Your Money

Two Sky customers ask: where's our free telly?

Readers were unaware of ‘claim’ emails that needed to be activated to get televisions

The Sky customers had 90 days to activate the “claim” emails. Photograph: David Jones/PA Wire

Conor Pope's face
Conor Pope
Mon May 14 2018 - 05:00

We got two almost identical queries from readers in connection with an offer from Sky that was not honoured.

First up was Tom. He bought a Sky package last November that included a new television. “The contract started on December14th. However, the television never arrived. I emailed about it in January and again in March but got no reply. Then I got an email on April 16th to say that Sky could not collect a monthly payment as there was an issue with my Visa card.”

He replied to the mail and said he was out of the country and would sort out the card issue when he got home. “I once again asked about the television. I then got another email about the card payment, so I phoned them and sorted out the payment and asked about the television, only to be told that I was sent an email last December stating that I had to click on the email to activate the sending of the television. I don’t remember seeing this email but do accept that it’s probably there,” he says.

“But then the sting in the tail, when he said that since it was over 90 days since that email in December, the television offer had expired and could not be reactivated and that he was very sorry for my situation. I was furious and told him so politely, but he apologised and said that there was nothing he could do. Just wondering if I have any comeback in your opinion.”

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Then there was Peter. “I signed up to Sky Q in November 2017. As part of new subscription a flatscreen TV was offered. When it did not arrive, I contacted Sky last week. They advised that they had sent me an email, to which I failed to respond. It went into my spam box, I found it yesterday! Now, as I am outside the 90-day period I am no longer eligible to receive the offer. Have my consumer rights been respected here?”

Whatever about rights and terms and conditions, what strikes us is that the two stories are identical and it made us wonder how many other people missed this Sky offer because the mail containing the link they had to click to activate the offer went into their spam folder.

We contacted the company and a spokeswoman said that in both cases the customer signed up and upon activation was subsequently sent the “claims” email. “It clearly states in these ‘claims’ emails, online and in any promo T&Cs, that the reward must be claimed within 90 days.”

She said Sky had no record of the mails Tom says he sent in January and March asking about the television. “We’re not sure what email address he sent it to, but it did not reach us. Had it reached us, he would have received a response within 48 hours and notes would have been placed on his account to support this,” she said.

She said that in Peter’s case, he “acknowledges that he received the email and, as mentioned previously, the onus was on him to claim the reward. The configuration of the spam mailbox is managed by the mail client and is not something that we can control. In all of the agent briefings we give to agents, we specifically call this out as a conversation point to mention to the customer when signing up.”

She also said that “while Sky is not at fault, we will be contacting these two customers in an effort to resolve the matter.”

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