Keeping talktalk email address when moving to a new provider

[J9bridge]

We are hoping to move shortly depending on coronavirus situation, I'm moving across to Sky as they were able to arrange for new telephone line (it's a newly build house with no existing line) and will have to have a new telephone number. I desperately want to make sure we can at least keep our existing talktalk email addresses especially during this difficult self-isolation period (my husband is over 70 with heart condition). I can't find any definitive answer to this on the talktalk website. It mentions that -

"If you decide you no longer want TalkTalk Mail Plus you can choose to cancel it. Once cancelled, you'll be able to access your emails through webmail only, this will be available for two years at which point the account will then be deleted.",

however I don't know if we have talktalk Mail plus as I can't find any reference to it on my account info. Other blogs say you can't keep it, others say you can keep it for a year.

Can someone confirm that we will be able to keep it and if this is automatic or do I have to inform them - and if so, how?

[Gondola]

Hi @J9bridge 

Sky don't offer email service to new customers but don't worry because TalkTalk will offer you the opportunity to keep your TalkTalk mailboxes active for all your email devices.

There is a small cost and you can see the options available to you at the MailPlus subscription page.

Whilst with TalkTalk just ensure that your TalkTalk mailboxes are listed in your TalkTalk MyAccount and that will keep them safe from system auto-deletion so long as you sign in to each mailbox at least once every 180 days.

Managing your email in My Account 

[J9bridge]

Hi

Thank you for that. So I do have to pay for it when I've left talktalk, it's doesn't automatically continue for a year then? Sorry, still bit confused - do I have to sign up for Talktalk mail plus as on the link you sent me? And if so when do I do that- before or after I migrate? Or does it just continue for free provided I log in regularly?

[Gondola]

Hi J9bridge 

Good questions.

TalkTalk Mail will continue free for nominally up to six months after leaving TalkTalk. 

When you leave you'll get an email offer from TalkTalk to subscribe to MailPlus and if you choose not to subscribe then there will be a follow up mail message from TalkTalk.  So, yes, consider subscribing but only after you leave TalkTalk.

When you have a mail message from TalkTalk about deletion of your TalkTalk managed mailbox then deletion is after 180 days. After 60 days the mailbox has webmail only access via an Internet browser for receiving and sending mail but not auto-forwarding of mail.

You don't have to subscribe to MailPlus as it's entirely your choice and you may opt to migrate your mail service use to a free provider like Gmail, for example.  But you'll not be able to migrate your TalkTalk email address, just use a Gmail address.

If you do need more than 6 months to make such a move and notify contacts of a new email address then subscribe to MailPlus for as long as you need at £5/m.  When you're confident that all contacts are going to be notified in the following 2 years, then call TalkTalk to cancel MailPlus. As you've seen, you then get 2 years' webmail only access to complete the move to another mail service before the mailbox gets deleted. Once deleted though, the mailbox address cannot be recreated by the user.

Cancel your TalkTalk service 

But if you rejoin TalkTalk Consumer broadband, then TalkTalk Mail becomes free again for full feature access across all your email devices, fixed and mobile.

[J9bridge]

Hi Gondola

I thought I'd replied to you earlier but don't think I sent it. Thanks for your great help. I think I'll just continue with talktalk mail for as long as I can - but at least I know it carries on for a while when/if we leave talktalk. As you say I can then continue by just paying £5/month. I did actually set up a gmail account as back-up but have had problems importing all my emails and contacts from talktalk. It just comes up with the following error-

"Gmail couldn't identify your POP server. Please enter your POP server information below"

then after my email address in the POP username,

"POP server:

Port: 995 Edit"

I don't know if this info is correct as it comes up automatically,but if I continue,it then comes up with "This account cannot be imported at the moment. Please try again later."

Any ideas?

[Gondola]

Hi J9bridge 

The Gmail feature to get TalkTalk Mail and Address Book Contacts is, as you've found, in Gmail Settings (Cog icon) > Settings > Accounts & Import

Gmail's 'Import mail and contacts' function leads you to believe it will work but it doesn't.

To collect TalkTalk Mail messages you'd select the Gmail function 'Check email from other accounts'  and select Add an email account.

Then follow the instructions. Note that Gmail only collects mail messages from the Inbox acting as a POP3 account. Does not synchronise other mailbox folders.

To import Address Book contacts you first Export from TalkTalk Mail Address Book as a CSV or vCard file, save that on your computer and Import by selecting Google Contacts. Select Import on the side panel and pick up the Exported CSV or vCard file.