Sky is being investigated by Ofcom in the UK over concerns that it does not let customers cancel at the end of their contracts.
Although the company’s contracts state that customers may cancel using letter, email, fax or phone, a number of contract holders found that their subscriptions remained in force.
In May last year Sky announced new procedures to allow subscribers to cancel their contracts by phone. But the guidelines on Sky’s website were less than clear.
The website stated: "If you'd like to cancel your Sky subscription, you'll need to ... call us OR start a Live Chat online."
But further down the page it said: "Please note, we won't be able to cancel your services unless we verify your request over the phone."
Some callers found they were ensnared in calls which could go on for an hour or more, but at the end their contracts were still not cancelled.
When customers resorted to cancelling their direct debits, they received threatening letters from debt collectors.
The communications regulator said: "Ofcom's investigation will examine whether there are reasonable grounds for believing that Sky has failed to comply with [its] obligations."
Ofcom had earlier announced an inquiry across the whole industry for “aggressive tactics” used by TV and broadband companies to prevent customers from leaving.
This investigation will run alongside the new investigation into Sky.
