next day under a brand-new contract.

We reported it to Ofcom too, but ran into the same problem as you – the letter didn’t even say which provider was trying to take over, and apparently with the new rules only the new provider can cancel the order. So it really was just a waiting game.

That said, Sky were actually quite good once it had gone through – even though it wasn’t really their fault, they gave us credit to buy a dongle so we had some temporary internet and also reduced our bill for a few months. We haven't had anything since luckily. 

[mormegil]

The request to cancel the ots is sent by sky to the new provider via the ofcom process but as you found out if they don't have a dedicated team in place to work the request it will never be cancelled and they leave the order to continue and retry the switch automatically once the line transfer is complete

[highland+plumber]

Yep it's happening to me as we speak, had an email yesterday saying "sorry you're leaving us" called to get it sorted but this evening another email saying the same thing but with different dates. **bleep** nightmare 

[Chrisee]

@highland+plumber this appears to be a significant issue with the one touch switching system that only the gaining provider can stop the switch essentially Sky are powerless even when it looks like an error.  Apparently under the system you the customer have to contact the gaining provider which can be easier said than done.

I raised this with our Sky contacts in the summer who are sympathetic and agree its an absolute pain for their customers. I am told this has been raised on the BT/EE forum as well.

[Waveman]

This sounds like somthing OFCOM should be looking into, if your sevice can be tranferred away from you with. out consent this could put vunrable people into a dangerous situation.

Things like personal alarms and alert systems that need a working phone connection could be inadvertently disconnected. 

We had a similar issue when renewing a BT contract, this also gave permission, in the very small print, to move the line to digital voice, this then created all the issues associated with that. Got the MP involved who arranged for BT to provide all the required equipment to ensure a back up system (no mobile service from any provider in the village) so that a working phone line was availble during a power cut. He also got Openreach to put their digital switch over back several months until they had a better communications with their customers affected.