TalkTalk Direct Debit Date change

moosetastic

TalkTalk_Company_Representative wrote: »

HI tezbeds,

The reason for a fixed DD cycle is to evenly split contact during the month.

If all customers were billed on the same day, even if only 1% of them were to have any query about their bill we would see a huge increase in contact around the bill date, then minimal contact the rest of the month.

This would have a negative impact on customers due to the difficulty in managing such drastically changing call levels during the month.

As such having the multiple fixed DD cycles the entire customer base is spit into smaller positions, each billed, and payments collected, on differing days. This staggers customers contact with any queries on their billing or payment to give more even distribution of contact and more manageable operations of the business as a whole.

Regards

Mark

Hi Mark,

I have just received my bill for March, my billing date is always around 23rd/24th of the month, with the money going from my account around 7th/8th of the month after. Never had a problem with this and my bill is always paid on time.

However, this month, the money is coming out on 30th March?? This is ridiculous, I dont get paid until the last day of the month, so will not be able to pay this!!! I only got my bill today as well, so you have given me less than a weeks notice of this, what am I supposed to do?

This is totally unacceptable, I have been a Talk Talk customer for many years and never had any issues, but I am totally incensed by this.

*Twizzle*

moosetastic wrote: »

Hi Mark,

I have just received my bill for March, my billing date is always around 23rd/24th of the month, with the money going from my account around 7th/8th of the month after. Never had a problem with this and my bill is always paid on time.

However, this month, the money is coming out on 30th March?? This is ridiculous, I dont get paid until the last day of the month, so will not be able to pay this!!! I only got my bill today as well, so you have given me less than a weeks notice of this, what am I supposed to do?

This is totally unacceptable, I have been a Talk Talk customer for many years and never had any issues, but I am totally incensed by this.

I have spoken to talktalk this morning and they have told me the same thing! I am bl00dy furious as i will not have the money in the account to pay it as my rent is due the day after and i am absolutely certain that i was not informed of this change even tho customer services said that i had been informed!!!! I will have to cancel the DD and then be charged £10 :mad:

bertiebots

I am pretty sure that talktalk are acting illegally and find their attitude to customers disgusting. This is the final straw for me and I am going to look elsewhere for my provider asap.
I am going to try and find some info on changing dd dates in the meantime!

Talktalk should be ashamed of themselves. They are a disgrace to the industry.

bertiebots

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/offer/direct_debit_form.pdf

This is a copy of the direct debit form provided by banks..I draw your attention to the part at the bottom. It mentions that 10 days notice must be given to allow for a company to change a payers direct debit day..or time scale agreed. It could be argued that small print at the bottom of an email vaguely mentioning changing people bills is in breach of this!
Who actually scrolls down their bill notification email to the bottom and reads all the small print included?

I would like to know what the talktalk rep has to say about this?

bertiebots

TEZBEDZ wrote: »

Could someone confirm that all TalkTalk Payments dates are all on or around the same date 20th of the month?

No mine is due on the 10th since the change , before they decided I could re arrange my money on a whim it came out on the 15th!.

bertiebots

TalkTalk_Company_Representative wrote: »

Hi Tez,

No not all TT payment dates are the 20th, we have a number of billing dates and payments are made 14 days later. As such payments are taken at varying days during the month.

However you cannot change the bill date once connected, therefore you cannot change your payment date either.




Regards

Mark

14 days..are you sure? Thats not what my email says. And you represent talktalk:cool:

We’d like to make you aware that we’re changing our bill payment terms. From March 2011 onwards your monthly Direct Debit payment will be taken 7 days after your bill is produced. There’s nothing you need to do, we will continue to collect payment from you automatically. However, as this is a change to the day we collect your payment you may wish to check your bank account to ensure there are enough funds to cover your future payments

Botany

moosetastic wrote: »

Hi Mark,

I have just received my bill for March, my billing date is always around 23rd/24th of the month, with the money going from my account around 7th/8th of the month after. Never had a problem with this and my bill is always paid on time.

However, this month, the money is coming out on 30th March?? This is ridiculous, I dont get paid until the last day of the month, so will not be able to pay this!!! I only got my bill today as well, so you have given me less than a weeks notice of this, what am I supposed to do?

This is totally unacceptable, I have been a Talk Talk customer for many years and never had any issues, but I am totally incensed by this.

I'm in the same situation as moosetastic, my bills usually being issued on the 25th-ish, with the direct debit coming out around the 10th.

This month though, they billed me on the 25th for a 31st payment.
This will mean that in March I will pay 2 months' bills.

I am lucky in that I will not be overdrawn but this still p****s me off because this change has occurred without any heads up or notifications whatsoever. I only noticed because I logged onto my online account this morning!

Talk Talk Representative:

you say " we have a number of billing dates and payments are made 14 days later ".... what is going on?

lilmizbloodbath

I've had the same thing with the billing date being on the 25th and the payment being due to be taken on the 30th. Rang up and got the usual run around being told some rubbish about an email going out last week which was an outright lie. Not even sure she registered my complaint so I shall be putting it in writing.

The email telling me my bill was ready said:

We’d like to make you aware that we’re changing our bill payment terms. From March 2011 onwards your monthly Direct Debit payment will be taken 7 days after your bill is produced. There’s nothing you need to do, we will continue to collect payment from you automatically. However, as this is a change to the day we collect your payment you may wish to check your bank account to ensure there are enough funds to cover your future payments.

TalkTalk are well aware that their email systems are so slow that the majority of bills turn up at least three days after the billing date. So exactly how can they do this and still conform to the direct debit guarantee? Even then between the billing date and the payments date there is less than 7 days so they aren't even complying with their own email.

Needless to say my direct debit will be being cancelled, I will pay the bill when I have the funds in April after I have been paid and I will be changing provider ASAP.

Yorkshire_Pud

In fairness to 'Talk TalkRep' his post that's being quoted (out of context) was made 23/9/2010, obviously since then Talk Talk have decided that their scummy customers don't have any say in when they are billed.

So like others 'customers' I now have a direct debit being taken from my account on 31st march which is the day I have the LEAST funds in my account and the MOST chance of going overdrawn.

I DID receive and read TT's email informing me of the change but so what I can't do anything about it unless I leave them as a provider.

So the best form of revenge is to leave Talk Talk IF their is a cheaper provider (yawn).

Luckily I'm no longer in the contract term so I'm free to leave immediately as I resisted their invitation to 'RENEW' my contract at the end of 18 months for another 18 months so I pointed out I was in a stronger position if I merely let the contract run on a month by month basis!!

This is the same company I believe that brought us the Fresh mobile fiasco where they tried to rip off all their customers with credit left but with publicity backed down and said they mean't to pay it all along and their was a misunderstanding. Caveat - Fresh/CarphoneWarehouse/Talk Talk all same company or associated?

Their prices are good their service and regard for their customers is bad.

I received my eBill today the 28th March and payment will be taken on 31st March. That is 3 days notice to make sure there are sufficient funds in my account! Thought it was 7 days after bill was produced OR was bill produced on 24th but it took 4 eDays for them to 'remember' to send it (even though they have a 'fully automated' system (which is why they "Can't" change or let customers choose the day they are billed!! Sophistry at work, charlatan's; Sir I rest my case.

Surely that is not legal or conforming to the DD guarantee or Rules? It is certainly very poor service and treatment by Talk Talk.

Paul Gosling at The Independent Newspaper is a good guy to contact if you want a public airing and even compensation which I got after the Fresh mobile fiasco!!

So let's WALK;)

Yorkshire_Pud

Their connection and call charges are going up on 1st May; monthly rental already went up. Don't they know there's a recession on?!:cool:

So who is a cheaper and better provider?