Sky reviews cancellation policy as it faces regulator Others said they were made to wait on hold to expensive telephone numbers, only for problems to continue for months afterwards. Such was the weight and vitriolic nature of the criticism that this newspaper compiled a dossier of anonymous complaints and passed them to the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, for investigation. We also alerted senior managers at Sky and asked for several urgent cases to be put right. Ofcom thanked us for our interventions. The regulator is now in conversation with Sky executives to establish the cause of the problems. An Ofcom spokesman said: "We expect providers to ensure that cancelling or switching a communications service is a straightforward and hassle-free process for consumers. We are, therefore, very concerned to hear about the problems and inconvenience reported by some Sky customers in relation to the cancellation of their subscription. We will be looking into this and following up with Sky as a priority. The regulator did not rule out a full-blown investigation, if deemed necessary. Sky acted quickly to reassure customers that it was tackling the problem. A spokesman said the issue was being taken "very seriously" and had been escalated to a "senior level" of the company. It has promised a review of its cancellation policy. The spokesman said: "We place a big priority on offering good service so we are very sorry that some customers have felt frustration. Most people who decide to cancel do so by phone and, for data security reasons, we would always strongly advise customers not to include personal security information in any written communication. It's important to listen to the feedback we get from customers, including recent feedback we have had from Telegraph readers, so we are reviewing our approach in this area. We want to ensure that our processes are transparent and straightforward, while at the same time maintaining the security of customers" personal data." Many of the problems reported by readers occurred within the past few years, but have since been resolved. Others customers said they had given up on recovering losses from failed cancellations. Sky said it had worked hard to improve its service levels and that its complaint levels were falling. To its credit, its complaints team acted very swiftly to resolve the outstanding cases referred to it by this newspaper. One of those cases involved Emma Freeman, 39, of St Neots in Cambridgeshire. Ms Freeman (pictured above), signed up for Sky in 2003 and tried to cancel her TV package in November but keep the telephone and broadband services. Despite emailing Sky and speaking to the customer services department a number of times, her instructions were ignored. I went to the website and lodged a formal complaint. I also wrote to head office. Both missives were utterly ignored," Ms Freeman, a legal secretary, said. When she received a letter notifying her of a 25pc increase to line rental of which she had not previously heard, Ms Freeman contacted The Telegraph. Within 48 hours of our involvement, Sky had resolved her case, accepting that it had received her original notice to cancel. It backdated her cancellation, issued a refund and offered discounted line rental as a goodwill gesture. Ms Freeman said: "I can't get over how exhausting the whole process was. If you can't cancel in writing because Sky must speak to you in person, then why offer it as an option? Sky also resolved five other complaints, notably calling off debt collectors from Andrew McIntyre of west London, who had cancelled four years ago. It also resolved matters for Fiona Morrison, who had tried to cancel her elderly mother's account, only for the 81-year-old to receive a threatening letter from debt collectors. William Robinson, of County Durham, had an outstanding balance of £49 wiped out, while another customer who moved to America had charges refunded after a cancellation failed.