Cancelled TalkTalk account 4-5 years ago, they never stopped DD!

warmer_2

I've just realised (yes I've been far too lax) that the TalkTalk account that I stopped when I moved in July 2012 has been billed each month since, they never closed the account.

What are my best next steps?

[Deleted User]

warmer wrote: »

I've just realised (yes I've been far too lax) that the TalkTalk account that I stopped when I moved in July 2012 has been billed each month since, they never closed the account.

What are my best next steps?

Well a starting point would be to contact Talktalk would it not?

anotheruser

Call them and ask if they can return the money?

Explain that it should have been closed and have the dates when it should have happened, plus any dates of new companies taking over.

If you've made ZERO calls, they should see sense and refund it, but they have no motivation to.

Second - you should be thinking "why didn't I cancel the DD?". I cancel all of mine, some even before the last payment. Then they just send a bill in the post, or I call the day after the service has stopped and settle the bill.

warmer_2

Talk Talk don't accept the account exists despite me showing them the bills from the time and the DD coming out, at some point it was transfered from Tiscali so I think this is where the problem is, the account number on the invoices I had from 2012 don't show up on their system. I left the address and used a different provider for a new house, I then about 2 years ago opened a new TalkTalk account for a business address.

Do I have any claim under direct debit guarantee? I can show that I no longer had the lease for the address they were continuing to charge for.

I've asked for the issue to be escalated with them so I'm waiting for a call back.

[Deleted User]

warmer wrote: »

Talk Talk don't accept the account exists despite me showing them the bills from the time and the DD coming out, at some point it was transfered from Tiscali so I think this is where the problem is, the account number on the invoices I had from 2012 don't show up on their system. I left the address and used a different provider for a new house, I then about 2 years ago opened a new TalkTalk account for a business address.

Do I have any claim under direct debit guarantee? I can show that I no longer had the lease for the address they were continuing to charge for.

I've asked for the issue to be escalated with them so I'm waiting for a call back.

Proving you didn't live there or didn't use the service will cut no ice with any one, you have to prove or get them to find the phone call where you called in to cancel. Surely they can find an active account in either yours or your partners name at the old address?

Can you remember how exactly you cancelled?

I work in a call centre myself and we get the occasional customer who suddenly realises that they've been paying for our services for years (literally). They always absolutely insist that they called in to cancel and yet when we do a call trace there almost always never was one. I'm not saying this applies to you btw but it was 4 years ago and moving house is the most stressful thing you can do, it would be easy to miss something like this.

Sooler

TT have accepted the account doesn't exist.


Money was taken or paid in error for a non existent account.


TT are not entitled to the money, they need to pay it back.


If no luck with TT try this may be
https://www.gov.uk/make-money-claim-online




The Direct Debit Guarantee covers Direct Debit payments. It cannot be used to address contractual disputes between you and the billing organisation.​

bengalknights

I would suggest you use the DD guarantee scheme, its then upto Talktalk to dispute otherwise.

[Deleted User]

Talk to your bank first. The DD payments should be reversible (Happened with my wife's gym payments)

[Deleted User]

Sooler wrote: »

TT have accepted the account doesn't exist.


Money was taken or paid in error for a non existent account.


TT are not entitled to the money, they need to pay it back.


If no luck with TT try this may be
https://www.gov.uk/make-money-claim-online


The Direct Debit Guarantee covers Direct Debit payments. It cannot be used to address contractual disputes between you and the billing organisation.​

No. TT can't find an account given the supplied details, that's different entirely.

I doubt it's possible or at least highly unlikely that they can 'take' money without an associated account.

You don't know if TT are entitled or not because of the above.

The OP needs to talk to them again, giving his payment details from which TT can search their database and find the account, then take it from there.

TalkTalk

Hi warmer,

Apologies for the delay in our reply. We can't collect a payment without an invoice being produced - this would need an account to be active to be generated. Have you received any bills/letters or emails from TalkTalk with an account number? This would be 10 digits long and is entirely numerical. If you contact the team on twitter (@TalkTalk) we'll be able to take a look into this for you and see if we can find your old account.

Thanks
Emma

macman

OP, it's your bank account, and so your job to cancel the DD-not the supplier's. All TT can do is stop drawing on it when you close an account, which in this case they have failed to do. But that means it still remains active until such time as you instruct the bank to cancel it, which takes seconds to do online.