Ofcom investigates Sky over complaints of ignored cancellation requests
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Version 0 of 1. The broadcasting watchdog Ofcom is investigating Sky over concerns that customers’ attempts to cancel their contracts are being ignored. Ofcom launched the investigation, which will look at Sky’s TV, phone and broadband services, after monitoring the way that providers across the board give customers opportunities to cancel their contracts. Officials are looking into the broadcaster after receiving complaints that it was making it difficult for customers to cancel their subscriptions, a spokeswoman for Ofcom said. Providers must not make it difficult for customers to leave a contract when they have a right to, according to rules overseen by Ofcom. Reports in the media spanning several years detail complaints by Sky customers that it was ignoring written requests to cancel contracts, even after the contract’s minimum terms had ended. Telegraph Money reports Sky routinely refused to accept cancellations unless customers verified their requests over the phone. That’s despite contracts stating that customers can also cancel by letter, fax and email. But even when customers did call they faced barriers, it is claimed, with some forced to sit through calls lasting as long as two hours then still having their cancellation ignored. It is not known how long Ofcom’s investigation will take, a spokeswoman for the watchdog said. Investigations can often last between six and nine months. The regulator will be speaking to consumers and continuing to monitor complaints during its investigation. “Most people will just complain to Sky, but if they are facing a brick wall we are encouraging people to complain to Ofcom as well,” the spokeswoman said. Ofcom cannot deal with individual complaints, but she added: “What that does do is let us analyse the issues that are being complained about most.” The investigation comes after Ofcom last month rejected a call from BT to launch a full-scale investigation into the pay-TV market. BT has been engaged in a war of words with Sky as the two companies compete to offer bundles of services that include TV channels and broadband, and in some cases mobile services. Responding to the investigation and media reports, Sky insisted that the majority of its cancellation calls take less than 20 minutes and pointed to customer feedback scores that average 8.7 out of 10. A Sky spokesperson said: “We’re committed to delivering the best service in the country and we believe this is one of the reasons why more customers than ever are choosing Sky. We will work closely with Ofcom to help them with their investigation.” |