Poor Talk Talk service ... can I get out of contract ?

tcr_3

Self explanatory, really.

Contract for the home phone & broadband expires in March 2011. Over the last few months we've had problems with the phone (no dialling tone, or very poor line quality), the broadband's been regularly crashing too. They've investigated it all, no problems in my home or on the line, it's all at their end, faults with their kit at the exchange & beyond.

All that, combined with the recent call charge price rises, mean I'm mightily p'd off with Talk Talk.

Can I use all this as a sufficiently good reason to get out of contract & without penalty ? And transfer back to BT ? I know BT are more expensive but at least when we were with them before we never had any techy problems.

Thank you.

anotherbaldrick

From their track record you would still be wrestling with the Hydra that manifests as Talk Talk come next March. You might as well wait till then to cut yourself free.

Heinz

It might be worthwhile writing now telling them that you will be leaving in March and asking them to acknowledge receipt of your letter in writing (there is almost no chance they'll do that but it will be good ammunition if you need it in the future).

tcr_3

That's the thing, though, I'm not leaving in March. I want to leave now, for the sake of my own sanity.

macman

Then you'll have to pay the ETC. If the problem is on the local loop then you will still have exactly the same problem whoever you transfer to-the line will not change.
TT to BT-frying pan to fire.
However, if your line has been LLU'd by TT, then returning to BT for line rental will be your only option anyway-no direct transfer to another LLU service is possible (except maybe Sky).

DVardysShadow

macman wrote: »

Then you'll have to pay the ETC. If the problem is on the local loop then you will still have exactly the same problem whoever you transfer to-the line will not change.
TT to BT-frying pan to fire.
However, if your line has been LLU'd by TT, then returning to BT for line rental will be your only option anyway-no direct transfer to another LLU service is possible (except maybe Sky).

I disagree. Handled correctly, you DO NOT need to pay ETC. Either they fix it or you leave, without ETC.

The correct way to go about it is to WRITE and inform them of problems and give them 28 days [say] to sort the problem, otherwise you will regard them as not fulfilling their contract. Keep a copy in case it gets nasty.

The key to this is that if there is a contract in place, they MUST fulfill their contract to an adequate level if they wish to keep the contract. Otherwise, not only can you leave, but you can also claim the costs of gaining equivalent service after a reasonable time.

spike7451

As the OP is having a problem with both the Phone & BBand,I'd be inclined to believe the fault lies on the cabling between the exchange & the OP's home,in which case,simply switching providers won't fix the problem.

DVardysShadow

spike7451 wrote: »

As the OP is having a problem with both the Phone & BBand,I'd be inclined to believe the fault lies on the cabling between the exchange & the OP's home,in which case,simply switching providers won't fix the problem.

Agree. But if TT are not fixing it, then another provider might be better placed.

macman

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I disagree. Handled correctly, you DO NOT need to pay ETC. Either they fix it or you leave, without ETC.

The correct way to go about it is to WRITE and inform them of problems and give them 28 days [say] to sort the problem, otherwise you will regard them as not fulfilling their contract. Keep a copy in case it gets nasty.

The key to this is that if there is a contract in place, they MUST fulfill their contract to an adequate level if they wish to keep the contract. Otherwise, not only can you leave, but you can also claim the costs of gaining equivalent service after a reasonable time.

What I meant to suggest was that on the basis of what we have been told so far, the OP cannot just walk away and assume the contract is void. TT must be given the opportunity to remedy the defect within a specific timeframe, only then can there be any chance of getting out early.
How many time have these problems been reported and more often than not the fault is on the customer's internal wiring or equipment? This may not be the case here, but more info is needed about what basic tests the OP has done.

spike7451

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Agree. But if TT are not fixing it, then another provider might be better placed.

True,but at the end of the day it's Openreach that will ultimatly do the work & mess it up!

tcr_3

Talk Talk have had umpteen opportunities to fix this, I'm afraid. They sent two young men in a white van to tinker about with it, they installed a plate thing to go over the main telephone socket, that improved the broadband signal (it only craps out now maybe once or twice each night, but the phone line's still ropey ... and it's the phone line which is the problem, we're out in the sticks where moby reception is dire so a landline is a must).

What about the T&C's ? Changes to our material detriment mean we can get out of contract ... does that include price rises ?

Appreciate we may be jumping from one frying pan into another.