There was a customer who recently mentioned making a one-off payment by card to cover 3 months, and that was fine, @Ianinuette.
So in theory you could pay what you think covers the 7 months in one go, but any phone calls would eat into that total. As Ferguson says, they can't be separated in the billing total. Long ago there was a way of paying line rental upfront, but the packages no longer separate that out specifically.
More recently they had a 12 month plan where it benefitted customers to pay upfront for the full year, but extras and add ons were taken month by month in an orderly way by direct debit. Seems to have fallen by the wayside.
So, with a single prepayment by card:
Eventually you would get to the end of the prepaid amount and the direct debit would simply kick in again.
Remember that your service will not simply stop at the end of the contract term, so you need to be alert to the fact that fees will go up for those days after the end of contract date, pro rata for that billing cycle, and, if you wish to leave, give Talktalk 30 days' notice.
You should leave the Direct Debit in place whatever other methods of payment you use meanwhile as it's the simplest means to claim back any excess due should you leave.
A full list of payment methods can be found here, @Ianinuette:
https://community.talktalk.co.uk/waystopay
If you can't get a payment card to work via My Account, phone customer services. 03451 720088
Gliwmaeden2, a fellow customer.
