Why does TalkTalk make it so difficult for themselves?

TalkTalk

i8change wrote: »

Not everybody can use the Talk Talk Community forum.

My elderly mother has had a Talk Talk phone line for many years and recently rang customer services to see if she could add "anytime calls" to her phone contract as my father was going into care (due to dementia) and she would be using the phone a lot more.


She then received paperwork saying she is a broadband customer and also her phone service is now suspended if her calls go over £20 which never happened previously.


She did not ask for, or want, a broadband service as she has no computer (or router) to use the service. She also needs the phone to be working at all times so the £20 call limit and outgoing call bar are very problematic.


No internet, no Talk Talk Community forum and she has rang customer services three times and been fobbed of with "broadband is part of your contract, it cannot be removed."

Her only option is now to not use the phone regularly and wait till the end of her contract before moving to a company that will supply her with the cheaper phone only service that she actually needs, like the one she used to have with Talk Talk!

They gained a few pounds more a month and extended her contract but ultimately have lost a long term customer. As the title of this thread says "why does Talk Talk make it so difficult for themselves?"

HI i8change,

We offer the TalkTalk Community as a method of communication to customer we engage with online.

I have offered it here because anyone posting on the MSE forum has access to and actively uses forums, so its an appropriate medium to suggest.

If your mother doesnt have access to the internet then no, the TT Community would not be suitable. She can contact us either via phone or by letter (details are in our complaints process)

@Zinga5 - TT do not currently offer a phone only package. What information were you trying to obtain and I can confirm anything you need to know.

Cheers

Mark
Online Community Department
TalkTalk

i8change

Originally Posted by TalkTalk Company Representative
If your mother doesnt have access to the internet then no, the TT Community would not be suitable. She can contact us either via phone or by letter

As I mentioned, she has rung them three times already and been told "broadband is part of the package, it cannot be removed" even though she only asked for anytime calls to be added to her phone service, not broadband, as she has no computer/does not require broadband.

Being given an entirely unsuitable package means she now also has to call Talk Talk when she reaches the £20 call limit and outgoing call bar to get it removed.

I don't think she wants to add corresponding by mail on the off chance that they will do what they would not when she rang three times and put her back on a phone only package, the "Talk UK Anytime" package that she should have been put on when she rang initially.

I am sure if she followed the complaints process all the way up through to Head of Complaints - CEO's Office and onto Ombudsman Service, with no recorded telephone conversation of her ever asking for broadband and not even a single byte being downloaded through the non-existent router she was never sent, she might get put back on a phone only service. However I think she would rather spend that time visiting her husband, in care with advanced Alzheimer's!

Obvious mistakes like this should be easily and willingly sorted with a phone call or two at most.

It's folly for companies to offer discounts to keep customers that threaten to leave, but to then push away long term customers that were happy to pay full price. Especially older ones that are not keen on change so unlikely to leave if the service is OK.

adindas

Dear TalkTalk Company Representative

Thank you for taking time respondng to my question.

I was not asked about the benefit for the person and TalkTalk to post in vendors specific forum.

While the benefit like what you said is clear, I am more concern about impartiality.

The problem with the vendors own forum is that they are really in full control in the forum and could delete or block the people they do not like even the person is not a spammer, but just want to post their bad experience?

1. Is there any guarantee that you will not delete ANY post even the post that you do not want to hear/see ??

2. Is there any guarantee that you will not block any people who are posting their bad experience with TalkTalk ??? The person is not a spammer, but just want to post their bad experience, you are free of course to counteract showing other evidence but not deleting it, so the third party could make up their own judgement. Similar to what happen when the people are posting rather negative post in here ...
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5028181

3. Are you going to state 1&2 clearly in your guide and rule in your community/forum, ?? This will guarantee people that their posts will not be deleted ....

TalkTalk_Company_Representative wrote: »

Hi Adindas,

For account or service based issues (such as faults or billing) we cant provide full support through MSE, as we cannot confirm your phone number or account info. For various reasons Company accounts are not able to send/receive PM's and as MSE is a third party site we cannot ensure security of the info exchanged (although we have every faith MSE PM's are secure, we cannot access them)

With this in mind where its obvious that we need to look at the account or the line, then we ask customers to post the details on the TT community where we can provide full support and have a secure system with which to confirm information.

If questions are generic (i.e is [x] possible, how much is a call to[y]) then we will happily answer the query here.

In regards to the "glad there has been some progress" comment, as I cant see the customers details, I cannot confirm what actions were taken to fix the issue. We are happy to apologise for issues we have caused. However, without actually checking the account I would only be assuming. There's little worse than a hollow unfounded apology.

As I have posted before for any specific issues were happy to look into it if you post on the TT community.

regards

Mark
Online Community Department
TalkTalk