TalkTalk – not a company to do business with!
After a loss of two working days waiting for a TalkTalk installation that never happened I have just put down the phone after a 1:15 hour call – the latest of many. The purpose of my call was simple – to cancel my contract with TalkTalk. Their initial response has been to threaten me with debt collection agencies.
Folks considering signing up to a TalkTalk package should be aware of the following:
1. If any aspect of your package fails – TalkTalk do not consider that their failure frees you to terminate the package and seek another provider. Instead, TalkTalk will tell you that you’re contractually obliged to continue to pay them and – if you don’t – they’ll take action that undermines your credit rating.
2. A “TalkTalk package” they view to be binding (which is fair enough) except – their definition is that it is not a “package” when they fail to deliver. Instead, it is a set of individual contracts for each service; telephone, TV and broadband.
3. Never seek to upgrade a service with TalkTalk – that was my mistake. I tried to upgrade my broadband to fibre. After two agreed installation dates that TalkTalk did not attend I wanted to terminate all dealings with them – as I had warned I would do prior to agreeing a second installation date.
4. My request for termination was met with threats of “debt collectors” that they justify on the basis that their upgrade and installation agreements were not “a contract” and I remain bound to receive an unsatisfactory service that they failed to upgrade.
TalkTalk customer service representatives are polite and they’ll make promises that you want to hear. Unfortunately, those promises may not be delivered and TalkTalk do not believe their failure to amount to a breach of contract. Only a customer refusal to continue to pay TalkTalk is – in their view – a breach of contract.
I’ve cancelled my DD to TalkTalk irrespective of their threats.