Talk Talk nightmare service

i8change

My elderly mother has had a Talk Talk phone line for years but recently made the mistake of ringing customer services to see if she could reduce her phone bills as my dad has had to go into care recently and money was tight.
First they put her on a totally unsuitable package where she was paying for daytime calls and the costs were even greater than they originally were.
When she got the next bill and realized the mistake she rang again and specifically told them she is a phone only customer, not broadband, as she has no computer and never will have. She asked for the mistake to be corrected and for just line rental and their "anytime calls" package nothing else and was reassured that she was definitely only a phone customer and would not be given broadband.
She has now received paperwork off them saying she is a broadband customer and she is facing having to ring them again at a time when things are not good as my dad is going downhill very fast and she really could do without having to sort out what should have been a very simple phone contract!
I cannot believe how bad their customer service can get, it's almost as if just changing the contract in any way that will result in a further 12 month contract is their goal regardless of the actual customer request.
How hard can it be to sort out line rental and an appropriate calls package for a phone only customer?
Anyone getting on in years should always consider dealing only with companies that can at least manage reasonable customer service. Things can get stressful enough when you are elderly without these unnecessary problems!

Quentin

Get your mother to give them permission for you to speak to them on her behalf and sort it for her.

Alternatively use their complaints procedure though this will be a drawn out process.

paulsad

So best option maybe if you ring on her behalf and tell them she is elderly, sick etc. You then will hear first hand the customer service offered and hopefully can get it sorted for her.

i8change

I did call them after the 1st mistake but as I was not the account holder the chap would only confirm the mistake and say that they do do line rental and anytime or evenings & weekends call packages for phone only customers.
He said that she could ring, as the account holder, and choose the appropriate options to change to. Unfortunately they still did not get it right and have sent her paperwork as a new broadband customer now.
I will give her their complaints number I found online and she will have another try.
She can ring them when my brother is there (he lives same town) but says she will try once more herself.
Many thanks for the replies.

macman

TT bundles are often heavily weighted to encourage people to take extra services: are you sure that she is not on an offer that includes broadband but yet may still be cheaper than a phone only tariff? It's the price that matters, not wheter she uses the broadband service if available.
Can't really advise further without proper details of what she is being billed for now and before.If you set up the account online then you can check this very easily: much better than trying to use TT's dire telephone CS.

i8change

Originally posted by macman
bundles are often heavily weighted to encourage people to take extra services: are you sure that she is not on an offer that includes broadband but yet may still be cheaper than a phone only tariff?

When I rang the chap confirmed cheapest for her was line rental @ £15.40 (cheaper if paid 12 months in advance) + Anytime calls @ £7.21.
Also with phone only accounts you only have to pay £3 for every month outstanding if ever you leave + no notice required they just accept notice from the company you move to. Cheaper and easier than notice with a broadband account, hence she was not worried about being put on another 12 month contract.
That is why she specifically said she did not want a broadband account, and they confirmed she did/would not have one.
She has greater problems elsewhere at the moment but hopefully when she gets round to calling them they will just sort it, this time.

trinidadone

i8change wrote: »

When I rang the chap confirmed cheapest for her was line rental @ £15.40 (cheaper if paid 12 months in advance) + Anytime calls @ £7.21.
Also with phone only accounts you only have to pay £3 for every month outstanding if ever you leave + no notice required they just accept notice from the company you move to. Cheaper and easier than notice with a broadband account, hence she was not worried about being put on another 12 month contract.
That is why she specifically said she did not want a broadband account, and they confirmed she did/would not have one.
She has greater problems elsewhere at the moment but hopefully when she gets round to calling them they will just sort it, this time.

poor you, sounds like you have had some problems, heres my take on it:

notice to leave TalkTalk, if your out of contract there T&C state they need 30 days notice when leaving.

secondly, you can do the following:

customer service - phone support.
your mother should contact customer service again. she needs to complete the secuity checks, and then inform the Customer Service Advisor, she is giving permission for you to take over the telephone call. at that point, explain what has happoned, inform the CSR what you want done, and ask for this information to be confirm in writing. if you feel your call is not being addressed properly, request to esculate the call to a manager.

keep calm, and keep notes throughout the call. good luck

Nonplussed

i8change - don't think you'll get much joy from their CS or complaints procedure. I've recently had dealings with them on behalf of my elderly dad.


If I were you I'd drop a mail to the CEO Dido Harding outlining the issues. Advise that they can contact your mum to confirm you can act on her behalf.

[EMAIL="dido.harding@talktalkplc.com"]dido.harding@talktalkplc.com[/EMAIL]


You'll be contacted by one of her management team and they do sort things out.