We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
My Experience in signing up to TalkTalk
DorsetDave2
Posts: 67 Forumite
I signed up to TalkTalk on 8th August and went on line on 20th September so I thought it might help if I set out my experiences.
The package was advertised in the Sun and was for Broadband, Free evening and weekend telephone calls and phone line rental - all for £16.39 per month inclusive. Also I got a Free Freeview box and 2 months free Setanta Sports.
This deal only applied as my Local Exchange had just been "freed up" by BT so TalkTalk could put their own equipment in I understand.
I did everything over the phone. I got through without any problems.TalkTalk said they would contact my ISP themselves and there was no need for me to apply for a MAC code.
The freeview box and Setanta Sports card arrived within a few days.
However there was no word from TalkTalk with regard to the "Welcome Pack" that I was promised to get within 14 days. In theory you can trace the progress of your order online but there is only limited information. So I rang them. My previous experience with phoning TalkTalk was very poor. However they seem to have got their act together in some respects. There are 5 or 6 numbers you can contact them on now. Some are 0800 and some 0870. You dont have to wait long to get through to anyone on any number now I found but the trouble is it isnt clear which number is for which so you can get transferred several times. Also people promise to ring you back but dont.(If you already have a talktalk phone line then all calls are free )
Therefore I had to write to them (RD letter for attention of CEO Charles Dunstone) after 4 weeks. I didnt get a reply but instead they sent me 2 modem packs !!!
My ISP at the time sent me an email to say the service with them would end on 19th September.
On 17th September I still hadnt had a "Welcome Pack" or any details about the changeover so I spent some time ringing TalkTalk and eventually they assured me the change was imminent and they gave me the Username and Password needed.
On 18th September I received the Welcome booklet, This is quite informative.
It did say that during the transfer my phone service would be unavailable for 20 minutes for making calls and up to 4 hours for receiving calls. In the event we were off the phone for 18 hours !!!!! Spent quite a lot of money/time on my mobile to get things sorted.(Went through Ofcom who give you a non-public phone number direct to the ISP so things get sorted quicker)
I had originally explained to TalkTalk, when I placed my order ,that I wanted
a seemless transfer and also that I had my own router. At the last minute TalkTalk told me my own router wasnt supported by them. In view of this and all the problems I had encountered/envisaged I decided to get an IT man in to do the transfer for me as I wanted the broadband set up for my daughters laptop as well.
The IT man couldnt get on line at first (phone line had been on for some 6 hours since then) so he had to ring talktalk technical and just at that moment the adsl got connected !
Havent had any trouble since being online and am getting 4.1 mbs which is more than I got before (go to thinkbroadband website for a free speed test).
Have just found out that the free evening and weekend calls dont start until 21st October. I went online to set up my phone account and couldnt, so I rang them up and was told that their next "administrative period" doesnt start until 21st October. I wasnt told about this and cant find it in the small print so have sent another RD letter to ask them to explain before I contact Trading Standards. I only found this out by mistake of course which was lucky as my 15yr old daughter had started phoning all her friends up in the evening thinking it was free!!!!!!
As an aside I have had to send 4 RD letters to Setanta. I was supposed to get 2 months free. I cancelled my direct debit with them which was just as well as they tried to take money out of my account early and then they chased me for the £9.99 - but the free period doesnt end until 8th October ! In the end I had to tell them that harrasment for a non-debt is a criminal offence - but I havent had one reply or an apology from my letters. In fact I never used their service anyway.
Hope all this helps anyone thinking of changing their ISP.
Certainly the talktalk package is a best buy but it needs perseverance. Dont ever assume your new ISP has everything in hand - you have to keep plugging away at them.
Internet was off for a few hours on Saturday 26th October.Our phone and the internet went down from 27th October to 30th October. Will post details when I have time. This could become a BLOG !!!!!!!!Am now writing this in my local library as at Saturday 10th November because have been off the internet since Sunday 4th November. Have phoned talktalk every day - sometimes for over an hour ! Just not getting anywhere. Have contacted Oftel, Otelo and Consumer Direct. Have written a letter of complaint as they advised to the Customer Liaison Manager but no reply to date. Sent it Recorded Delivery , as I did with 2 others in the past; but they just dont reply. Apparently the so called consumer guardians dont seem to have any teeth as they all tell me they wont follow up a complaint until its been live for 3 months.I feel talktalk are now in breach of contract with me and have sold me a product not fit for purpose, but it all takes time, and in the meantime I have no internet access.Would like to provide a lot more details here but my time is nearly up in the library.
We got back online on Sunday 11th November. Talktalk sent us a letter received today (Wed 14th Nov) apologising and saying they were crediting our account with £10. Apparently they compensate for loss of a broadband connection at £1.33 per day.
More info Feb 2008:-
Have started getting problems again after Christmas. Can't always get on the Internet in the evening and when I do its a very slow connection - down to 0.9Mbps . Contacted talktalk (I now have a car phone warehouse contact in Southampton which I got due to the earlier problems) They admitted this was all down to having a large number of people on line in the evening. Obviously when I started with talktalk the local exchange had only just been freed up for them but it seems clear to me they are now oversubscribed. So much for up to 8 Mbps.
________________________________________________________________________
Lets all be carfull out there
Car over 2 litres ? You can afford it - But can the Planet ?
The package was advertised in the Sun and was for Broadband, Free evening and weekend telephone calls and phone line rental - all for £16.39 per month inclusive. Also I got a Free Freeview box and 2 months free Setanta Sports.
This deal only applied as my Local Exchange had just been "freed up" by BT so TalkTalk could put their own equipment in I understand.
I did everything over the phone. I got through without any problems.TalkTalk said they would contact my ISP themselves and there was no need for me to apply for a MAC code.
The freeview box and Setanta Sports card arrived within a few days.
However there was no word from TalkTalk with regard to the "Welcome Pack" that I was promised to get within 14 days. In theory you can trace the progress of your order online but there is only limited information. So I rang them. My previous experience with phoning TalkTalk was very poor. However they seem to have got their act together in some respects. There are 5 or 6 numbers you can contact them on now. Some are 0800 and some 0870. You dont have to wait long to get through to anyone on any number now I found but the trouble is it isnt clear which number is for which so you can get transferred several times. Also people promise to ring you back but dont.(If you already have a talktalk phone line then all calls are free )
Therefore I had to write to them (RD letter for attention of CEO Charles Dunstone) after 4 weeks. I didnt get a reply but instead they sent me 2 modem packs !!!
My ISP at the time sent me an email to say the service with them would end on 19th September.
On 17th September I still hadnt had a "Welcome Pack" or any details about the changeover so I spent some time ringing TalkTalk and eventually they assured me the change was imminent and they gave me the Username and Password needed.
On 18th September I received the Welcome booklet, This is quite informative.
It did say that during the transfer my phone service would be unavailable for 20 minutes for making calls and up to 4 hours for receiving calls. In the event we were off the phone for 18 hours !!!!! Spent quite a lot of money/time on my mobile to get things sorted.(Went through Ofcom who give you a non-public phone number direct to the ISP so things get sorted quicker)
I had originally explained to TalkTalk, when I placed my order ,that I wanted
a seemless transfer and also that I had my own router. At the last minute TalkTalk told me my own router wasnt supported by them. In view of this and all the problems I had encountered/envisaged I decided to get an IT man in to do the transfer for me as I wanted the broadband set up for my daughters laptop as well.
The IT man couldnt get on line at first (phone line had been on for some 6 hours since then) so he had to ring talktalk technical and just at that moment the adsl got connected !
Havent had any trouble since being online and am getting 4.1 mbs which is more than I got before (go to thinkbroadband website for a free speed test).
Have just found out that the free evening and weekend calls dont start until 21st October. I went online to set up my phone account and couldnt, so I rang them up and was told that their next "administrative period" doesnt start until 21st October. I wasnt told about this and cant find it in the small print so have sent another RD letter to ask them to explain before I contact Trading Standards. I only found this out by mistake of course which was lucky as my 15yr old daughter had started phoning all her friends up in the evening thinking it was free!!!!!!
As an aside I have had to send 4 RD letters to Setanta. I was supposed to get 2 months free. I cancelled my direct debit with them which was just as well as they tried to take money out of my account early and then they chased me for the £9.99 - but the free period doesnt end until 8th October ! In the end I had to tell them that harrasment for a non-debt is a criminal offence - but I havent had one reply or an apology from my letters. In fact I never used their service anyway.
Hope all this helps anyone thinking of changing their ISP.
Certainly the talktalk package is a best buy but it needs perseverance. Dont ever assume your new ISP has everything in hand - you have to keep plugging away at them.
Internet was off for a few hours on Saturday 26th October.Our phone and the internet went down from 27th October to 30th October. Will post details when I have time. This could become a BLOG !!!!!!!!Am now writing this in my local library as at Saturday 10th November because have been off the internet since Sunday 4th November. Have phoned talktalk every day - sometimes for over an hour ! Just not getting anywhere. Have contacted Oftel, Otelo and Consumer Direct. Have written a letter of complaint as they advised to the Customer Liaison Manager but no reply to date. Sent it Recorded Delivery , as I did with 2 others in the past; but they just dont reply. Apparently the so called consumer guardians dont seem to have any teeth as they all tell me they wont follow up a complaint until its been live for 3 months.I feel talktalk are now in breach of contract with me and have sold me a product not fit for purpose, but it all takes time, and in the meantime I have no internet access.Would like to provide a lot more details here but my time is nearly up in the library.
We got back online on Sunday 11th November. Talktalk sent us a letter received today (Wed 14th Nov) apologising and saying they were crediting our account with £10. Apparently they compensate for loss of a broadband connection at £1.33 per day.
More info Feb 2008:-
Have started getting problems again after Christmas. Can't always get on the Internet in the evening and when I do its a very slow connection - down to 0.9Mbps . Contacted talktalk (I now have a car phone warehouse contact in Southampton which I got due to the earlier problems) They admitted this was all down to having a large number of people on line in the evening. Obviously when I started with talktalk the local exchange had only just been freed up for them but it seems clear to me they are now oversubscribed. So much for up to 8 Mbps.
________________________________________________________________________
Lets all be carfull out there
Car over 2 litres ? You can afford it - But can the Planet ?
0
Comments
-
Hi,
your post does not make sense?
Talktalk unbundled your line on the 20th September, on this date they moved your phone line from Bt's network to their network.
From this date, you would either be on Talk 2 international or Talk 3 international, no other plans allow free broadband at present.
Your calls are already with Talktalk, and you have your free evening and weekend calls up to 70 minutes per call. you also have your anytime international free calls to 36 countries.
Your calls cannot start from the 21st October as they always give you your talk plan first, then your line rental, then your broadband.
Please start using your calls, as otherwise you are going to just end up calling in, as you have paid for the Talk 2 international talkplan and the line rental.tiscali have unbundled my line, and iptv is available on my exchange, hello fair usage policy, hello congestion.0 -
Thanks for your reply.
In view of what you said I rang TalkTalk again. Got through quickly (after usual multi option choices) to a lady in South Africa. She assured me we WERE on the free evening and weekend calls now and apologised for the duff info I got before.
I explained to her I had rung in previously as I couldnt set up internet billing for the new plan. So she even set it up for me there and then as I was sat in front of the computer. All very helpful.
It just goes to show it all depends who you speak to and to keep plugging away.
Thanks to you for your post - much appreciated.0 -
I had to ring TT last night to get a tenner rebate for the unused 'Geek squad' that I never used nor asked for, the last time I rang the call was 'disconnected' last night I rang again, and got the rebate.......the chap I spoke to was in ...........Cape Town South Africa!0
-
Discovered today that our phone number wasnt withheld as it should have been.
We were on TalkTalk1 before and it was ex-directory and withheld before.
I rang up and got through to South Africa again and was told as it was a in effect a new account with TalkTalk2 International then it had be set up again. Not very convenient and goes to show you musnt assume anything as far as talktalk goes.
Otherwise the service (Broadband and Phone) has been OK up to now.0 -
I,ve posted further info re my talktalk experience. Any advice anyone can give would be appreciated.Bear in mind I may still be off the internet at home so it could be a few days before I get to the library again.(Support your local library - its been a godsend - theyre trying to close many down in Dorset )0
-
:j I have been with talktalk for over a year now and whilst there were a few teething problems at first, especially trying to get them to answer the phone, if anything went wrong. I must say I have absolutely no problem with them at all now, in fact I would reccomend them to anybody. I keep looking but I can't find anyone cheaper. On average my phone bill is about £28 a month this includes broadband and line rental, and free international calls. If anyone out there knows of anyone cheaper please let me know.DorsetDave2 wrote: »I signed up to TalkTalk on 8th August and went on line on 20th September so I thought it might help if I set out my experiences.
The package was advertised in the Sun and was for Broadband, Free evening and weekend telephone calls and phone line rental - all for £16.39 per month inclusive. Also I got a Free Freeview box and 2 months free Setanta Sports.
This deal only applied as my Local Exchange had just been "freed up" by BT so TalkTalk could put their own equipment in I understand.
I did everything over the phone. I got through without any problems.TalkTalk said they would contact my ISP themselves and there was no need for me to apply for a MAC code.
The freeview box and Setanta Sports card arrived within a few days.
However there was no word from TalkTalk with regard to the "Welcome Pack" that I was promised to get within 14 days. In theory you can trace the progress of your order online but there is only limited information. So I rang them. My previous experience with phoning TalkTalk was very poor. However they seem to have got their act together in some respects. There are 5 or 6 numbers you can contact them on now. Some are 0800 and some 0870. You dont have to wait long to get through to anyone on any number now I found but the trouble is it isnt clear which number is for which so you can get transferred several times. Also people promise to ring you back but dont.(If you already have a talktalk phone line then all calls are free )
Therefore I had to write to them (RD letter for attention of CEO Charles Dunstone) after 4 weeks. I didnt get a reply but instead they sent me 2 modem packs !!!
My ISP at the time sent me an email to say the service with them would end on 19th September.
On 17th September I still hadnt had a "Welcome Pack" or any details about the changeover so I spent some time ringing TalkTalk and eventually they assured me the change was imminent and they gave me the Username and Password needed.
On 18th September I received the Welcome booklet, This is quite informative.
It did say that during the transfer my phone service would be unavailable for 20 minutes for making calls and up to 4 hours for receiving calls. In the event we were off the phone for 18 hours !!!!! Spent quite a lot of money/time on my mobile to get things sorted.(Went through Ofcom who give you a non-public phone number direct to the ISP so things get sorted quicker)
I had originally explained to TalkTalk, when I placed my order ,that I wanted
a seemless transfer and also that I had my own router. At the last minute TalkTalk told me my own router wasnt supported by them. In view of this and all the problems I had encountered/envisaged I decided to get an IT man in to do the transfer for me as I wanted the broadband set up for my daughters laptop as well.
The IT man couldnt get on line at first (phone line had been on for some 6 hours since then) so he had to ring talktalk technical and just at that moment the adsl got connected !
Havent had any trouble since being online and am getting 4.1 mbs which is more than I got before (go to thinkbroadband website for a free speed test).
Have just found out that the free evening and weekend calls dont start until 21st October. I went online to set up my phone account and couldnt, so I rang them up and was told that their next "administrative period" doesnt start until 21st October. I wasnt told about this and cant find it in the small print so have sent another RD letter to ask them to explain before I contact Trading Standards. I only found this out by mistake of course which was lucky as my 15yr old daughter had started phoning all her friends up in the evening thinking it was free!!!!!!
As an aside I have had to send 4 RD letters to Setanta. I was supposed to get 2 months free. I cancelled my direct debit with them which was just as well as they tried to take money out of my account early and then they chased me for the £9.99 - but the free period doesnt end until 8th October ! In the end I had to tell them that harrasment for a non-debt is a criminal offence - but I havent had one reply or an apology from my letters. In fact I never used their service anyway.
Hope all this helps anyone thinking of changing their ISP.
Certainly the talktalk package is a best buy but it needs perseverance. Dont ever assume your new ISP has everything in hand - you have to keep plugging away at them.
Internet was off for a few hours on Saturday 26th October.Our phone and the internet went down from 27th October to 30th October. Will post details when I have time. This could become a BLOG !!!!!!!!Am now writing this in my local library as at Saturday 10th November because have been off the internet since Sunday 4th November. Have phoned talktalk every day - sometimes for over an hour ! Just not getting anywhere. Have contacted Oftel, Otelo and Consumer Direct. Have written a letter of complaint as they advised to the Customer Liaison Manager but no reply to date. Sent it Recorded Delivery , as I did with 2 others in the past; but they just dont reply. Apparently the so called consumer guardians dont seem to have any teeth as they all tell me they wont follow up a complaint until its been live for 3 months.I feel talktalk are now in breach of contract with me and have sold me a product not fit for purpose, but it all takes time, and in the meantime I have no internet access.Would like to provide a lot more details here but my time is nearly up in the library.
________________________________________________________________________
Lets all be carfull out there
Car over 2 litres ? You can afford it - But can the Planet ?0 -
Thanks for your reply. Am now back on the Internet and have updated my blog.
I hope I can now go for a year , like yourself, without further problems0 -
More info added to Blog Feb 20080
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 355.8K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 456.2K Spending & Discounts
- 248.4K Work, Benefits & Business
- 606K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 179K Life & Family
- 263.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards