Talk Talk.... poor customer service (what a suprise!)

[finlay666]

Currently I am with Tiscali however was looking to upgrade my system to a higher speed as the current 2mbps package isn't really sufficient to my needs

So I looked on TalkTalk (parents want all in one package inc phone calls) to see what the availability was.

Received a cold call from them today as apparently it was an 'enquiry' to the service.

The guy calling was such a smarmy **** it really annoys me now.

I asked a few important questions as I am very aware of their practices.
Question: I asked what my current max download rate is,
Their Answer: I was told 9.4mbps from my exchange
CORRECT answer: 6.5mbps from the exchange, only operates ADSL max (http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/NEHZ)

Question: Do you use Phorm in any way, or traffic shaping?
Their Answer: No not at all
Correct answer: Yes, they use Phorm as an opt-in service, and use traffic shaping.

Question: Do they use download caps at all?
Their answer: No not at all
Correct answer: yes.

To be honest after the 9.4mbps I smelled bull excrement so called BT to check about that exchange (as the exchange is in their building) and was told 6.5mbps.... not quite the 9.4 I was told was available (but would be capped at 8mbps) and that anything over 8 as what could be supplied was simply a lie)

So I tried to contact their customer services.
Spoke to a woman online who again tried to sell me their product and told me they couldn't verify any of the conversaion, despite being told it would be recorded for training and quality purposes. I then requested the number of someone to call to discuss the issue. I get the number which went to a call centre in Asia. Spoke to one woman (who could hear me perfectly well asking to speak to a manager) then I was transferred.... I wish I kept speaking to her to be honest as the manager was a rude interrupting waste of my time. Apparently my line quality (THEIR line quality if you want to get picky) is very poor and I was repeatedly breaking up.

The most worrying thing.... as a current Tiscali customer I am switching to them unless I go to BT or someone else

Forgot to mention... if you open a new window when chatting to someone online at TalkTalk the page title is 'test', I tried to explain how unprofessional this looked and the assistant wouldnt believe me

[handscombmp]

Originally Posted by finlay666

Question: I asked what my current max download rate is,
Their Answer: I was told 9.4mbps from my exchange
CORRECT answer: 6.5mbps from the exchange, only operates ADSL max (http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/NEHZ)

I thought that if they had llu presence it would be on ASDL 2+.

In your situation i'd go for BT.

I'm on Tiscali at the moment (which are now owned my Talk Talk) and the only reason i haven't bothered switching is becausce i'm moving house soon (and they aren't to bad :touch wood

[Phage]

If you can get Bt you should be able to get one of the BT re-sellers such as Plusnet. I use them and they're fine.

[finlay666]

Originally Posted by Phage

If you can get Bt you should be able to get one of the BT re-sellers such as Plusnet. I use them and they're fine.

Problem is my parents want the call package included.

£15 (on Tiscali) for 8mb and weekend (possibly evening) calls AND line rental

It's pretty hard to beat

It's not ADSL2+ as if it was I'd be getting the intenet from Be or O2 (more likely O2 as they have said if they offer internet in my area I can add it to my contract cheaply)

[Phage]

Plusnet offer something very similar I think. I certainly pay them line rental and calls.

[TheAnimus]

Get some decent broadband, why should your parents have to pay for your hobby, get a part time job.

or quit moaning.

[finlay666]

Originally Posted by TheAnimus

Get some decent broadband, why should your parents have to pay for your hobby, get a part time job.

or quit moaning.

I'm paying for any difference on what they currently have. I have no objections to paying towards/for it given I would use it the most. As for paying my hobby?? I need a good connection for my university work and my final year dissertation work as I'm staying at home to try and save on costs as student housing costs in Newcastle have risen quite sharply and even driving the 50 mile round trip + parking costs each day I am in it's considerably cheaper than renting some crappy accomodation.

It's a bit difficult to get 'decent' broadband in a rural area where the top speed is 6.5mbps because we live close to the exchange

Get a part time job? I have been in employment since I was 16 and I since then remained in employment despite being in further education and. I pay my own costs when I lived on my own and pay towards living costs with my parents. Excuse me if I object to being forced into appauling customer service or having to pay hefty fees to reconnect a BT line due to Tiscali getting itchy fingers from a couple of years ago.

[TheAnimus]

you need more than 6.5mb/s for your dissertation?

you writing some kind of crawler or something?

(am i missing something?)

[finlay666]

Originally Posted by TheAnimus

you need more than 6.5mb/s for your dissertation?

you writing some kind of crawler or something?

(am i missing something?)

No 6.5mbps is fine
Saying I can get 9.4 that will be downcapped to 8 (both of which are unattainable) is not.

I need more than 2mbps mainly for the up/down speed as using Live Mesh I want to be able to access my dev materials from uni via remote desktop/shared files and getting all the software that I need either open source or by going via a site such as dreamspark.com (currently a VS2008 iso from the site will take over a day to download on the current slow as hell connection) and I need to dl the SDKs as well which for some of them are pretty hefty (WinMob 6.5 is around 500mb for the emulation images alone)

[narz]

Originally Posted by TheAnimus

(am i missing something?)

Apparently you're missing the whole point of the topic.

[DeludedGuy]

Originally Posted by TheAnimus

Get some decent broadband, why should your parents have to pay for your hobby, get a part time job.

or quit moaning.

We (us techy people) all know TalkTalk and the like provide a shoddy service, but that shouldn’t mean they get away with false advertising. The less techy consumer will simply buy into their awful service blissfully unaware of how horrible their broadband speeds and customer services are.

If these shoddy providers would just be honest enough about their service less people would complain, as they would know fully well what they have signed up for. I find it funny how thier sales team are based in the UK, but once they have signed you up, you will never speak to someone in the UK ever again.

BTW TalkTalk are the WORST organisation I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with, beating Three(3) into 2nd by a country mile, coincidentally they both have call centres in India.

[Lee @ SCAN]

They should really invest all that cash they are spending to sponsor X Factor on their infrastructure

[Chris P]

Be there is the best !

[finlay666]

Originally Posted by Chris P

Be there is the best !

I can't get them in my area
I can only get ADSL not ADSL2+, apparently ADSL2+ will come to my area Summer next year... a bit late!

[Andehh]

Originally Posted by TheAnimus

Get some decent broadband, why should your parents have to pay for your hobby, get a part time job.

or quit moaning.

Tad harsh imo. Whatever his reasons, or whoever its for surely theres no reason to reply like that? He has a legitimate gripe with a service,and i'd rather him post here and name & shame them, then sit quietly and risk one of us finding ourselves on the wrong end of talktalk! Best way of beating companies like talk talk with shoddy customer service!

[Behemoth]

The only issue I've got with TalkTalk is that for the life of me no matter what I try I can't get BitTottent to work at all, but thats my only gripe so far. Their speeds have been excellent. I know their customer service can be like pushing porridge up a hill backwards sometimes but so far I've not had any need to call them.

That said it wasn;t my choice to join them, although I contribute to the bills, I don't have the final say.