LuggerBugs v Sky **WON**

[LuggerBugs]

OK, I finally woke up and decided I was no longer prepared to pay Sky for providing me with video drivel. So I cancelled my subscription.

AHA, says Sky. You need to give us a month's notice, so you'll still owe us a month's money.

Feck Off, says I. I don't remember seeing that in the small print. Send me a copy of my agreement so I can confirm whether or not you lie like a counterfeit Rolex.

Of course, no agreement turned up. But I did get a final demand. So I phoned the number contained therein, and asked again.

So this morning I got a leaflet containing the terms and conditions for a month by month account. Which I didn't sign up for. And it says in there I only need to give 14 days notice anyway.

So I think I'm going to have a play with this lot too, since they insist on being so silly. I know it's only 17 quid or thereabouts. But it's the principal of the thing.

Does anyone know, by the way, if the Sky subscription is regulated by the CCA 1974?

[Scarlet]

Hiya - sorry dont know the answer to your specific question.

However - i have just taken these muppets on myself.

Long story short but it was to do with Sky box and Phone line not being connected (and their lovely penalties of £27 per month)- simply due to a faulty modem in teh Sky + box.

Id given these chance after chance to remedy this - but they couldnt even get that right.

Simply being I stopped paying them (not recommended this as a course of action), then composed one of my finest letters (8 pages) to the CEO informing him of all sorts of nasties.

Had letter infoming me of canclled account Yeay and account balence wiped £150 double yeay!!

My advice - ignore the minions and go straight to the top!

If nothing else it annoys them when you dont write to Customer Services.

[Sapphire]

Any further news on this ?

sapphire

[LuggerBugs]

Nope. Not yet Sapphire. I'm still at sea, and won't be home until next week at least now.

[veilside01702]

Hey luggerbugs what you do at sea??
I have a friend that lays cables under sea.....with the biggest and best radio controlled toy I ever seen....lol

[LuggerBugs]

Really? We do lay umbilicals etc too. Bury and lay pipelines. All that nonsense. We're currently doing pipeline inspection work using sidescan sonar. Like wot they do when looking for wrecks on the discovery channel. but our targets are a lot less interesting.

[veilside01702]

Hey lugger....my friend used to work for Marconi.....not sure who he works for now.....he lives in chelmsford essex.......just wondered if you are on same ship....lol

[LuggerBugs]

Nah. Any cable work we did was by way of support. Prelay, post lay surveys, burying the beggers in etc. Fibre optic cables were THE future about 10 years ago, and the whole world was going to be covered in a huge network of them. But the bubble burst, and a lot of cable lay ships have been converted to other uses such as flexible pipe laying.

OOPS. Getting a bit off topic. Just as well this isn't CAG.

[LuggerBugs]

OK, I had a final warning (cheeky bandits) that if I don't pay up, they'll pass things on to a DCA. I do hope so.... I love a good fight.

So I put finger to keyboard, and I'm just about to pop this little letter in the post.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure the Sky agreement isn't regulated by the CCA 1974, so no need for me to send a quid? Anyways, here it is...

Denise Allan
Head of Operational Finance
Sky Subscribers Services Ltd
PO Box 43
Livingston
West Lothian EH54 7DD


Dear Ms Allan

Re: Account Number XXXXXXXXXXXXX

I wish to thank you for your letter dated 12th June 2007, the contents of which are noted.

As you are well aware, I am currently disputing the amount of £17.50 that you claim is due to you since I closed my Sky account.

As it is in dispute, you may not instigate any form of collection process until either you have informed me of your final decision, or the dispute has been resolved.

For the avoidance of doubt, I am contesting the amount you claim is due, as I am not satisfied with your company’s insistence that I should have given a month’s notice to close my account. However, as it has been several years since I originally signed up with Sky, I am prepared to accept that such a condition MAY have been included in the agreement that I signed.

I did request a copy of my original agreement to ascertain the validity of your demand, and that request was ignored. I then telephoned a second time to make my request again. You then provided me with a copy of the terms and conditions which are totally unrelated to the type of account that I believe I was signed up to. In any event, the period of notice given in those terms and conditions was, in fact, 14 days and NOT the full month that you claim.

I am therefore giving you one final chance to resolve this dispute amicably. I require you to provide me with a copy of the original agreement that I signed. If you do this and it shows that I should give a months notice of termination, I shall be only too happy to pay the £17.50 claimed. Failing this, I require that you write to inform me that you will no longer be attempting to collect this disputed amount.


You will also please take note that, I do NOT authorise the sharing of any personal data that you may hold on me. Further note that, unless you can produce any form of agreement between me and Sky that I did in any way authorise the sharing of my data, any attempt to do so will be in breach of the Data Protection Act. This means that you may NOT pass my data to ANY external body. This includes, but is not limited to, Debt Collection Agencies and Credit Reference agencies. You will be aware that any breach of the Data Protection Act is a criminal offence, and you will also be well aware of the penalties which may be imposed as a result of any such breach.

If you fail to comply with my instruction within 14 days from receipt of this letter, I shall have to consider the possibility of legal action against Sky. I will then issue you with a Letter Before Action, detailing my next step in an attempt to resolve this dispute. I sincerely hope that this next step will not prove necessary.

Yours Sincerely,

Luggerbugs

[Happyolddog]

Hiya Luggerbugs,

I found myself in the same situation about 14 months ago. I also found out that as Sky are providing a service and not a commodity that you are not liable to pay them. I said c'mon take me to court if you think you have a leg to stand on. it took 13 months untill they decided that there was no case for me to answer too. Stick it out and tell them that they supply a service and not a commodity, knowing that you are aware of that, I am sure they will back off.

Good luck,
Hod..Liam..

[LuggerBugs]

Well, while I was writing the above to send off to them, Wescot were getting down and dirty writing this little bit of nonsense that popped through my door this morning.

Dear Mr Luggerbugs (this will be another template, methinks.)

Wescot Credit Services act as a Debt Recovery Agent for Sky Television Limited, who have passed details of the above account to ourselves. REALLY? Who gave them permission to do that?

Our records show that a balance of £17.50 is outstanding and as a result have asked us to contact you to arrange payment within the next 7 days. Is English not your first language? That sentence is a bit iffy grammer-wise.

We would therefore be grateful if you would forward your payment to us in the next seven days. I don't feckin well think so. By the way. Either stick to figures OR letters when using numbers. Don't mix and match in the same document. Only a D minus for that mistake.

All payments should be sent to WESCOT CREDIT SERVICES LTD. The only thing you'll be getting from me is a Feck Off letter. (And either use Limited OR Ltd. Not both in the same document. Go back to school.)

If you are unable to settle this debt in full, within 7 days, you should contact this office immediately with your firm proposals for repayment. UnWILLING. Not unABLE. I will be contacting you, but not with an offer to make any payment.

Failure to make a full payment to Wescot Credit Services will result in more serious action being taken. Hmm, let me see... Breach of the DPA, criminal harassment. I think MY serious action is bigger than YOUR serious action.

Yours sincerely,

Squiggle. Don't these people even have the courage to put their own name on these letters?

[enaid]

don't forget to post your reply on here, unless there are too many fffffff's in it.

[LuggerBugs]

And here is said Feck Off letter. I'm just off out to post it now.

Thank you for your letter dated 28 June 2007, the contents of which are noted.

However, for the avoidance of doubt, this debt is IN DISPUTE. This means that Sky Television Limited have NO RIGHT to make any attempt to collect on this debt until such time as the matter has been resolved.

As such, I regard your communication as being criminal harassment. However, I shall not yet take action in regard to this matter if you would kindly write to me to tell me that you do not intend to pursue this matter at this point. You will no doubt be aware that the activities of the debt collection industry now fall under the remit of the Financial Ombudsman. Therefore, failure to comply with my request will mean that I shall have no other option than to refer the matter to that body.

I refer you to the attached letter which was sent to your client on Friday 29 June 2007. You will note from the contents that I am willing to pay the sum demanded ONLY if they are able to prove that they have a valid claim to that sum. I have requested on two occasions so far that they supply me with a copy of the agreement that I signed showing where I was obliged to give one month’s notice of termination, but they have as yet failed to comply. Until such time as proof is supplied, I will in no way acknowledge that any money is owed to your client.

You will also please note that, as no agreement has been forthcoming, there is a second matter to consider. If there is no agreement, then your client has no proof that I have given any permission for them to share my personal data. Therefore, as I dispute also that your client has my express permission to share my personal information, they are in breach of the Data Protection Act. And by processing that data, Wescot Credit Services are similarly in breach of that act.

For the same reason, if any adverse credit report has been recorded with any of the Credit Reference Agencies, that again constitutes a breach of the Data Protection Act.

It is in everyone’s interest therefore, that you advise your client that, if they wish to resolve this dispute, they should comply with my request to provide me with a copy of my original agreement. Otherwise I shall not hesitate to report both Sky Television Limited, and anyone acting on their behalf, to the various regulatory bodies available to me. If necessary, I shall also seek to resolve this matter through legal action if all else fails.

Please take note that this letter is an official complaint, and I therefore request you provide me with a copy of your company’s Complaints Resolution Procedure.

Please note also, that ALL communication is to be by way of letter. Neither you, nor your client, have my permission to contact me by telephone.

Yours Faithfully,

LuggerBugs

[Paule]

Nicely Put,
Some good statements in there,

P

[enaid]

Loverly