Say no evil policy, chances of Sky following US telcos

[SimpleRules]

I was wondering what the chances are, with regard to UK laws aswell, of Sky enacting a "say no evil" policy, whereby criticizing Sky online can get your connection disabled.

Two major US telcos are doing the same, AT&T & Verizon I think.

Obviously the laws are different here, would that even be acceptable and would Sky want to do it anyway?

[James67]

Like anyone selling a product or service, Sky are perfectly entitled to refuse service to anyone, provided it's not on grounds which contravene anti-discrimination laws.

Once they've agreed to provide a service, however, then they are as much bound by the terms and conditions of the contract as the customer is. The T&C's stipulate the grounds on which Sky can choose to terminate the contract, and they include things such as being abusive towards a Sky representative or agent. But as far as I can see, being simply critical of Sky is not grounds for terminating the contract.

After the minimum 12 month period is over, however, either party can terminate the contract simply by giving one month's notice, so theoretically, Sky could disconnect you for something as arbitrary as saying something derogatory about their service.

I can't really see Sky doing anything like that, though. I know looking at this forum, it must seem like almost everyone has some kind of a problem with Sky, and more often than not, Sky appear to be indifferent to fixing those problems. The reality is, however, that a forum like this is inevitably going to bring to the fore the very worst cases of where things have gone wrong. And when you finally get to speak to someone who is actually in a position to fix a problem, they do seem genuinely committed to turning a disgruntled customer into a happy customer. I suspect that Sky's reaction to someone criticising them publicly would be to address the problem rather than just disconnect the customer.

[Isitme]

Two major US telcos are doing the same, AT&T & Verizon I think.

I think you must remember that this comes from a country, which sees suing for massive amounts of money as a way of life. It could be that these companies see open criticism as an invitation to others to form a class action lawsuit against them. I doubt very much if Sky would take any action, unless the criticism was judged to be libellous.

[NewsreadeR]

I suspect that Sky's reaction to someone criticising them publicly would be to address the problem rather than just disconnect the customer.

I think I have to agree. However, it would do more good for Sky if they were to interject in discussions and make people aware that they are listening to the problems. We have seen recent signs of Sky getting involved, both on here and behind the scenes. This is a welcome move, but Sky could still do an awful lot more, to work together with their customers, or at least give a timeline / roadmap of developments / improvements coming.

[RickyC]

I think I have to agree. However, it would do more good for Sky if they were to interject in discussions and make people aware that they are listening to the problems. We have seen recent signs of Sky getting involved, both on here and behind the scenes. This is a welcome move, but Sky could still do an awful lot more, to work together with their customers, or at least give a timeline / roadmap of developments / improvements coming.

Fully agree!