I need some advice

[Bubba]

I noticed the other day that £168 somehow had been taken out of my bank (its still pending) so i rang my bank, said that i hadnt done it and they told me that it was Sky.

I only had a subscription to sky for a month before it was putin someone elses name as i moved out. ironicly they charged me for the month after too so my mate owes me £42. This was 5 months ago. i did cancel the standing order with my bank as well. And it now looks like they have tried to take out the equivalant of 4 months.

If this is the case he said he put it in his name which he didnt, and they have now tried to charge me for what im assuming he hasnt paid since he quit his job also around 3-4 months ago!

any ideas on what i should do...If it is sky im going to ring them up and ask them what the hell is going on...and if this is what has happend i have a good mind to go down and have a few "words" with him!

[Jack]

Any confirmation from Sky it was put in someone else's name?

[blue_peg_16v]

to be fair mate if the contract is in your name its your responsibility to make sure the account is changed, and if it comes that your mate hasnt changed it you realy wont have a leg to stand on as they havent been informed that you have moved and when you first sign up its a 12 month contract. dont want to be harsh and hope you sort it mate, also if his name wasnt on the account and you havent given permision for him to speake due to dpa sky can not speak to your mate so he cant change it

[Bubba]

they did ring me and ask if it was correct to change it over

[Jack]

I suspect they changed the name on the contract, but didn't change the account details - so although it was in your "mate"'s name, he never bothered to set up the direct debit or whatever, so it kept trying to take it from your account.

I would advise telling the bank you had not authorised the payment, and see what they can do. Is it a debit card account, or credit card?

[Bubba]

tiz a direct debit yea. had a phone call today from a debt agency...lets just say im ****ing fuming with him. i cancelled the direct debit at the banks end when i moved out.

[RickW]

just speak to your mate and get him to pay. if the name has changed then it will now be his responsibility legally

[Austin.J]

If you're not bothered about being his mate any more, get down to branch and ask about filling in a non-fraudulent claim form, its not fraud as you gave them your details in the past, but if all goes correctly, your mate will be prosecuted for id fraud.

Best off ringing sky first though, try do it without involving the bank as it takes, well ages.

[blue_peg_16v]

if you cancelled the dd speak to your bank it can not be re set up without your authority and the dd guarentee means the bank has to refund you


also if the name has been changed then why is a debt agency contacting you the contract would now be your mates so its him they should be contacting irespective of the payment details

did you actualy call sky and change it?

because if not legaly your mate can not change it due to dpa

[Stuart]

if you cancelled the dd speak to your bank it can not be re set up without your authority and the dd guarentee means the bank has to refund you



Yeah that!!

The problem is between you/your mate and sky, the bank had no right to let the money out.


as for not being allowed to change names... I changed an electricity bill to put it in my mates name and take me off... although that was a "joint" account and I made him responsible for it

[Jack]

If Sky tried to take the money as a direct debit, surely it would fail if it had been cancelled at the bank side? I've been in the same situation before, the company attempted to take the money and the bank took it back and repaid me. I would assume they've handed the debt over to a debt recovery agency who have targetted the owner of the payment account, rather than the person who's name is on the contract.

The problem I see here is that Sky have changed the contract name, but the payment details have remained the same. So despite whoever has the contract, the payment details are still yours, in which case its down to you to pay - the fact you cancelled the DD at the bank side means that just stopped the recurring payment from your side, Sky will still have tried to take the money (or, just waited a few months of non-payment then sent you a bill). Unfortunately, as the contact details on the contract are in someone else's name, the bills would have gone to HIM not YOU, so he's probably had a few letters of non-payment warnings and simply ignored them.

The only thing I can suggest is talk to your mate and/or Sky nicely first and see if you can resolve it (explain you assumed they would have changed the payment details to the new contact); if that fails then see if you can get legal advice.

[Bubba]

i think im guna ring sky tomorrow...try and find out whats going on. money had gone now and looks like this on my statement

When I took it out:

23 Jun 2009Sky Subscription 08702 ******.£25.00 -£77.27
23 Jun 2009Sky Subscription 08702 ******.£49.00 -£126.27

1st payment

22 Jul 2009Direct debit SKY DIGITAL. £45.25 -£149.77

yesterday

06 Jan 2010Sky Subscription 08702 ******.£62.09 £106.14
06 Jan 2010Sky Subscription 08702 ******.£101.15 £4.99

he had all the information to change the details, and i did ask them when i signed up if need be can the details be changed and they said yes.

[blue_peg_16v]

its not weather he had the info i could have all your details call up and ask to discus the account but if you havent given permision to sky for me to discus the account they wouldnt talk to me due to dpa its the law, if you died legaly your next of kin has to provide proof they are the executer or they wont discus it, let alone change details, so if your mate has called they might not of been able to change it he should of let you know though so you could sort it bit off if thats whats happened.

but if you canceled the dd call your bank again they cant just reinstate a dd without your permision and the bank its self will have to refund you imediatly and claim the money back from sky, if you have any dd agrement have a quick read they are all the same and it explains the banks obligation to you, dosnt have to be the sky one all dd guarentees are the same there regulated by the fsa

dosent solve the debt problem but will get you your money back till you sort it

also if you get no joy with sky or the bank speak to the relevant ombusman or the fsa

[Jon_nova1]

wow, i had this problem years ago with tiscalli, i went for a nice free 30 day trial, but when i tried to ring them to cancel i got no answer (the internet was crap anyway lol )

basically the DD you signed is giving them permission to set it up, so you've been to the bank to cancel it, which is fine, now Sky cannot legally take money out of your account without your permission via another dd guarantee which you'd have to sign, so see if they have set up another direct debit, and say you have not given permission for the funds to be taken out.

Unfortunately because you have a year contract, they can use other methods to get the money I.E debt collectors