Carphone warehouse/Talk Talk;Have you been a victim ?

[cycling-jen]

As an update to the post above, I emailed their customer service and received a standard fob-off reply stating that they were within their terms and conditions by charging for a reconnection (no duh!) and would not waive the charge.

 

I replied, stating that my complaint was not about their t&cs but that they had not informed me of the likely charge before the work was carried out, as they promised. A week or so later and a surprise phone call from Kay in their customer service department who was very polite and seemed very efficient, and who informed me that she had checked their records, including tapes of the original call to the call centre, and this backed up what I was claiming so they would refund me the whole amount.

 

Result! So I take back what I said about them as they obviously can do customer care when they want to, and I thought I should post here in the interest of balance.

 

I won't be cancelling the contract after the 12 or 18 month term now, which is obviously why it pays to treat customers well!

[Alice_D]

Talktalk

Edited December 22, 2008 by Alice_D
I posted the wrong phone numbers by accident, please allow edit, some were residential.

[stressbot]

i dont know if this will be of use to anyone...my partner has been having a LONG dispute with CPW which i shant bore everyone with, but he had a very interesting conversation with one of their help desk earlier.

 

she let out that they had a major server break down early last year and lost ALL customer records (recordings of calls etc) from nov '07 til april '08.

 

of course this could have been an excuse because records would prove partner to be in the right, but thats another story.

 

this particular help-desk person was the 1st to have actually called back and he has spoken to 8 different people, including a manager!

 

carphone warehouse, in our opinion are the absolute pits.

[xuntitledx]

I HATE carphone warehouse with a passion.

When I had turned 18, I took out an 18 month mobile phone contract with them (please note, this was my very first financial responsibility) and read the Ts&Cs very carefully and agreed to a bundle price of £25 per month with a credit limit of £50 - to restrict the services if I went up to this amount.

I consistently received bills each month amounting to £80-90. As the bill was fully itemised, I paid the charges each month by direct debit and presumed everything okay.

I then received a bill for £180. I went into the shop to query this as I advised them I should have been on a credit limit cap and was unsure as to how the bill had reached this amount. I was advised this had never been put into place and the charges would stand.

I made a payment in store and they advised me as I had made a manual payment, the direct debit would not be taken this month.

I'm sure this will come as no surprise to you but the direct debit was taken alongside the manual payment. At this time, I was being paid weekly (£190) and this sent me into an overdraft that I did not have.

I called up the bank in a panic and they agreed to give me an overdraft, which I didn't want but had no choice to get, and called Carphone Warehouse who advised this would be credited to my next months bill.

At the time, being young and naive, I thought this a satisfactory response and so was left with an overdraft which due to being paid weekly, I ended up getting further and further into this and extending it 6 times to an amount of £825 which I still have now.

For the remaining term of the contract, I used my phone for incoming calls and the odd text or phone call and still received bills for £80 + which they always advised me was correct and chargeable despite apparantly having a £50 credit limit.

As soon as I was able to, I cancelled the contract and never looked back.

My older and somewhat wiser self is reading this back and cringing that I let myself and them get away with this appalling situation but I've learned my lesson! I would strongly advise against Carphone Warehouse at all times!

[Pandora_nini]

Sometime ago (about 2 yrs) I upgraded my contract phone in the Carphone Warehouse (I have a Vodafone contract), and agreed a further 12 month contract. After a few months I noticed that my dd was higher than normal (my mobile costs are pretty static every month). Checked my bills on line, and lo and behold, I am being charged extra for a text package that I did not ask for (and would not have agreed to as i don't send that many texts).

 

Phoned Vodafone, they said that Carphone Warehouse are known for ticking extra boxes on their contracts (I believe they don't deal with each other now - but could be wrong) as they get commission on the extra's they "sell" you.

 

Contacted CPW, advised to email/write, which I did, they emailed back and admitted it was an error in their branch, to send in copies of all my bills with the incorrect bundle added) and they would refund all the money - well I am still waiting. It comes to approx £100. I have decided to send them a LBA letter, and if I don't hear back within 7 days, I will start court proceedings. They are appalling and it is not good enough. Vodafone said they couldn't refund the money, so not sure how I stand as VF have had the money from me?

 

Has anyone else had this type of issue with them, and had any success in getting their money back?

 

Thanks

Pandora_nini

[nodachi68]

was with BT and when contract for my phone was up change to talk talk that went fine..then my broadband was up and i contacted talk talk to take up my broadband as well..they offered me a package (free landline calls, broadband +netgear router and 150 inclusive minutes for mobile calls) and said i would get letters about my golive date .Months seemed to go by and no communication at all apart from recieving one of theit generic cheap and tearfull huwai routers, thought i would give them a ring asking where my netgear was as promised and they totaly denied that id ever rang and that i had placed no order with them. they said that they would never offer a package like that. I stayed on the line being transfered to many departments at my on cost (as many people probley know an average call to talk talk customer service seems to take at least two hours) eventually when i refused to free up their line i was passed through to retentions and eventually i was given the same deal minus the netgear router which they would credit me £25 for I was sent letters and such other gumth that they send out and I went live on the correct day ....Now when my bill stated to come in it was wrong (suprise suprise) and thats where the fun began. After having a live account for aprox 5 months i got a letter from THE CARPHONE WAREHOUSE stating i had not pain my broadband bill and they have to terminate my broadband and charge me £230 for early cancellation. I had to convience the assistant on the phone that i pay by direct debit for my phone and broadband and the monies have been collected on a monthly basis. Finally we came to the conclusion that it was Talk Talk that was taking the money in two forms , one for the phone a another for the broadband and i also then learnt that Talk Talk and the CARPHONE WHAREHOUSE was the same company apart from the name they have changed to now. The story is ongoing since then ive made several calls to talktalk at an average of two hours each with constant promises of this being resolved with oveutures of ringing me back. As you all proberbly know these promises where never fulfilled. I feel whats happendes is I changed my phone to talk talk...(ok) i changed my broadband to talk talk (not ok- no record of call) then the carphone warehouse somehow passed my call eventually landing in a deep and dark office of talk talk (remember i had problem getting same deal) and they put me on their package.I signed up with CARPHONE WAREHOUSE and im stuck with talk talk ..been trying to sort this out for ages as my bill per month is about £30 more than it should be...i'm about to phone again and will let you know where i get but methinks you already know ..lol

[mrfdes]

I too have had my doubts about the honesty of TT, and thanks to this forum, I found out they have a forum of their own too.

After I got a "courtesy" call tonight, and told the young lady in no uncertain terms i was very unhappy with their service, upon which she all of a sudden changed the subject to TT broadband, I looked here and found the mention to their customer forum, where I posted the following:

 

"I just want to express how disappointed I am with the Talktalk services I am receiving.

 

I have been with them for about a year and have been throufgh all sorts of trouble in that time.

 

About two months ago a representative of Talktalk turned up on my doorstep, trying to persuade me to take TT broadband, in the mean time he asked me about how pleased I was with the service. I told him in no uncertain terms that I was VERY UNHAPPY with it and explained we were paying bills through our nose.

Having heard that he all off a sudden noticed TT had put us on the wrong plan (in the mean time we had been paying bills like crazy), as we were on TT Evenings and weekends and we should have been on Anytime. We then got in touch with TT and they confirmed they should have offered us the Anytime plan, maybe only after we had expressed a desire to return to BT. They then put us on Anytime, and as a way of apology they gave it at a slightly reduced price. However, I have now paid the first bill, which again came to £22.52, and I see that for this month, my unbilled calls are already on £10.76. Upon closer investigation, I find (for last month) calls to 084... numbers saying either SERVICES G3 or G6 or G& all over the place, i do not have a clue where those come from, certainly not in such a number of calls. I also find a few calls called "Services Call Return", once again, what are those?

Furthermore, it is also impossible to check the progress of unbilled calls (something which is possible eg. on the BT website), you can only see the itemised bill after you have already paid your bill.

 

Tonight, I got a courtesy call from TT again, asking me if I was happy with the service, to which I obviously answered "NO" and I also explained why, then the representative quickly changed the subject to broadband.

 

I told the representative that I was not even remotely interested in TT broadband as it is capped, and I only want unlimited broadband, I have told TT that time and again, yet they keep pestering me with questions to join their broadband, don't they make a note on their system then?

 

Anyway, I told the young lady that from now on, every single call that is made from my landline will be logged in detail, and then checked with a fine toothed comb.

 

If I find any irregularities at all, I shall not hesitate to get in touch with Ofcom and take the necessary steps to take action against TT.

 

A very unsatisfied customer. "

 

I have noticed on this forum here that TT seem to have a bad name, and I have seen some of the things they get up to, so, if I can help to put a stop to it, use my input by all means.

[kachnaaa]

Can anyone help me to write a letter before action to CPW?

 

It is all about a default account for 630 pounds that CPW filed with Credit Reference Agencies and this record is now stopping me from getting a mortgage or any other loan or credit card.

 

 

This is my story:

I terminated this contract with them in Oct 2007 (based on rule 8.5.3 of terms and conditions, then I sent further letters to them requesting cancellation in October, November 2007 and Jan 2008. They used to reply ignoring my cancellation request and saying that they are sorry that i am not happy and so on. They treated my letters as complaint letters but not as cancellation requests.

I wrote to them saying that they breached the contract by changing charging system and not informing me about it (paragraph 11 of terms and conditions), but they were saying that they sent me a text message to inform me about the change(paragraph 15.6). As I have never received the message, I asked them to show the proof that this message was sent, but they did not provide any proof. I also requested that they give me a copy of the content of this message or at least tell me what the message said, but they were not willing to do that either. So on the grounds that they had no evidence that this message had been sent I requested contract cancellation again (based on rule 8.5.3). They finally disconnected my phone in December 2007.

 

I checked my credit record with Experian in Sept 2008 and there was no adverse record. In July 2009 I searched my record again, as part of preparation to apply for a mortgage and I discovered that CPW filed a default on my account. I contacted Experian and they are unable to tell me when the default appeared on my account for the first time.

 

I phoned CPW on 12/8/09 to request this information be removed from my file but they said that I stopped paying my bills and breached the contract and they are not going to remove it. So basically they ignored all my letters to them from 2007, all my requests to terminate the contract. They ignored the fact that they breached the contract by not notifying me about the change and they are saying that I breached the contract because I stopped paying bills.

 

I emailed Consumer Direct asking for advice, they replied saying that they can only provide advice and they suggested that CPW might be in breach of contract and Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 and they suggested that I file a claim in Small Claims Court.

 

In the court claim form I want to write that I would like the Court to make declaration/statement/order to CPW to force them to remove this record from my account, or Court order directly to Credit Agencies to remove this record from my account. I also would like the Court to force CPW to erase this debt of 630 pounds as they were charging me after the contract was finished ( I cancelled it in Oct 2007). I dont know the correct words and what to write in the claim form.

 

I was also thinking making a complaint about CPW to Information Commisioner.

 

My idea is that I will prepare the Court Claim Form ready to file in the court, and Information Comissioner complaint form ready to file but before I file them, I will write my last letter to CPW directly to their Legal Department. In this letter I will inform them that I WILL file this claim in the court and I WILL file a complaint with the Information Commissioner if I do not receive within seven days a confirmation in writing from CPW that my debt was erased and that Credit Record Agencies (Experian, Equifax and others) were instructed by CPW to remove all late payments (Oct 2007-Mar200:cool:records and Default from my account.

I am not sure how to write a letter like that so that is why I am asking for your help.

[MARTIN3030]

Thanks for pm.

Give me a little time-I will take a look.

For anyone else reading-feel free to post any thoughts if you feel able to do so.

[mrfdes]

Like I have said before, TalkTalk (affiliated to CPW) are known to have bad customer resolution and do not play it fair.

Even their own forum is full of complaints from unhappy customers.

Can't wait for my contract period to be up.

Edited August 27, 2009 by MARTIN3030
OTT -know what you mean but we cant say things like that !!!

[locutus]

Like I have said before, TalkTalk (affiliated to CPW) are known to have bad customer resolution and do not play it fair.

Even their own forum is full of complaints from unhappy customers.

Can't wait for my contract period to be up.

 

The thing is, not many people will look up a web forum when things are running smoothly. Also CPW are now the biggest broadband provider (Tiscali, talktalk, AOL and all the smaller ISP's that they own!)

 

I had issues a few months ago and found their forum very helpful (it uses v bulletin same as this forum so using the forum was pretty good aswell ) My problems relate to the length of the telephone line, so it needs a lot of tweaking to get good service and speed, and I've found them always happy to help.

[Smica]

My husband and I were contacted by Talk Talk a few months ago, and having liked their offer, we moved from BT to their services for our home phone. As my parents live overseas, I opted to pay 99 pence a month for cheap international calls. We recently moved houses, and asked Talk Talk to transfer our line over, which they did, except they did not activate the lower international call rate feature. Two weeks ago, our phone line was barred, and on calling them, we were told our bill was £700. This alarmed me, but it seems it was because of high international calls. I was then informed that Talk Talk was to blame for not activating the cheap rate option, and was told I would be given credit for all excess charges made. I didnt hear anything from them about having the call barring lifted, so I rang again. I was told my bill was £200, and would be rectified. Finally, on Thursday last week, I was told my bill amount was $490, and that I would be given credit and my line restored. My phone line was restored but as far as the credit goes, now I have been told I will only be given a £50 credit. And as for the calls I made, it was my fault for making a few long calls for over an hour, so I would have to pay for them. They insisted on having a 60 min limit on overseas calls ( a fact I was NEVER informed of in all my calls to Talk Talk). Now I am stuck with a HUGE bill and no idea what to do.

Please help me!

[buzby]

The issue is not whether they told you about the 60 minute cut-off, but if this is actually a term on their International option, as it was when you had it originally. Most networks do this, your 'free' calls only remain inclusive for the first hour, and you have to redial. The consumer is always at the mercy of the terms as offered, and is expected to familiarise themselves with any 'gotchas'.

 

Did you never make Intl Calls over 60 minutes previously?

[Smica]

I have made international calls of over 70 mins before, at my previous address, when with Talk Talk... and all they did was charge me the lower rates for those. So, given there wasnt a problem earlier, I see no reason why there is one now.

[buzby]

The difference is if they had changed their tariff, so that the fact you ended one contract and started another under new terms, this is the reason you would be covered by new limits where (presumably) none had existed before. This would be based not on your contract of service, but the tariff package you signed up for.

 

It is not a strong position to be in, but worthy of arguing to see if they agree.

[Smica]

I would have agreed to the 60 min limit and all those T&Cs, but my husband looked closely at the bill, and it turns out that in the one bill, half my calls are at the higher rate, and the other half are at the lower rate. So, their billing system has messed up here, and we intend to contest it.

[buzby]

Good that you are homing in on the disparity - however can you identify a date or reason for the change. A tarrif switch or change of functionality of the call package are the most likely. In the latter case, they would have course have to had advised you of it - but if they did (or claim to), then 'messing up' might not be the best description.

[Smica]

Well, it was around the mid of the month, the 13th of August, to be precise. And we didnt receive anything in the post or via email. Here is the thing: Before we switch addresses, we were charged the sheaper rates. Then, we moved and the rates went higher. Then, suddenly, on the 13th of August, the rates fell again. That is why I think something is wrong.

[buzby]

Could it be you were put on a revised (higher) tariff when you switched, and then they realised it wasn't the same as your original, and they amended it to reflect the original? I agree, under those circumstances, you'd be due a rebate.

[Smica]

When I spoke to Talk Talk, they did admit to making a mistake in the tariff they put us on. They said they should have put us on the cheaper tariff, but the home-moving department made an error by omission. But given different people say different things, it's hard to say. It's getting the credit due that is the problem. They keep coming up with excuses and rebuttals, despite earlier admitting to being wrong.

[buzby]

If you've not already done so - always RECORD your calls, or at least keep notsed of what is discussed. Next, deal with them in WRITING, explaining what went wrong and what you require them to do to satisfy you. Trying this on the phone seldom works, and frazzles your goodwill.

[Smica]

Thank you so much for helping with this. It's been really helpful in making things easier to deal with.

[buzby]

Anytime!

 

That's what CAG is all about!

[Muggle1977]

Im so glad im not the only one thats having issues with talktalk customer service.

 

Ive been with talktalk for about 6 months and up and till last month i was very happy. I had a speed boost placed on my line enabling me to get just over a 12 meg conection, However ive needed to streamline so i canceled the boost. I now find my speed at 6.5 meg instead of the advertised 8meg. Talktalk now inist i am to far away from the exchange to get 8meg!! They cant explain to me though when i pay them £4 extra they can give me 12meg. Please correct me if im wrong but if i can have 12meg sureley 8meg isnt dificult?? And the opther excuse was that with the boost talktalk provide my broadband and without it bt do. Is this just strange or am i missing something here to?

 

I have tried phoning if im lucking i actually get someone i can understand because they are not eatting their head set or chewing gum!!! I even went to carphone warehouse to be told that talktalk is now now part of them and seperate company. Something i didnt no.

[buzby]

You keep forgetting thosr important words 'up to'.

 

I have to say experience has shown that if you get the service you want, you don't mess around with it as the problems you describe are all too real. All of TT's customers in your area will be allocated 'channels' to use, which (broadly) places them in connection bumdles so that there is an even load on their comms infrastructure.

 

Even if you have a geat connnection in January, by April this can have fallen significantly as more and more consumers share the same aggregated bandwidth TT have available.