Sky has suspended its controversial door-to-door sales operation with immediate effect, with its UK-wide team of 550 "Sky Walkers" told they face redundancy.
A Guardian investigation in May brought to light numerous claims of mis-selling, with agents themselves blowing the whistle.
A Sky spokeswoman said the proposal to end doorstep selling was not connected to customer complaints about its sales team. Sky summoned its agents to a series of meetings around the country at noon on Tuesday to begin an official consultation on axing their jobs.
They were told to appoint a representative for each regional team and have been suspended from their roles until the process is complete.
The satellite broadcaster decided to bring its sales teams in-house three years ago, following customer complaints about doorstep sales by its contractors. The Sky Walkers were introduced some years ago to help Sky reach its target of 10 million customers by 2010.
The company says its decision to move away from doorstep sales predates the complaints, and that it will now rely on web marketing and telesales to attract new customers.
A spokeswoman said: "We've been reviewing the way we sell our products to better suit customer demands.The way customers like to shop is changing, with online becoming more important.
In addition, as well as new customers joining Sky, a significant part of our growth now comes from selling additional products to existing customers with whom we already have a relationship.
"As customers choose other ways to buy our products, door-to-door sales are becoming less viable and we're proposing to withdraw from this activity. We'll consult with employees before taking a final decision and will work to find alternative roles for those affected should the proposal go ahead."
The Sky Walkers were paid a commission worth up to 50% of salary to persuade households to switch TV and broadband providers or persuade existing ones to extend their contracts and buy more products.
But there have been complaints that agents lied about broadband speeds and download limits, and promised services that were not part of their packages.
A group of concerned Sky Walkers decided to blow the whistle, agreeing to be interviewed on video by the Guardian about sharp practices. Sky disputed the whistleblowers' claims, arguing it had rigorous training and management systems in place.
The agents, some of whom have worked for Sky for several years, said pressure to sell had increased sharply in recent months.
One agent working in the Midlands said: "I have been in sales nearly 20 years and I have never been under this much pressure before.
We get constant phone calls and text messages. Three times a day we have to tell managers the numbers of doors that we have knocked on, the number of people spoken to and the sales we have made. I'm looking for another job with less money and less pressure."
With managers' bonuses reliant on their teams hitting sales targets, the agent from the Midlands said staff who did not make seven sales a week were told to work on Saturdays, even though the official sales target was six new customers.
Agents also claimed that they were encouraged to target the elderly and young unemployed parents on the grounds that they were an "easy sell".
It is understood Sky will in future rely on other forms of selling, including online marketing and telesales, to sign up new customers. The company employs 25,000 people and is growing, having added 1000 staff in the last 12 months.
theguardian.com
A Guardian investigation in May brought to light numerous claims of mis-selling, with agents themselves blowing the whistle.
A Sky spokeswoman said the proposal to end doorstep selling was not connected to customer complaints about its sales team. Sky summoned its agents to a series of meetings around the country at noon on Tuesday to begin an official consultation on axing their jobs.
They were told to appoint a representative for each regional team and have been suspended from their roles until the process is complete.
The satellite broadcaster decided to bring its sales teams in-house three years ago, following customer complaints about doorstep sales by its contractors. The Sky Walkers were introduced some years ago to help Sky reach its target of 10 million customers by 2010.
The company says its decision to move away from doorstep sales predates the complaints, and that it will now rely on web marketing and telesales to attract new customers.
A spokeswoman said: "We've been reviewing the way we sell our products to better suit customer demands.The way customers like to shop is changing, with online becoming more important.
In addition, as well as new customers joining Sky, a significant part of our growth now comes from selling additional products to existing customers with whom we already have a relationship.
"As customers choose other ways to buy our products, door-to-door sales are becoming less viable and we're proposing to withdraw from this activity. We'll consult with employees before taking a final decision and will work to find alternative roles for those affected should the proposal go ahead."
The Sky Walkers were paid a commission worth up to 50% of salary to persuade households to switch TV and broadband providers or persuade existing ones to extend their contracts and buy more products.
But there have been complaints that agents lied about broadband speeds and download limits, and promised services that were not part of their packages.
A group of concerned Sky Walkers decided to blow the whistle, agreeing to be interviewed on video by the Guardian about sharp practices. Sky disputed the whistleblowers' claims, arguing it had rigorous training and management systems in place.
The agents, some of whom have worked for Sky for several years, said pressure to sell had increased sharply in recent months.
One agent working in the Midlands said: "I have been in sales nearly 20 years and I have never been under this much pressure before.
We get constant phone calls and text messages. Three times a day we have to tell managers the numbers of doors that we have knocked on, the number of people spoken to and the sales we have made. I'm looking for another job with less money and less pressure."
With managers' bonuses reliant on their teams hitting sales targets, the agent from the Midlands said staff who did not make seven sales a week were told to work on Saturdays, even though the official sales target was six new customers.
Agents also claimed that they were encouraged to target the elderly and young unemployed parents on the grounds that they were an "easy sell".
It is understood Sky will in future rely on other forms of selling, including online marketing and telesales, to sign up new customers. The company employs 25,000 people and is growing, having added 1000 staff in the last 12 months.
theguardian.com
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