TV: How to Lose that Massive Sky Bill

The dreaded Sky TV and its massive bill a the end of the month. It promises everything but you end up still only watching the four main channels and an occasional guilty episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians on E!. It’s only when Game of Thrones is on that you feel you’re getting your money’s worth. Sky is actually dated now and on-demand services like Netflix and HayU mean we’re catching up on shows by other means rather than recording on Sky.

Now that we can record on Freeview and watch all our favourite box sets on Now TV without a contract, more of us than ever are turning to cheaper alternatives than Sky, which can cost more than £100 a month with entertainment packages, movies and broadband. Following the news that Sky raised many of its charges in March we’ve created a guide on how to wiggle out of the dreaded Sky contract with ease.

Sky typically offers TV contracts for 12 or 18 months unless another term is specified in the contract. If you want to terminate your contract before the minimum term then you’ll need to pay the remaining amount in one payment. And additional charges could apply on top of that final payment so be sure to check the contract to avoid any infuriating surprises.

You need to give 31 days’ notice to terminate and you can do it on the phone at 03300 413 018 or by emailing mysky@sky.uk. You can also write to Sky Subscribers Services Ltd, PO Box 43, Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 7DD, or speak to a live Sky assistant on the online chat service on the Sky website. Cutting off Sky after your 12 or 18-month contract is free.

If you like the luxury of having hundreds of channels, there are a few ways to get the cost down before it’s automatically renewed. Wrangling a new deal is all about timing; contacting Sky towards the end of your contract is the best way to get a few tenners off your monthly bill.

The best way is to call or chat online to a customer service worker about the end of your contract. The best piece of advice in dealing with the demonic Sky reps is to haggle, haggle, haggle! The persistent sods will try the hard-sell and will do virtually anything to try to get you to stay with Sky, so use that to your advantage, fellow Sky sufferer!

Give them a monthly price that you’re unwilling to go above, research the price of competitors such as Virgin or simply tell them you’re happy to just use Freeview. They will offer a better deal than you had before to try to get you to stay. If they don’t offer enough just tell them that you’re sick of the hefty bill and you refuse to pay it any more. There are alternatives, so if haggling doesn’t get a good enough deal you should switch to a competitor or just use Netflix and Freeview. It is amazing how quickly the Sky rep will realise that you are not bluffing.

by Ella Neish

 

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