Can TalkTalk forcibly transfer me to another provider?

oliveoil54

Have had on going complaint with TalkTalk since June 2013, have had phone & broadband with TalkTalk for 10 years.

We have had numerous external repairs to the line by BT Openreach. The nearest exchange is operated by BT only and as yet is still unbundled. We live in a rural area and our broadband download speed during most of the day varies from 5.3Mbps in the morning to approx 3/4Mbps late afternoon, early evening it drops from 0.9Mbps to 0.4Mbps late evening.

Our neighbours who are approx 500m away and on the same line, their speeds are 5Mbps in the morning, are approx at 4/5Mbps in the afternoon and are 2.5Mbps in the evening.

I have complained directly to TalkTalk CEO office as I find using the TalkTalk Indian Call Centres appalling. TalkTalk have instructed BT Openreach every time I have had to complain about the phone line and broadband and they have tried to repair the line with 7 call outs from June 2013. In Feb work was carried out on the line on our track by BT Openreach at the behest of my MP, and BT Openreach have subsequently been out a further 5 times to try and rectify the speed problem and noise on the telephone.

Our line is clearly capable of providing 5Mbps as we now receive most mornings, so why does our speed drop so drastically during the evening? Neither BT Openreach or TalkTalk have as yet been able to resolve the problem.

It now appears that TalkTalk have taken the decision to transfer my account to another provider even though I am still mid-contract and have also pre-paid a year in advance on the TalkTalk Landline charge.

Taken from email received from TalkTalk CE Office

"It does seem the issue is with the fact that you have no TalkTalk equipment available within your exchange.

I have requested further information on this issue and have been advised that as part of a programme of work to simplify systems and processes, we plan to transfer a small number of customers who are outside our network area, and because of this pay more for their service.

As you are aware your telephone exchange is not part of our TalkTalk network so we are limited in the services we can provide you, and your account is one of the accounts that will be included in the above change."

I queried this to get more information and received the following reply from TalkTalk CE Office

"In relation to the transfer of your services to another provider unfortunately we have no further information regarding this as of yet but you will be updated with any developments accordingly, the cost to you after the transfer would be dependent on which provider takes over your service.

I understand that you are unhappy with this as you wish to remain with TalkTalk and I apologise for any inconvenience or upset this has caused however due to the fact that we are unable to provide a stable service a Business decision has been made to transfer customers who are unable to have their line direct with us to a provider who can provide a more reliable and cost effective service."

Can TalkTalk break a contract mid-term and just transfer my account elsewhere? As far as I can tell BT is the only operator of our local exchange and their Customer Service is also based abroad and has a terrible reputation, with my broadband speed issues unresolved, I can not foresee how they can 'provide a more reliable and cost effective service'!

JJ_Egan

Your evening drop is probably contention or more people using the service at that time .

kwikbreaks

Currently Talk Talk must be providing your service through BT Wholesale. How much BT Wholesale services cost them depends on how much capacity in the way of end points to the BTw network in their data centre TT are prepared to pay for. From the sound of things not enough. I thought the days of high congestion in the evenings were passed as there seems to be a lot less "the internet is slow in the evenings" discussion these days.

Clearly TalkTalk recognise they are oversubscribed on the BTw network and are dumping troublesome customers who expect to get a decent service and complain if they don't.

Can they do this - obviously they can as they've said they are going to and I doubt their legal department would let them if there weren't some weasle words somewhere in their contract allowing them to.

poppasmurf_bewdley

If you've been with TT for 10 years for phone and broadband, how can you still be "mid contract" with them?

Sounds like you have the same problem many others have, with a drop in speed being detectable in the evenings when many more people are using the internet. Like you, I live in a very rural area and have always suffered a similar problem to you.

Quentin

Your contract with them will give them the right to make changes like this. You will also have the right not to accept the changes by cancelling without penalty.

macman

Clearly a contention issue.
And really no point in using TT if it's not LLU and it's cheap-since those are their only two good points.
If they'll release you without an ETC, accept and go to somewhere like Plusnet. You don't have to accept a transfer to a supplier nominated by them (who?), nor are you limited to BT-there are dozens of non-LLU providers to choose from.
Your only real option for increasing line speed is to upgrade to FTTC, if available.

brewerdave

Earlier in the year didn't the TT Chief Exec. announce that they were going to shed ALL of their BT Wholesale supplied broadband customers and stop expanding their LLU network??

Sooler

oliveoil54 wrote: »

Have had on going complaint with TalkTalk since June 2013

Why would you want to stay with them?

oliveoil54

I am part way through my contract because I had renegotiated a v good deal with TalkTalk after my previous contract expired, & after some comparison with plusnet, plus I have pre-paid my Landline charges which worked out at £9.95 p month.

Unfortunately there is no Superfast or Fibre Broadband in our rural area.

BT has control of the exchange, their current deal isn't too bad but as my previous experience indicates that my external telephone line is not the most reliable - having had numerous repairs (living in a rural area - tractors & diggers are known for digging up & cutting the lines buried in the grass verges), experience indicates that I will probably have to call the BT call centres which are equally as appalling as TalkTalk's especially the Indian ones! Eventually with TalkTalk I was able to email the CE Office and at least get a fairly quick & easily understood reply, they were also very good at instructing BT Openreach - but it took my MP's involvement before BT would agree to replace some of the line, however most of the line down our track hasn't been touched since the line was 1st installed many years ago probably in the 60s or 70s.

Re drop in speeds in the evening - My neighbour who is only 500 meters away and is on the same telephone line regularly gets 2.5Mbps in the evening compared to 0.5Mbps that we regularly get. We are the next house and at the end of this line so why the massive drop compared to him ? I would be over the moon with 2.5Mbps in the evening, we have a wireless tv that we have never been able to use in the evening because of the constant buffering.

My preffered reasons for staying with TalkTalk - much cheaper incl landline charges & straight access to the CE Office which provides quick replies in good English & prompt action. Now I will have to set up a new system, will I still be able to use my existing router which is top of the range, capable of coping with the 20 inch thick stone walls in my cottage? Whoever I go to will still have the same problem of trying to offer an adequate service on what is a fairly elderly telephone line with quite a few repairs on it.

However thank you all for your replies - at least I am not alone with this sort of problem, and thanks brewerdave I had not realised that this was a business decision - just thought they wanted rid because we have had so many problems!

JJ_Egan

Usual with a new supplier is that you get a combined modem/router .

AS you have a poor line then it will normally pay to make sure you are dropping as little as possible inside the house .
Have you tested the connection from the master socket .
Are your connections wired or WiFi .

oliveoil54

You have to buy BT's hub, its not expensive, but am concerned that the routers available from the various providers will not be able to cope with thick stone walls as well the router I had previously bought for this problem.

We have tested the system inside using wireless and wired and the results are virtually the same. We have had a BT Openreach 'Expert' Broadband Engineer out, who tested the system using our equipment and his with exactly the same results both wired and wireless & obviously tested the connection from the master socket he also fitted a BT Faceplate ADSL filter with separate connections for the phone & broadband doing away with having to use microfilters.

Our current router indicates we should be capable of receiving nearly 6Mbps download speed all the time, and we are getting nearly 5.5Mbps in the morning, but only 0.5Mbps in the evening, when my neighbour who is on the same line 500 meters away gets 2.5Mbps in the evening.