Where does it stop with TalkTalk?
On 23 Oct 2024 upon checking my account and speed I was prompted by a message from Talk Talk headed "It looks like you need a new router upgrade" to contact and to contact via a chat link.
I did this as prompted by the Talk Talk link provided.
That started a two hour process where in the first 30 minutes I was connected first to the Technical Support Team then the Better Value Department then to a different agent in the Technical Support Team.
It then took one hour before the new router was actually ordered.
I was then told "Once you receive the new router, you should ensure you send the old one back using the returns bag provided with the replacement. If the old router is not returned you may be charged £50 for it". This suggest the router belongs to TalkTalk and has a value of £50.00
After 66 minutes in a completely nonsensical exchange I was suddenly told I would be charged for the new router but IF that happened (?) I should contact Talk Talk who would waive the charge. There had been no mention of a charge for a new router before that. There was no mention of what the charge would be. This means TalkTalk were selling me the new router but I wasn't given the price. However, they wanted the old one back.or it would cost me £50.00.
So. who owneed the new one?
Is it Talk Talk policy to tell customers they need a replacement piece of equipment owned by Talk Talk but not tell them there is a charge for it until after it has been ordered and to not tell them what that charge is?
I asked to be transferred to a Complaints Manager. This process had now taken one hour and twenty minutes. After another confusing exchange with this agent I was told "I will put a credit in your account now for 69.95 pounds. This is the equivalent charge for the router and for the delivery." No breakdown of that cost.
Is it Talk Talk policy that having processed an order to then (after over an hour in chat) to tell the customer IF they get charged for it to contact Talk Talk again? Is it Talk Talk policy to suggest they will then waive the charge despite having already charged for it ? That makes it a refund not a "waive" .
The new router arrived. Despite what was stated, there was no returns bag. I had already been threatened with a charge of 69.95 for a new router which I may or may not have to pay for before it was "waived" which Talk Talk hadn't told me about until after it was ordered, plus £50 if I didn't return the old one in the bag supplied.
When my November bill arrived it did not clearly or accurately reflect the information I had been given.
Is it TalkTalk policy to send out what look like fraudulent bills?
I questioned this bill with another agent via the chat .
During that conversation it transpired that TalkTalk had elected to credit my account for an amount without making it clear what the breakdown for that credit actually was. The amount of £69.95 as stated in the first chat - "I will put a credit in your account now for 69.95 pounds. This is the equivalent charge for the router and for the delivery." was inaccurate and misleading. The actual router and delivery charge was £39. 95. The subsequent bill did not accurately reflect that. TalkTalk added £30.00 but none of this information was made clear.
Is it Talk Talk policy to make bills suspicious and confusing?
I have had further online chats, (the equivilent of over six hours and trabscribed) no resposes to my email, documented promises of calls which didn't come and then today a random call from a rude customer service person who had incorrect information and just seem to take the angle that somehow none of this is TalkTalks responsibility, was very keen to say that they don't compensate for customers time and then talked over me when I was trying to outline the complaint.
I have asked time and time again for a written response. It hasn't come.
The whole process - not over yet - is very bad practice from the very start.
