No broadband for 3 days and zero communication from TalkTalk about getting it running

[Watsonla02]

Reported an Internet outage at the property 7am 05/01/2022 and the only communication I have received is "An engineer will review in 2-3 days". 

It is now 3 working days later and the best TalkTalk Live Chat can offer is that it is being looked at by an OpenReach Engineer who will contact us (3 days later they still havent). 

We have now missed 6 working days and both my partner and I need the Internet to work resulting in close to a £1000 loss of wages along with all of the social aspects we are missing.

I realise it is the OpenReach lines but TalkTalks level of latency, communication and updates is frankly appalling, possibly the worst customer service on the market. 

I either want to know when it will be fixed, releasing from my contract, or my account crediting with loss of wages due to not being provided with a service I pay for. 

If the communication from TalkTalk was better, I wouldn't be as angry but after 3 days of no answers I am done with the provider. 

[AllyM]

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@ferguson wrote:

@bigkenny Of course we will have to wait to see if the OP can confirm as Michelle said this morning that the issue appears to have been been fixed, um, within 3 working days. 

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We may never know.

It is slightly ironic that this topic was started complaining about lack of communication from TalkTalk, yet 5 days after a member of staff has asked them to confirm whether or not the issue is resolved and we have no response from the OP.

[ferguson]

@bigkenny Of course we will have to wait to see if the OP can confirm as Michelle said this morning that the issue appears to have been been fixed, um, within 3 working days. 

[bigkenny]

In Watsonla02 defence we all read on this forum of similar customers who have a problem with loss of connection or poor connection speeds and that it’s damn hard to get hold of anyone who can truly help and get some real old fashion service, which is what most people, want. Just someone to hear and understand the customer problem and try and give a real and sensible time when the fault will be fixed.

The only thing in this case that Watsonla02 should understand as pointed out, that this is a cheaper ISP than some others and is not a business internet connection. So any money will be limited on any refund/credit also time to fix will be longer.  You pays your money and you takes your choice!

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning,

I'm sorry for the delay. I've run a test on the line now which is clear. Have you been able to connect ok since your last post?

Thanks

[AllyM]

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@Watsonla02 wrote:

Any other provider I have been with (Virgin and BT directly) is able to tell me exact details of my problem, when it is being dealt with and when they expect it to be fixed, not the vaguery supplied which is the standard OpenReach answer. I can also manage to get through and speak to a UK based support officer.

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Possibly due to the fact that they are premium suppliers and you pay a premium price for the privilege, whereas TalkTalk are a budget supplier and you pay a budget price.

[ferguson]

OK, as it seems to be in hand then all you can do is go with the timeline offered by Openreach I'm afraid.

[Watsonla02]

I reported it over 3 days ago, was informed that it would take 48 to 72 hours. 

Over 60 hours & 3 working days later and the service centre still says "An engineer will look at this" which says to me the issue hasn't even been reviewed yet. 

I am just trying to get answers about where the enquiry is with OpenReach but TalkTalk seem incapable of offering this service. 

@Gliwmaeden2 I realise you're doing your best as community contributors, no grief was aimed at you. It's just a real problem when you get more support from customers than the company itself. 

[ferguson]

Sorry to see that you are having problems. Have you checked via Service Centre in My Account? As it happens I had an outage recently and it was evident, reported and fixed on there. 

[Gliwmaeden2]

@Watsonla02, if you need more immediate support, the phone lines are open till 7pm tonight, and live Chat is open until 9pm.

You cannot expect more help from a community forum than the above.

@martswain and I are simply fellow customers. 

[Watsonla02]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies albeit if neither offer any reasonable assistance beyond sit and wait. Martswain, if you're commenting on forums to help people maybe telling people to "Get real" isn't the best use of language. 

I quite literally can not afford to wait 30 days to allow for this to be fixed, especially as pointed out below TalkTalk do not provide compensation for loss of revenue. 

Neither of your responses offer any insight into actually fixing the problem beyond saying sit and wait, which is 90% of my problem with TalkTalk here as that is their only official response. 

Any other provider I have been with (Virgin and BT directly) is able to tell me exact details of my problem, when it is being dealt with and when they expect it to be fixed, not the vaguery supplied which is the standard OpenReach answer. I can also manage to get through and speak to a UK based support officer. How do TalkTalk not have a better communication system with OpenReach beyond telling their client it is either broken or fixed...

I called today and was left on hold for 15 minutes and I have been on the live chat twice just to be told stock answers copied from their playbooks. 

There is no personalisation to any cases from the live response team which just leaves you more frustrated. 

I shall just have to continue to waste money and resources trying to track down what is actually happening. 

Useless company. 

Will not be renewing my account when the contract is up. 

[Gliwmaeden2]

@Watsonla02, if you give more time for Talktalk to get this sorted, and it's still not working, after 30 days you can leave without early termination fees. 

Until that point, it's best to give them a  chance, given that they are at the mercy of the availability of Openreach for scheduling repairs.

Once this is resolved, an automatic compensation payment will be generous, compared with the daily pro rata rate that you pay for the service. 

Details for that are here:

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/About-your-auto-compensation-credit/ta-p/2326583

Talktalk's responsibilities for residential customers have not changed, despite the increased numbers of people compelled to work from home.

Check the Ts&Cs, linked at the foot of the page, for details of the limits of their responsibilities. 

There is a separate branch of Talktalk, which might be more suitable for your situation in the longer term:

https://www.talktalkbusiness.co.uk/

Meanwhile, forum staff will not be back on here before Monday. 

You will need to persevere with Chat or phone on Saturday: after 9am. 

03451 720088

[martswain]

There is no compensation for consequential losses or loss of earnings on a home broadband service, read the Ts and Cs at the bottom of the page.

You won't be released from your contract after two days without service, no ISP would offer that, get real !

Depending on how long the fault takes to be cleared you may be entitled to compensation, however that will only be credited after the fault is fixed, more information here.

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/About-your-auto-compensation-credit/ta-p/2326583

There is not normally any forum support at the weekend so suggest you call 0345 172 0046 or use Live Chat from alternative connections to get an update.