Who Are Ya? Open letter to Sky Customer Satisfaction Team

[Brad Jones]

Dear Kirsty T

I don't believe you are who you say you are. Not very nice is it?

It would be good business practice to research your facts before rattling off insulting e-mails to customers.

I am the account holder for the account I am trying to close.

It was explained in my email that I have just moved to this address, a child would not find it taxing to work out that I would be cancelling subscription at my previous address and not the one my parents have held here for the last 6 or 7 years..

I sent the form from within your website, signed in on the account that I wish to close, the account I hold at my previous address. Forgive me for believing your organisation would have the technical know-how to tag your in-site mail with the account number of the sender, I mean, you're not in the business of information technology or communications, are you?

This is pretty clearly a stalling ploy whereby you attempt to squeeze the last bit of money out of your customers as they say goodbye. I know exactly what script will face me when I call tomorrow, you will tell me I have to give 30 days notice and attempt to upsell me one last time. It would be prudent to consider how a restaurant customer would feel about revisiting a hostelry that employed such odious and short sighted practices.

I will be calling you tomorrow, all my previous trust in the service you offer to your customers will be bagged for your collection along with the box

I note the omission of the word "kind" from your closing salutation, please observe the absence of the word "regards" from mine

Brad Jones


From: Cancellation Request
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2008 6:33 PM
To: removedincaseactiveemailaddress@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: generalForm


Dear Mr Jones,



Thank you for your email regarding the cancellation of Sky.



Unfortunately due to data protection, we are unable to cancel this account as you are not the account holder.



The account holder must contact our Customer Service Team on 08442 41 41 41 to cancel this agreement.





Regards



Kirsty T

Email Response Team




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: removedincaseactiveemailaddress@hotmail.com [mailto:removedincaseactiveemailaddress@hotmail.com]
Sent: 27 August 2008 19:46
To: MYSKY
Subject: generalForm





General Enquiry.
First Name
Brad

Surname
Jones

Email Address
removedincaseactiveemailaddress@hotmail.com

Telephone Number
01397xxxxxx

Address
2 xxxxxx


xxxxxxx





highlands


phxx xxx

Viewing Card Number xxxxxxx


Message Text
Hello, I've moved from my previous address and I would like to cancel my Sky subscription there. Thank You Brad Jones

[Smithy99]

What's the problem, why are you making such a fuss?

Give them a ring and talk it through with them and stop being an @ss

If it's their mistake, we all make them I'm sure they will sort it. If it's yours then you really will look a fool

[NewsreadeR]

You can never assume that anybody knows everything about IT and headers / IP's etc and so the agent is probably just replying to an email that landed in her inbox.

I would be more annoyed, about the fact it took 8/9 days for a reply.

From what you say, the Sky Agent has made a simple mistake, in telling you that you are not the account holder when in fact you are.

The quickest way of sorting it would be over the phone, only takes a few minutes, and Sky may offer to try and keep you etc, But remember a lot of people would also moan that they didn't try to keep them, especially being a customer for x amount of years.

When I cancelled my Sky packages etc it took about 5 minutes.

Good luck.

[reddwarfcrew]

Mistakes happen in life, but there is no need to react with a response like that especially without giving them a chance to rectify the mistake.

Is that the response you get in life when you make a mistake? How would you react?

[Saturday]

@Brad Jones

Perhaps you didn't notice the UN part of unofficial in the forum title - we're not Sky.

Sorry you're having this trouble and nice though it would be to think that your message would get to Kirsty, chances are it won't.

As suggested previously, address your complaint to Sky directly if you hope for a response.

Kind regards,

Saturday

[Brad Jones]

My apologies

I should have added a note to explain the circumstances more fully. For the past year I have been paying for the service at a property I have not been able to receive Sky at because I had agreed to an 18 month contract.

I do find the 8/9 day delay a pain. It brings the total to 379 days of delay.

Mistakes do happen but they are compounded through assumption. The assumption that I am pretending to be someone I am not is not a mistake, its rude.

I may appear to you to be an ass, but I do not have a responsibility to you not to appear that way any more than you have a responsibilty to me not to air your view. If however one or other had entered into a customer/supplier agreement and exchanged funds on condition of being serviced in a professional manner then we would need to have words .

Sky's core business is Information and Communications Technology. Tagging customer queries from secure inhouse online accounts is not rocket science. Would I be wrong to expect BP to know how to produce oil?

I think a response from Sky, asking me to verify my account details and assuring me that the action would take place from the date it was requested would have been not too much to expect.

[reddwarfcrew]

I totally agree with your final paragraph, the rest if i find difficult to get to grips with.

In an age of DPA rules everyone is running scared and the mere hint that the person who has sent the email is not the owner (whether from a logged in account or otherwise) is enough for companies these days to refuse point blank to continue the conversation. Whether you feel that is or isn't appropriate is irrelevant as its the world we now live in and the legislation that the government has laid down.

From a DPA perspective, the rules are quite clear.... the fact that you have logged into your account is not sufficient to prove that you are actually the customer without far more info (as you have given a different address in your email to the address held on record...... or at least that's how i read your original post). Now in all reality the cancellation form should be amended to capture the relevant info to ensure that Sky could ascertain your identity and sky should amend this. However, the system is the current system and development costs money which the customer has to fund.

As for yourself..... I feel you could have been far more realistic in your expectations and a more reasonable approach would have been for you to have supplied your old and new address in the email. If you had been more helpful with teh information you supplied sky then the case may not have had such a closed reponse. The customer has just as an important part to play in being professional as the service provider and if the customer doesn't provide sufficient details (ie full details regardindg the change of address), then it's simply not going to help sky (or any company) resolve a query.

The extra info about paying for a service where you cant receive sky also seems irrelevant. You entered a contract who's fault is that?

I think really what I am saying is that I agree with what you are trying to say, but the approach and verosity of your response is just way over the top.

[Brad Jones]

Hi Saturday

This is a copy of the mail sent directly to Kirsty. I posted it here to see if others might wish to discuss, from the response so far it would appear that this is a Pro Sky forum, however UN official it may be

Sorry to anyone who believes my rant to be sacrilegious, having different outlooks and beliefs is what seperates us from fish. Oh and their ability to breathe underwater.

[Brad Jones]

Reddwarfcrew

If I had asked to increase my package, using the same contact method as above, to the maximum and requested HD services and 3 extra skyplus boxes I do not think that there would have been such a problem in believing I was the account holder.

I had signed into my account and given a password to assure my identity.

[reddwarfcrew]

I agree, but simply because you would never have provided a differing address to that held on record when going thru the upgrade process.

For the email form you are asked to complete your address (and if i understand your post correctly) you gave a different address to that held on record, this was the cause of teh problem.

The upgrade process in not an email form and instead an upgrade form 'wizard'.

As I say, the cancellation process should also be a wizard too but it isn't.

I do agree with the sentiments of what you were trying to say, but i feel there are more important things in life to worry about.

Not having a go back at you mate, I just think the 'mistake' deserved such a response.