Longstanding customer Everymail sign-up complication - email support?

[PatriciaAbbott]

Hello I am posting on behalf of my elderly mother.

She has used TalkTalk as her internet provider for 20 years and continues to use her @talktalk.net email address as her primary email address.

In 2020 my father (whose name our account was registered to) passed away. When we notified TalkTalk of this change in circumstances, the account was transferred to my mother's name and we were told that she had to use a different email address for the account login and I now she has to use a @gmail.com address.

Having seen the recent communication regarding changes to Everymail. I have looked at the Everymail sign-up options for her TalkTalk email address and I am only being offered the paid subscriptions, but as a longstanding customer she should be entitled to this service free of charge.

I know that there are no longer staff on this forum, and I would like to communicate this issue to support via email, but I can only see contact options by chat and phone - both of which are challenging and time-consuming for my mother.

I am concerned that deadlines are looming and it is essential that access to email is maintained.

Thanks in advance,

[PatriciaAbbott]

Thanks for your response and for all the useful information.

I was aware that there was a communication sent in error last month, but was a further "Important Reminder" email from TalkTalk yesterday, and there's big pop-up (attached) whenever I go on her webmail.

All links to registering with her TalkTalk address bring up the paid subscription page.

It seems to me like her TalkTalk address isn't linked to her current broadband account, so a support call will probably be necessary.

Thanks again.

[Gliwmaeden2]

She should definitely not be paying for email while a broadband customer, @PatriciaAbbott.

Please see the error message added in this information page as some customers were sent a genuine email last month from Talktalk in error:

https://help-centre.talktalk.co.uk/Email/Find_info_or_guidance_about_my_Email/Email_Transition_FAQs

The issue of how she logs into My Account and receives billing to a Gmail address is not relevant to keeping the Talktalk email function. Using a non Talktalk address was introduced as a security measure and also means that customers can check back into their My Account after they leave to see old bills etc.

So it's a completely separate aspect of the service. 

You will only find a useful email contact address by checking through means of reaching Talktalk in the Complaints procedure outlined through the link at the foot of any Talktalk page. 

That is likely to take a lot longer  than phone or Chat.

Meanwhile, please do ask her to contact Talktalk directly on 03451 720088 or Chat to ensure that a form has been completed to link any of her old Talktalk addresses with her current broadband account. 

Keep her aware that many of us are receiving SCAM emails from people exploiting the issue of Talktalk  / Everymail changes and these can appear a couple of times a month or so, not filtered into Spam but in our usual Talktalk inboxes  - be very careful and never click on any links in the emails. Hovering over the sender's name will usually reveal some random spoofed / harvested sender name. Report these as phishing, send to Spam, then bin and empty the bin.