Sky sorry over bill dispute raised on Twitter

A LEEDS pensioner suffering from Alzheimer’s was paying more than £100 a month to Sky – until his niece raised the issue on Twitter.

Rachel Holdsworth was shocked when she saw a £110 payment to Sky on her 72-year-old uncle Rodney’s online bank statement.

She tweeted on Monday: “Yo, @ SkyHelpTeam, what kind of package would someone have to have to be paying you £110 a month?”

Ms Holdsworth, 39, was overwhelmed with the response on Twitter as more than 1.5 million people viewed her tweets on the issue.

Sky has now halved her uncle’s monthly bill to around £55 a month.

Ms Holdsworth said her uncle, a retired clothing factory worker who lives in Armley and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago, was paying for phone line rental, evening and weekend calls, TV packages including sports and cinema, HD mix and multiscreen. Ms Holdsworth was able to get a discount applied to her uncle’s account after speaking to Sky.

She said: “It turns out he probably took out a bunch of packages when they were reasonably priced, but over time the deals have expired and they have just got more expensive and he hasn’t thought to query it.

“In the same way that people are advised to shop around for their gas and electricity, the onus is on the customer to not be fleeced. I think it’s wrong, especially when the customer is vulnerable.”

Ms Holdsworth said she is also investigating her uncle’s energy bills as he is paying £60 a month each for gas and electricity.

A Sky spokesman, said: “Having looked into her concerns, we’ve been able to reassure Mrs Holdsworth that her uncle’s package has not been changed or upgraded since he took it out four years ago.

“We’ll now work with Mrs Holdsworth to ensure he is on the best package for his needs.”