MSE News: Talk Talk worst for phone and broadband complaints

chrissy50

I got a contract with tiscali in 2007. I had landline, tv and broadband package. I had no problems until Talk Talk took over from tiscali. Then all of a sudden everything went wrong : Tv had no channels picking up, no internet, phone stopped working I could not make outbound calls.

It took about 19 days for them to come and sort out the problems. I was only offered £10 off the monthly bill as compensation.

I then changed over to Sky July 2010. I gave Talk Talk more than a month's notice of the change over. I had paid up to the notice period already so I owed nothing more to talk talk. I cancelled the direct debit with tiscali and my bank before Sky was installed.

For the next 4 months I received bills for each of these 4 month which state I owed money - but I had already cancelled and was not using the services. Each time I called them I was told that they will sort it out and not to worry.......

I received a bill for £261 some months later. I could not believe it. I was banging my head against a brick wall. I ignored the letter then as I had already cancelled the direct debit and knew that I owed nothing and I was not on a minumum term contract.

When I looked at my bank statement in April this year, I found that Talk Talk had taken the money out of the account by using my details from Tiscali. They couldn't get the money out using Tiscali (as that had been cancelled) so they used the Talk Talk name to get my money! I then went to the bank and filled in a direct debit indemnity form. I still don't know if I have been refunded the money into my account yet as I had to change bank accounts to stop any reoccurrence. This was a pain in the wotsit and very inconvenient for me as I have had to amend all bank details, bills and everything to my new bank.

Please can someone help me to make an official complaint as I am getting no where with complaining to Talk Talk and Tiscali. Does anyone have any addresses or numbers or can lead me in the right direction???? I would really appreciate your help! Thankyou Christine:mad:

Marty1972_2

I used to have a Lineone account which was transferred to Tiscali and then Talk Talk took over. They were supposed to transfer all of my emails over, but instead, they froze my account for about 30 days and when it was finally activated again all of my messages had been deleted. In the first instance I tried to get the emails back. When they eventually said they were lost forever, I then asked for a refund from the premium rate numbers they continually told me to call as nothing had been achieved. In total, I spend over 8 hours on the phone to them over a period of over 6 months.

Whilst pursuing this simple refund, Talk Talk passed me from one department to another generating more and more bills and more and more delays. They kept me going saying that someone would sort it out, but nobody ever did. I took to writing to them, several times, as I was fed up of explaining the same sorry tale over and over again, but just received standard letters from them telling me I should contact their customer services number, which would in turn generate more phone bills for me.

They even wrote and said if I provided them with more detail they would arrange the refund. I did, and they didn’t! Finally, they wrote to me and said there would be no refund as it was in their Terms and Conditions that they would not refund the cost of calls to their service lines.

I would NEVER EVER touch Talk Talk with a 100 foot pole again! They led me on for such a long time without them having a clue or living up to a single one of their many promises. I was lied to on the phone many many times and not a single person in any one of my phonecalls or letters displayed any remorse or understanding to the situation I was in. They were a faceless, useless organisation which appeared to keep no record of anything that we had discussed before and were only interested in new custom, not keeping existing customers happy. They epitomised everything that is bad about large companies and were the worst company I have ever had to deal with when I was only asking for a simple solution to a problem. They rightfully deserve the award for the worst telecomms company, and worst of all, they don't appear to want to make themselves any better.

The bottom line is, beware before you consider using their services. You pay your money, and you get little in return. They may be cheap, but you will end up paying if it goes wrong.

Paul_Varjak

But calls to TalkTalk customer services are free from a TalkTalk number!

freeoffers

TalkTalk's actual service is very good. The problem starts if you get any problems. I'm not going to go too much into the problems my mum had with them when she moved. Her internet was cut off for several months yet she was still charged. And they charged her for to phone numbers on one bill! However, they dealt with the issue effectively so maybe they are turning the corner.

Paul_Varjak

Yes, the phone service is good, the internet service is good, the customer service is worse than useless - unless you get through to a Philippines call centre - when the customer service is very good!

Just a pity that the the Philippines Call Centres do not handle technical queiries - they are, unfortunately, dealt with in India and South Africa!

rickbonar

Lizk wrote: »

My disabled husband was pursuaded to transfer to TT for broadband and calls when a cold caller came to the door promising faster speeds, cheaper lines, better service etc. We were told if we weren't happy, we could switch back within 30 days at no cost.

To cut a very long story short, we had no service at all and whenever we tried to contact them, they blamed our equipment, distance from the telephone exchange, in fact everything but their service. They kept fobbing us off but we eventually gave notice that we wanted to switch back within the 30 day period and they ignored us. In fact, they ignored us for months until we found another supplier and left anyway. They then tried to continue to bill us, threatening court action and baillifs etc. despite verbally accepting that we had given notice within the due time etc.

Eventually we complained to Otello and again they lied saying we hadn't given notice or contacted them with complaints despite us being able to produce written confirmation from them of one of our complaints! Otello found partly in our favour (believing TT that we'd not contacted TT in time for the 30 day cancellation) and the verdict was to withdraw all claims for payment. They're still trying to bill us now, six months after the Otello ruling.

Incidentally, the stress caused by all this led to my husband being hospitalised with heart failure several times last year and I am sure contributed to his death four months ago. They are nothing but a bunch of crooks.

This is appalling treatment and I know I've had similar attitude from another company like this before. (Tiscali some years ago)
Now I found it wise to record all your calls and I know it may viewed as overkill but if you record the calls as they do you can prove at least that you are telling the truth.

Otello is another complaint armour organisation really designed to absorb flak for the phone companies and exist solely to stop the public getting their rights and protecting the corporations like Talk talk and BT. You really need to take proper recordings and print outs of emails and the copies the contracts where possible and take it to a legal man that will take them through the courts on supply of goods and services. You may need to contact Othello but keep it clear in your mind that they are not there to help YOU but them - you will however have to do this in order to play along with the official line.

As far I know Otello and it's predecessor Ofcom never actually took any action on any of the tricks and miss-selling BT etc did EVER. So I think you can see exactly what they're there for. OK

Paul_Varjak

OFCOM is NOT a predecessor to OTELO!

OFCOM is the regulator (it still exists) and OTELO (which is now called the OMBUDSMAN SERVICES) is an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body.

The OMBUDSMAN SERVICES is NOT there for the benefit of telecommunications companies, it is there for the benefit of customers; it is a way of resolving disputes without having to go to court. It is completely free for the consumer, the telecommunications companies have to pay the Ombudsman Services (around £350) for each case, whether they win or lose.

mugginsgalore

Can someone please help me decide should I cancel my transfer to talk talk. Although they have bad reviews for their customer service, my main concern is being without a phone line. Has anyone experienced this?

paul5886

I sent the following letter, which has stirred up some minor amusement for me







24.08.11





talk talk telecom ltd
PO box 255 Enfield en3 7sx


Dear Mr Rawlings

Thank you for your letter requesting £41.47 to be paid soonest or you may have to restrict my service. I am agog with indifference to note your reaction when you see my response "GET !!!!ED"

I would like to congratulate you on your altruistic policy of providing employment for halfwits, cretins and retards on three continents, many of whom don't speak English, never mind as a second or third language, they just don't speak English.

Although you are obviously not looking to improve your !!!! poor service, as evidenced by the recent £3 million pound fine for general money grubbing and treating your customers as if they are as stupid as your call centre employees you might consider opening a call centre from the monkey house at London zoo. You could continue to pay staff with bananas, peanuts and carpet cleaner, the only down side is your dwindling number of customers would have to put up with a better service

I have had so many phone calls with various members of your cut cost apologies for talk talk call centres, in April, May, June and July this year, including but not exclusively Salve, Zaida, Saurav, Zak, Zuki, Sadiya, Shamiema, oh..... and Harry.

I might as well have used clay tablets a stylus and Egyptian hieroglyphs. In several hours of pointless jabber, not one thing that was discussed actually happened, except, that is, when I paid my account in full, then you cut my line. I will pay you the balance you are bleating for never you bunch of retromingent, knuckle scraping low life buffoons.

Best regards

Paul Wellum

paul5886

Are Talk talk a shower of incompetents nitwits or what?




Atn S Rawlings
Talk Talk
po box 346
Southampton
SO30 2PW


5th September



Dear Mr Rawlings

How unsurprising you don’t have the manners or corporate ethos to reply to your mail except by way of taking the !!!! out of handicapped people…..your Christmas parties must be a blast

I received your billing for the partially sighted, as have several other people that have complaints with talk talk, it seems that this disgusting behaviour is standard talk talk policy and that taking the !!!! out of handicapped people obviously passes for wit with convicted telecommunication thieves

I have had conversations with over twenty of the dunderheads that masquerade as customer service that said my bill was paid in advance and had been settled in full, the conversation was supposedly recorded, but when it comes to finding the tapes, you will doubtless have lost them. Luckily, I have recordings of some of the conversations and all the dates and times

The invoice you claim is outstanding should be sent to me itemised in a correct and polite way as I have requested twice in writing previously, to date all you have done is take the !!!! out of handicapped people. I repeat, I want an itemised bill stating clearly why the money is owing

If you do indeed proceed with putting this in the hands of a debt agency I will file complaints with the regulating authorities and consider legal action against you for breach of contract.

I have a legitimate complaint against you that you have made no attempt to address, and can only come to the conclusion you don’t have time to deal with all the grievances and cancellations because with the pitiful service you provide you are inundated

So that this matter is not shunted sideways by ineffectual bean counters I am copying it to the attention of CEO Charles Dunstone by recorded delivery. I do not expect him to do anything, but at least he won’t be able to hide behind a wall of obfuscation like the rest of you incompetent bunch of retromingent knuckle scraping buffoons

Best regards


Paul Wellum