In reply to a post by Oliver341:

Sky debit my bank account a different amount each month via Direct Debit, since the call charges vary each month. Under the Direct Debit guarantee I was under the impression that they should email me a few days before each amount is debited to tell me the amount and when it is going out of my account.

Would my understanding be correct?

I believe so, or inform you by some other means. I always get an email from Plusnet saying how much the direct debit will be.

In reply to a post by kasg:

I believe so, or inform you by some other means. I always get an email from Plusnet saying how much the direct debit will be.

Yeah, I was familiar with the useful Direct Debit emails which Plusnet send out, so it's a shame that Sky don't do something similar, especially as it seems they are obliged to.

In reply to a post by Oliver341:

Would my understanding be correct?

Yes. My ISP, Orange, achieves this by emailing me at least 7 days before DD is taken saying 'Your bill is ready here' even tho' my BB charges are constant. Interesting thing is that they only started doing this when I switched from Credit Card to DD - clear case of the DD Guarantee taking effect.

I hit a brick wall when talking to Sky customers services and my bank about the non-notification of variable Direct Debit amounts, and it seemed like a formal complaint would be needed at which point I gave up. Now, I just set a reminder on my PC each month so I can log in and check the amount.

I too believe they are obliged to. An OFT issue perhaps? Maybe FCA.

Have you checked their T & Cs to make sure here isn't some obscure wording that purports to make notification unnecessary?

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 22-Oct-13 13:03:07)

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I too believe they are obliged to. An OFT issue perhaps? Maybe FCA.

Have you checked their T & Cs to make sure here isn't some obscure wording that purports to make notification unnecessary?

Yes. I don't think there's anything in Sky's T&C that attempts to absolve them of their Direct Debit responsibilities.

I don't feel strongly enough to take it to other authorities (at this point), but it's still a grumble of mine.

I'd think any complaint about Sky's alleged non-compliance goes to Sky, Oliver's bank and the Financial Ombudsman Service in that order. FOS are probably not interested unless Oliver tries to activate the Direct Debit Guarantee and it is refused.

If there's an online message facility with Sky, Oliver could try sending a one-liner pointing out that he doesn't appear to be getting advanced notification of direct debits.

In reply to a post by David_W:

If there's an online message facility with Sky, Oliver could try sending a one-liner pointing out that he doesn't appear to be getting advanced notification of direct debits.

Done, will post the reply.

I sent in a help request to Sky and got a phone call. I was told the only way to get an advance notification of the Direct Debit amount is to switch to paper billing (which costs extra). I was also given a postal address with which I can take the complaint further.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I think the OP is referring to the Member Centre account access.

You are indeed correct sir!

In reply to a post by ultra:

It might be a bit too early in some circumstances, but I would hope by now that few people depend only on the ISP-provided mail account, and may have already submitted a mobile number and alternative e-mail address for communication.

If they have no easy means of getting in touch, they may resort to the slowest and costliest, in the form of a letter (perhaps with the suggestion, as someone else has mentioned, of debt collectors). It's probably a lot less hassle in the long run to get in touch than perhaps have a "bad credit" rating if they submit a "payment not made" report and have that on file for a while.

I have had my own domain which I use for email for many years, so them getting in touch is not a problem, unless of course, they have deleted all my details off their system!