talk talk direct debit

[WOOD73]

I have been a customer of talk talk for some time now, and up to now have had no problems.

as I work away through the week I generally only check my emails when i'm home at the weekend, but I managed to check today and received one from talk talk with my latest bill on 28/3/11 saying the direct debit would be taken today 31/3/11, problem is I dont get paid until tomorow and the payment has failed.

I thought that as a variable direct debit i was entitled to 10 days notice of payment?

Also this seems a very early payment as normally it is taken around the 10th of the month.

 

Could somebody please advise me of where I stand regarding getting back the charge the bank will apply as a result of the failure.

 

thanks

[locutus]

Try asking the bank nicely in the 1st instance. I have been in exactly the same situation, and it turns out the Direct Debit guarentee does not cover this. (it says if there is an error they will imediatly refund the amount taken, but it says nothing about the charges!)

 

So, recovering the charge from TalkTalk is a possibility.

 

Here is their guide to complaining:-

 

 

At TalkTalk, we take every complaint very seriously and can assure you we'll try to rectify anything you're unhappy with as quickly and effectively as we can.

 

Your complaints give us a chance to put things right and help us improve our service to other customers in the future.

 

How do I make a complaint?

 

Our customer service advisors are trained to resolve customer complaints as soon as they become aware of them and should be the first people you contact. If there's anything you're unhappy with, you can contact our team in the following ways and we will attempt to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible:

 

Phone

 

For complaints about your landline and broadband service call 0870 444 1820 (free from any TalkTalk landline) and for those regarding TalkTalk Mobile, call 0870 087 8751 (free from any TalkTalk mobile). Call charges from other providers will vary and calls from mobiles will cost substantially more.

 

Lines are open during the following hours:

 

Monday to Friday 8am-8pm

Saturday 9am-6pm

Sunday and bank holidays 10am-5pm

 

Phone is the best way of making a complaint as we can log it immediately and it is the quickest way to get through to us.

 

Email

 

Email complaints should be sent through our website form at http://www.talktalk.co.uk/contactus

We aim to reply to every complaint we receive via the email form within 7 working days.

 

Post

 

Please write to:

Customer relations department

TalkTalk Group

P.O. Box 360, Southampton, SO30 2LY

 

We aim to reply to every complaint we receive by post to this address within 7 working days from receipt of the complaint.

 

 

 

What information do I need to include?

 

Please include the following information to help us investigate your complaint fully:

• The date the problem occurred
  
• The names of any representatives or team managers you may have dealt with
  
• The nature and reason for your complaint
  
• Your full name and full address including postcode
  
• Your account number, telephone number and email address
  

 

 

 

How can I take the matter further?

1. If you don't feel your complaint has been resolved after speaking to one of our customer service advisors, please ask to speak to a team manager. The team manager will deal with your complaint and will then aim to contact you within 2 working days.
   
2. If you are still not satisfied after speaking to a team manager, you may ask the team manager to escalate your complaint to our CEO's office. Please give a team manager the opportunity to resolve your complaint first before contracting the CEO's office. You can also send your complaint directly by post to the address below. The CEO's office aim to respond to every complaint we receive within 5 working days from receipt of the complaint. You will be assigned a dedicated person who will own your complaint and keep you fully updated.

   Head of Complaints- CEO's Office

   
   TalkTalk Group
   P.O. Box 344, Unit 19, Southampton, SO30 2NP

   
    
   

3. If you are still not satisfied after speaking with the CEO's office, you can ask the telecommunications ombudsman Otelo to independently review your complaint. Otelo will not look at cases that are less than 8 weeks old unless you have received a deadlock letter from the CEO's office which means that there is nothing further we can do to resolve your complaint. To find out more about Otelo:Web: www.otelo.org.uk
   Phone: 0845 050 1614
   Textphone: 0845 051 1513
   Email: [email protected]
    
   
4. You can also get free advice on your consumer rights from the citizen's advice bureau (CAB), consumer advice centre, local authority trading standards or consumer protection department. You'll find their numbers in the local telephone directory.

Keep us informed with how you get on. It is definatly cheaper for TalkTalk to refund you this than to have the complaint heard by Otelo tho!

[WOOD73]

I emailed them with my complaint, and received a reply stating i should have received an email 30 days ago telling me that from now on they will debit 7 days from date of bill, problem is they dont notify you of the bill until 3 days after it is issued, and this time the bill date was the 25th and the debit date was the 31st!

now I dont know if i'm being a bit thick but that is only six days, and i was notified on the 28th, so only 3 days notice in my eyes.