Billing amount following transfer from Shell

[itsstewart]

When I queried why my 1st monthly TT bill in August (following the transfer from Shell)l was £26.86 - £7.79 more than I was paying Shell each month (£19.07)-it was said to be because of an adjustment in the payment date so I had to pay that much more pro rata. As there was a glitch by TT they couldn't collect that payment and I paid the extra by card. Now I've just received an email from TT saying this month's payment is £19.07 and it's being taken on the same day in the month as I used to pay Shell. So TT have taken  an extra £7.79 from me for no reason. How do I get this back without waiting on the phone for so long it's going to cost me more than £7.79 in phone charges?

[Anonymous]

If TalkTalk charged more per month than Shell Energy, then TalkTalk would be overcharging you.

However, at £19.07 per month, it does not seem that you are being overcharged. The first bill is for more than a month due to TalkTalk changing the billing period, as TalkTalk explained in their communications for former Shell Energy customers, both by email and in the online help.

Reading the information from TalkTalk, and looking at your last bill from Shell Energy and your first TalkTalk bill ought to clarify the situation.

Enjoy your discount.

[itsstewart]

Irrespective of how the month is reckoned by Talktalk, if you're paying more per month than you were paying Shell then you're being overcharged

[Anonymous]

TalkTalk changed the billing period for former Shell Energy customers, but not the payment date. As a result the first bill would be higher. You should have received an email (mine had the subject 'We’ve got an update on your broadband and phone bill') that explains the changes and the higher first bill. I have attached an image of part of the email.

There is a similar explanation under the heading Bills here: https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Customer-Migration-FAQs/bd-p/MigrationFAQ.

I cannot say with certainty why the person you communicated with on chat agreed to refund the 'overcharge'. It may just be that rather rather than take time to investigate and understand the matter, offering a refund was the easier, quicker option.

[itsstewart]

Well I paid the August bill of £26.83 by card because I got an apologetic email (following the initial accusatorial email blaming me for the non-payment and saying I'd be charged for missing the payment) asking me to because the DD hadn't worked. I'll find out on Friday if it works this month then if the £19.07 hasn't been taken I'll wait til I get another email asking me to pay.

[Gliwmaeden2]

@itsstewart, you may be caught up in the fiasco with Shell DD payments not working yet.

In which case, to keep on top of the billing cycle, you would need to make a one-off card payment. 

I'll re-escalate this for staff to pick up on, as we don't want a muddle with that.....

Sad watching so much stress for folks with this Shell Migration. 

[itsstewart]

Thanks, that works with Chrome. It says my account balance is £11.31 though i'm not sure why there's a button next to it to make a card payment. Hopefully £11.31 is all that will be taken in October but I won't find out til that bill arrives in a month or so.

[Gliwmaeden2]

Thanks for clarifying that My Account is indeed set up.

If the wheels keep turning etc, try another browser, which may work better.

The previously made up bill cannot be changed: if it were printed on paper it would be unalterable.

If the  £7.76 has been applied, the direct debit will automatically take £19.07 minus £7.76 on Friday, @itsstewart.

The NEXT bill will show the amended amount taken, as well as the new amount going forward from that date.

[itsstewart]

PS According to the Service Status Dashboard there isn't a problem but I can't access my bills so something's wrong

[itsstewart]

I set up My Account as soon as I was migrated. I have never been a TalkTalk customer. I can't see anywhere on My Account where it says a credit has been created. I can't open My BIlls to see if it's there as when I click on that it's just permanently 'loading' but the My Bills box states it's taking £19.07 this Friday but the Chat person I chatted to previously told me the £7.76 would be taken off this month's bill.

[itsstewart]

you're lucky you can access your bills, I've never seen one yet as they are always just 'loading'

[Gliwmaeden2]

@itsstewart, Arne-TalkTalk did ask if you were able to see your bills in one of the other threads but I can't see you saying that you have  / have not managed to set up My Account  - it's really better if you keep everything relating to one general issue in one thread to avoid confusion, extra time spent looking for what you are referring to.

If you haven't yet got My Account set up, you need to do this. 

If you can't register because you may have been a Talktalk customer in the past,  you'll have to ask staff to clear the old account information out of the way before you try to register afresh. 

Your £7.76 will have been authorised by the Shell Migration team.

So that means you will be able to claim it back from My Account (once that's set up) or just leave it there to put towards NEXT month's bill, which will be adjusted accordingly when it's made up.

The remaining amount of £19.07 will cover the month going forward  - whenever you received the bill, it would have been made up a couple of days previously and will be made up the same day each month (regardless of the length of the month). There can be a variation occasionally from month to month that notification actually shows up in the email, but only by a day. That notification will always remind you of when the direct debit will be taken or when payment needs to be made if by another method. 

Can you confirm whether you were previously a Talktalk customer, to clarify whether this is affecting setting up My Account?

My Account was also simply down today..... if you do set it up, sometimes there's a problem at Talktalk's end, and it's worth checking in Service Status Dashboard in case it's been listed among ongoing faults. 

You can find Service Status Dashboard via the community forum menu. 

[itsstewart]

So why have I been told by Chat that I am being credited the extra £7.76 (My mistake earlier I thought it had been £7.79)? So what period did my July payment to Shell cover?, what period did the £26.83   I paid in August to Talk Talk cover?  and what period does the £19.07 cover? I can't access my bills that might explain this  as I've posted on another thread . I still can't make any sense of it all as the Chat people are saying exactly the opposite and that I have been overcharged.

[Gliwmaeden2]

Yes: up to 3 hours.

Use the forum search engine. Lots of useful articles in there. 

[Anonymous]

If you read my earlier to response to you, I think it is likely you'll understand the additional charge. Note that TalkTalk has changed the billing period. This affects your first bill, even though TalkTalk may be taking the payment on or around the same date as Shell Energy was.

[itsstewart]

Thanks. Can you phone other talktalk broadband customers for free on your landline too?

[ferguson]

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

[itsstewart]

Where does it say that?

[ferguson]

From a TalkTalk landline to the TalkTalk customer service number they are free. 

[itsstewart]

Where does it say calls are free to broadband users? 

[itsstewart]

No my calls aren't free