TalkTalk Usage Meter Is B0rked

AnnieD_2

I can only speak personally and I'm shocked that apparently I have to join a forum to get resolution whether I want to or not (I don't). I realise you don't know the details of my specific case but I'm very surprised by the Talk Talk attitude in general. I had a problem with my broadband usage and emailed your customer services for help. Why do you have a customer support if they don't support the customer? Surely as the first line of contact if they can't help they should be forwarding our details on to someone who can.

Due to their lack of help I looked at the TT forum and on here purely to educate myself as much as anything and that's when I discovered how many people had had exactly the same problem as me, but more shocking was TT's arragant attitude. And all I read here is just increasing my discontent. Frankly I'm amazed.

AnnieD_2

TalkTalk_Company_Representative wrote: »

Hi Annie,
I cant comment on response time for specific departments as these will vary depending on the number of queries received via the respective mediums. However, I can advise if you post on the Members forum or Tweet us @Talktalkcare we wil investigate into your issues and provide feedback on any promised callbacks that were not received.

I just don't understand why you can "investigate my issue and provide feedback" from a public forum post or a tweet but not from a personal email to customer services. Is it me? Am I being stupid here because it just doesn't make sense to me. Are most of your staff posting and tweeting so there's nobody left to deal with emails?? Can you explain your theory to me please because I really don't understand and I don't think I'm alone.

espresso

TalkTalk_Company_Representative wrote: »

hi visidigi,

We did use to provide direct support via the MSE site. However as one particular ISp was abusing the MSe forum to solicit sales MSE took the option to revoke all ISP from sending and receiving private messages.

Actually TalKTalk Company Representatives have had many posts removed due to touting for business and also for posting links to your TTMF.

If TalkTalk really wanted to help on this forum they could do much more and actually help their customers sort out many problems that do not require the confirmation of any security details.

How can you defend TalkTalk support when everybody knows just how bad it is in reality!

bod1467

http://www.talktalkmembers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=753171#post753171

Hi Em

It was the wires inside the socket the engineer worked on. None of the wires coming from the faceplate were a problem.

Regards

HA! IN YOUR FACE! :rotfl:

visidigi

TalkTalk_Company_Representative wrote: »

I have previously extended the offer to yourself as to any suggestions you have to help us improve our online engagement. Your welcome to provide this if you wish.

Four words.

Say less, do more.

TalkTalk

Hi AnnieD,

In regards your question the emails you have sent will have been directed to the customer support teams. The TTMF team are seperate to the email and telephony customer support. I agree that support requests shoudl result in customer support and I offered our help and how you can obtain support from the TTMF Team. Without you publicly disclosing your phone nubmer on MSE i cant give you direct support here. As advised you can await a reply from the email you sent, or alternatively you can contact us via any of the other methods we offer. YTou can email the TTMF team directly using the contac us form on the TTMF site however registrering and posting your issue in the relevant section si the quickest way for our department to support your issue.

Alternatively if you are unhappy with the support youve received so far and do not =wish to use the forum I would advise you refer to the Customer Complaints Code on the TalkTalk Website to raise your matter as a complaint.

@Espresso - At no point did we ever use this account or MSE forum to tout for business. We did link to the TTMF forum (so customer could get support) which we still refer to in posts. However, ALL Company Reps on the MSE forum were restricted from posting links due to an individual ISP.
I think this lead to the reduction in presence on MSE of a number of our competitors who did use it solely to solicit new business, not to support existing customers which is the purpose of our presence here. In terms of defending support im unsure where i have done so, ive offered support through an alternative medium for the OP, should they choose to utilise this.


This TT account was setup for SUPPORT of existing customers, not sales. We only ever answered direct questions from customer querying tariffs and sales infomration and provided links to the TT website where applicable. TT have never processed a sale from the MSE forum.


@Bod - im unsure of the point your trying to make. Emma clearly requested the customer confirmed specific information regarding the work done, they have done so. As such further investigation will be conducted. This is an open and ongoing case so I cant see what point your trying to make, Emma is conucting the necessary checks so a dispute can be raised, which requires us supplying evidence to Open Reach of an erroneous charge should we expect the engineer notes to be inaccurate. This takes time, requires evidence and relevant investigation, which in the case you quoted is ongoing. You wil see this pattern si the same for all TRC disputes on the TTMF forum which have about a 50/50 split of both valid disputes and invalid disputeS (i.e where the charge is upheld becuase it is accurate)


@Visidigi - Im open to your suggestions as to how we can do more as previously requested, saying less will only lead to reduced communication with our actual customers such as Annie who are experiencings problems. Ive offered the OP multiple options as to how we can provide suport and the justification of why we cannot investigate further here. If you have suggestions to improvements on that I am more than happy to feed these back to the relevant partiees.

Regards

Mark
TalkTalk Online Community Department

bod1467

This is my thread - I am the OP - I am not a TT customer - thus you have not offered me ANY options for support as I don't NEED any from TT.

The point I was making was that the person affected by that TRC had to wait 3 working days (5 days in total) before someone (a TTMF member) asked the pertinent question. That question should be the FIRST question asked - why didn't Emma ask this in her Tuesday 13th Dec 2011, 01:05 PM reply?

There have been many instances of TRCs being applied without question, until a member has queried this and proved it was unjustified. In many of these cases the TT response has been (figuratively - fingers in ears) "LA LA LA Not Listening" until the member has become so frustrated that they would make Michael Douglas in Falling Down seem a bastion of calm and serenity. Why do TT take so long to come around to believing their customers?

I accept that some people will be just "trying it on", but TT's default position should be "customer is right - how can we help" rather than "customer is telling porkies - if we bluster them they'll go away".

PS - I agree that the TTMF is (in general) a very good customer service channel. That's why I'll usually direct any TT customers who post here to try it. But things can always be made better.

TalkTalk

HI Bod,

As advised the TRCs are questioned, by the TRC's Team, prior to them being applied on the account. This ensures the notes match the closure code submitted by OR.

Emma provided the information we had recorded from the qualkified Open Reach engineer as appropriate.

Although you are entitled to your persepctive and opinion i can assure you we dont take a "LA LA LA were not listening approach" it would be easy enough to just ignore and delete the thread if this was the case but clearly we take a different approach.

However in order to actually dispute a TRC with Open Reach (im unsure if you have any direct experience of this) then you need to provide evidence to support the claim. As appropriate, Emma confirmed in the first instaces what the TRC's stated. The customer disuted that this was accurate. As such Emma confirmed what actions had taken place in the property.

Once the customer confirmed this a TRC dispute was raised (many customers find at this point the charge is valid and confirm the issue to be internal wiring dinfitively)... this is the correct process and the OP Emma is dealing with has raised no issues with how this has been handled. The thread itself acts as written confirmaiton of the customers dispute which we can use as a basis to make claim with Open Reach for the charge.

You appear to have a predisposed opinion of how we work which is inaccurate. We dont blame the customer, we only confirm and validate what the customer is saying by collating evidence to support their claim. Just like with faults where we rule out the possibility of equipment, were not blaiming the equipment, were removing certain variable from the investigation. In this case we removed Open Reachs ability to say "the notes state it was internal" as we ahve written confirmation form the custeomr that contradicts the OR notes.

I can assure you if you dont provide our network teams with sufficient evidence to support a TRC dispute it will be bounced back, the reason being the OR wont accept a dispute without valid grounds.

This will take longer than the 5 days you have quoted and in our experience (which dealing with TRC disputes is not dimunitive) the process we use works quicker than raising the dispute first and trying to collate evidence after.

Your right that things can always be improved but the suggestion you have made has already been tried... it doesnt work.

regards

Mark
TalkTalk Online Community Department.

bod1467

The 5 days I quoted (3 working days) was for THE RIGHT QUESTION to be asked, NOT how long it takes for TRC disputes to be settled. Nice try.

My opinions are formed by reading the TTMF. I see good and bad things in terms of how your customers are treated, and specifically in their PERCEPTION of how they are treated. I accept that some are just Mr. Angry from Tunbridge Wells regardless of the situation, but I also see some who's treatment is downright shabby.

TalkTalk_Company_Representative wrote: »

Your right that things can always be improved but the suggestion you have made has already been tried... it doesnt work.

What suggestion did I make?

AnnieD_2

Damn just lost my fab detailed response with quotes & the works!

The essence was that I approached TT & then the forums to try to educate myself as much as anything. That's when i was surprised by how many other people had had exactly the same problem, unexplained excess broadband usage. What really surprised me was TT's attitude. My overriding perception is that the customer has to provide evidence and prove that the figures are wrong (those that have done their own conflicting monitoring or being charged when equipment is disconnected are not believed). But TT are exempt from their own rules and are allowed to give whatever figures they like without explanation or breakdown and we are expected just to hand over more money without questioning it.

The overriding feeling I got was one of an arrogant, uncaring and totally unsupportive attitude which could have been so different. And this on public forums! If you believe this is the correct way for a company (and a communications one at that!) to conduct its business then fine, carry on. I'll be looking for a provider in the new year that can show their customers even a little respect.