30 Days No Internet

[James Y1]

A record of our current attempt to move home with Talk Talk. Posting here as a warning to others. The most abysmal customer service I've ever encountered, and an incredibly stressful experience during a difficult home move, when both myself and my partner require the internet to work. Also posting to social media and review sites, and sending to consumer rights bodies. 

Monday, March 7th

Request change of engineer appointment at new home from March 8th to March 10th. Live chat operator says date change “successfully requested”.

Tuesday, March 8th

Online account shows appointment as March 8th. Told change of appointment has not been actioned properly. Told issue escalated.

Wednesday, March 9th

Account says go live date now March 15th  (and that March 8th appointment missed by customer). Told order is “stuck with a flow activity and Back Office emailed to progress it”.

Tuesday, March 15th – Talk Talk Missed Appointment #1

SMS from Talk Talk says engineer will visit between 8am and 1pm. Wait for engineer. Engineer does not come. Told appointment not for home visit, but work done at exchange. New appointment booked for Monday, March 21st.

Friday, March 18th

SMS from Openreach offering range of appointment dates. Request Monday, March 21st. SMS from Openreach says engineer visit booked. Call from Talk Talk to say engineer visit not confirmed. Also: SMS from Talk Talk saying complaint has been logged. Four minutes later, SMS from Talk Talk saying complaint has been closed.

Monday, March 21st

Talk Talk say appointment booked for March 23rd (reference number issued).

Wednesday, March 23rd – Talk Talk Missed Appointment #2

Wait for engineer. Engineer does not come. Talk Talk check with Openreach to see if appointment is valid. Appointment not valid. Told appointment booked for Monday 28th. Request earlier appointment. Appointment moved to Tuesday 29th.

Tuesday, March 29th Talk Talk Missed Appointment #3

Wait for engineer. Engineer does not come. At 12.20 pm, Talk Talk call to say multi-skilled engineer required. Appointment moved to Thursday 31st.

Wednesday, March 30th

Talk Talk call to say appointment cancelled as engineer could not be assigned. Appointment moved to April 8th.

Total days without broadband connection (March 10th to April 8th): 30

Total appointments not fulfilled by Talk Talk: at least 3

Total calls to or from Talk Talk since March 8th: at least 21

Total hours spent on phone or live chat with Talk Talk since March 8th: at least 8

Total amount spent on additional mobile data: £121.50

[James Y1]

Daily update: days without broadband: 32. Engineer appointments missed by Talk Talk/Openreach: 4.

If you're reading this and you're not a Talk Talk customer, choose another provider. 

[James Y1]

Further update - is actually escalated to Chief Executive Officer's office, not Complaints Escalation Office (original SMS said CEO office). Still no broadband, though. 

[James Y1]

Update:

Monday 4th April: receive message from Talk Talk informing us that our complaint has been escalated and that member of Complaints Escalation Office will be calling to discuss. Complaints Escalation Office representative calls and informs us that Openreach have completed all work at the exchange and confirming engineer's appointment for between 8am and 1pm on Friday, April 8th (today). Also says will call back on Friday afternoon to check that broadband installed. 

Friday April 8th, 13.36 

Engineer has not attended. 4th appointment that Talk Talk have failed to fulfil. Days without internet: 30. 

As previously stated, Talk Talk's inability to provide us with broadband is affecting mine and my partner's ability to earn a living. I'll now be contacting newspaper consumer rights pages, Radio 4's You and Yours, and Ofcom, and posting a detailed description of these events on social media and review sites. If you're reading this as a non-Talk Talk customer and are considering making them your broadband provider, please, please don't, or you might end up in a similar situation to us.  

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi James,

Thanks for answering the security questions but I've sent you a PM requesting a little more information

Chris

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi James Y1,

Apologies for the delay. I've sent you a PM to confirm some details so that we can look into this further

Thanks

Chris

[ferguson]

Well don't waste too much of your precious time over the weekend, the support team won't be back here until Monday. 

[James Y1]

FYI just posted above information on Trustpilot - will continue to post on other consumer and review sites until resolved. 

[James Y1]

How long should I expect to wait for a response? Also, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell me that my account is inactive, or ask if I've been in touch with the order management team, as a Talk Talk representative on Twitter just did. It's a home move - of course the account under the number I've provided is inactive. I assume you can still access the communication I've described above, and my case in general, another way. Though with Talk Talk perhaps I shouldn't assume anything. 

Oh, and I should probably add that the last call mentioned above was from a complaints manager, who promised to call back as soon as she could with an update. That was on Wednesday March 30th. She hasn't called back.

[James Y1]

Account number now added to profile in both alternative phone number and private notes boxes. 

[Gliwmaeden2]

You can also see your phone number in Service Centre,  via Service Status Dashboard, @James Y1. You don't always need to be signed into it to see that when at home.

[James Y1]

Thanks Chris. I can't access my online account to get either of those numbers - are there website issues? Can I add any other info to clear security?

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi James Y1,

I'm really sorry about this. Could I just ask you to add your TalkTalk landline telephone number or your account number to your community profile so that we can look into this for you

Thanks

Chris

[James Y1]

Thanks Ferguson - yes, any help from anyone at all gratefully received. Completely at wits' end and in danger of losing work due to lack of broadband. 

[ferguson]

Sorry to see this. Are you seeking help from the support team? If so please complete  your personal details as best you can on your community profile (click here) so that they can link your forum identity with your account and then wait for them to respond.