TalkTalk refusing to close account

[Julie87]

I am posting this here for visibility. I will also be sending a formal letter of complaint.

I had been a TalkTalk customer for over 5 years. I am an NHS clinical scientist and I work from home so my broadband service is essential. I decided to take the TalkTalk service with me when I moved house and I placed a home move order via the website well in advance of my move date. This is the timeline:

11/04/23 – I moved house

12/04/23 – an Openreach engineer came to my new house but unfortunately found there was no landline connection, only a Virgin Media connection. They would have to come and dig up the pavement to install a cable and I was initially told this would take 2-5 working days so I agreed.

25/04/23 – I had been without phone or internet for 2 weeks and there was no sign of Openreach installing the cable. I contacted TalkTalk via chat to ask for an update and a refund on the period I had been without a service. The agent said they had raised an escalation with the back office to cancel my home move order. I was horrified and asked then to reverse that but they said it was too late and I would have to start over again and place a new home move order on the website. I then said I would rather switch to another provider. The agent said I had no active service, was not in a contract, and the home move order had been cancelled so effectively my account was now closed. I was extremely upset and confused following this conversation.

26/04/23 – I phoned TalkTalk customer service. I was on the phone for ~30 mins and spoke to someone in the cancellation department and someone in the home move department but at the end of the call I was satisfied that my account was closed and the home move order was cancelled. I then took out a contract with Virgin Media.

03/05/23 – Openreach (I assume) had dug up the pavement while I was out. I logged on to my account and saw my account was still active and the home move order still in progress. I contacted TalkTalk via the chat and was told my request to cancel had been rejected by the back office. I was very angry and posted on Twitter to complain.

04/05/23 – following investigations overnight I was contacted via Twitter direct message and told in writing that my account was closed and my home move order was cancelled.

10/05/23 Katie from the TalkTalk customer services in Burnley called to apologise and said the account and home move order would be closed in 3-5 working days.

15/05/23 Katie from the TalkTalk customer services in Burnley called and said the order was not yet closed but it would be soon and I did not have to do anything else.

04/06/23 – I received 3 emails within 5 minutes from TalkTalk to say there will be a ‘small delay’ in getting my service set up so the home move order is clearly still active.

[Gliwmaeden2]

@Helder1, please return to the message board and click on start a topic to open your thread.

You need to post separately, particularly for problems with My Account, for obvious reasons. 

Staff reply Monday to Friday. 

[Helder1]

I’m moved house a 2 years ago and I contact TalkTalk assistant to move my broadband to my new address. After all day trying the connection they found not have any signal at my new agreed. On that same day I agreed the the assistance and also online chat to close my account with TalkTalk, and they never done it. Sense theme constantly have email to pay my debit. For inúmeros times I contact TalkTalk by phone and they refusing to close. I DONT WHANT ANY MORE CONNECTIONS WITH TALKTALK. Can u Live me alone. 

[Luketams]

I am so jealous of you, I feel your pain. I had a possible even worse story than you, as you have seen my thread too. You are never free, I signed up for it again today apparently, after asking for a bag on their Facebook to return one of the 2 extra modems I was sent for no reason. Apparently just thinking about them signs me up these days, for someone with severe mental issues this is really, really, stressing me out.

[Julie87]

I hope this will be the last update in this whole bonkers saga! TalkTalk have given me £320 in compensation - totally unexpected and I even checked with the manager that it was not another mistake. As I was not actually out of pocket I decided not to keep the money and it has gone to my local foodbank who will make good use of it 🙂

[Arne-TalkTalk]

I have requested another bag to be sent

[Gliwmaeden2]

Re-escalating this for you, @Julie87.

[Julie87]

I have not had the return bag for the router yet. Please could you send another one.

[Julie87]

Ok that makes sense. I will keep checking in case it comes back to life again 🧟

[Arne-TalkTalk]

The information given in My Account is based upon the last contract but if you look above, that it will show the status of the account is disconnected, My Account remains active for up to 12 months so you can check old bills etc.

You are not in a contract, and will not be billed.

[Julie87]

Thanks @Arne-TalkTalk does it matter that it is showing me in a  new 18 month contract now when I log in to my account? I guess that was from the stuck order too. I have had been told so many times that everything was closed and it keeps coming back to life! 

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi Julie87

I have checked and the account is now fully canceled as of yesterday at 21:35. 

Sorry that it took so long, there was a stuck order on the account that caused the delay.

[Gliwmaeden2]

Thanks, @Julie87.

Fast Broadband is definitely not FTTP, but the digging up of the pavement might have been connected with a view to them upgrading the order as copper is being ditched. 

Fast Broadband is just basic ADSL.

Whatever it is, something ain't right, and they will have to keep sorting out their system till it's sorted.....

[Julie87]

This is what it says. It says the phone is disconnected and I don't think I ever had fibre broadband.

[Julie87]

Thanks @Gliwmaeden2 

[Gliwmaeden2]

I've asked staff to look at this.

[Julie87]

@Gliwmaeden2 I don't know. It shouldn't be up to the customer to have to figure this out! I am trying to get the complaint team to call me back - they tried to call 3 times but unfortunately I was driving each time and now they say they will close the complaint because they couldn't speak to me 😞

[Gliwmaeden2]

@Julie87, was the cancelled order for Fibre to the Premises with the copper line left behind?

It may be that someone has correctly stopped the functioning of the phone on the old copper line and left the FTTP broadband active. That's happened before. 

I'll re-escalate this for you. 

[Julie87]

 I have a letter saying my account will close on 12/06/23 and that I'm out of contract, but online account says I'm in a new 18 month contract ending 05/12/24! It is no wonder so many disabled people have difficulty closing their account because you have to be so vigilant and keep ringing up to close off all the things that have not actually closed. TalkTalk featured on BBC Rip Off Britain on 31/05/23 for failing to properly close the account of a disabled man and then sending debt collectors after him.

[Julie87]

Phone is now showing as disconnected but broadband is still active and I'm now in a new 18 month contract!?

[Julie87]

The router is staying safely in the drawer ready to be returned @Gliwmaeden2 !