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Sky TV charged a bereaved family exit fees to cancel their father's TV subscription, they have claimed.
On social media website X, user Joanna Montgomery posted an image of a bill received by email for £114.50. This, she said, related to her late father's Sky account.
'Is charging people for dying before their contract ends really your policy?' Montgomery wrote.
In normal circumstances, Sky customers must give 31 days' notice to cancel.
Sky charges withdrawal fees which equal the cost of each remaining month on the plan, calculated using standard package rates minus any discounts.
However, Sky told This is Money that it hadn't been notified of the customer's death in this case, and said its policy was to waive all charges when a customer had died.
Other Sky customers have come forward with their horror stories
Hi @skytv - did you mean to charge my dad £114.50 for dying? Bit harsh after 15 years as a loyal customer. Bit unfortunate, too, that the email you’re using to tell him so is actually my dead mother’s.
— �� Joanna �� (@joannamont) August 7, 2026
Is charging people for dying before their contract ends really your policy? pic.twitter.com/oIlU8iRxat
It said that in such cases, relatives should either transfer the account to another person living at the address or cancel it immediately.
Customers who want to cancel Sky services can do on the phone or via its online web chat. They may be asked to return Sky equipment.
This is Money has heard from other readers who have had problems exiting or pausing television contracts with Sky.
In May this year, a customer wrote to us when, despite moving into a new flat where their Sky TV didn't work, the company wouldn't release them from the contract.
The same month, another customer told how Sky continued to bill them after their fridge exploded and they had to move out of their home for several months and live in hotels.
This was despite other utility firms being able to easily pause their accounts.
In both cases, the firm eventually agreed to cancel the contracts.
The Government is in the process of making new rules which it says would make it easier for customers to cancel unwanted subscriptions.
Under the plans, which have been brought forward by three months under Andy Burnham's administration, subscriptions will be easier to cancel and companies will need to tell customers when contracts automatically renew at a higher price.