Talk Talk Complaints

PhylPho

Barry51 wrote: »

We did not even opt for Talk Talk they just took over our Tiscali account. Cant understand why any sane person would freely chose to trust this bunch of crooks.

Candidly, nor can I.

I only learned of what it's like to be a TalkTalk customer because my friend was, like you, with Tiscali and found himself suddenly in TalkTalk's tender care.

From what I understand, TalkTalk Group's response to OFCOM was that it has been experiencing difficulty in migrating Tiscali accounts to TalkTalk and consolidating them.

Well, er, yes. In trying to get a market edge by piling it high and selling it cheap, it's no wonder TalkTalk's operational budget seems insufficiently funded to accomplish the Tiscali accounts consolidation. That kind of operation takes skill, and skill costs money.

So I'm not at all surprised TalkTalk is, in effect, borrowing money from God knows how many people like you. . . interest free. And without their consent.

OFCOM does, however, seem to be aware of this.

As to the pompous twaddle you received about "escalating" something to a status where "approval" will be pending, it's pretty evident where the Group gets its name from: it doesn't talk !!!!!!!! once, but twice.

Hopefully you will soon be "approved" to have returned to you the money you never "approved" TalkTalk to grab in the first place.

Good luck.

NeverEnough

Having been a victim of TalkTalk Rubbish Employees, drivel-spouting Indian call centres whose charming employees seem to be Indias very own version of the rudest and most offensive chavs possible, I can only whole-heartedly agree - where on earth do they find their victims???

I was also a Tiscali customer with no option but to move to the very worst of the worst ever, ISP, when the company was sold. And they certainly intended making anyone's decision to leave Talk Talk, the Journey from Hell. Apart from being forced to phone premium phone lines to cancel an account and being kept waiting for nearly an hour at a time, the insolent and intimidating creatures who then turn up to "help", bombard you with demands that you stay and become more and more insolent as you insist you want to leave. Only the most tenacious continue, and even then, due to who knows what? - crookery, corruption, inefficiency, rubbish staff - you then continue to be billed and harassed and threatened relentlessly, even if you no longer had a contract with them anyway!!!!

I am pleased to say that if you follow the complaint procedures to the letter (keep all posting records and dates etc) , involve Watchdog, and finally OTELO, they finally give up. For now, anyway.
Perhaps to resurface once they think I've forgotten it all........I hope not!!!!

My advice is to put the complaint in writing without wasting your time and money on the stupid p£$%ts in the call centres or the equally pathetic "online members forum". Just be clear and direct in your letters, and once they miss the deadline time wise, (they are very likely to) , send copies of the correspondence to OTELO with a claim for your time and aggravation and loss of income etc.

PhylPho

Great post, NeverEnough. And great advice as well. The Otelo route is the one to go where TalkTalk complaints are concerned (after all else has failed) albeit we seem to have on this thread complaints so serious that where the debt collection issue is concerned, reference to OFCOM remains a priority.

As a side note, I always felt sorry for the TalkTalk rep on here because being asked to fly a weather balloon in a Force 10 gale ain't no fun: you get brought down to earth too often and too hard. Perhaps as a result of a re-prioritising of resources, TalkTalk has decided the money spent on funding a rep's time here is better spent on preparing corporate drivel for the ears of customers who have unexpectedly found themselves in the business of being TalkTalk's lenders of first resort.

Crazy_B

What a complete joke of a company Talk-Talk are.

I was previously with Tisacali and was switched over to Talk-Talk. Not only was I switched over but they also decided to start charging me an extra 50% on top of what I was paying without informing me. As a result of this my DD bounced and they added charges. When I rang up the first time they were quite helpful, apologised and offered me £10 credit and assured me I would be paying the old rate again.

Then recently they started migrating accounts to their servers and aside from my modem having only a 60% success rate of connecting, I couldn't access my email for over a week. I rang up to complain several times and they said it was a technical fault that would be corrected in first 24, then 48 and finally 72 hours. After a week had passed I was absolutely furious. I spent nearly 2 hours on the phone to them after first being told that restrictions were on my account due to unpaid moneis that I had no awareness off and that hadn't appeared on my bank statements as bouncing. I told them that not only is this wrong but it couldn't be the reason as I was still able (albeit intermittently) to connect to the internet. Eventually I got told there were problems still especially with the web mail but I still needed to settle my account and wait 48 hours to see my email.

Now I can see my email at last but internet connections are still rubbish and much slower. I have been offered 2 months free which I don't beleive will come and apparently I will then have to start paying the extra 50% again.

I REALLY cannot wait to cancel and join Virgin Media. The only saving grace is that I rang the useless Indian cretins from work which I'm thankfull for because if I had to pay for that too I think I may have killed someone.

wonderwall_3

I've been a customer of Tiscali Broadbant since January 2007. In August this year they called me with an offer of a cheaper package and transfer my rental from BT to Talk Talk. I hadn't been informed that Tiscali was bought by Talk Talk. I was supposed to get a package with free international calls to Germany and calls to Poland for only extra 2 pounds. However, I was charged more than 300 pounds for calls to Poland for six weeks, since it turned out that I had been charged for a standard rate not a cheaper one. I called Talk Talk to explain my situation, so they offered me the other package- Essential with International Boost. Although I cancelled my Tiscali account, I'm still charged double for Tiscali and Talk Talk account. What's more, Tiscali intimidates me that I've got 18 months contract with them, which I have to pay. Can I cancel it? If yes, how to do it? I called Talk Talk many times. I feel helpless and totally exhausted. Please, help me.

PhylPho

Wonderwall: advice appropriate to your situation is in earlier posts on this thread. You need to make formal written complaint to Talktalk rather than have endless telephone conversations because if there's no paper trail for anyone to fllow, you're stuffed. No harm in following the OFCOM route either at this time seeing as how Talktalk's December 2nd deadline is coming up fast.

Col7777

I'm no longer with TalkTalk, I went with them when they first started, at first I thought they were not too bad, I did get the odd hiccup but I put that down to them being new to the game so to speak.
But as time went on I got a lot of hiccups like phone line being down and no internet for many hours being told it was an area problem but next door was with BT and had no problem.
One day I was cut off and I thought it was down again for technical reasons again, but it lasted a few days, I was busy with work so didn't bother too much then I made enquires via mobile phone only to be told by a lady that they had cut me off because of overuse of the broadband.
I was puzzled as I had unlimited use and asked her to explain, this is not word for word as it was a while ago but as near as accurate as I remember:
She said, "We cut you off because we know what you are doing," I asked what I was doing to warrant me to be cut off, she replied, "You are using peer to peer and probably downloading illegal music or films."
I was mad I said I wasn't using peer to peer and yes I had been downloading files but nothing illegal, she said, "Ah so you say but we think you are," I said "For your information I have not long installed 'flight Simulator' and I have been downloading some scenery and new aircraft files to add to it, some are large downloads plus some I have actually paid for and I can prove it too."
She went silent for a moment then said, "Well it looks like peer to peer and we can't allow that," I said, "Well it isn't and you have made a terrible mistake and jumped to the wrong conclusions, now I want the broadband reinstated now or I'll go to the press with this along with my proof," I also asked her for her name but she wouldn't give it but then said she would get me reinstated, this took a few hours but I was back on again.
I did recommend a family member too at one point with the promise of, I think it was £10 at the time if you recommend someone, I never received it and when I enquired they had no record of it, surprise, surprise.

After reading all these posts about TalkTalk I very surprised at their rep Emma, hasn't the penny dropped yet that you are working for a bad company, you keep telling people to go to your website and surely with all the complaints on there as well as on here and other places you have come to a conclusion that TalkTalk isn't a good company.

If was looking for a Telephone and/or a broadband provider and never heard of TalkTalk and read all these complaints do you think I would be chomping at the bit to sign up, what you need to do Emma is get hold of your bosses and have board meeting to sort the company out properly and instead of complaints try to get some compliments.

Please don't ask me to come to your website as I'm no longer with TalkTalk and very glad I'm not too.

PhylPho

Be very afraid (unless you knew this already?) According to El Reg, the online tecchie magazine, and its latest email sent out today, Talktalk is moving into TV in some way I know not (and don't want to) on the back of an estimated net profit of £121,000,000 in the past six months:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/16/talktalk_financials/


By coincidence, this week's email from another tecchie site also landed in my inbox at the same time as that from El Reg:

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/4459-calling-broadband-support-costs-consumers-up-to-4-million-a-year.html


Well, yes. The customer always pays.

dini_2

I have been trying to leave Tiscali/TalkTalk since July.
I am now at the end of my Tether. I have just finished composing an email to Mr Dunstone. Am I likely to get a reply?

Dear Mr Dunstone,

May I call you Charles? I feel like I know the customer relations department intimately.
It certainly feels like we have been in a toxic relationship for a number of years that I am failing to extract myself from.

When I moved house in February 2007 and took up Tiscali Broadband , I was offered it with free line rental. However I was continuously charged for line rental, and eventually told that it was not possible to obtain on my line, and I shouldn’t have been sold it. I was emailed by

---

as below:

06/12/2007 12.27 PM

Dear Ms XXXXX,
Thank you for contacting Tiscali Customer Support.
I am writing to confirm that you cannot receive our Free Line Rental package, however , we will be crediting your account every month to prevent you from being billed for any Line Rental fees.
Kind regards,

---

This never happened and in March 2008 or so after numerous emails and phone calls I finally got a cheque to cover a year’s period of line rental and an apology from

---

in Tiscali High Level Complaints.

Time went on (until March 2010) and I realised I had better chase up that refund again, (I was actually owed 2 yrs line rental at this stage) only this time I was told No.
No discussion. (Well I tried to discuss it, and copied in the emails I received from Tiscali promising this service) But no, apparently it just was not possible-because I had received a refund covering 12 months line rental.
And after this 12 months (according to

---

Customer Services management): “it is down to the customer if they wish to remain with Tiscali on tariff including the line rental charge”
Nice to have this in writing 2 years after the original email-this was never mentioned in any communication to me.,
From what I can make out, Tiscali are in breach of their contract. I have a guarantee in writing from Tiscali promising to credit my account every month. There is no time limit in it.
Naturally it couldn’t go smoothly.
Here is the email communication that has been passing from myself to Tiscali/TalkTalk since September.

02/09/2010 04.49 PM
I asked for my MAC code back in July, and received it.
I successfully migrated to SKY on the 26th July, and have had Sky phone and broadband since then.
See copy of email received from Tiscali/TalkTalk:

"Dear MS XXXXXX ,
Your MAC (Migration Authorisation Code) request has now been processed.

MAC: LBWR1264434/IH09T
Telephone Number: 02073527638

You may use this MAC code to switch from Tiscali to other service providers who support MAC migrations.

Your MAC code will remain valid for 30 days and expire on 2010-08-08 . Tiscali will not cancel your account until you have given your MAC code to another service provider and they have successfully migrated your service. "

Today I received a letter telling me that you have notified BT to remove the broadband service from my line on the 14th September!

As this was clearly done back in July, can you explain this?
I have been out of contract for a number of years, as I had a Tiscali Broadband contract.
I received a Termination letter from TalkTalk dated the 12th July telling me that my "Broadband account and all associated email addresses will cease after 30 days from the date of the letter".
You have not provided a service since the 26th July.
I paid my final bill on the 20th August. I do not expect to receive any more bills from Talk Talk.

kind regards XXXXX


The response:
Response (

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) 04/09/2010 02.35 AM
Dear Ms. XXXXX,

Thank you for contacting TalkTalk Technical Support.

I apologise for the inconvenience caused to you in this case.I assure you that we will take care to resolve the issue at the earliest.

I gather from your e-mail that you would like to cancel your broadband account.

I understand your concern, however, it is not possible for us to cancel your broadband account, since we do not have the necessary tools. Believe me, if it was possible, we would definitely have arranged the service the way you wished because nothing would please us more than satisfying our esteemed and valuable customer. However, we have certain limitations with our tools that do not allow us to modify the service patterns at our discretion.

You need to contact our Broadband Cancellations Team on 0845 077 4488. Calls are charged at local rates. Lines are open 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday. They will be in better position in assisting this concern.

Also please visit the link given below for detailed information :

https://uk-tiscali.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/uk_tiscali.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=438

For any further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Kind regards,

TalkTalk Technical Relations

My response:

Customer (XXXXX) 04/09/2010 03.28 AM
You clearly did not read or were unable to understand the contents of
the email.
My broadband with Tiscali ceased on the 26th July.
I no longer have Tiscali Broadband or phone.
I have a termination letter dated 12th July from Tiscali/Talk Talk.
I NO LONGER HAVE A CONTRACT WITH TISCALI
So why did I get a letter telling me that you have notified BT that
you will be removing Broadband from my line on the 14th September?
IT WAS DONE ON THE 26TH JULY. I DO NOT HAVE A PHONE LINE WITH TISCALI,
I DO NOT HAVE BROADBAND WITH TISCALI.
PLEASE ADJUST YOUR RECORDS TO SHOW THIS,.


Response
(

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) 08/09/2010 02.43 AM
Dear XXXXX,

Thank you for contacting TalkTalk Customer Support.

I understand from your email that you are concern about your broadband cancellation.

I admit time delay in answering your e-mail due to certain unavoidable technical circumstances.

I realize that you have been greatly inconvenienced by this situation. Believe me, if it was possible, we would definitely have arranged the service the way you wished because nothing would please us more than satisfying our esteemed and valuable customer.

I have checked the records and found that you broadband and telephone account is cancelled from our end and also will make sure that no letters will be send herafter to you.

I once again apologise for the inconvenience caused to you.


Kind regards,

TalkTalk Customer Relations


On the 18th September I sent this, because I had received yet another bill:

18/09/2010 10.45 am
I have now received a bill for Tiscali Line rental.
See below for previous communication.
PLEASE SORT THIS OUT.


On the 24th September I received this reply:

24/09/10.50AM
Dear Mrs XXXXX, (Note, I have now been addressed as my mother!!)

Thank you for your email the contents of which have been noted.

Please accept our sincere apologies which may have been caused as a result of the issue which you are experiencing.

I can advise that if you wish to fully cancel your services, you will need to contact our Cancelations Department on 0845 077 4488 for further assistance. It’s still showing your phone line is active with us.

I hope this is a satisfactory explanation. Talk Talk does take these issues seriously, and it is always our intention in customer relations to bring the concerns of our customers to a satisfactory conclusion.

If you have any further issues, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We thank you for your patience and assistance in this matter.


Kind regards,

---

Talk Talk Customer Relations

So I replied with this: at 11:43 on the 24th September.

That number cannot possibly be active with you as I have been a SKY phone and broadband customer since July 26. I have already received a cancellation letter from Tiscali on the 12th of July.(Reminding me that as my phone account is leaving Tiscali I will not be able to have Broadband on it.
I also have an email sent to me on the 6th September telling me that my broadband and phone account is cancelled at Talk Talk end.
I have no wish to line TalkTalk's coffers further by spending time on hold (up to an
hour on my last attempt)at 10p per minute to confirm what I was sent in writing by TalkTalk in July.
Please amend your records immediately.
XXXXX
The response on 27/09/2010 02.11pm

Dear Ms XXXXX

Thank you for your email, the contents of which have been noted.

Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience as a result of the issue which you are experiencing.

I have investigated this issue to our provisioning team to cancel your service down. Your reference number is UKHD00003812118.

In order for us to investigate a refund, we request that you send in a copy of the first invoice you received from your new provider showing your services active with them. This information is needed in order for Tiscali to investigate the migration of your broadband and to process the exact date you went live with your new provider. Once this has been received we will investigate a refund if applicable and the clearance of any remaining charges.

You can attach this document as a PDF format in reply to this email. If you are unable to do so please send your first invoice to the address below via a letter.

Tiscali Customer Relations Team,
PO Box 15323,
Birmingham,
B46 9BW.

I can confirm your account is now fully cancelled. Once we receive your first bill as advised we will escalate this issue to our Billing Department.

It remains your responsibility under our Terms and Conditions Agreement to ensure that your account is cancelled once it has been activated with a new provider.

I hope this is a satisfactory explanation, and I do apologise for inconvenience caused. Tiscali does take these issues seriously, and it is always our intention to bring the concerns of our customers to a satisfactory conclusion

If you have any further issue, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We thank you for your patience and assistance in this matter.

Kind regards,

---

Talk Talk Customer Relations

So I sent my first Sky bill,
And received this reply on the 29th September.

Dear XXXXX,

Thank you for your correspondence, your comments and queries have been noted.

Please accept our sincere apologies which may have been caused as a result of the billing and cancelation issue which you are experiencing.

Thank you for forwarding the copy of your invoice from Sky, I have escalated a request to our Finance team for the outstanding balance of £10.99 to be cleared from your account, this is for September invoice, and also a refund of £28.98 to be issued for payment received for Augusts invoice excluding calls, as they were made in July.

Please allow 72 hours for our Finance team to investigate and if approved your refund will be processed within 5 working days.

I can confirm the full cancellation of your account is currently still being worked on. To confirm again your reference number is XXXXX

I hope this is a satisfactory explanation. Talk Talk does take these issues seriously, and it is always our intention in customer relations to bring the concerns of our customers to a satisfactory conclusion.

If you have any further issues, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We thank you for your patience and assistance in this matter.


Kind regards,

---

Customer Relations Team



And to my surprise I received a refund on the 11th October.
I was delighted and thought that was the end of it.
Not so.
End of October I received another bill. I thought must be a mistake, because my account was cancelled. Fully. As described in the last email.
But it appears not, according to Tiscali/TalkTalk.
Today I received a reminder letter from the Collections department. For the sum of £9.56.
REF RL1/XXXXX
THE COLLECTIONS DEPT? I’m now being chased by the collections department.
I am owed approximately £260 for 2 years line Rental not to mention the time and inconvenience to me writing and attempting to contact TalkTalk, the phone calls (22mins x10 = £2.20, 60mins x10 = £6.00) , and The collections department is Chasing me???????

I’m sure you can imagine my frustration.
I have spent hours communicating with TalkTalk.
The last phone call I was put on hold for 22 minutes, and then it disconnected. I have spent an hour waiting to be connected before I got that refund. It costs me money every time I attempt to speak to a human. And I haven’t actually managed to get through to one. I have missed lunch breaks trying to sort this out, so TalkTalk have also been responsible for me not eating.
I am continuously told that TalkTalk takes these things seriously.
I really don’t believe that.

Could someone once and for all put an end to this.

Regards

Should I threaten small claims court? Is it ever worth my while sending this?

PhylPho

My post at #470 is the way to go. TalkTalk is riding for an OFCOM fine. Your experience is but one of the many reasons why such a fine -- based on its turnover -- is justified. At this stage, there should be no -- repeat: NO -- communications going out from the Group's collections department.

As for you as an individual customer getting any sense out of TalkTalk, it seems clear that even OFCOM can't get it to repair its utter dysfunctiionality.

As for the broken English scripts you received in cut 'n paste format, they're worth treasuring. And also, deserved contempt.