Suffering and problems with TalkTalk broadband signup

[kev_gordon]

I originally signed up on the 2nd November for TalkTalk's 1Mb ADSL + Landline.

It now exactly 1 month later, and I still haven't been migrated from my old provider. To top it off, they (Pipex) have now suspended my service, and I am no closer to getting TalkTalk's landline or broadband.

I emailed Charles Dunstone, CEO of TalkTalk, this afternoon in desperation, as I am so hacked off. Here's a copy of the email, listing all the problems I've had, and the utterly unbelievable service I've been treated to. Bewarned, it's long, but makes a good read if you want a tale of woe and suffering....

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr Dunstone,

Reference: Broadband and Landline application

I am writing to you personally as I am at the end of my tether with regards to the abysmal service that I am receiving in connection with my on-going attempts to join your Broadband + Landline scheme.

I called TalkTalk on the 2nd November after your 1mb broadband and Landline scheme were recommended to me by a friend who is already a TalkTalk customer. To date, now the 2nd December, I am still awaiting connection. To make matters worse, my current service provided by Pipex has been suspended as your company could not manage the migration in time.

I have kept notes on every phonecall to TalkTalk, and will list these below. I will try to keep this as short as possible, however, you will see that a catalogue of failed promises and poor service means that my comments are unavoidably lengthy.


2nd Nov-
I called my current ADSL provider Pipex and obtained a MAC code, which I was informed was valid for 30 days. I then called TalkTalk and joined your 1Mb ADSL + LandLine Talk 3 plan. I gave you the MAC code as requested, and was informed that the landline activation should take place within 15 days and the broadband 7 days after that.


11th Nov-
As I had not received any paperwork or any other communication I called TalkTalk. I spoke to someone over the phone who could not find a record of my broadband order. Apologising, he took my MAC code again, and said he would arrange to reprovision the line.

11th Nov-
I called back again on the same day and I spoke to Paul. Initially I called to ask about the referall scheme, as a voucher code did not arrive in my email until several days after my friend referred me. When Paul checked my records, once again he could not find any indication that my order has been processed, even from earlier on the same day!. He asked for the MAC code yet again, which I provided. He then told me the broadband would be reprovsioned once again. I was told that the broadband activation would take place first, followed by the landline.


17th Nov-
I was called on my home phone number by Keith. He asked me to confirm my MAC code. I provided this to him, and asked if there was a problem. I was told by Keith that there was no problem, and that he was just ensuring all the details were correct. He told me that the provisioning of the broadband service was going ahead as planned.


19th Nov-
I called TalkTalk and spoke to Rob, to enquire about the progress of my order. I was told that the order had not gone through, and he would have to reprovision the broadband once again. At this point, I was understandably extremely annoyed, and I asked that he find out why things were taking so long. He said he would find out and call me back.

19th Nov-
Later that day, I received a call back by Rob. I was informed that no action could be taken as the TalkTalk computer systems could not accept my 19 digit MAC code, and that this had only been just discovered as being the cause of the problem. He told me that your systems were being altered to allow the 19 digit MAC code within the next few days. He told me someone would call me within the next few days to let me know when the reprovisioning of my line had taken place. I did not receive any phone call in relation to this.

At the same time, I complained about the service I was receiving and asked to speak to a supervisor. Rob told me that he would pass my comments on, and a supervisor or manager would call me back. Once again, I did not receive any phone call.


26th Nov-
I called TalkTalk again, and spoke to Dean Baybut. He confirmed he knew about the 19 digit MAC code problem, and this had now been fixed. However he was unable to confirm what was happening with my order. After pressing him to give me some answers, he checked and told me that my MAC code had been entered and had done through the system, and that you were now simply awaiting BT to confirm that migration had taken place. He then put me on hold for about 5 minutes while he spoke to a manager. He told me it had gone through to BT and they were just waiting for confirmation from BT.

He then said as they had no definite details from BT, he would reprovion the broadband once again, just to be sure. Yet again, he asked for my MAC code, which I provided.

I enquired about my landline, and was told that this was still awaiting the broadband migration and would take place after migration had occurred. I voiced my annoyance that I had been waiting a month for this, and was paying BT phone rates unnecessarily.

I voiced my concerns about the impending 30 day validity period of the MAC code. I asked what would happen if it reached the 30 days and the line had not been migrated. He told me it would definitely take place before the 30 day expiry of the MAC code.

I voiced my concern about being billed and extra month from Pipex, if TalkTalk did not migrate my service before the end of the month. Once again Dean told me that it would take place before the end of the month.

I also voiced my concern about what would happen to my current ADSL service if it did not migrate before the 30 days, as I stressed the importance that I was not left without a broadband service. He told me that if migration did not go through by TalkTalk, Pipex would not stop my service until BT migrated the line, so I would definitely not be left in the situation of having no ADSL service.


1st Dec-
I found that my broadband service from my current provider Pipex, has been suspended. I am left without any sort of ADSL connection. I confirmed with Pipex, and they told me that my account has been suspended because once the MAC code is given, migration to the new supplier normally takes place within 6 days, and that is why they give 30 days which is normally plenty of time.

I phone TalkTalk and spoke to David Smith. He informed me he is a senior advisor. He checked my order on your system.

He told me that it appeared that the broadband migration was awaiting the landline migration, which is why it had not yet taken place. This is opposite to what I had been told on several occastion, in that the landline migration would take place after the broadband migration had gone through. He then checked the landline order and found that the landline migration was awaiting the broadband migration!

He then told me his supervisor had left, but another was due to come on shift at 6.30pm that evening, and he would email both managers the details of my order, and comments on my situation and the poor service I was receiving, and that he would personally endeavour to get this situation sorted out. David told me he was not happy with the situation, and would make sure my order was put on a high priority and would be dealt with first thing on the morning of the 2nd. I told him I wanted to speak to a supervisor, and he said he would ensure a supervisor would call me back later in the evening.

Later that evening, David did call me back. I was told that he would have to reprovision the line yet again first thing in the morning, and my order would be bumped up to the 1st in line to be processed. He said he should take 3 to 5 days for my broadband migration to take place.

David also told me that I should be offered compensation for the loss of my current ADSL service, and for the lack of service I have been given since the 2nd Nov. I told him that I did not want to talk about compensation until after I have a working broadband connection and Landline from TalkTalk.

Before the end of the call, David stressed how annoyed he himself was with my situation, and that he would deal with it personally. He told me he would call me back before 10am the following morning to update me on the situation.


2nd Dec -
Time 12:30pm. I have received no phone calls from anyone regarding my order.


It is at this point that I decided enough is enough and I am now writing this letter.

There are several other phone companies offering similar deals. Why I haven’t just told TalkTalk to cancel my order and walked elsewhere is beyond me. This letter is the last chance you have before I do just that.

As you will have read, I have been given the runaround time and time again. Failed promises, poor explanations, unreturned phone calls, missing order information, and a general lack professionalism and attention to detail seem to have been the order of the day. I’ve lost count of the number of times my order has been reprovisioned.

As of this moment I am left without a broadband service to my home, through no fault of my own. I am still paying BT phone call rates through no fault of my own. I do not know when, or even if, I will be migrated to TalkTalks broadband service, as the MAC code has now expired, and your broadband team say they will need to reprovision the line yet again.

Browsing through your company website, I found the page detailing your company philosophy and the Five fundamental rules:

If we don't look after the customer, someone else will.
Nothing is gained by winning an argument but losing a customer.
Always deliver what we promise. If in doubt, under promise and over deliver.
Always treat customers as we ourselves would like to be treated.
The reputation of the whole company is in the hands of each individual.

In my view, you have not lived up to the first four, and the response I get from this email will determine how I feel about the last rule.

I would appreciate a call back on xxxxxxxxxx by the end of today, Thursday 02/12/2004, even if it is to tell me my comments have been received and are being dealt with. There is nothing worse than being left in the situation of just waiting, and I have spent far too long over the course of the last month doing just that.
Kind Regards,
Kevin Gordon
---------------------------------------------------------------------

I know many people must be perfectly happy with their transition to TalkTalk, but how can things go so badly? Is it reasonable for me to expect that sometimes things go wrong? Surely they should never go this wrong? For anyone still wondering if it's worth the risk, well, maybe this post is food for thought.

I will post an update if anyone ever gets back to me from TalkTalk. I'm not holding my breath.

[Memfis]

Bah I keep telling people to stay away from this abismal company.

Talk Talk (Run by Carphone warehouse (I'll never shop there again)) is managed worse than singlepoint and Tiscali put together.

[Scoobs]

Maybe you should have also told them thats its been posted on a isp forum.

Is it only Pipex that take the request of a Mac code as a formal request to close your account in 30 days, even if you dont use the Mac code.

[BexTech]

Sorry to hear you have had so many problems!

[kev_gordon]

Well, a couple of hours after sending that mail I got a phone call from one of the Senior customer service executives (thats what she said she was anyway).

She apologised profusely and promised that positive action would be taken.

I later got a call from a senior tech guy, who gave me various options.

At least they have been honest enough to admit that everything is their fault and one monumental cockup.

I've now got back to my old service provider, and got them to re-enable my service for 1 more month, this would allow TalkTalk to delete my orders, and then start from scratch, which is their proposed plan.

I'm not sure what to do at the moment. Due to several people commenting on the fact that there broadband service is good, I'm tempted to give them a chance, especially as I am likely to get a few months free service as compensation.

On the other hand - perhaps I should just go with Hi-Velocity 1mb for my broadband, and someone else for my landline, just to be safe.

Decisions!....

[BexTech]

Might be worth having your phone calls with them, see how things go from there.

[swainston]

hi all,,i've posted this week another thread about talk talk,,sorry didn't notice this one...
I'm waiting for 1mb upgrade from 512 with them!! been waiting over a month now,,just get fobbed off on the phone and e.mails...
Whats the address or e.mail of that guy in carphone warehouse that you sent yours to?
might help me as i seem to be getting no-where fast!!
cheers

stefanallum@yahoo.co.uk

[BexTech]

My migration from Pipex to Talk Talk went very smoothly!

I phoned Pipex for the MAC key on the 15th Dec and passed that to Talk Talk the same day.

On the 18th I received the welcome pack (a letter with the activation date, and general info on the service).

My activation date was given as 23rd December 2004.

On the 20th December City Link tried to deliver the modem pack, unfortunately no one was in, but I did receive it the following day, the 21st December.

Then at 0:48 on the 22nd December, my internet connection dropped, I tried logging back in (Pipex) and my user name or password was not recognised, so I tried my Talk Talk user name and password, and it worked I was back on line, so my service was only interrupted for the time it took me to log back on using Talk Talk.

So so far I am impressed, just need to see how long it takes for the increase in speed to take place.

[silver]

good stuff, least Adsl migration is getting easier

Sil

[swainston]

all done,, thanks to you guys on here,,, e.mailed mr dunstone one day and it was chased and done the next !! not the fastest 1mb i,ve seen but pretty good...
thanks for all your help on here,,
happy christmas one and all
swainston

[BexTech]

I didn't stay impressed for long.

Found I couldn't use P2P programs, it seems at the moment they are throttling.

Even though Talk Talk promised they do not restrict P2P, my downloads dried up.

Eventually somebody at Talk Talk said they do have issues with P2P, and was going to get someone to call me back, so I could migrate out without being charged a fee, - breach of contract.

Then then say there shouldn't be any restrictions, as that is not what they wanted to offer, so are now getting the 'network boys' to investigate the problem, and then take it from there, if they are restricting use, then they can either remove the restriction or allow me to migrate out without penalty.

[kev_gordon]

Now that's worrying. I have just (JUST!) today finally been migrated over to TalkTalk. I am currently surfing on my TalkTalk ADSL connection. Hey it only took them FIFTY days!

I use P2P programs all the time - I'll be majorly ****ed off if they are restricting that! Please keep us up to date on whether they open up the P2P ports.

On a side note - they connected me to 512K even though I signed up for 1MB. I realise there is an issue with BT and that migrations have to be like for like, and that I should get a regrade to 1mb shortly, however, their sales dept. were insisting I would go straight to 1MB, even when I pressed them on this point.

[BexTech]

The main one I am struggling with is WinMX, it was fine up until I switched to Talk Talk, got my two cousins to try their WinMX on a BT Broadband line and a Telewest line, and it is OK for them.

Have you tried a P2P program on Talk Talk yet?

I did try others too, and they also had problems, but I don't usually use them, I just wanted to do a test.

[swainston]

winmx/bit torrent/ kazza all ok here on talk talk....cheers

[BexTech]

I received two phone calls yesterday from one from Talk Talk support, the other from head office.

They have admitted they do restrict use of P2P programs, by blocking some ports and 'managing' others. They have given me a MAC key and I can migrate out without been held to the 12 month contract terms.

Such a shame, they have an excellent telephone service, it's just let down by their broadband service.

[swainston]

well,,they are flying here at the moment,,when/if it happens i'll complain...they did say its not going to be throttled so if it is at a later date i'll take em to task...

Happy xmas...email me if you req further....

cheers

stefanallum@yahoo.co.uk

[BexTech]

They have now unblocked ports, and stopped throttling P2P, what they have now done, which they should have done from the beginning is to balance the traffic, everything should be flying again once they get the new pipe in the new year.

[swainston]

thanks mate,,,

[swainston]

well its 5th jan,,and for the last 5 days i've had a really really poor service from them,,,i'm on 1mb now but getting 587 on a good day and as low as 164kpbs another!!! did you have any other info re new pipe? and i wonder if anyone else who reads this is getting same..cheers swainston

stefanallum@yahoo.co.uk

[squonk]

Hi all,
I am a new subscriber to talktalk 1 Meg BB and what a load of junk it is proving to be. Previously I was with Wanadoo 512kbs and had no issues with online gaming etc but now I have a really high ping rate so cannot go on Call of Duty multiplayer and frequently have to reboot my comp when I start IE6 or Outlook. Have tried checking ping rate but constantly get the timed out message and have used adaware6 to remove trojans and spyware etc. I have lost the will to ring so called customer services after hours on the phone each day only to have the call dropped. Does anyone know of any fix for the problems I am experiencing other than contract cancellation? Thanks in advance!

[swainston]

same here,,,,HELP

[kingdom]

Oh dear...I wish I saw this site before I tried to sign up with these muppets! What a total nightmare they have been...I have sent them a letter today which I have printed below...like the first one it is quite long but helps to get my point across...By the wa, during my telephone call one of their muppets let slip that they were struggling to process orders and had a back log of orders from over a month ago to get processed...silly silly man!

Enjoy!

Dear Sir / Madam

I am writing to complain about the appalling service I have received from your company since signing up to Talktalk on the 26th March 2005.

On this date I signed up for your broadband and telephone offer of unlimited 1mps broadband and free evening and weekend calls for £14.99. I signed up via your website and entered in all my details including my bank account number for direct debit payment. Upon completing the registration I was given an order reference number of: 64602631

Upon my registration being completed the site told me that I should expect my broadband service to be operational in about 2 weeks.

On the 4th April I had not received any further contact from your company, I first tried to telephone but I was on hold for 10 minutes so I decided to send the email pasted below:

Just over a week ago I applied for your broadband and telephone package deal.
As of yet I have still not received any further information or conformation of this.
Could you tell me how much longer I will have to wait for this to be set up as I will need to contact my current internet service provider and I also would like to contact BT to make some changes to my line rental package.
Many Thanks
Dominik
22 xxxxxx,
xxxxx,
xxxx xxx
xxxxx xxxxxx

I quickly received an automated response saying that my email will be answered in 24 hours.

48 hours passed and I still had no response, so I decided to send another email:

I sent an email to yourselves regarding the situation of my order, as nearly two weeks on, I am still yet to hear anything from your company about my order.
I received and automated response which said I would be contacted within 24 hours, yet I am still waiting a reply.
The bottom of my email had a tracking number which was TRACKING NUMBER: A00001702533-00004767126
I hope to hear from you soon
Dominik
22 xxxxxxxx,
xxxxxx,
xxxx xxx
xxxxx xxxxxx


I once again received an automated response but did not receive any contact from your company until the 14th April 2005. 10 days after my first email was sent.
The email asked me to:

provide me with the phone number you have asked for your account to be set up on.
TRACKING NUMBER: A00001712778-00004794673

I was very annoyed that I had to wait 10 days for this response since my phone number was clearly at the bottom of all of the emails I sent.

I replied to this email again with all my details and again received and automated response saying that I will receive a reply within 24 hours.

As yet I am yet to receive a reply.

Since I was had no luck contacting you via email, I thought I would try my luck contacting your customer service depart via telephone. I first had to wait over 20 minutes before my call was answered. The customer service representative told me his name was James.

I explained my problem to James, I also told him I had contacted BT to see if my line had been set up yet, (BT’s responded in 30 seconds of my phone call) I was told that no request had been made to do this.

James told me that he had no record of my order number, I asked him if he wanted to take my name and address to see if he could trace my details but he didn’t answer to this and said I would have to speak to sales.

I was then on hold for a further 5 minutes.

Someone from your sales team then answered the phone, she was unaware of my problem so I had to explain it to her. I was told that there was no record of my order. I replied that I knew this. I was asked if I had received anything from Talktalk confirming my order, I told the lady that I had an order number which I obtained from the website. I then explained to the lady about the offer which I applied for.

I was then told that as there was no record of my order I would no longer be able to qualify for that offer and if I wanted the same service I would now have to pay more money. I explained that I was not willing to do this as I took out an advertised offer in the time scale required and it was not my fault that Talktalk have lost my details.

The lady decided that I would have to speak to another department.

I was then put through to someone else, I have no idea what their job was or why I had to speak to this person. Once again I had to explain the same details that I had to explain to 2 other people. The person on the phone told me that there was no record of my order. I explained to the lady that I already know this and I am trying to find out why not and where my order was. I was told that I would have to speak to the “Web Team”

So once again I was put on hold while I was transferred to another department. When someone answered I once again had to explain to the gentleman my problem and I was once again told that there was no record of my order. I gave the man my order number again and he checked it.

I was told that there was an order with that number but for some reason all my details have been deleted. He said he had no idea why but explained that there has been problems lately and that orders received on the 9th March 2005 have only just been shipped.

I asked the man what I should do now because I am being told that I will have to pay more money. He checked on the site for the current offers and confirmed that the offer was now finished. He went through the current offers and I explained that these were not even close to the offer I applied for. I was told that the best course of action would be to keep an eye on the website to see if the offer comes back soon, with that I decided to end the call.

Can you please explain the following:

Why did I have to speak to four different people to try and resolve my problem? This meant I had to spend over half an hour on a phone for a call which wasn’t even free.

Why was their no communication between each of the people I spoke to? I had to explain my problem 4 times. Were your Customer Service Representatives so unsure and badly trained that they were trying to pass me on to someone else?

Why did it take so long for someone to respond to my emails? And if there was no record of my order why was I not informed of this when I received my reply 10 days after my original email was sent?

Why was I told by a member of your sales team that I would now have to pay more money to take out the same service I applied for? I applied for the service in the required timescale so I am entitled to the same service at the same price I initially applied for. Any attempts by Talktalk to do otherwise is actually illegal.

Why have my details vanished from your systems? Has it anything to do with the fact your company is struggling with the demand? What exactly has your company done with my details, which actually included my bank details? Are you aware that as your company have not looked after my personal and private details with due care you are now in breach of the Data Protection Act?

What am I supposed to do now? I applied for an offer which was supposed to save me money and make it more convenient for me as I would have been able to deal with the same telephone and ISP provider. I am not willing to wait another month for my application to be processed.


Although this appears to be a cliché at the end of complaints letters I work as a Retail and Customer Service Training Consultant and I am quite frankly appalled by the service I have received from your company. My impression of Talktalk has decreased dramatically. Upon the set up of my account the majority of my family were willing to change suppliers to your company, I also have friends who are looking to move to broadband and were waiting to see how your service performed before switching ISP’s. It would appear by the shocking service you have given me you will lose a fair amount of business. Needless to say I am also now unsure about using Carphone Warehouse for any of my mobile phone business.

I would also like to draw your attention to your website which states:

At The Carphone Warehouse everything we do is based on our 'five fundamental rules'. The rules speak for themselves and need little embellishment. However, it is worth stressing that the rules are applied not just in our stores, but in our call centres and support functions too, to ensure that we provide the best possible customer experience.

Now I would expect your staff would have seen this but I fail to see where anyone has met any of the following 5 rules:

If we don't look after the customer, someone else will.

Would you say I was looked after? Since you have not looked after me do YOU think I should find another company who would?

2. Nothing is gained by winning an argument but losing a customer.

Also nothing is gained trying to make me pay more for a service which has not been delived by your company. Which brings me on to….


3. Always deliver what we promise. If in doubt, under promise and over deliver.

Well you have not delived what you have promised…I hope that your people were not in doubt and had to under promise me when I signed up because that means you have even failed to deliver an ‘under’ promise which is embarrassing.

4. Always treat customers as we ourselves would like to be treated.

Does this mean that if you call me I can keep you on hold for 20 minutes, make you explain yourself 4 times, pass you on to various members of my family and tell you that you will have to pay me money?

5. The reputation of the whole company is in the hands of each individual.

I’m an individual, so that means the reputation of your company is in the hands of me…what a shame I wasn’t given the respect of your staff, and that your company has FAILED on all 5 rules.

If you would like me to come to your call centre and train you and your staff in the correct procedures in general customer service and the identifying and resolving of customer service problems then please feel free to contact me. My training also covers aspects of consumer law and training on the data protection act which I believe you may find useful at this present time.

Please note I expect a full response to this letter, including the answers to all my questions above within one week of the date printed at the top of this letter. Failure to do so will result in me talking this matter further.

Yours Faithfully In Anticipation,

Dominik

[BexTech]

My broadband is back with Pipex, I wouldn't recommend Talk Talk for broadband if you want a reliable service. Their phone service is very reliable. It does seem like they are struggling through the orders as they have been inundated with new sign ups.

[kingdom]

i dont care if they are struggling with orders or not...they advertised an offer and failed to deliver. The guy I spoke to seemed to give me the impression that details have been deleted on purpose due to the demand problem...they are breaking quite a few consumer laws here!

[BexTech]

I don't care that they are struggling either, I just know they are, I also know their computer system is playing up too. That doesn't mean they shouldn't bend over backwards to help and put things right. Or to stay within the law, though proving that they haven't could well be difficult.

[kev_gordon]

Oh dear...I wish I saw this site before I tried to sign up with these muppets! What a total nightmare they have been...I have sent them a letter today which I have printed below...like the first one it is quite long but helps to get my point across...By the wa, during my telephone call one of their muppets let slip that they were struggling to process orders and had a back log of orders from over a month ago to get processed...silly silly man!

Enjoy!

Dear Sir / Madam..........



...... I am writing to complain Failure to do so will result in me talking this matter further.

Yours Faithfully In Anticipation,

Dominik

Originally Posted by kingdom

Hey Kingdom, now THAT'S a fantastic complaint letter. I thought I was good at complaining (in case you didnt realise, I started this thread with my own complaint letter). I'm most impressed, and am actually copying and keeping it on file - if you don't mind - for future reference for when I complain to other companies.

Did you send this direct to Charles Dunstone, from the link on the carphone website address?

Back to TalkTalk - I'm still with them, but am really unhappy with the service. After loads of hassle I eventually got connected. I was promised two months free service which never happened), and I am now counting the days until I can get out of this hellhole ISP's contract (urgh.. only 9 months to go).

Most of the time the broadband service is ok - but I regularly find I am connecting well below 1mb (which means unplugging and turning the router off for half an hour so I can reconnect on a different IP address/pipe/whatever). Also, my P2P downloads are very slow, and I may be imagining it but everytime I start my P2P program the connection always drops out! Maybe they have monitoring programs that put me in a slow lane when P2P is detected? And even when I'm not using P2P, my connections drops out regularly.

I never, EVER had problems with Pipex. I wish I'd stayed with them.

If TalkTalk get back to you, let us know what they said, and in my opinion, even if they offer you 6 months free service, don't bother. Their service is awful. But you know that already.

[kingdom]

Well considering they are unable to offer an advertised service means that they have already broken the law. Plus they have not looked after my personal details which has broken the data protection act. They also tried to charge me more a an advertised service which breaks consumer protection and advertising standards law.
We already have people on here saying how they restricted P2P, which was in breech of their contract.

I somehow don't think it would be too difficult to proove!!!

[kingdom]

Hey Kingdom, now THAT'S a fantastic complaint letter. I thought I was good at complaining (in case you didnt realise, I started this thread with my own complaint letter). I'm most impressed, and am actually copying and keeping it on file - if you don't mind - for future reference for when I complain to other companies.

Did you send this direct to Charles Dunstone, from the link on the carphone website address?

Back to TalkTalk - I'm still with them, but am really unhappy with the service. After loads of hassle I eventually got connected. I was promised two months free service which never happened), and I am now counting the days until I can get out of this hellhole ISP's contract (urgh.. only 9 months to go).

Most of the time the broadband service is ok - but I regularly find I am connecting well below 1mb (which means unplugging and turning the router off for half an hour so I can reconnect on a different IP address/pipe/whatever). Also, my P2P downloads are very slow, and I may be imagining it but everytime I start my P2P program the connection always drops out! Maybe they have monitoring programs that put me in a slow lane when P2P is detected? And even when I'm not using P2P, my connections drops out regularly.

I never, EVER had problems with Pipex. I wish I'd stayed with them.

If TalkTalk get back to you, let us know what they said, and in my opinion, even if they offer you 6 months free service, don't bother. Their service is awful. But you know that already.

Originally Posted by kev_gordon

Hi Kev,

Thanks for the email...I did see your letter and liked it very much...maybe a job on watchdog will come up for both of us....I actually thought your letter was better than mine!! Of course I dont mind if you copy it!

I have sent one email to their customer service department, I have also sent a hard copy to their head office and to this dunstone chap. I must admit I found it tricky to track down their address and an email adress for Mr Dunstone.

I am actually off work due to anxiety attacks due to stress...I was hoping I would have a heart attack today so I could blame on these ********!!

[kev_gordon]

I am actually off work due to anxiety attacks due to stress...I was hoping I would have a heart attack today so I could blame on these ********!!

Originally Posted by kingdom

lol! At least they haven't destroyed your sense of humour!

[swainston]

hi guys,, thanks for posts etc,,, same here really,, took them ages to get my 1mb going and promised me a refund that never came...
Service now is ok most of the time but does grind to a halt some evenings!!
and p2p is poor sometimes too...

Phone service is great but wish i'd stayed with nildram for my internet!!(o'well only 8 months to go with them now......:-(

By the way i actually asked for a free transfer as they'd mucked me about and they said they'd take me to court if i broke my 12 month contract and cancelled my direct debit !!!!!!!!

So anyone thinking of using them for anything other than phone service,,,,FORGET IT!!
you've been warned..
cheers swainston

stefanallum@yahoo.co.uk