I'd like to tell you about a £20 debt I've repaid in full 3 times and might have to pay again!

It all started when after 18 months of subscribing to Sky TV I cancelled my £16 pound a month subscription. I wrote to inform Sky of my intention to cancel my direct debit to them but when the direct debit had been cancelled a few weeks later I received a monthly TV magazine from them. Another week later I received a letter and payment slip from them informing me that due to an error they had stop receiving payment by direct debit and I'd have to pay at the Post Office or send £ 20 payment by return post.

Thinking there had been a mistake and Sky hadn't received my letter of cancellation I paid the £20 demanded and sent another letter telling them to cancel my subscription. A month later, surprise,surprise , I received another Sky TV monthly magazine and then another demand for £20!

I have to admit that by now I'd become tired of this silly game and ignored the demand for payment of none service, (I had the dish and box removed from my house some time ago). After a final reminder I paid the £20 and sent another letter informing Sky about what had happened. A few days later Sky wrote to me explaining that unfortunately there wasn't anything in their records to show I'd cancelled my subscription but now that had been rectified. 2 weeks later and I received another demand for £20!

Naively I thought this must be an error on their part and chose to ignore this demand for £20. Some 4 or 5 weeks later I had a letter from a debt collecting agency, appointed by Sky to recover the outstanding amount now due. I paid the amount required because I just wanted an end to the whole saga and knowing Sky was no longer involved I felt confident there was light at the end of the tunnel.

I sent the cheque to the debt agency on the 29/6/02 and thought that would be the end of the problem. Unfortunately I got another letter from this company demanding I pay the £20 debt in full by the 18/07/02 or court action might be taken against me.

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I phoned this company and explained to them about the problems I'd had with Sky TV and that I'd sent the cheque to them on the 29/6/02. They said there was no evidence on their computer to show that they'd received the cheque and as far as they was concerned I still owed them £20.

I contact my bank and they confirm that the cheque on been cashed on the 8/7/02. Having this information I phone the company again but without success because they wanted evidence that I sent the cheque. I was told that a mini bank statement showing the cheque had been cashed would be sufficient but I doubt it will help.

Has anybody else had a similar problem with Sky? Is there anyway to trace my "lost" cheque to see who has cashed it? I'm no longer bothered about the money paid to Sky TV because It would be difficult to prove but if I can trace the lost cheque and prove I paid the debt then maybe I'll be free from this consent harassment.

Thanks for your time.

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