Talktalk just lost a loyal customer of over 14 years

[Tez2012]

Last year we had a deal for Fibre 500 and phone services for £42 a month. My bill went up the usual £3 which is fine, then it went to £56 in September and then this month up to £66.

I spoke with a rep apparently called Rachel on Talktalk live chat and asked why my bill had gone up twice and she said my deal expired as my contract was due for renewal. I explained I had been a loyal customer for over 14 years and that our last deal was for £42 a month. We do understand prices have to rise. Anyway when I asked what deal could be done to renew our contract and reduce the bill from £66 back to around where it was, after three minutes she came back with £42 and asked me If I wanted to proceed. I said hold on is that £42 the total for everything we had on the last deal and a few minutes later she came back with a shocking £61.

I said is that the best you can do for a loyal customer that previously had a bill of £45.18 for the same package and she took a few more minutes and said £57. So not only did she not give me the full cost the first time she only gave me a marginal decrease from £61. Obviously I was not happy with this and told her and she kept asking if I wanted to proceed, I told her a number of times I am not proceeding and was now looking at prices with other suppliers and she started badgering me about if I wanted to immediately close the account with her while I was with her in the chat and I said no but she peristed to ask and came across quite abrupt telling me about charges I might get. I felt I had to abruptly close the chat as I said I will speak to someone else as I didn't feel she was being honest about deals they could offer or the full cost with out me having to dig for than info.

As it turns out we was on talktalk Fibre plus 500 and BT were offering a very similar deal priced at £47 a month. They even had Superfast Fibre 900 package at £49.99 a month so after 14+ years you have lost a loyal customer. 

Was £57 really the best they could offer us to continue our current package ? And why did I have to keep digging to get a lower price. This is not very honest.

[ferguson]

OK, well you need to consider that the cost of Anytime Calls is currently £16 a month so that explains a large part of the difference. And you mention "other add ons" without specifying what they are. If you are satisfied that BT offer a better deal on a like for like basis then that's fine. But you may want to check the detail again and consider what add ons you actually need and whether they are cost effective. 

[Tez2012]

We were on fibre 65 and unlimited calls and other add ons and were paying around that price. Last year they offered us to upgrade to Fibre 500 plus everything else for £42 a month which went up with expected rises to £45.18  which wasn't bad for a Fibre 500 BB & phone package and we knew price would increase if we didn't renew but their renewal offers were beyond shocking.

[Tez2012]

This and the previous post just proves the representatives are being dishonest. I wouldn't mind but I have stuck with talktalk through a number of issues over 14 years and this is how they treat us. By all means give new customers a good starting deal but Loyal customers should be offered execptional deals or atleast match the previous Renewal deal which is still clearly more expensive than a new customer deal.

Gil they clearly didn't take into account the deal I was on if the price went up to £66 and first offer was £61. Not to mention already being above the offered prices on the website. Anyway, I am off back to BT at the end of the month.

[ferguson]

@Tez2012 

I am sorry that you didn't get an acceptable deal, but I am perplexed by the numbers you mention. TalkTalk are currently offering Full Fibre 500 at £35.00 a month:

https://www.talktalk.co.uk/broadband/fttp

[Gliwmaeden2]

Forum staff can't influence any of this and cannot either set up deals nor cancel contracts, so your only option was to speak directly to the Talktalk agents. 

Deals can vary, so it's a good idea to keep trying until someone offers you something that seems better, or, as you've done, you take your custom elsewhere. 

But all ISPs offer better prices when you are within the minimum term of the deal. At renewal, extras included may or may not continue to be available as special deals - we used to sometimes get the Anytime Calls Boost free, @Tez2012, and that can't be offered any more. Full price is £16, so even a £8 discount is going to add quite a bit to the core contract. Same with the TV charge, Voicemail, Supersafe etc.

Outside the minimum term of the contract the core Broadband [and phone line / VOIP] package is always going to be more....

And having been loyal customers for many years sadly doesn't mean a lot these days - the agents are only going to be looking at your current deal and any possible future ones; nothing further back.