C Can I cancell a service that changes its terms?

Q I was horrified to learn in January that due to a dispute between the Discovery Channel and Sky, I would lose all 13 Discovery channels from my Sky package. I know the matter’s been sorted now, but if the two broadcasters hadn’t reached an agreement would I have had any rights if I chose to cancel my Sky subscription?

Gerald Cooper

A Gerald has asked a good question because this situation could affect any service a consumer subscribes to. The simple answer is your right to cancel depends on the terms and conditions of your contract. The actions of a third party – Discovery Channel in this case – is usually beyond the control of the service provider (Sky). To protect itself the service provider normally writes loopholes into its terms that mean you can’t cancel without a fee, although you may be entitled to a reduction in your monthly payment.

Sky, for example, points this out in its terms ( www.snipca. com/23713), but also says that it lets people move to a different package or cancel on a case-by-case basis. But if a service ends that was a significant factor for you signing up in the first place, or if the cancellation causes you significant ‘material damage’ (that is, you would lose money), you have a stronger case to end the contract without a fee, despite what the terms say.

The dispute was about money. Discovery UK claimed that Sky wasn’t paying “a fair price” for its 13 channels and threatened to remove them on 1 February. They came to an agreement a day before this deadline.