Sky mis-selling product

smurphy29

I've just had the most horrendous issue with Sky on my very first day as a customer.

I signed up on saturday with a door-to-door salesman. I'd been planning on switching over for some time and this presented the opportunity. We had a detailed chat about the benefits of the product. The very first thing I said was the reason I wanted to sign up because my understanding was that I would get Eurosport within the standard package, and my bill would be more or less unchanged vs. that of UPC (I have entertainment and sports coming in at €63ish a month). I like to follow the cycling and Eurosport is the place to do so.

The chap assured me this was very much the case, explained all the other good stuff available and I signed the forms. Entertainment and Sport €62 a month. Movies is added in to get the free install, so it's nominally €71pm, but I can cancel it straight away, so it's really €62. I've a piece of paper signed by him, in which he wrote my three main reasons for switching over, as dictated by me. Top of the list: Eurosport.

Today the dude comes over for the install, turns it all on, shows me everything, fantastic, wonderful. "Let me just pop it over to Eurosport for a quick look at Le Tour. Oh, it says I'm not subscribed." He tells me I've to call them up and it's probably some technicality or whatever.

So I do. They tell me, no, I haven't got Eurosport on my package. I need Entertainment plus to get it, and a whole other ream of channels I don't want. It'll cost me €8 per month. So I explain the situation. The lady agrees that this is terrible on their part. She talks to her supervisor. She comes back and offers me that they'll turn on Ent + and give me three free months, which amounts to €24. Naturally, I explain that this is not acceptable.

She then puts me on to a colleague. He tries to disassociate Sky from the sales people, who he says are 'cowboys', that a number of them are being fired and that they are a company to whom Sky outsource their selling. I tell him that that's hair-splitting, they're representing Sky and that as far as I'm concerned they are the same as Sky. He then offers me a €50 credit as a 'goodwill gesture'. I reject this, saying I've signed a 12 month contract, and 12 x €8 is €96 an they must make good on what I have been sold, and if they do not I will immediately cancel my subscription.

Eventually, he tells me that they will 'investigate' the sale and will call me back within 72 (!) hours but he can't commit to what they'll do for me but makes some optimistic noises about hopefuly sorting you out, we understand how angry you are etc. I offer to send in the shet of paper the guy wrote on but he doesn't seem interested in it.

All in all, it's a pretty shabby experience. I'm a first-time customer and this is my very first experience - being mis-sold a product and then having the cost pawned off on me, as well as attempts to disassociate themselves with people who represent them. I'm disgusted.

Julez

You should have a seven day cooling off period (I think you do with all these subscription companies), if they don't give you want you want you should be able to cancel easily enough.

EDIT: Just make sure to do it in writing and keep copies.

Menas

And count yourself lucky that you have that piece of paper with Eurosport on it. Door to door salesmen would promise to sell their granny to get their sale.
Sky have to honor the agreement IMO or allow you to cancel at not cost to yourself.

wmpdd3

You have 7 days to cancel, make sure you use it.

Call the phone line with in 7 days of the install and while your right to cancel. Don't take no for an answer, especially if they say the sale people are not party of sky, sky pay then for the sale so they are direct agents of sky.

Sulla Felix

Just cancel now, while you're in the 7 days and then if you (still? :P) want sky just sign up online or by phone.

Eeden

I reckon no matter how much you were thinking about switching (any service), you should never, ever make a decision on the doorstep.

Tell them you will look into it further and ask them to call back. They won't like it, they will try to talk you out of it. But it's your decision.

All you need to do is say "I don't want to make a decision on the doorstep". Cooling-off period or no cooling-off period, you are better off looking into a deal on your own time.

endacl

smurphy29 wrote: »

I signed up on saturday with a door-to-door salesman.

^^

There's your problem right there. Just cancel and go shopping around again.

And next time a door-to-door arrives, shout loudly in their face and shut the door.

Eeden

endacl wrote: »

^^
And next time a door-to-door arrives, shout loudly in their face and shut the door.

I don't think there's any need to be rude. Poor guy's probably just doing his job (and more than likely hates his job; it's a crap job after all, but it pays - a little). Just telling him you're not interested will usually do the trick. Once in a while you have to say it twice, but usually that's all.

endacl

Eeden wrote: »

I don't think there's any need to be rude. Poor guy's probably just doing his job (and more than likely hates his job; it's a crap job after all, but it pays - a little). Just telling him you're not interested will usually do the trick. Once in a while you have to say it twice, but usually that's all.

Rationally, I agree. Realistically though, I live somewhere we're plagued by them. At least 2-3 on a good day. Sometimes more. My patience wore thin a long time ago.

efb

ITV4 has tdf

Eeden

endacl wrote: »

Rationally, I agree. Realistically though, I live somewhere we're plagued by them. At least 2-3 on a good day. Sometimes more. My patience wore thin a long time ago.

Yeah, I know, I know! But no point in taking it out on the little guy. He can't do anything about the other guys that plague you!

jimmycrackcorm

Cancel and wait until they do the next half price for the year sale

zynaps

smurphy29 wrote: »

All in all, it's a pretty shabby experience. I'm a first-time customer and this is my very first experience - being mis-sold a product and then having the cost pawned off on me, as well as attempts to disassociate themselves with people who represent them. I'm disgusted.

Exactly the same experience here - I told the sales guy that I wasn't bothered about Sky Sports and the rest, and would only be interested in switching if Eurosport (and a couple of others, namely Discovery) was included in the basic package, which he assured me it was.

Eurosport was one of the first channels I checked post-install and indeed, it was NOT included. I called them immediately and a woman apologised for the confusion but offered no options other than adding it on (and me paying for it). Apparently it's €5 a month and not €8, for some reason. I literally only pay that so I can watch a bit of snooker on occasion... which, now that I think of it, is considerably less often than once per month.

TBH, I should have insisted that it was unacceptable, as you did. If the sales guys are selling things as part of their contract with Sky, then Sky should be responsible for what they claim to sell.

[edit]
BTW, in response to several posters saying "just cancel within the 7 day cooling off period", this is not as acceptable when you've just had a satellite dish installed on your roof and holes drilled in the wall.

lau1247

Eeden wrote: »

I don't think there's any need to be rude. Poor guy's probably just doing his job (and more than likely hates his job; it's a crap job after all, but it pays - a little). Just telling him you're not interested will usually do the trick. Once in a while you have to say it twice, but usually that's all.

if only they give you the correct information and don't over promise, sale or not sale, surely they know if they lie through their teeth it will come back and bite them in the ass and that the treatment or bad name they get is from their own making

mightybashful

[edit]
BTW, in response to several posters saying "just cancel within the 7 day cooling off period", this is not as acceptable when you've just had a satellite dish installed on your roof and holes drilled in the wall.[/quote]


Don't be so sure about that. The OP is after getting a satellite dish fitted at sky's expense, or maybe with a €30 contribution. The ball is now in his/ her court. Use the 7 day cooling off period to cancel sky. That's the first and most important thing to do. This newly fitted equipment will provide freeview which will tide them over until sky start ringing with offers. Which they will.

SteM

mightybashful wrote: »

Don't be so sure about that. The OP is after getting a satellite dish fitted at sky's expense, or maybe with a €30 contribution. The ball is now in his/ her court. Use the 7 day cooling off period to cancel sky. That's the first and most important thing to do. This newly fitted equipment will provide freeview which will tide them over until sky start ringing with offers. Which they will.

I'm pretty sure that if you cancel before the 7 days it's within their rights to remove equipment. My understanding is that it's your equipment after 12 months. You can't just get an install (sometime free), cancel during the cooling off period and then keep the equipment surely?

foggy_lad

SteM wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that if you cancel before the 7 days it's within their rights to remove equipment. My understanding is that it's your equipment after 12 months. You can't just get an install (sometime free), cancel during the cooling off period and then keep the equipment surely?

Yes but if they want to remove the equipment they must agree a time with the property owner and pay an installer more money to take it away, the sky box is yours after 12 months but the dish is yours once installed.

Mrs W

We've just had a similar experience with a sky rep. We have sky + and he told us we could cancel it in my name and get a free hd box in husbands name. It's paid in advance so we could just cancel our DD and it would be fine. We'd be entitled to all the same offers etc that we had.

OH called to reduce the package and check on the normal half price offer and was told they're only for loyal customers. He told him what the rep said and he basically said they don't work for them.
He was in a sky uniform, had a sky badge and sold us sky, how they can say he doesn't work for them is beyond me. He rang sky on his phone for OH to say we were emigrating and cancel, now I'm getting letters for the balance they say is owed plus letters offering me half price offers to come back.

We rang them and explained everything and they were to come back to us, that was 2 weeks ago and we've heard nothing yet

No Pants

Eeden wrote: »

never, ever make a decision on the doorstep.

*****

All you need to do is say "I don't want to make a decision on the doorstep".

That's exactly what I do and I've never had any hassle over it.

zynaps

Eeden wrote: »

I reckon no matter how much you were thinking about switching (any service), you should never, ever make a decision on the doorstep.

Tell them you will look into it further and ask them to call back. They won't like it, they will try to talk you out of it. But it's your decision.

All you need to do is say "I don't want to make a decision on the doorstep". Cooling-off period or no cooling-off period, you are better off looking into a deal on your own time.

Although I was getting annoyed with UPC's digital box frequently rebooting and/or crashing and producing corrupt recordings, I generally try to follow this policy.
And deviating from the strategy this time for what seemed like a bargain... well, let's just say I wasn't too happy when a flyer arrived in the door a day or two after we got connected, offering an even better deal.

So yes, you're absolutely right. Take 10 or 20 minutes to do some research and googling on your own time, check out what people are saying about it on Boards, and maybe discover the critical flaw in the plan which the sales guy would have glossed over or omitted during their pitch.

And this nonsense of "weeeell... the special offer is finishing up tomorrow, and we're only in the area this evening" - no... no. The special offer is almost never for "today only"!

Nonoperational

Mrs W wrote: »

We've just had a similar experience with a sky rep. We have sky + and he told us we could cancel it in my name and get a free hd box in husbands name. It's paid in advance so we could just cancel our DD and it would be fine. We'd be entitled to all the same offers etc that we had.

OH called to reduce the package and check on the normal half price offer and was told they're only for loyal customers. He told him what the rep said and he basically said they don't work for them.
He was in a sky uniform, had a sky badge and sold us sky, how they can say he doesn't work for them is beyond me. He rang sky on his phone for OH to say we were emigrating and cancel, now I'm getting letters for the balance they say is owed plus letters offering me half price offers to come back.

We rang them and explained everything and they were to come back to us, that was 2 weeks ago and we've heard nothing yet

Surely you couldn't have thought this was a legitimate way of doing things?