How do I get out of my Talk Talk contract?

[fionathepink]

Our Talk Talk service is appalling. We are 3 months into a new contract after moving house and we have been without internet more often than with it; at one point for an entire month. Currently, our internet keeps cutting out.

I work from home so I need the internet to work at all times so I can do my job. Basically, to give us the service we pay for.

Talk Talk customer service are useless. They have us do umpteen tests each time then try charge £50 to come have a look at equipment and phone line. The last time they told us to buy new hardware, which we did, then said it was the router at fault but were not willing to replace it until we had the engineer come out the check the line, which would cost £50. Then when they said there was a 6 week plus wait and we tried to cancel, the internet miraculously fixed itself, no issue with the router.

Can we get released from our contract having had all these problems and an ongoing interruption of a pretty crappy internet service anyway? Is that a break in the contract?

[Casmama]

I would write to them and ask them to release you from the contract, say that you are so fed up that you are considering writing to ofcom and see what they say.

[Casmama]

Should have said I'm certainly no expert and someone else may give better advice.
this may help.

[fionathepink]

We tried to cancel the contract before during the month of no internet but were told we would have to pay various fees that worked out so expensive. And I resented paying them more money for nothing. Just wondering if anyone else got out of a broadband contract.

Seriously, never ever use talk talk.

[Ledkr]

This exact thing happened to us and we got nowhere with it. I've been told its their shit routers.
I got out ASAP but I'd recommend speaking to trading standards.
One day I asked for the complaints dept and was put through but it rang until It cut out. I rang back and guy told me there was no such dept and said I was lying as I hadn't phoned then that day at all.
I thought my head would blow off with rage.

[fionathepink]

Honestly, it's not asking too much to want the service that you pay for. I will try trading standards and see where that gets me. We've had various broadband companies over the years but nothing rates as bad as Talk Talk for total lack of any actual internet.

[PallyAli]

I was moving out of home to live with my partner. I was paying £39 monthly for phone & fibre optic broadband (ripped off at a vulnerable moment)! I was in an 18 month contract which was only due to run out may 2014. He had a really good deal with sky which he wanted to keep but talk talk wanted to charge me £300 to get out of the contract when I moved. I felt like i was bring bribed even though it was in the contract. I agreed to pay it but on a monthly basis as I couldn't afford the full outlay but they then offered me a £16 monthly contract for 12 months!! It's worked out better for me and I feel as though I have managed to beat them slightly by complaining and saying I would leave them & meaning it! Hope this helps!

[rainbowslollipops]

I moved to sky from them & had to pay £60 disconnection fee plus £10 a month till the end of what would have been the contract.

[pinkprincess786]

Im with talktalk just now and im also having horrendous issues, my channels never work and I spend most my time on the phone to them but they never resolve anything, I will need to speak to trading standards as this is getting ridiculous.

[Kikiw123]

I went to sky and bumped them, they are not getting a penny out if me for the shite "service" they provide.
I tried to cancel within the initial set up as sky had offered a better deal and when I phoned tt to cancel they said I didn't have an account with them, I thought it had gone through but then I received a router an the service was connected after which pint I was kn a contract with them.
I stuck with it for 4 weeks but the appalling service mad me go back to sky. I've had bills and threats of a doorstep collector for the remainder of the contract but they can get to hell.
I get revenge by sabotaging the stalls in shopping centres, if I see anyone taking to the salesman I tell them not do move as they'll regret it!!

[MojaveWanderer123]

I just dumped them and went to sky and ignored them. They must get it a lot though as they sent a couple of bills but I've not heard anything from them for ages now.

[brian9731]

We came home from holiday mid-June (a late half term) and found that our TalkTalk internet service was barely working and then died completely. VERY Long story short, we were without service for over a month, the second half of which we got cut off from the phone too!
My not-to-be-messed-with wife dealt with the CEO's office to get a refund and compensation and we agreed basically, two months free altogether.
During a conversation with one of the call centre operatives at one point during this sorry tale, I was informed that if TalkTalk fail to provide a service for more than 28 days, they are deemed to have broken their side of the contract and we would be free to leave. We were NOT told, while negotiating compensation, that if we accepted compensation, we would immediately be tied back into the contract for the remainder of the term. So when I called TalkTalk's loyalty department today to discuss leaving, having taken time out of my busy life to research the alternatives, I was surprised to be told just that.
I feel another call to the CEO's office coming on but if anyone has had a similar experience, I'd be interested to know how it was resolved in the end.

[trevortrevorslatterfry]

We bumped them as well - emailed the CEO and got some response first but still no sensible resolution. They sent our debt to a debt collection agency who did contact me but i provided all the details of problems and correspondence to the debt collectors and invited them to get back to me when they had read them - never heard back from them since (2 years ago)

[brian9731]

That sounds like the way, trevortrevor. How much contract did you have left to run when you cancelled? Had you experienced a long duration fault like us? Had you accepted any refund or compensation?

[trevortrevorslatterfry]

It all went to ratshit when we moved house - were with talktalk at our old house and then they cancelled our contract by mistake when we just wanted to move. We lost our phone number etc and no broadband for a couple of weeks.

Then they said they had reinstated the contract but it turned out they had made it a new 18 month contract with worse terms, which I had not agreed to. Dicks. So we had 18m left to run.

I didn't accept anything from them because they kept saying "oh we will give you 6 months half price as a gesture of goodwill" and I would not accept a goodwill gesture - it was an error on their part that had to be corrected, not them doing me a favour with a gesture. IYSWIM.

[brian9731]

I dealt with TalkTalk trying to get our fault fixed for over a month. Some of their people don't have great English which doesn't really help but it's their system which is the real problem. There's no joined up thinking - they assign a case manager but if you call them in response to one of their automatic text messages (usually out of date or wrong or both), the case manager is de-allocated by the system. They can't manually text or email you with information, something you would think is pretty basic for a communications company. In our case Openreach were involved but they seem to close every call as resolved whether or not it actually is before checking back with TalkTalk or the end user customer - like "Is it now working?" We had TalkTalk try to call us on our broken landline on several occasions - when it eventually all came back on, there were messages left on the TalkTalk voicemail to prove it.
Even the CEO's office was smoke and mirrors - due to TalkTalk's lack of communication, for a few days until we realised, we had two streams of complaint with the CEO's office. Two managers (one called Hayley and the other called Ailie - that didn't help) wrote to us with identically worded allegedly personal emails and provided the same personal "direct line" to get back to them on, which, by the way, was never answered, we always had to leave a voicemail. I don't know who they think they're fooling.

[trevortrevorslatterfry]

O yeah my communication from the "CEO" was clearly bullshit but I went along with it as I think you're supposed to escalate your complaint as high as possible and try to resolve it with the company before referring to the industry ombudsman.
They are utter, utter dicks.

[dcbe17]

What's this CEO's personal number??? ????

[Mcfc1962steve]

Talk talk tried to over charge us by £200 saying we had gone over our limit when we had signed up to understand limited, we left them sharpish they are criminals

[crkuka]

I have been using TALKTALK for the last 6 years , just broadband and telephone only contract. I am now switching to Sky who is giving me all these plus TV package plus fibre broadband for roughly the same price. However today I got an e mail saying I have to give them a termination penalty of £169.00, since I am still on my minimum contract period!
Just does not make any sense or are they being very spiteful?