Talk Mobile, can anybody rate it?

stulaunch

Thinking about going to talkmobile.

Anyone on it here?

Can we have some reviews? What speeds are their internet giving you? Is coverage identical to Vodafone's as it uses their network?

redped

Only been with them a couple of weeks, but okay so far; my wife's been with them for about six months, again with no problems. I haven't downloaded much outside my home (where I use my wifi), so can't comment on d/l speeds. I had been with Vodafone previously, and the coverage is the same with Talkmobile.

All in all, I'm happy with them.

Hazzanet

Been with them about two months now. Coverage and d/l speeds are the same as the Vodafone network as they appear to piggyback off that. Coverage at home is poor (I live in the sticks), but out and about is very good.

Customer services seems to a bit hit and miss, specifically, one of the security questions they ask is what bank your direct debit is with. I bank with Smile, but they won't accept that because their computer says different (after a heated discussion, it comes up as Co-op bank on their system). Also, if Adam answers your call, don't bother; hang up and try again.

HTH

thezeronumber

Did a little research and probing with T-Mobile after someone brought up the subject of capping internet speeds and i can confirm that they do such a thing. Got an e-mail stating that they are capped to 1mbps speeds if you get a £25+ p/m contract directly with them before September 30th (meaning no fair use policy and truly unlimited data), or if you miss the 'no FUP' deal then they cap the speeds at roughly 1.3mbps but you're only allowed to stream 500mb of data and general browsing is limited to 3-5gb (need to double-check that). As far as i know T-Mobile are the only service which cap their speeds, so if you plan to use the internet a lot then they might not be the best choice. Should be fine if you use it every now and then and don't plan to do any downloading/streaming without the use of WiFi.

Hazzanet

@thezeronumber Are you confusing T-Mobile (Part of the Everything Everywhere group (http://www.t-mobile.co.uk)) with Talk Mobile (part of the Carphone Warehouse (http://www.talkmobile.co.uk))?

thezeronumber

How embarrassing, i am always doing this. Sorry for wasting everyone's time.

supamar1o

i have very mixed feelings about them. i chose them because the phone i want, on a 12month contract, was cheaper by more than £70 to any other company.

but:
i was a customer for one week and had to cancel my contract because they messed up my number porting (it took nearly 2hours of phone time to speak to someone and establish the problem). had to return my handset. had to call them up again in order to get a refund of a £100 deposit they took (they don't automatically refund it). just found that this contract wasn't immediately cancelled and so they debited £16 from my bank account. i just called to query this and they've finally cancelled the account, but i have to call back on monday to request the refund of the £16 (they can't refund this automatically).

because i was keen on this particular phone, 12mnth contract and the saving, i took out a contract with them again. went reasonably smooth, it's been two weeks.
but:
i found that whilst using mobile internet (they piggyback on vodafone, btw. signal and data speeds are the same as what you'd find using vodafone), certain websites would be blocked with an error message stating the site contains 18+ adult content and i must contact my provider in order to lift the block. this error message is created by vodafone (as is made clear by the url in the address bar, online.vodafone.co.uk/ blah blah).

note that the website i was trying to access is a page for an oktoberfest in london this weekend... nothing more dubious.

i contacted talkmobile, and to my utter surprise, disappointment, and frustration i was told that i would have to pay £100 deposit (refunded after 6months!) or they have to receive three months of successful direct debits from me, before they can lift this block. their reasoning behind this is that some websites can bill high charges to my mobile account, and they need consolation that i am able to pay that back (by £100 deposit or 3months direct debits).

they were absolutely resolute about this. it is vaguely stated in their t&c's, and i mean very vaguely. what is even more frustrating to me, considering this is a vodafone system, vodafone piggyback (i know talkmobile is a carphonewarehouse company), is that vodafone simply requires their customers to provide proof of age! that's all! one could call them and give them your credit card details, or walk into a vf shop and show them id, and they'd lift it. not talkmobile!

anyway, i don't know what i'm going to do... live with this for three months, or fork out another £100 deposit. that's my problem.

hope i was able to give you some insight into their operation and enabled you to make an informed decision before choosing them.