A somewhat string loyal Sky TV customer has been with the service more than 20 decades. Last month, she realized that she’s been heavily overcharged on her subscription payments. After signing a new contract, she found out that she had been overpaying for their service since her last contract ended back in 2005. That neglect added up to thousands of pounds in unnecessary charges.
The customer’s contract with Sky TV ended in 2005, having left her out of contract ever since. Even with this, she kept paying for her subscription without knowing that she could be paying less. In 2022, her monthly fee was £82. After exploring her options, she signed a new contract that lowered her monthly payment to just £67. This switch represented a £20 per month saving her from her latest out-of-contract tariff price.
The growing crisis must be seen as part of a larger disaster in the telecommunications industry. Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, put new rules into place at the start of 2020 to better protect consumers. These regulations uncovered that, at the time of implementation, well over 20 million customers had completed their initial contract terms. Consequently, they were doomed to overpay for providers’ services. When the customer’s experience signals a major issue, unfortunately, most folks have been overpaying for higher rates for years without even realizing it.
At the end of her tether, our customer contacted the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (Cisas). This nonprofit offers a free, confidential alternative dispute resolution service. Sky TV works together with Cisas to help resolve customer complaints and deliver answers. The customer is still working with this independent governing body to pursue her case against the overcharges. She wants to be repaid for the additional amounts she’s wrongfully paid.
Sky TV’s lack of transparency in failing to notify established customers of easier savings has called Sky TV’s transparency into serious question. Too many customers like this one are unaware of their rights. They might be ignorant about the drastic shift in pricing structures after their contracts end, creating a heavy economic burden down the line.