That is a common tactic unethical broadband providers do, rolling 12 month contracts without consulting customers or giving them a proper cooling off period.
If you had done nothing it would have transferred over to Sky without a contract.
Static IP addresses is something a lot of O2 customers have been requesting and it's something we're "actively working on providing". I pushed her for a time scale, but all I could get was "very soon hopefully", indicating it wouldn't be long. That sounded promising so thinking I could wait a month or two, I asked her if their dynamic IP addresses changed often, "no, not to my knowledge she assured me"
Firstly Sky ARE working on providing static IP address. It is likely to only be offered to o2 customers at first however. You moved over to Sky, so it's unlikely you will see it quicker. BE and o2 customers who do not move over to Sky themselves, but move across with the move when everybody else gets moved over automatically, these people are likely to be able to get a static IP as well as using their own routers.
The IP doesn't change really unless you reboot the router & even then mine stays 50% of the time. It's definitely NOT static though and you were aware of this at sign up. They said they were 'actively working on it' not that you were getting it.
2) She told me she had used Sky herself for many years, and had very rarely been disconnected, and that hardly any Sky users she heard of complained of being frequented disconnected.
Sky DLM is much stricter than other ISPs, the result is usually a slightly slower connection but very little drop outs. During the first 10 days (but in practice I found it's upto 20) DLM runs and it can cause numerous drop outs as the speed changes. Also firmware upgrades are issued to the router which causes it to reboot randomly during this time. As long as you do not touch the router during the first 2 or 3 weeks you are unlikely to see any further drop outs or issues or slowdowns. I think you've mistaken this for how the service always will be. Usually DLM isn't bad enough to anger customer so perhaps something else was going wrong too, although with the IP changing numerous times a day when DLM worked, this possibly angered you.
The only condition was, I had to transfer my phone service to Sky Talk else I couldn't use their broadband, it won't work on normal BT lines she explained.
That's not a lie it's how all of the major LLU providers work nowadays. TalkTalk Sky and BT all use different systems. TalkTalk and Sky use their own LLU which moves you away from a BT line.
After trying the service for 10-12 days, I soon realised I'd be conned and the service was everything I thought it would be, appalling. Not only did the connection constantly drop (sometimes several times a day), but the IP address also changed. Often the router would just reboot itself randomly.
Connection dropping: that's DLM running for the first couple of weeks
IP address changing - it will do that every few router reboots as you do not have static IP
Router rebooting - new firmware coming to the router, also only occurs the first couple of weeks. There can be 4+ updates to come through and Sky don't seem to upgrade to the newest first, they seem to upgrade one at a time.
After this it's stable.
I'm only a light broadband user but the download speed I experienced from Sky Broadband was also slow with a weird "caching" message whenever I accessed websites that normally loaded instantly on O2. Also lots of "buffering" whenever watching streaming video on Lovefilm or 4oD that previously worked fine on O2.
Were you constantly turning the router on and off during the first few weeks, it cannot be unplugged at all during DLM really, otherwise speeds suffer.
I've always used the service 18185 which for anyone who doesn't know
Since 2010 Sky have blocked calls using prefix numbers and indirect access calls. Other providers also block it so be careful when choosing a voice provider.
They assured me again, that the service would be cancelled and I'd receive a final bill shortly.
You need to be careful here as cancelling a service will put a cease order on the line and until the Sky tag is removed you MAY have issues getting another provider put in, also another provider will be installed as a new line so there will be a new line charge & potential downtime. This is just how LLU providers work, so Post Office, TalktTalk, Sky etc.
I figured this must be because I was using Sky Talk and that a simple switch to a new telecom provider on the BT exchange would solve it. Wrong. I called Primus Saver/Newcall Telecom to switch my phone service, they informed it wasn't that simple. My phone line couldn't be taken over by them as it was no longer on the BT network and was now wired onto Sky's network. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. At no time had Sky explained to me that switching to Sky Talk would permanently lock my phone service to Sky and render it useless for broadband, other than theirs. I asked what could be done. Primus said the only thing they I could do, would be to switch my line back BT's network which would be like having a line-reconnection by BT. That would cost them £58 from BT engineers who would need to visit. The £58 charge they would have to pass to me, since their line rental is so cheap (£6.50/month) they couldn't afford to absorb the cost. So much for Sky's "oh you can leave at any time during or after 30 days trial, walk away and not pay anything". Seems they forgot to include that walking away would mean leaving my telephone line behind.
Your lines no longer with BT, it went over to Sky LLU. This is the same as if you had gone with Post Office, TalkTalk or Sky. Sky haven't rendered the line useless or stuck with them BUT you do have to pay a reconnection to go back to a BT line service. BT will swallow the cost of this, much like Sky swallow the cost of moving you onto their network. Primus however will not swallow the cost as they are cheap and do not have the profits to do so. A better option may be to look at an ISP with free new line installs (as that's essentially what you're getting).
And to add insult to injury, I was told I would not be able to keep my phone number, which was now on the Sky network AND it would take at least 3 WEEKS before the transfer back to BT's network could be done according to Primus's checks on the line.
It's probably a combination of things, firstly you cancelled Sky fully which ceases the line, this is the slowest way of doing things. Secondly you need a BT engineer to reconnect the line to BT. These guys are busy at the moment due to students all getting broadband so that's delaying orders.
I hung up and called BT, and they confirmed that they do charge to reinstate phone lines from Sky back to BT because it requires engineers work. Incidentally, BT also had nothing good to say about Sky or their business practices and seemed to be inundated with complaints over phone line switch problems. When I explained to BT that I needed my phone line back on the BT network in DAYS, not weeks, so I could switch broadband provider, they suggested I have a new line installed which could be done in 3-4 days, thus by-passing the whole Sky mess. There would however, be a £40 charge.
Whatever Sky do, you are basically getting a new line install on Primus or BT. Switching from LLU on TalkTalk, Sky or any other LLU ISP back to BT is the same costs as getting a new line.
However, more dubious business practices and lies from Sky would scupper this. On placing my order with BT for a reactivation, they informed me that Sky would had not scheduled the termination of the line until 17th September. Two weeks after their original "within 3 days" and well beyond their 30 day trial period. BT said their hands were tied until Sky terminated service. They suggested I call Sky and vent my anger on them!
When you cancel a service Sky has to order a cease order via BT, this takes time. Most ISPs will pass on this cease charge to the consumer but Sky are doing it for free. They can 'cancel' the order on the system in 3 days but the cease order may take much longer to go through. They should have explained all of this really. Also theres 30 days notice so anything before that is a bonus.
I told them, that was utter [censored] since I was not in a legal contract with them, and thus, had no such "30 days" notice" legal obligation. In fact the opposite was true. They had offered ME a 30 day no obligation trial, assuring me I could cancel at ANY time. I screamed blue murder at them down the phone, demanded they cease service to my line in 3 days or face OfCom and legal action/costs for a new landline installation.
You are not in a contract with them, in terms of you can leave whenever. Nonetheless you do have to abide to their terms & conditions. These are such that you cannot for instance access illegal material on their network but also their T&C state a 30 days cancellation. Here you would come unstuck. Also Ofcom will not do anything regarding new line charges as all LLU providers move you away from BT. It's the done thing. It does suck in situations like this one.
I think ultimately Sky and all LLU providers should be making it clearer that the lines are going away from BT and that the lines will undergo a charge to be reconnected to BT in future. This isn't made clear and there's no legal obligation for it to be made clear. So many people get stuck in this kind of trap as most major ISPs move you away from BT line rental.
Luckily most major players will pay for the connections between ISP. Say you move from Sky back to BT. BT usually pay the reconnection. Say you move Sky to TalkTalk, TT usually pay the reconnection. It's only when you start using smaller providers like Primus etc that the charge becomes apparent. I think this is why Ofcom are not overly interested as most people end up moving for free.
The static IP is frustrating but Sky do not offer this.
The 3 days to leave really was a misrepresentation, it is 30 days notice and you are liable for the costs until you leave. You definitely have some grounds here.
The disconnections and slow internet was probably DLM. DLM starts you off on either 1Mbps or 4Mbps day one and very very slowly increases your speed over around 2 weeks. If you manually unplug the router a few times the speeds wont go up. Again Sky really need to make it much clearer that the router shouldn't be turned off.
The 18185 number is blocked by Sky. With this you really need to make sure the voice provider you choose does not block it. As far as I'm aware BT doesn't.
It does seem like ultimately Sky have misrepresented the truth to make you a customer. Not been truthful with you and tried to sugarcoat some of the negativities with lies. I think you will be better elsewhere especially as Sky will leave a sour taste in your mouth now. I got to a point with Virgin like yourself and I'm dubious to switch back.
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But I didn't really mean the practical aspect rather it's administration, e.g. potential hazards of a broadband cease, phone number change, delays, etc.