Problems with TalkTalk

[Brother Oni]

Sorry, but I need to vent.

Warning: Long.

So my previous ISP (Pipex) has been acquired by TalkTalk. They give us a transfer date over to their system (7th Nov)and a couple weeks before, they send out the standard small print letter, in which I spot I'm being transferred to a package that's not suitable for me (40gb download limit to be precise).

So I hunt around and spot a decent package that's similar to my old (legacy) Pipex package with TalkTalk Business. I place the order over the 'phone, everything goes smoothly, until I get a rejection email on the 22nd.

I'm about to call them up inquiring about the rejection when I get an email from Pipex with my MAC number. :smallsigh: Apparently my account hadn't been transferred across to TalkTalk Residential yet, so they needed the MAC from Pipex to transfer it.

So I call them up again, they realise their mistake and go the order all over again, this time with the MAC, and everything's fine until the 24th when I get another rejection.

Apparently my account is now in the TalkTalk Residential system, which is shared with TalkTalk Business (despite them being separate legal entities), so they're unable to do an internal migration and I have to call up TalkTalk Residential to cancel my TT Residential account and they can connect me up with TT Business, which will take 16 working days, the whole of which will be without internet.

Since TT Business has been very polite and helpful all the way through, I give them the benefit of the doubt and decide to contact TT Residential today to sort it out.

Hoo boy. :smallfurious:

My first attempt: I spend 20 minutes on the 'phone to a operator who didn't speak English as a first language (spending the first five repeating my 'phone number repeatedly), who confirms that my account is still with Pipex then connects me to an inactive extension under the pretence of putting me in contact with the right department.

My second attempt: I get through to the billing department who inform me that their systems are down and will take 3 days to sort.

My third attempt: I hit upon the smart idea of 'phoning their cancellation department (they're separate legal entities right?) only to spend another 15 minutes on hold due to 'the high volume of calls' (I'm not surprised).

I finally give up and order a broadband package with BT in under 5 minutes with my (presumably) still valid Pipex MAC, where they estimate to have me connected by the 5th Dec with (hopefully) no loss of service.


TL:DR - TalkTalk are a seriously shambolic company and you should only deal with the business side of it if you want any service.

[Burnheart]

Yeah i know just what you mean my family were with a good company that got bought by talk talk, it took us about 6 months of stupid hassle before we just switched internet provider, since we had decided to get sky tv we just got a combined phone+tv+internet package from them, i say you should do the same (switch internet provider)

[Brother Oni]

Yeah i know just what you mean my family were with a good company that got bought by talk talk, it took us about 6 months of stupid hassle before we just switched internet provider, since we had decided to get sky tv we just got a combined phone+tv+internet package from them, i say you should do the same (switch internet provider)

I have hopefully (placed an order with BT). I just hope that MAC number still works.

[Kobold-Bard]

I feel your pain, I've had TalkTalk before (was originally Tiscali who got bought by TT too) and they were atrocious. Tiscali weren't great, but TT were seemingly being deliberately obtuse.

Still better than Plusnet though :shudder:

[Nameless]

I know your pain. We were with TalkTalk for a while and we had more holes in our broadband connection then Swiss Cheese. Every time we tried to sort out one of these issues it involved being put on hold for about 40 minutes over the phone and being transferred several times between different people from different departments (and being put on hold each time we were transferred), only to get transferred back to the original department we called up in the first place. It's even more frustrating when few of the people you talk to over the phone speak proper English. :smallannoyed:

[KuReshtin]

Yeah, I've recently been very tempted to swich from talkTalk as well.
I started with a Tiscali dial-up connection back in 2002, which was then upgraded to the broadband connection with Tiscali, and I never had any problems with them, to be honest, that I couldn't sort myself.
Then they got bought by TalkTalk, and recently,(the past 4 or 5 months) they've had intermittent connection drops that lasts anything from 30 seconds to 25 minutes, mainly when I've been connected to high-traffic applications, like X-Box Live, online poker or other online gaming.
it's annoying as hell when you're in the middle of an online game and you suddenly just disconnect for no reason and then sit there for 15 minutes waiting for anything to happen.

Considering consolidating my Sky package to include Sky broadband and Sky talk to see if that is any better.

[factotum]

Strange...I'm with Pipex as well and haven't had any problems at all since the switch. Of course, maybe those delights still await me?

[Burnheart]

Considering consolidating my Sky package to include Sky broadband and Sky talk to see if that is any better.

Thats what my family did and everythings worked fine for over a year now so i'd recommend them.

[The Succubus]

I used to have problems with low blood pressure. I signed up to Virgin Broadband. My blood pressure problems are gone but instead I have huge dentist bills from constantly grinding my teeth.

So, yeah, I hate Virgin.

[Kobold-Bard]

I used to have problems with low blood pressure. I signed up to Virgin Broadband. My blood pressure problems are gone but instead I have huge dentist bills from constantly grinding my teeth.

So, yeah, I hate Virgin.

Really? I've never had any real issues with Virgin. Except the one incident where the Indian guy on the other end of the phone didn't know what a modem was, but that seems to have been the exception, had nothing that's come close to the Plusnet/TalkTalk fiascos.

[Brother Oni]

Strange...I'm with Pipex as well and haven't had any problems at all since the switch. Of course, maybe those delights still await me?

If you're happy with the package that they're transferring you to, then there's no issue. I haven't had any disruption in service, but then again I'm still officially with Pipex and not TalkTalk and haven't been switched yet (got a 'your transfer has been delayed' letter this morning, which would have been useful a week or so ago).

I suspect that if you want to change your package then you're going to run into the same problems that I am.