Can you please advise on cancellation period for broadband?

jgallcash

Hi all,

I moved into a new house recently and had originally tried to bring my sky fibre with me but it wasn't available so I refused to have regular broadband with them and decided to search the market.

I found a good deal for me (as it included free tv) from talk talk and again tried to get fibre but they said it was currently unavailable (on looking on the open reach site it seems the demand in the area for fibre is stupidly high)

Anyway talk talk guaranteed I'd get 3.5mb but that others in the area had 10mb which I thought wouldn't be too terrible. I decided to go ahead and ordered on 13th October. My broadband went live yesterday and I'm getting about 4mb. Whilst this is above the guaranteed speed we're already really struggling with connection problems.

I know that talk talk say that the line will be tested over the next week to tweak it and find the best speeds for us but I'm a bit worried.

Can anybody advise how long I have in terms of cooling off? Do I have 14 days from the go live date? Or from the date my order was placed?

I should say I don't feel like I've been cheated or anything. They guaranteed a speed which they have delivered so far I'm just asking what my rights are.

Many thanks in advance

wealdroam

jgallcash wrote: »

Hi all,

I moved into a new house recently and had originally tried to bring my sky fibre with me but it wasn't available so I refused to have regular broadband with them and decided to search the market.

I found a good deal for me (as it included free tv) from talk talk and again tried to get fibre but they said it was currently unavailable (on looking on the open reach site it seems the demand in the area for fibre is stupidly high)

Anyway talk talk guaranteed I'd get 3.5mb but that others in the area had 10mb which I thought wouldn't be too terrible. I decided to go ahead and ordered on 13th October. My broadband went live yesterday and I'm getting about 4mb. Whilst this is above the guaranteed speed we're already really struggling with connection problems.

I know that talk talk say that the line will be tested over the next week to tweak it and find the best speeds for us but I'm a bit worried.

Can anybody advise how long I have in terms of cooling off? Do I have 14 days from the go live date? Or from the date my order was placed?

I should say I don't feel like I've been cheated or anything. They guaranteed a speed which they have delivered so far I'm just asking what my rights are.

Many thanks in advance

What is this '14 days' you speak of?
Is it 14 days to determine whether they are providing the agreed service?

You tell us they are providing the service you have agreed with them that they will provide.

jgallcash

I understood 14 days cooling off period was standard when agreeing a contract with utility companies including broadband providers

ThumbRemote

Their T&Cs suggest 20 days from the date you ordered: https://www.talktalk.co.uk/legal/terms/talktalk-product-terms.html (it's in the pdf on that page, section 3)

That said, any other provider is going to be using the same phone line to your house, so I'd expect a similar connection rate.

unholyangel

jgallcash wrote: »

I understood 14 days cooling off period was standard when agreeing a contract with utility companies including broadband providers

Typically yes but it runs from the date you entered into the contract rather than the date services begin. They're not supposed to start the supply of services before the 14 days is up - unless you have requested that they begin them before this period is over in which case you will be liable for the costs of services already supplied.

Unless the trader fails to provide you with certain information required by the Consumer Contract (information, cancellation & additional charges) Regulations. In which case you may not have to pay anything and may even have an extension on the 14 days.

They'll typically send the info by email.

duchy

So you agreed that TT would supply you with 3 meg - they are providing you with 4 meg - no other providers in your area are offering more than this - and your local fibre cabinet is full.

So what do you intend to do for BB if you cancel the company that is offering you the fastest service ?

I'm no fan of TT but in this instance you might be better with some BB rather than none and upgrade to fibre when it becomes available. With such low BB speeds it's hardly surprising demand for fibre is high (nothing stupid about that) The light at the end of the tunnel is OR tend to increase capacity over time in areas of high demand.

When I bought my last house friends laughed at me when I said I needed to check the available BB speeds before making an offer but I knew to me fast BB was important - and in my current job I speak to a lot of people who when they've moved house have ignored or underestimated the impact a far slower BB connection will have.

I'd hold fire for now though as TT will currently be running dynamic Line Management (DLM) on your line and you may find your speed rises in the next week or so. Wait and see what the final speed is before jumping too fast- DLM MIGHT get you a lot closer to your hoped for 10 meg.

Hintza

Did you check the LLU carriers for your area?

jgallcash

Thanks for the responses all. As I said I don't at all feel duped in any way, I was just shocked at the drop from my previous provider even for very basic tasks.

The reason I was looking at cancelling was because online checkers showed that some providers could actually give me fibre broadband. When I contacted them it seems the online tool is inaccurate. They couldn't be more explicit but perhaps the cabinet is full as has been mentioned.


I'm going to contact them anyway to see if I can reduce the contract from 18 months to 12 months instead and I'll just have to hope options improve in that time.

bris

You have to understand how it works, they are all just re sellers. They can only provide you with what is available, if one can't give you fiber no one can despite what their line checker states.


The speeds are all "up to" and are never very accurate, the bedding in period where they monitor the line for connection issues is about 11 days and the line is tweaked in this period.


You should also check the broadband forums for tips and tricks how you can boost your speed and connection issues from inside your home. Most problems are down to poor wiring inside the home which is not the providers fault.