Satellite TV Catch-22: Sky won't let me cancel because the subscription is in my ex's name - but they won't switch it to me! Meanwhile, I'm paying the bills...

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My ex-partner put the Sky television account in his name and moved out in 2013 due to a break-up of our relationship.

I contacted Sky at the time to ask them to change the account into my name because the payment comes from my bank account. It promised me that the account was now in my name.

However, I have since contacted Sky again to cancel TV packages because I have lost faith in their service with price increases and constant showing of repeats. I no longer believe it is good value for money.

Difficult: I pay for Sky but the account is in the name of my ex-partner - so it won't let me cancel

I phoned once and they hung up on me. I phoned again and they said because the account was in his name I was not able to make any changes.

I explained the situation and the previous telephone call about changing the account over and they said that is not possible. I have been paying the bill for three years – what do I do in this situation? K.S, via e-mail.

Lee Boyce, consumer affairs editor, replied: What a lame excuse from Sky. It wouldn't take its team long to see that payments are coming from your account and surely cancel the package.

But, Sky – like many other telecoms firms and utilities suppliers – often make it as hard as possible not to.

I asked Sky why you couldn't cancel the account. 

I asked what people in this situation can do if they have fallen out of contact with an ex or have turbulent dealings with them – are they expected to just keep Sky for ever at their property?

It took ten days to investigate and get back to me.

It told me that it received a call from you in September 2013, stating that your partner had moved out of the property and you wanted to cancel the Sky subscription.

However, Sky says it doesn't keep call recordings for more than a year so it doesn't have a full record of the conversation, only notes.

It says only the account holder can cancel the subscription and it points to 12.b in terms and conditions: 'This contract is personal to you. You may not transfer your rights or obligations under this contract to anyone else.'

As part of its T&Cs, it won't allow customers to transfer their contract to someone else or change the name of the account, unless the account holder becomes terminally ill or dies.

Difficult: I pay for Sky but the account is in the name of my ex-partner - pictured, Alison and Noah from TV show The Affair

This means that you couldn't cancel, despite being the one who makes the payments.

It says that on 12 February 2017 you called to cancel – but due to a problem at its end, the call was terminated.

They have record of you calling again, asking to cancel, but were told the account holder was needed to cancel the subscription – despite you breaking up nearly four years ago.

Eventually, you had to contact your ex – despite breaking up years ago and any potential awkwardness – and he had to call to give permission for the television package to be cancelled.

It adds that your telephone and broadband subscriptions remain active – and again, if you want to cancel these, your ex will have to give authorisation to do so.

Additionally, it adds that has this in place to guard against 'malicious cancellations'. 

Unhelpfully, it adds that customers in a similar situation should contact them to 'try and resolve the matter' – not that that has helped in your case.

Sky's attitude in this case I find pretty worrying. What if your ex was abusive for example? Would a Sky staff member take that into consideration?

It all feels as messy as an episode of television show The Affair, which features on Sky Atlantic - and I think a law change may be needed in these circumstances. 

If you have a problem cancelling your Sky account or any other household bill because of a similar situation, get in touch: lee.boyce@thisismoney.co.uk