Confusion Over UK Broadband ISP TalkTalk’s Stealthy £4 TV Charge

Customers of UK broadband ISP TalkTalk have been left frustrated and confused by a mysterious new £4 monthly “Access Fee” to use the operator’s TV platform (YouView based IPTV set-top-box), which seems to apply even if the subscriber isn’t taking one of their optional premium TV boosts (content packages).

A quick look through the ISP’s Community Forum this week makes for uncomfortable reading and reveals a large number of topics where customers are complaining about the charge, which Thinkbroadband has also spotted. The charge itself appears as if it will crop up on bills automatically, provided you have one of the provider’s YouView based set-top-boxes.

However what’s really got TalkTalk’s customers riled up is the fact that they seem to get hit with it even if they aren’t taking one of the premium TV content plans / boosts. As a result a large number of customers who have purchased a TalkTalk branded set-top-box or took a TV bundle but later downgraded and kept the box, are being hit with the fee.

In essence users in the above group are being asked to pay £4 each month just to access the box itself (kind of like a hardware rental), which is not an approach that has gone down well.

TalkTalk User R2223 said:

“I do not use any TalkTalk TV add on’s or boosts and don’t ever intend to use them in the future so could you please remove TalkTalk TV from my package as I do not wan’t to be charged £4 a month from the 18th February for basically nothing. I believe my account details are already linked here so if someone could action this I would appreciate it.”

TalkTalk User perrycrofts said:

“My account indicates I don’t have TalkTalk TV but I have been sent an email stating I will be charged £4 from next month for it. I don’t want the TV package. Can someone ensure I am not charged for a service I don’t want.”

TalkTalk User Stevendm said:

“I got the email, and thought I wasn’t meant to have any increase in cost for the duration on my contract, turns out this only applies to broadband cost not tv part, thought this was a bit sneaky so contacted customer services. Then found out I could opt out but keep my current tv package. 80 channels, PVR, on demand players.

So turns out all good for me but I think it’s a bit underhand charging extra for services that don’t apply to me and putting the onus on me to opt out. And I think saying in the email you are free to opt out of TalkTalk TV at any time suggests you’re going to lose all your tv which isn’t the case.

This will no doubt lead to people just sucking up the £4 increase. If anyone cares to disagree I have my customer service chat transcript.”

TalkTalk User Freda said:

“I agree the whole thing is quite bizarre and I have never heard of anything like this before – being charged a fee simply to access telly that you then have to pay for. And further, to unilaterially apply the fee to people who do not currently use these services and make them have to phone or chat to get it removed. As I said, I have never come across anything quite like this before.

And I agree the letters (I got a snail-mail letter, not an email for some reason) have turned out to be quite misleading and without the help of posts here, I would not have had a clue what the £4 charge was actually for or the consequences of asking for it to be removed.”

Freeview PVR boxes can be taken quite cheaply now, without needing to use TalkTalk’s kit, and we’re thus surprised the ISP would seek to discourage use of their hardware in this way as it’s a useful promotional tool. People may be more likely to take a TalkTalk TV content boost in the future if they’re using the ISP’s kit.

As if to further confuse matters, TalkTalk has said that the £4 charge is effectively optional and customers can opt-out. “You do not have to pay the TV Access Fee, if you do not specifically use any of the TalkTalk TV services or boosts you can request this fee is not applied,” said a member of the ISP’s support team.

OCE_Karl, TalkTalk’s Community Support Team Member, said:

“The Access Fee encompasses all of TalkTalk TV Services. I do appreciate that all customers receive the freeview channels one way or another as these are over the air, but having the TV box does then provide the ability to record these, in addition to pause and rewind live TV.

Besides the set top box, the fee also encompasses other aspects of the service such as the ability to add and remove TV boosts with no lengthy contracts, just a 1 month commitment. Access to the TalkTalk TV player where we have some great content, and on the go access via the website and our Mobile App. TalkTalk have invested significantly in our TV product over the past year, and continue to do so. Our TV Teams are always working to secure more services, negotiate more great content for our customers, whilst at the same time ensuring we remain excellent value.

I can also appreciate that some of our customers may be unhappy with the TV Access Fee, and I’ve never seen anyone say they are happy with any Fee or billing change, but in an ever changing and expanding marketplace we must strive to provide the best service, with the best selection of services possible to our customers, so they have a great selection of choice at great value. Sometimes these things are necessary.

If you do decide that you do not want to access any of the great TalkTalk TV services we have to offer, please let me know so that I can action this for you.”

Quite why TalkTalk thought it would be a good promotional idea to lump this on customers is unclear, but we suspect it won’t do much for their complaint volumes. The ISP has been top of Ofcom’s broadband gripes table for awhile, although so far they’ve managed to keep just below BT and Virgin Media for Pay TV complaints and that may now change (here).

So just to be clear. TalkTalk say this charge is only applicable if you use (or have the ability to use) the premium TV Boosts, hence why they apply it by default. However, if all you do is record Freeview, watch catch-up or rent films then you should be able to opt out of the charge.

The fact that customers actually have to go through the hassle of trying to opt-out of a charge, which they obviously wouldn’t want to pay if they don’t have to, doesn’t seem particularly customer friendly or indeed wise.

UPDATE 10:28am

The TalkTalk website has a related FAQ Page for the change, which separately notes that their £4 per month charge for Multi-room TV is being removed. Good, except.. uh.. for that new £4 charge they’re adding? Mixed messages galore.

UPDATE 10:51am

We’ve had a new statement from TalkTalk’s press office. The ISP further noted that TalkTalk TV customers will also soon benefit from a £5 TalkTalk TV voucher to be redeemed against 1,000s of films in Rent of Own (vouchers go live on 1st February).

A TalkTalk Spokesperson said:

“We’ve been investing heavily in our TV service over the past two years to deliver large-scale tech updates and product innovations that bring real benefits to the customer experience, as well as adding more great content. Whilst making such improvements has resulted in a price change, TalkTalk TV continues to offer fantastic value for money and customers can save up to £216 a year vs BT, Sky and Virgin Media.”