TalkTalk change to terms and conditions

chrisnotts_2

In the February bill TalkTalk changed the terms of their conditions for Direct Debit from 14 to 7 days, this was at the bottom of the first page and unless you scrolled down you didn't see it. the result of this is that instead of taking the payment on the 6th or 7th of the month, that they have done for the last 6 years, they now took my payment on 31st March also the previous month on 7th March. This resulted in me exceeding my overdraft and I was charged £25 by my bank.
They said they changed to bring into line new customers, presumably Tiscali, but I have my doubts as it must have been very useful to have all their customers next payments included in their Financial Year end figures.
Unlike standing orders they seem to be able to take the money when they want, but if you want to change the Direct Debit date they can only do it if you are a paper customer. But I want to stay online and I want my payment taken after my salary goes in on the 1st of the month

Sooler

except for making 2 payments in March it's as before - payment is just later in the month after pay day.

Mark_In_Hampshire

Just my interpretation, never terribly popular on these boards:

Customers paying by direct debit have to be given 10 days notice of the amount and date of the proposed debit or as otherwise agreed.

Talk Talk have decided that it's now 7 days. You didn't agree that, you were told that. And unfortunately, whether or not you read it, Talk Talk have complied with the direct debit scheme and given you the required notification.

Unfortunately, since as far as I know Talk Talk only accept direct debit as a method of payment (may or may not be right on that) it makes no real practical difference whether you agree or not if you want to continue the service, indeed by continuing the service Talk Talk would perhaps argue that you did agree that change; you did not contact them about it.

However a change in the amount of notice between bill and debit is a change of payment terms. If the Talk Talk Ts and Cs you signed prescribed 14 days notification then this is potentially a change of Terms which you could use to escape the contract altogether provided you notify them within 30 days that you do not agree with that change.

If the Ts and Cs said "14 days or as otherwise agreed" or "up to 14 days" then Talk Talk are within their rights to do this because both leave the option for the supplier to vary the notification per bill. You otherwise agreed that they could do this.

I'm not defending Talk Talk or intending to be contentious here; IMO this issue has rather more to do with the failings of the Direct Debit system to protect the consumer than it does with Talk Talk specifically because as the OP points out, the only way to pay on the same day every month is to transfer the payment manually, or pay by standing order.

For instance, BT specifies (or used to) a notification period of "up to 10 days". It might very well be that the bill you get is generated on day 1 and the money is taken on day 11 at the moment, but BT could quite happily take the payment the day after the bill and still comply with the Direct Debit Guarantee. It's as otherwise agreed.

On a final note, the supplier is not obliged to offer or change the billing cycle to suit the customer. Most suppliers will do this so as to schedule the payment just after you're paid on the basis that if you haven't got enough money to pay everyone, they're first in line. But they don't have to do this.

SHIPSHAPE

I was one of those caught out by TalkTalk changing the direct debit dates and I incurred a £10 fee from my bank and a £10 fee from TalkTalk themselves.

However, good news, call TalkTalk and discuss it with them. I received no additional email sent to me about this, as I should have, but it did state it on my previous bill but one had to scroll right down to notice it. I often don't even check my bill as it is always a similar amount on the same date.

The lady at TalkTalk was brilliant and apologised, even though strictly speaking they did the legal minimum, and waivered this months bill, cancelled the £10 fee and gave me a discount of £2 per month for the next year.

I have been with TalkTalk for probably 10 years and other than this I have never had a problem with their service.

I am highly impressed with how they dealt with my complaint and their gesture of goodwill.

Ksandra2901

Lucky you! Maybe it was the small amount of £20 that they were happy to refund, they were not so forthcoming with the £55 I have been charged by the bank for them changing their payment dates!!

And what can I do about this? Sweet FA!! :mad:

The next cheapest provider is £10 more expensive, if I switch to paper billing and get an additional 7 days to pay, I have to pay £1.48 for the pleasure and if I cancel my DD and pay when I want to I get to pay £5 for the pleasure!

Hmmmmmm, maybe I should just invest in some lube so the next time I am shafted, it won't hurt so much!!

K