Calls not being routed to new provider

[Colin D]

Moved to Vodafone on 19 February. Know this has happened because changed to Fibre to cabinet so better throughput. Can make calls and have received calls. Bills being raised and paid to Vodafone.

However, TalkTalk are still trying to charge me and I have discovered that some people cannot reach us as TalkTalk is not routing to the new provider.

I have tried to sort this out several times by different routes. Can you help? Obviously particularly at this time it is worrying for me not to receive urgent calls and for people calling me to hear unanswered ring tone.

[Colin D]

Well that's a relief.

I would still like that in a physical letter.

I have seen people saying that they have  been pursued by debt collectors for accounts they thought we're properly closed.

My  experience is the billing system appears to be out of control. Even when you have spent a very long time convincing someone there is a problem, they are unable to fix it. However, sending out incorrect bills is considered not to be good. TalkTalk received a very large fine for doing so around 10 years ago.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Sorry I have edited my previous post.  NO outstanding balance.

[Colin D]

Getting even more confused. I do repeatedly get emails saying I owe £0.00 but all dates September.

I have been told there is no outstanding balance by your ADR team.

Could you please confirm that your last message was an error and arrange for a letter to be sent to me saying there is no debt.

Your processes are a complete shambles. This was a relatively small glitch that should have been sorted out quickly and without drama.

I suggest you do not attempt to contact me from a TalkTalk phone as you will never get through. Ring tone to you does not mean my phone rings.

The only part that works and you cannot control is the billing system.I

Your ADR team has been aggressive and unhelpful. They have not investigated the issue and have been completely unsympathetic with an innocent victim of you process. The ADR process is being treated as a game.  

[Arne-TalkTalk]

I can confirm that there is no outstanding balance.  But also as there is no open complaint, I dont think that the CEO office will call you.

[Colin D]

Result from ADR was:

• They just about managed to sort out the billing issue, though I was pursued for a late payment fee! I have requested written confirmation which seems to have got lost.
• Given their response I do not believe they actually performed the requested investigation
• As a result they will be unable to prevent it happening to other people
• I am forbidden by the equivalent of NDAs from sharing the standard letters they use for apologies etc.for
• The fault was caused by manual error
• I am still waiting for my phone call from your CEO to explain what actions they have taken.

Hope 

[Arne-TalkTalk]

What was the ADR result? 

[Colin D]

Not been inactive on my part. It has been through ADR with no success, other than I think it may be sorted out apart from the financial side, but I would appreciate a durable format (hard copy) stating that I owe nothing (and never did). I was pursued on the phone for late payment of a bill that had been cleared (you couldn't make this up).

Working on probably erroneous guidance from the TalkTalk complaints handler, I have been pursuing it from the Vodafone end with no success as the fault lies in the heart of your Network Operator still believing you are providing my service.

This requires someone beyond your normal customer complaints team but it seems impossible to reach them.

Frustration does not begin to explain how I feel.

Glitches happen, they should be able to be sorted without this degree of difficulty.

If it is not on the script it does not mean it does not exist.

[Gliwmaeden2]

I'll re-escalate this thread,  @Colin D. It has been a while since it was active. Sorry to see that this is still not resolved. 

[Colin D]

This has still not been resolved.

on advise from complaints handler (confirmed by OFCOM) the routing aspects have been pursued with Vodafone, with a slightly more human interaction equally ineffective. 

best explanation is 

Not sure if this is helpful or not, assuming your telephone number was originally allocated to BT, so when ever some one calls you the call initially gets routed into the BT network, within the BT network, they recognise your number has been ported to Vodafone, so inject a 6 digit porting prefix and route the call to Vodafone (the prefix prevents the call being routed back to BT).
If the person that is calling you is also on Vodafone, the call is not route to BT as they undertake a check that so see if the number is on the Vodafone network.As previously you were with TalkTalk,  TalkTalk would have also done the same check, however it could be when you ported to Vodafone, TalkTalk did not correctly update the config in thier network, so they still think you are connected to the TalkTalk network, so when any TalkTalk customers (or customers of suppliers hosted by TalkTalk) try to call you the call is not routed to BT (to get the prefix added , then routed to Vodafone), talk Talk are trying to connect the call the old port you used on there network

Any ideas how to get TalkTalk to sort this out. My only thought is to complain directly to CEO and then copy to MP, OFCOM CEO, and Martin Lewis.

This is really ridiculous for a technical glitch. Mistakes happen, but a decent organisation should sort them out without any great drama.

[Colin D]

Having come to the end of the line with TalkTalk and I refered the matter to CISAS

TalkTalk have apologised and should be rectifying billing.

Vodafone are hopefully getting somewhere with the routing problem, but I think need some information from TalkTalk, but that is beyond my control.

Not getting too excited. Is that light at the end of the tunnel or is it a train coming the other way?

[ferguson]

OK, that's not really the simple answer I was hoping for, I will leave you in the capable hands of the support team and complaints managers. 

[Colin D]

Everything appeared to go perfectly including the transfer of my 40 plus year old number.

Unfortuneatly there was a glitch which meant TalkTalk didn't acknowledge I had left and tried to charge me and the number port was incomplete.

Mistakes happen, but they need to be resolved not compounded.

[ferguson]

@Colin D I hope you don't mind me chipping in? I have read through the whole saga and you have my deepest sympathy! I am still not entirely clear on one point: did Vodafone give you a new phone number? Or have you retained the old one from TalkTalk?

[Colin D]

Still trying to sort this out. Number porting is the only complaint Ofcom will give you a reference for and they are supposed to do some limited investigation. I suspect the solution is easy but it seems impossible to find the person who can make it happen. TalkTalk have supposedly now released their lease (I presume Vodafone had seized the number on the 20th February as calls were being routed from and to the fibre to cabinet physical link and hence to my phone from most of the world, I presume that people using the TalkTalk network were being routed to the connection that was no no longer connected).
Vodafone claim to have raised it with Openreach, but nothing has come back to me. I left it a week, but am now checking regularly as nothing ever seems to happen. Vodafone engineer said it is something that happens whereas all the ones before said they had never heard of it!

[Colin D]

This is definitely the solution that fits the facts, but unfortunately nothing I can say or do can get TalkTalk to see this or do anything about it.

I am afraid the complaints handlers are not technically competent enough to understand the very complex problem and will not put you through to a technical expert.

I have been told that only Vodafone can sort this out. This may now be true, but I believe the root cause in the TalkTalk management system being confused by an abortive Post Office order which was cancelled when they could not supply fibre.

[Colin D]

Still a problem, TalkTalk not accepting they have done anything wrong or apparently they stopped providing any service (apart from miss routing calls) since 20 February.

My opinion is that unsuccessful move to the TalkTalk clone Post Office prevented the Vodafone move being registered with the TalkTalk system.

The supposed solution was to contact Vodafone and try and solve it from end. Which I have started, but I have a feeling it is not going to be easy or quick. It will be interesting to compare the other supplier.

I'm afraid on the financial front they were neither clear nor honest as they offering to let me off what I didn't owe them if and only if I closed the complaint. I have refused and requested a transcript of the conversation as I know this is morally unacceptable if not illegal.

They were evasive but appeared to think they were providing service until the end of April. Unbelievable.

[Colin D]

Apologies. I acknowledge I missed a call to my mobile, will try to phone to the number left in message otherwise I will use the number I have for Molly. Slightly concerned the message referred to it as a billing problem where as I see the primary problem as miss routing and the billing as a secondary problem. They probably have the same root cause, but I need the primary problem solved.

[Colin D]

Thank you. But this is not the first time this has happened. I was promised last time this happened that the complaint would not be closed down by Molly until it had been resolved and she had phoned me to confirm this had happened. Is it possible to have some reassurance that this is not going to happen again?
I want the miss direction of calls to be sorted as soon as possible. The billing problem is less important and can follow the standard complaints resolution pathway if necessary. This has been ongoing from the 19 February and I provided proof that I was paying my new provider as lockdown happened. In my first conversation with Molly she could see all this, but we do not seem to be any nearer a solution.
I have received a glad you are remaining message, a final demand red letter threatening to trash my credit record. Been told I no longer have a TalkTalk web account. I had replied to complaint closure notices by email and phone (went to unanswered answer machine).

I had hoped this was part of the solution, but I feel my patience and forbearance is just being exploited. I have found the phone number and will call on Thursday if I have not heard anything before then.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi Colin,

Just a quick update. The old complaint had been closed so I've opened a new one, one of our Complaint Managers will be in touch

Thanks
Chris

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi Colin,

I've passed this over to our CEO's Office and asked them to contact you on your mobile 

Chris