TalkTalk - cyber-attack - Grounds for canceling contract?

mrhappy7

Hello

I currently have 6months left on my talktalk contract after this latest cyber-attack I have zero confidence in them to look after my details.

I was wondering can I now complain to them and get them to cancel the contract or will they make me see out the rest of the 6months left on the contract?

fermi

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/broadband/2015/10/talktalk-website-hacked-what-you-need-to-do-now

Can I leave my contract penalty-free?

TalkTalk says it is "too early" to say if customers can leave penalty-free as a result of the hack – however it says it will "consider each case on an individual basis".

MoneySavingExpert.com asked the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which is investigating the breach, whether customers could legally leave penalty-free as a result. It says this isn't an area covered by the Data Protection Act. Ofcom, the communication watchdog also says this area doesn't come under its remit.

If you're unhappy about the attack, complain to TalkTalk in the first instance. You can use the free Resolver* tool to do this. If that doesn't work, take your case to the free, independent Ombudsman Services. Also see our How to Complain guide for your rights.

Am I due compensation?

TalkTalk says it won't be able to make a decision on this today. The ICO does however say "you have a right to claim compensation from an organisation if you have suffered damage because they have breached part of the data protection act". It can't however award compensation itself.

So if you're unhappy about the hack, complain as detailed above and explain why you believe you're due compensation.

Marktheshark

They are still underplaying the theft of the data with vague non answers.
They know exactly what has been stolen as all servers have data meters.
They were utterly lax in security, kept all eggs in one basket instead of splitting the data and avoided the question of if they did the absolute basic level of security and encrypt the data with a 256 hex key.
As they wont answer if they did not and it is open data that has been stolen they should be shut down by the data commissioner with ever case dealt with as a separate incident.

enfield_freddy

almost 72 hrs since the incident , website still down , total inability to change password etc


beginning to think all our data had been stolen , then deleted from their servers


hence the delay in contacting people , and "my account" not existing any more

amiaspden

enfield_freddy wrote: »

almost 72 hrs since the incident , website still down , total inability to change password etc


beginning to think all our data had been stolen , then deleted from their servers


hence the delay in contacting people , and "my account" not existing any more

I think it's more likely that they're desperately trying to patch the security hole before bringing the server up. I'm a computer programmer and I know how complex this can be.

SallyG

Is encryption expensive enough to be a matter for the Board?
Will they have to account publicly for how they dealt with customers' security - their privacy policy looks slippery.

giraffe69

It may well turn out that Talk Talk have been careless, derelict, negligent (use the word(s) of choice) but the stories in the papers today suggest that those who have lost money are those whose talk talk account password was the same as their online bank account password. If this is true then it should be regarded as a stupidity tax (not that this lets Talk Talk off the hook).

enfield_freddy

stupidity tax or not , talk talk had no right to hand the bank details to anyone


and the inability to go to their website and alter/update info is not helping matters

Owain_Moneysaver

SallyG wrote: »

Is encryption expensive enough to be a matter for the Board?

Encryption is free.

Not having encryption may turn out to be very expensive indeed for TalkTalk.

stojio

Yeah the fact their site is still down has made me decide to cancel my pending switch.

Anyone got any idea how to do it?

Goldiegirl

giraffe69 wrote: »

It may well turn out that Talk Talk have been careless, derelict, negligent (use the word(s) of choice) but the stories in the papers today suggest that those who have lost money are those whose talk talk account password was the same as their online bank account password. If this is true then it should be regarded as a stupidity tax (not that this lets Talk Talk off the hook).

Or it could be a complete coincidence that the fraud has happened at this time, and there could be an even more likely explaination, which is sadly often true in these cases- a family member has got hold of the details and has had a spree.

It's too early to be sure..... But that never stopped the newspapers