BLOCKED from logging into MY ACCOUNT

[Billx]

Today in the morning, I was BLOCKED from logging into MY ACCOUNT.

I phoned TalkTalk, and after long delays I was able to talk to an agent. TalkTalk says there is something wrong with their systems and there are security problems. To cure this I was told that I should not use any TalkTalk domain email addresses, but use non-TalkTalk domain email addresses, to login into MY ACCOUNT. That seemed incomprehensible to me. Suggested non-TalkTalk domain email addresses, were Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail. I spent some time with her, the agent, but to no avail. What the hell, I thought. All day I have been trying to login to MY ACCOUNT with no success. To see that something was working OK at TalkTalk I used the link Forgotten email address link, and the result was that I am not registered at TalkTalk. Isn't anything working at TalkTalk?

As far as I am concerned, I'm not that interested in Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail.

To my way of thinking, my email address belongs with my Internet Service provider.

So can someone at TalkTalk fix this or not?

Oh, my web email is perfect.

[AllyM]

@Billx ,

The reality is that TalkTalk have made a change to the way this part of their service operates and no matter how much you rant and rave, they aren't going to change it back or make a special exemption just for you.

I completely understand your frustration at changes which make things a bit less convenient, but we just have to put up with these things unfortunately.

[Billx]

One of us has to deal the reality. That one is not me.

[ferguson]

Honestly, just deal with the reality. What other services do is neither here, nor there. You have been advised multiple times what you need to do, irritating though it may be.  

[Billx]

To @Arne-TalkTalk 

I said that 'Microsoft doesn't require a non-TalkTalk email address to set up an account'

What makes TalkTalk so special that it requires a non-TalkTalk email address to set up an account?

Can't you see any contradiction? Surely, you cannot 'not be sure' of what is required.

Bill

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Im not sure what you want me to do with that information, Its still doesn't change the situation.  You need to register for My Account with a non TalkTalk email address,  If you don't you wont be able to manage the account, also will be switched to paper billing which is chargeable . 

[Billx]

To @Arne-TalkTalk 

I have an account with Microsoft. They asked for my email address. I just gave it to them. They didn't require a Microsoft email address and they didn't require a non-TalkTalk email address. I didn't expect them to use my email address as my Microsoft username, but that's what they did. If Microsoft doesn't require a non-TalkTalk email address to set up an account for me, and use it as a username, why does TalkTalk require non-TalkTalk email address to do the same thing? Please answer.

Oh I know that Microsoft misuses my email address, but that's a different issue.

Have a good day

Bill

[Billx]

To @Gliwmaeden2 

You said 'Simply saying: never use the same password for more than one account and your security worries should reduce considerably.'

Correct. But TalkTalk forced me to use the same password. And its not my worries. It's TalkTalk's worries.

Thanks

Bill

[Billx]

To @Gliwmaeden2 

Yes, agreed, you don't have to use the same password. You shouldn't use the same password. But that was not at issue.

Although, I think as things were previously, the TalkTalk system didn't allow you to use a different password. TalkTalk used to just use the same info for both email and MY ACCOUNT, including the password. Whose fault is that, not the customer's, but TalkTalk's ill-thought system. Obviously if TalkTalk didn't insist on using the same info for both accounts, there would not be this problem. But that didn't depend on what username a customer used, i.e. the users full email address, and whether the username had a TalkTalk domain name within it or a non-TalkTalk domain name within it. Yes, it would definitely depend on  having a different password in those 2 different TalkTalk accounts. Whose fault is that? TalkTalk's. For insisting on using the same info for both accounts. But the username  maybe the same. And it need not be a non-TalkTalk email address. Yes, I remember sometime in the past, wanting to set a different password for MY ACCOUNT, but the system would not allow me. If one is going to use one's own email address as the username of some other account, one would obviously not want to use the same password used in their email.

So it seems, if TalkTalk wants these 2 accounts to be independent from each other, they have to insist that the customer uses a different password, or a different username, it doesn't have to be an email address, or a non-TalkTalk email address.

Further, why did everyone start using email addresses as account names? I don't know.

Have a good day.

Bill

[Gliwmaeden2]

I was responding to your worries about "No 2. If I, as a TalkTalk customer, obtain a Gmail email account, register for MY ACCOUNT with the Gmail email account, and 'somehow, someone gets my email password', won't that someone still have access to my email account, and have full access to my Gmail and MY ACCOUNT?"

Simply saying: never use the same password for more than one account and your security worries should reduce considerably. 

Going back to your main thread, yes the automatic responses for setting up My Account appear to be poorly worded and not sufficient for users to know what to do - but you came on here to get explanations and have been told how to get this thing set up properly. Why carry on wasting more time over it when you have been told many times now what the solution is?

[Billx]

To @Gliwmaeden2 

I'm not sure what you mean, @Gliwmaeden2 . I was trying to reregister with my TalkTalk Tiscali email account yesterday. Everything was going OK, according to the registration server, and it offered me a six-digit code, so I could finally reregister my Tiscali account for MY ACCOUNT. So it accepted it at that stage, as an acceptable email address. After I sent the six-digit code, it responded that there was a technical error, and that it was really, really sorry. So my point is why did the server initially accept a TalkTalk address and not initially insist on a non-TalkTalk address, and then making a fool of itself and TalkTalk?

Why didn't the server (guided by TalkTalk) insist on the new doctrine of only non-TalkTalk email addresses accepted, if that is the doctrine?

My last post had nothing to do with Gmail.

As far as using a different password for email and different password for MY ACCOUNT, there is nothing preventing TalkTalk from allowing that or insisting upon that, without needing a non-TalkTalk account.

Thanks @Gliwmaeden2

Bill

[Gliwmaeden2]

The password you use for Gmail must be different from the password for My Account. 

[Billx]

To @Arne-TalkTalk

Oh, I forgot to post some more nonsense that the server registering for MY ACCOUNT spouted, when I attempted to reregister yesterday.

This is what it spouted, sometime before the final click.

Have a good day.

Bill

[Billx]

To @Arne-TalkTalk 

So, according to you, this change will be a permanent change. Does that mean TalkTalk should end up with no email accounts?

No 2. If I, as a TalkTalk customer, obtain a Gmail email account, register for MY ACCOUNT with the Gmail email account, and 'somehow, someone gets my email password', won't that someone still have access to my email account, and have full access to my Gmail and MY ACCOUNT?  They already have my password, they don't need to change anything. I think you're talking rubbish.

I noticed also, that you conveniently skipped most of my concerns.

'Is this happening because TalkTalk are still insufficiently confident of the security of their own systems?'

Why do you believe such dogma?

Bill

[Arne-TalkTalk]

You will NEVER be able to use one of our domains to register, reasoning as far as I'm aware is that if somehow, someone gets your email password they can then log into My Account and then change your email password, this is not us being difficult, it is for your benefit.  We can argue all day but the policy is not going to change. 

[Billx]

To, @Arne-TalkTalk,

I understand that TalkTalk might want to pull some of those older domain email addresses, including tiscali.co.uk. I don't understand why TalkTalk is pulling their own brand domains talktalk.net, talktalk.co.uk. Why can't the back-office team advise a week before any of this happens, give some sort of reason, and THEN push the deregister button, because this seems a really big change. Or has TalkTalk let the AI monster in? Well, if it's AI doing this, then it's not very intelligent. So will this be a temporary change, or will we be able to reregister later with TalkTalk? And is this happening because TalkTalk are still insufficiently confident of the security of their own systems? You needn't answer this yourself, perhaps your manager could.

Bill

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Once again please can you register using a NON TalkTalk email address 

There has a been a business decision made that a TalkTalk email address can not be used to register for My Account  This includes the following domains:
talktalk.net, tiscali.co.uk, lineone.net, screaming.net, tinyonline.co.uk, tinyworld.co.uk, ukgateway.net, worldonline.co.uk, toucansurf.com, pipex.com, homecall.co.uk, dsl.pipex.com, dsl.pipex.co.uk, solo.pipex.com, dial.pipex.com, dial.pipex.co.uk, dial.pipex.net, talktalk.co.uk.

I appreciate that previously your My Account was registered using a Tiscali address, but this would have registered prior to the change in policy, and when My Account was deregistered following an escalation from our customer service at the end of May , the back office team's process is to deregister the account to allow you to full re-register and regain access.  Once again this must be done with a non TalkTalk address. 

Regards

[Billx]

@Gliwmaeden2 

The staff in the community have not given any advice. They've just passed on some ruling from someone above. They have not offered any reasonable explanation of what's happening. The output from the server I just mentioned,  proves that that ruling above is wrong, or if that ruling is correct, why did the server not spout out what was required? It's only a sentence or two that server has to spout out. What the server did was put its hands up and say 'sorry, the server can't handle that'. If this ruling is so important, why didn't TalkTalk make sure that the server go it right? It doesn't seem that important, according to the server.

Bill

[ferguson]

There is nobody "above me," I am just a customer like yourself. You have had the position explained to you, more than once. If you don't accept it, then that is down to you. 

[Billx]

Hi @ferguson 

That wasn't the case a week ago, so I am getting the point.

You have not explained why that should be the case now.

Neither has someone above you, which I expect.

Can't you see, that the TalkTalk server isn't working?

So me accepting, what you expect me to accept, is not possible.

If it is as you say, why didn't the server respond likewise? It's only a sentence or two.

After all, it's been said that this has been going on for 7 years.

Bill

[Gliwmaeden2]

@Billx, if you don't wish to take advice from Talktalk staff, why are you posting on here?

And if you wish to check further with Talktalk go via their mainstream channels:

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/How-to-contact-TalkTalk-Broadband/ta-p/2230529

By phone/Chat you will be told the same.

If you are not following the advice of professional staff on here, or elsewhere on Talktalk support, I am not convinced that you would heed an email.