‘Surely Sky TV can’t charge for a service that it isn’t providing?’

RAW DEAL always likes a fighter, and Alec Mutch, from Lochbroom in Ross-shire, is a bonny fighter.

Alec decided to cancel his Sky TV account.

He phoned to do this, to be met by a salesperson called John, who tried very hard to talk him out of leaving. This call was cut off, however, so Alec tried again and this time spoke to a lad named Stephen.

He was just as energetic in attempting to persuade Alec to stay. But Alec was determined. He had been a Sky customer for 13 years, paying £38 per month. He was promised a reduction in price to £22 a month. Then they said they could make it £13.

But it was nothing to do with cost It was the service Alec was angry about. His TV viewing had been interrupted many times over the previous months. This culminated in what seemed to be a permanent message on his screen, saying: “Your Sky box is not receiving a signal”.

So it didn’t matter what monthly price they offered, Alec kept telling Sky there was no point in them offering discounts on a service he wasn’t getting.

Eventually, Sky got the message that Alec wasn’t budging on this – and a whole new set of problems opened up.

Sky’s policy is that cancellation of a service takes 31 days. This would have taken Alec to August 12. But Alec argued they surely couldn’t charge him a further month for a service he wasn’t getting?

He asked what, exactly, was it he’d be paying for in the “cancellation period”? The Sky operatives found this a difficult question to answer.

They offered a £20.84 discount, leaving a payment of £3.29. But, quite the contrary, Alec was looking for a rebate for the time he’d been without a service.

Eventually, Sky agreed to a cancellation, but with no refund.

However, a few days later they emailed to confirm the cancellation date – but enclosed a bill for £38!

Alec emailed Raw Deal and we had a wee chat with Sky.

The next communication from Alec was much better. He said: “I had a call from SKY TV complaints dept to discuss the situation.

“They mentioned your involvement on more than one occasion and it was clear to me that had you not been involved it may not have been resolved.

“The outcome is that instead of SKY charging me more money, they have agreed to end my contract and give me a refund of £17.08.”

Thank you for your help in resolving this matter.”

Raw Deal says: well done, Alec.