Cancelling Sky - Best practice

connundrum

Heya, I've been with Sky (normal package, not HD or +) for about 15 months at this stage and I want to get rid of it to bring in the normal NTL channels and pipe them round the house - Sky is only in my bedroom as they won't install another Sky box without a phone line, which I won't get installed.

What do I need to do? ie. just ring em and cancel? Will they want the dish back? Who will take the dish down? etc.

Do I need to give em a months notice or anything like that?

Cheers

Cuchulain

I could be wrong but I think you can still hold onto the dish and the Sky box. After 12 months I think you take over ownership. Just ring them up and cancel it, Id also ring up your bank and cancel the DD.

Tom Dunne

Cuchulain wrote:

I could be wrong but I think you can still hold onto the dish and the Sky box. After 12 months I think you take over ownership.

Yes, you own the box and dish after 12 months.

Cuchulain wrote:

Just ring them up and cancel it, Id also ring up your bank and cancel the DD.

If only it were that easy. They will do their best to convince you to stay, so be prepared for a fight. I had to tell them I was leaving the country to get them to cancel. I know of someone who was 45 mins on the phone trying to get disconnected.

Avns1s

tom dunne wrote:

I had to tell them I was leaving the country to get them to cancel. I know of someone who was 45 mins on the phone trying to get disconnected.

This is good advice, unless of course you're open to accepting some of their offers to stay which I think others have documented on these forums. I had the same experience though as Tom.

connundrum

Avns1s wrote:

This is good advice, unless of course you're open to accepting some of their offers to stay which I think others have documented on these forums. I had the same experience though as Tom.

Hmm well unless they offer to connect up 2-3 other rooms for no additional cost and without me having to get a phoneline, I don't think so.

Can I sell that dish then? Is it even worth anything?

Thanks for the advice thus far, I think I'll be 'going to Oz for a year' alright! I had an almighty battle when I asked to cut my package in half!

cgarvey

Dunno about the dish being worth much .. but the box+remote should get you 50quid+.

Or you could leave the dish/box in place and get BBCs/ITVs/FTA channels for free.

irish1967

just cancelled my subscription... took 9m37sec... used the I am leaving the country excuse....(wonder what the weather is like in afganistan this time of the year)... counldn't understand the indian guy very much and the scottish guy in the cancelations department wasnt that easy either.

make sure you have your account number and viewing card at hand when calling.

talkingclock

irish1967 wrote:

counldn't understand the indian guy very much and the scottish guy in the cancelations department wasnt that easy either.

phew... and i thought it was me.... not understanding them...
happy to see i'm not alone!

fta keith

I was a sky subscriber for 12 months before I cancelled it I bought a outdoor tv aerial for the 4 basic tv channels, keep the satellite equipemt its yours if you take out the sky card after its not activated, you should have all the bbc/itv digital tv channels and you could get an sky freesat card off an UK friend for channel4, Five, sky3, fivelife, fiveus or do what I did I got my sky freesat off the internet for about €42 for a once off fee, in mid 2008 channel4, E4 and more4 will be fta on digital satellite

kbell

fta keith wrote:

in mid 2008 channel4, E4 and more4 will be fta on digital satellite

Source???

Tom Dunne

kbell wrote:

Source???

Keith's source is an upturned goldfish bowl under his stairs where he convenes with alarming regularity deliver musings that have proven to be spectacularly wrong in the past.

r3nu4l

Wow, when I cancelled Sky I really was leaving the country, no wonder the guy on the other end of the phone didn't sound convinced.

Even at that they offered to transfer my account to the UK but as I was moving into an apartment block that didn't allow dish installation I had to say no...the guy probably thought I was another lying ba**ard

byte

fta keith wrote:

I was a sky subscriber for 12 months before I cancelled it I bought a outdoor tv aerial for the 4 basic tv channels, keep the satellite equipemt its yours if you take out the sky card after its not activated, you should have all the bbc/itv digital tv channels and you could get an sky freesat card off an UK friend for channel4, Five, sky3, fivelife, fiveus or do what I did I got my sky freesat off the internet for about €42 for a once off fee, in mid 2008 channel4, E4 and more4 will be fta on digital satellite

FTA Keith banned for a month for persistant rambling. This is not a fiction forum.

parsi

In fairness to Sky - whilst cancelling will take persistence and ultimately a couple of shouts they will perform a clean cancel. There'll be no hassle with Direct debits or whatever.

Best thing about cancelling is that after around two months you'll get bombarded to come back - I managed (accidentally) to get them to combine the freebox and half-price offer ...

Mossy Monk

when i cancelled (told them i was moving to Hong Kong ) they continued to take €15 a month from my bank account for a 6 months. i never copped it but then after i called them about it it took them 8 weeks to give it back. they are a disgrace