I've been with Sky for 20 years and recently ordered a new phone. The blurb stated next day delivery. In the past I have received my order the following day and expected the same again although emails following the order process used the word "soon" rather than "tomorrow". Five days later it still hadn't arrived. I had no delivery update from Sky or their courier since day one when the courier website stated they had picked up the parcel. On day three I attempted contact using Sky Virtual Assistant but was unsuccessful and decided to give it another while for the phone to arrive even though I was concerned it was lost and having to wait at home each day to receive the parcel was a bind. On the morning of day five I received an email from Sky asking me to review the delivery process. My first reaction was frustration followed by concern regarding the whereabouts of the phone. I wanted to contact Sky immediately but was reluctant to use VA. I web searched a contact telephone number and rang them instead. They asked familiar questions regarding my password, delivery reference and contact details and the "gentleman" apologised and told me he would take personal responsibility and would acknowledge the inconvenience and my longstanding customer loyalty by increasing the capacity of the phone at no extra cost. He acknowledged my frustration at not having a single point of contact and told me he would stay in contact with me by WhatsApp. I didn't realise I was being set up due to a combination of being frustrated, my own self importance and the fact that I hadn't been phished because I was the one who initiated contact. The phone did arrive the following day, I opened it and of course it didn't have the promised doubling of capacity. I contacted the "gentleman" and he arranged a return and I complied. Scam complete.
I realised the following day when the "better phone" didn't arrive that I had been scammed. I immediately reported it to Sky. The reporting process was so frustrating and it was exacerbated by my inability to navigate VA, the unavailability of online chat staff and the lack of trust in my ability to recognise a fake Sky website and that the contact number I was reporting to was legitimate. I spoke with staff who didn't understand that I initiated contact with the scammer and my annoyance eventually led me to being transferred to someone who was (I assume), UK based, who listened to me and took notes. They told me it would be reported to police, that the Sky Fraud Team would lock my account as they investigated and that they would be in contact with me to obtain details of how the fraud occurred, what contact numbers were involved and what website I used to get the Sky contact number (it looked just like it should. I still can't tell the difference). A week later and the only contact I have had is by three emails acknowledging " you have lost your phone but when you find it please let us know" and another demanding immediate payment in full for the phone. There is a contact number on the messages but I am wary. I wondered if I might post it here for verification before I call it asking for clemency regarding immediate payment and also a reason from Sky for the delay in delivery without updates. The email requesting feedback was crucial as a trigger for my wanting to speak to someone at Sky. I think it fair to assume the delay was unreasonable due to advertising blurb, past experience around delivery times and the email from them requesting feedback. I am shocked that no one from Sky has given me a call? I have no update, there appears to be no investigation, no case specific guidance and advice about what to watch out for now the scammers have my details and nothing about the oddness of the fact that I initiated my own scam using a convincing Sky website? With hindsight I am guessing that a customer service team member wouldn't use WhatsApp nor suggest himself as a single point of contact. The "upgrade" was too good to be true but seemed reasonable at the time because I have had a few TV upgrades and freebies to acknowledge faulty service or in relation to customer retention at renewal stage. Of course I overestimated my importance to Sky! I should have run the first contact number through Google in case it was highlighted as a scammer one. I have retained the WhatsApp conversation and all numbers and can post them if it would be helpful to others. For what it's worth I typed the word "Scam" into the WhatsApp chat as soon as I realised and he replied "Sorry". What a gent.
Has anyone else initiated their own scam or have any victims of scamming been contacted by the Sky investigation Team with updates and has anyone else been able to repay Sky for a scammed phone in instalments rather than a lump sum? I'm well aware I've been a dunderhead but I still grasp for straws regarding the late delivery and a feedback request triggering my demise. Don't be like me and think that scammers contacting you is the only danger. Don't let your frustration with a big company blind you to the unusual and don't overestimate your importance to a big corporation when it comes to "upgrades" to mitigate mistakes. As an apology, few gb of data would have been more realistic rather than an upgrade from a 128gb phone to 256gb.
I have three Sky phones for me, my wife and daughter. They work fine and the cost is fair enough so I don't want to leave Sky and of course I will need another phone to replace the scammed one. Any guidance or advice would be appreciated. Thanks for sticking it out this far.
