Sky TV charged my mother a fortune and she can’t leave

I’m writing on behalf of my 82-year-old mother who has been a long-term Sky customer for TV, broadband and phone. In March, her TV service stopped working and we tried and failed to get Sky to fix it via its online system.

As we investigated, it emerged that my mother was paying £85 a month, which included money for services she wasn’t using.

It seems the employee who signed her up to Sky put her on the most expensive options and set up a direct debit to her bank. No bills or renewals have been received by email or post.

She has never looked at her account online, and didn’t know how to. In the light of all this my mum decided to cancel, and we switched to BT.

However, trying to get a final bill and confirmation that she has left has been near impossible. After an hour on the phone I was told she would need to pay £39 to end the TV contract. We did that, only to receive an email thanking her for signing up to a further TV contract.

Staff will not agree to our clear requests to cancel and send us a written confirmation. I cannot state strongly enough how angry and frustrated I am with the way my mother has been treated by Sky.
JA, by email

This is an abridged version of a very long letter, and your sense of frustration is clear. Alongside the struggle to end the contract, which we have now resolved, was the question of why your mother was paying for products she didn’t use. Did a fast-talking salesman take advantage? We will never know.

This letter demonstrates why it’s worth periodically looking at what non-tech savvy parents are paying for their utilities – and their insurance – to check that it is not over the odds. Sky tells Guardian Money: “We spoke to the customer and her daughter and have apologised for their journey. We have issued a further email confirming that the account is fully closed and there are no further monies due and we have removed the customer from all future marketing.”

It has repaid your mother £158 and sent her a tea hamper and some chocolates to apologise.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions: http://gu.com/letters-terms