TalkTalk should I switch and to whom?

Susan1942

I am currently a TALKTALK customer My contract has expired in June but I have free broadband until the 19th December
Currently I have Anytime Calls at £7.50
International calls at £5
Line Rental £17 70
I spoke to them this am and when I start paying for Broadband it will cost me £37 70 a month. I could take away the international calls of £5 which would reduce my costs to £30 20 a month.
They offered me a SIM card as the free perk due to the recent issues. I have a mobile phone package so the SIM is useless. I did say I was looking at other providers which I am doing. They then offered me half price Broadband for 18 months. Without the International costs it would take my costs to £28 95. I am unsure of exactly what I would pay elsewhere. Carphone Warehouse had tried to sign me up for PlusNet, They seem to have free Broadband free for 12 months
Post Office speak to me about their packages but I have not looked seriously.
Being a Senior I am always wary of change. I was with AOL since 2004 but they offered me a deal to move to TalkTalk in June of 2014. At that time they did give me a good deal to move.
Thoughts of any difficulties I may encounter if I do change. I have read some horrible stories. Advice would be appreciated
Sue

molerat

You have just missed the boat with Plusnet, the £75 cash back offer has ended. Read the MSE article http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/cheap-broadband

Susan1942

Thanks for the info Will have a read through it. I am going to be away for 6 weeks starting 6th Dec so running out if time.
My discount runs until 19th Dec so will sort it out when I get back mid January
Again many thanks Sue

pmduk

Most people find switching suppliers goes without a hitch, when I switched from Talktalk in October it took a few minutes without internet and was otherwise unnoticeable.

Susan1942

Thanks for that information Can I keep.ny email address or do I need to change it? Sue

pmduk

You should never use an ISP's email address, as you lose them when changing contract or possibly even at the will of the ISP. It's always best to stick with something like Outlook or Gmail.

DavidP24

Susan1942 get out QUICK, take ANY deal on offer via cash back sites

I was paying £3 a month for identical service with TalkTalk except I did not have anytime calls.

If you were paying that much they saw you coming my dear.

They have recently put up their charges for calls to near mobile rates, they added new per call fees just invented by them.

They no longer include certain types of call that were included before

The free evening and weekend calls are now just free weekend calls

The anytime calls increased by 50%

They allowed customer data to be stolen

They share your payment details with credit reference agencies every month even though you are not entering into a credit agreement with them, they do this because it gives them free access to Equifax data.

For the amount you are paying you could get a really top end service elsewhere but probably get what you have now for around half and get £125 cash back from topcashback or quidco.

Do not postpone it because they even stitch you up when you leave, they charge you an extra month and unless you chase it and complain they are happy to take it (this was confirmed by the talktalk social media rep on this site.

Seriously, this is not a company that I have any faith in whatsoever.

TalkTalk

Hi Susan1942

Did you speak with our loyalty team about this?

Vicky

DavidP24

TalkTalk_Company_Representative wrote: »

Hi Susan1942

Did you speak with our loyalty team about this?

Vicky

There was a time when calling TT loyalty was a good idea but not anymore, they have their hands tied behind their back, I called them 4 times an descalated each time.

Sorry Vicky, I do not know if TalkTalk is fattening the goose prior to a sell off but your company has changed.

You WERE positioned as a VALUE provider, now you are positioned and a RIP OFF provider, dealing with TT now is like walking through a minefield of charges. Previously those charges were a fraction of what they are now, previously they only triggered occasionally, now it is hard not to.

For 4 years you gave me good reason to stay, now you talk about Loyalty, how do you think the OP feels as a senior knowing that I paid £2.25 a month and got virtually the same as you charged them over £30 for, including the international call boost and getting loads of free kit I did not want?

When you call the loyalty team you will NOT be given the best offer and even their final offer will NOT be competitive in the market.

Where was your loyalty to them thus far?

I am sorry but TT now has disdain for their customers, trying to charge them more and more for less and less. Let's be clear, your international calls are Voip and have virtually no cost as they are paid on block. The "investment" in exchanges has been done and these days your kit is oversubscribed so we regularly see people saying you are slower than other providers.

You share their data without meaningful consent and without option to opt out, you are in breach of the data protection act AND article 8 of the human rights act, all of that and you allow yourself to get hacked. A group is putting together a formal complaint of this to UK and EU data commissioners.

Your contracts are misleading and you deliberately keep the phone line and broadband on different length contracts to make customer overpay when they leave.

Then when people terminate you charge them for a service you know you will not provide (they gave you 30 days notice) then if they complain you credit it back.

Your call centres seem to drag the calls out to earn extra money, I have had them refuse to go for an hour.

These call centres in .PH are manned with people who can read English words but do not understand the language, it is an exercise in futility to deal with them. Your call centres in India seem to be manned by some very rude people who insult your intelligence, your call centres in South Africa are usually polite but usually are unable to do the things needed to solve problems.

Despite being a loyal customer for many years it is hard for me to imagine wanting to deal with TT again.

I predict that you will continue to lose customers, in fact I would say that EE would not have been able to get their Broadband biz off the ground but for your mistakes.

dollop

DavidP24 wrote: »

There was a time when calling TT loyalty was a good idea but not anymore, they have their hands tied behind their back, I called them 4 times an descalated each time.

Sorry Vicky, I do not know if TalkTalk is fattening the goose prior to a sell off but your company has changed.

You WERE positioned as a VALUE provider, now you are positioned and a RIP OFF provider, dealing with TT now is like walking through a minefield of charges. Previously those charges were a fraction of what they are now, previously they only triggered occasionally, now it is hard not to.

For 4 years you gave me good reason to stay, now you talk about Loyalty, how do you think the OP feels as a senior knowing that I paid £2.25 a month and got virtually the same as you charged them over £30 for, including the international call boost and getting loads of free kit I did not want?

When you call the loyalty team you will NOT be given the best offer and even their final offer will NOT be competitive in the market.

Where was your loyalty to them thus far?

I am sorry but TT now has disdain for their customers, trying to charge them more and more for less and less. Let's be clear, your international calls are Voip and have virtually no cost as they are paid on block. The "investment" in exchanges has been done and these days your kit is oversubscribed so we regularly see people saying you are slower than other providers.

You share their data without meaningful consent and without option to opt out, you are in breach of the data protection act AND article 8 of the human rights act, all of that and you allow yourself to get hacked. A group is putting together a formal complaint of this to UK and EU data commissioners.

Your contracts are misleading and you deliberately keep the phone line and broadband on different length contracts to make customer overpay when they leave.

Then when people terminate you charge them for a service you know you will not provide (they gave you 30 days notice) then if they complain you credit it back.

Your call centres seem to drag the calls out to earn extra money, I have had them refuse to go for an hour.

These call centres in .PH are manned with people who can read English words but do not understand the language, it is an exercise in futility to deal with them. Your call centres in India seem to be manned by some very rude people who insult your intelligence, your call centres in South Africa are usually polite but usually are unable to do the things needed to solve problems.

Despite being a loyal customer for many years it is hard for me to imagine wanting to deal with TT again.

I predict that you will continue to lose customers, in fact I would say that EE would not have been able to get their Broadband biz off the ground but for your mistakes.

Amen. Have been with Talk Talk since the days of Tiscali i`m getting out very soon. Can`t wait, got fed up of the numerous lies on the phone and on chat.

knightstyle

We left TT to go to Sky just over a year ago, we have anytime calls, unlimited broadband and basic TV for £30.25 a month, minus £10 if you don't want the TV.
Plus if recommended by someone already on Sky we both got £125 in vouchers for M&S. Look at the comparison sites as deals change all the time.