Fibre 65

[Alvwiam5]

I signed up to Fibre 65 on the 10 May as my existing contract (Fibre 35) was coming to an end. Additionally, I opted out of the UK Call Boost service to which I had previously been contracted. I received the new contract forms from TalkTalk immediately by email. However, when I received my current bill, it took no account of my new contract (cahrging significantly more for the Fibre 35 service) and still showed a charge for the UK Calls Boost service. Has anyone else had similar problems following the renewal of their contract and if so was the matter resolved?

[Arne-TalkTalk]

The cancellation of the calls boost is part of the pending order going through for full fibre once this completes the the boost will come off 

[Alvwiam5]

I cancelled the Call Boost when I was in discussion with TT about my new contract. I made it clear that I did not want this service as I did not intend to use my landline for making calls in the future.

[ferguson]

@Alvwiam5 

Did you specifically cancel the Calls Boost separately from ordering the new service? If so, how? 

[Gliwmaeden2]

I'll make sure that this is flagged up for attention again, @Alvwiam5, as there's been quite a bit of traffic on here since Arne was last on. Normal staff support will be back on here during the day from Tuesday.

[Alvwiam5]

The date of my recent bill was the 18 May.

In my account all it says in that my Fibre 35 contract ends on the 13 May and the Unlimited UK Call Boost is still shown as being active. There is no mention of my Fibre 65 contract.

[Gliwmaeden2]

@Alvwiam5, what is the date of your most recent bill?

If it was being made up before you cancelled the Phone Boost, you may have just been too late to avoid the charge for the billing month ahead.

Does the boost show as NOT activated in My Account?

If that is the case, it was successfully removed, and all the excess charge will be refunded on the next bill.

If the boost is still active in My Account, Arne will take a look at it. There can be problems with what should be easy in My Account!

[Alvwiam5]

Further to the recent messages below, why has TT continued to charge me for call boosts when I cancelled that service on the 13 May?

[Gliwmaeden2]

@Alvwiam5, the new infrastructure required for Full Fibre would always require a couple of weeks' or so notice to install. It requires more work and is like a totally fresh service. 

It's not like a simple switch to the FTTC Fibre65 which would have been an ordinary upgrade from Fibre35. 

You can't be left without a service altogether meanwhile, hence the brief period after the end of your contract that reflects the Fibre35 out of contract rate.

Assuming that the installation goes ahead as planned, the next bill should show a correction pro rata for the number of days on the new service. 

[ferguson]

OK, because you ordered a different service it required a fresh install. That is somewhat different from simply renewing a contract. Clearly TalkTalk cannot bill you for your new service until it has gone live. 

[Alvwiam5]

Yes my order was for a full fibre installation. I would also have expected the contract to start straight away, but it seems that TT do not consider that it should start until THEY have carried out the installation.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi @Alvwiam5

Was the order for a Full Fibre install?  

Usually contracts start straight away.

[Gliwmaeden2]

I'll move this to the billing section for you, @Alvwiam5.

If it's not picked up on Friday, it may be after the Bank Holiday before you get a reply from TT staff. 

[Gliwmaeden2]

The next bill should show a refund to cover the difference from when your Full Fibre goes live, so it should balance out.

Always tricky following the billing when renewing / upgrading as it takes a couple of months to sort out. 

Important that you mention that the Fibre 65 is Full Fibre not FTTC, as that makes a big difference following what is going on!

[Alvwiam5]

I have just been in contact again with Talktalk. My new contract (for Fibre 65) was signed with them on the 10 May, my old contract ended on the 13 May. Therefore it seems pretty clear to me that I had a new contract in place prior to my old one ending. However, because Talktalk could not install the new connection until the 31 May, they consider that that is the date on which my new contract should start (even though I have an email from them dated the 10 May confirming my new contract). Therefore I being charged an inflated price for the existing Fibre 35 service from the 18 May (because I was out of contract!!!) until the middle of June, even though I signed a new contract on the 10 May. I find this a very strange argument and not very customer friendly.

Has anyone had similar experiences?

[Alvwiam5]

I was having difficulty in removing the call boost, but having had a long conversation with a talktalk representative and having entered into a new contract with them, I believed that the call boost had been removed, so I didn't take the matter any further. However, as explained previously I am still being charged for the call boost.

My new Fibre connection is being installed on the 31 May so I'm not seeing any speed improvement at present.

The end date shown on My Account is the 13 May 2023, which is the end of my old account. I am somewhat confused and disappointed in this as I have clearly signed a new contract for the Fibre 65 service, but this is not showing on My Account.

[Gliwmaeden2]

There have been similar faults reported, @Alvwiam5, and it's very strange that they send through the documentation without correctly updating the billing for the new contract.

I think that you were having a problem with removing the calls boost at the time (someone else's topic) and Arne asked you to start your own thread back then. Then the trail stops:

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Billing/Unlimited-UK-Calls-Boost/td-p/2959440#M325823

Staff on here should be able to check that you are not overcharged for what you appeared to agree to, but the new contract details would not detail the boost anyway, whether or not you had succeeded in removing it. 

The boost only carries a one month minimum commitment, so it's not part of the contract for Broadband.

Have you noticed significantly better speeds since you signed up for the new contract or have they been just the same?

Does the new end of contract date show in My Account, or the old one?