Tiscali/TalkTalk change of contract

freeoffers

Had th esame letter. Called CS, spoke to a very nice guy, who was polite and explained that my contract would be void if i decided to cancel. really liked my package with tiscali (£20pm with tv, phone and broadband) but i dont want to be upgraded so i will probably cancel and go elsewhere. enjoyed the service though and had no problems.

TalkTalk

Hi Freeoffers,

Thanks for your feedback, im glad to see you have been given the correct advise that in the event you choose not to continue with the proposed changes cancellation would be without penalty.

With most services you will find terms and conditions do state that company's reserve the right to change prices at any time. This however is coupled with your consumer rights that in the event a company changes the terms of an agreement, to either increase prices or reduce services from the initial agreement, that suitable notice period is given. In addition to this the option to decline the change is terms is required. As in some cases the current services cannot be retained for whichever reasons then allowed the consumer to cease the contract term without penalty is necessary, as this was not the initial agreement made.

In this respect TT are not different and due to operational changes not all the ex-Tiscali plans can be retained. As such a rationalisation project is underway to offer existing customers on those plans suitable alternatives. In some cases this results in reduced price, some no change and other a slight increase, the same is applicable to services. For those who see an increase in cost or reduction of services the option to decline the new terms and seek alternative services has to be made available to you, as constitutes your rights as a consumer.

Regards

M:)

freeoffers

Thanks alot, just a shame things had to change.

freeoffers

How do you explain the change in DD date. Mine was changed wihtout my consent from the 1st to the 20th. You took the money out of my account 10 days early and charged the same amount. How can that be? Why not charge pro rata? Thats very bad in my opinion.

navi69

I'm exactly on the same boat as Freeoffers. Got a contract with Tiscali at the end of last year for £20 a month and in September it's changing to £26... Unbelievable that even within contract, our only choice is to accept whatever the price increase they want to implement or leave!! But digging around I found this article on the Gardian (dated on January '10) stating:

A spokesman says: "Customers who signed up with Tiscali or altered their package between September and December­ 2009 will be offered six months service at half price when they sign up to a new contract with TalkTalk. Those customers who want to stick with the original deal they signed, can do so. They will have to pay the TalkTalk tariff, but their account will be credited, up-front, with the difference, meaning they will pay nothing for the first few months."

Could the Talk Talk representative confirm this please?

TalkTalk

Hi Freeoffers,

Any change in Direct Debit would require notification on your invoice prior to the change, to ensure this is done in line with the Safeguards of the Direct Debit guarantee.

UNder the Safeguards you are required to be given written notice of any changes to the date frequency or amount of your Direct Debit. With TT this notification is the Monthly Bill (as the amount will always fluctuate month to month) therefore any changes to your DD would be notified on your invoice. If this was not notified then this would require a further investigation.

Navi69 - In relation tot he Guardian article this will have been correct at the time of print. Whether this is still relevant I will need to complete some further investigations to confirm. I will endeavour to update you if I am able to obtain further confirmation of this.

In regards to the changes to plan prices applicable to Ex-Tiscali customers this is part of the integration of the ex-tiscali customer base into TalkTalk. As there was a vast variance of different plans within Tiscali these require a rationalisation process to migrate all plans to a universal price a service structure, in line with the Essentials and Plus Products offered by TalkTalk. As such in some cases ex-tiscali customers will see more service or reduce costs, or no change. In the event of increased costs the option to cancel the service without penalty if you are within contract is the only fair option, in the event customers are not happy with the newly proposed services. THis change is however part fo the acquisition of Tiscali by Talkalk and will allow us to have the entire TT customers base on a single billing platform, under a single brand using a single set of tariffs.

Regards

Mark