talktalk price increases service kinda reduced advice

Hi all after a little advice

Just had an email from talktalk telling my my plus package will be going up from the 23rd of june and that they are removing 0845 and 0870 numbers from my inclusive landline calls, Would i be able to use this as get out clause the only reason i have a landline even pligged in is for making out going calls to 0845/0870. The broadband is really only used for my media server because of the upload speed and then the TT TV which i just have on the basic plus tarrif of 7 sky channels , i use virgin media as my main broadband connection so if need be id just move my media server over to that and put up with half the upload speed,

its not that i exactly mind paying for the second service as i dont but at the same time there asking for more money and taking the only service away i actually use landline (besides broadband delivery ) for so if i can get away ill just have the landline moved over to virgin with the broadband

Thanks for any advice Ash

It depends on the contract as to whether you will have the right of termination. Often, termination within minimum contract period is dependent on showing actual detriment from the variation of terms. The price rise might be enough to trigger the right of termination, though if not then you might need to show that your call costs will rise from the exclusion of 0845 and 0870 calls.

Because of the new rules about the costs for consumers calling businesses, most businesses now offer 03 or, in some cases, free numbers. In many cases, businesses now publish 03 or a free number as their only number. You might find, as I did, that I had stopped calling 0845 and 0870 numbers.

If you ring and give notice within 30 days of receiving your notification email they will let you leave without penalty.

I just did it, though I am on the SimplyBroadband plan rather than Plus TV - don't see why it would be any different though.

thanks both for the reply's might be worth a ring then,

Adrianuk
which options did you select on the phone system and roughly what did you say, im guessing it was a case of telling them your dissatisfaction with the price increase, but some pointers wouldn't go amiss i always seam to bodge these things up lol

Ash

My e-mail from TalkTalk ended with this -

It's important to us that you keep getting the best value possible by being on the right package. If you'd like to change or cancel anything without charge or penalty, you'll need to call us on 0870 444 1820 within 30 days of receiving this email.

So they were quite open about the possibility of leaving.

I rang them up and confirmed I was going to leave given the price rise e-mail, asking them to make a note on my account stating as such. The heavily accented(bit hard to understand) South African CS rep then stated that they were going to put a cease on my line - so then I had to start explicitly explaining that I just wanted a note made of the call and that any future migrating ISP would take care of taking over the line.

I also had an online chat with TT CS and asked an OCE on the forums to confirm I would leave penalty free - they said I would. Despite that about a week later TT sent me a letter stating that I could owe £300 if I left, so I complained via e-mail to TT CS and they said it was a mistake and I could leave penalty free. I migrated out on the 18th May without a problem.

It wasn't hard to leave but make sure the foreign TT CS reps you deal with actually understand exactly what you're asking for and why, in my case I got written confirmation to backup my initial telephone call because I wasn't 100% happy with the response I got from the foreign call centre.

Spud's advice is well put:

In reply to a post by Spud2003:

I rang them up and confirmed I was going to leave given the price rise e-mail, asking them to make a note on my account stating as such. The heavily accented(bit hard to understand) South African CS rep then stated that they were going to put a cease on my line - so then I had to start explicitly explaining that I just wanted a note made of the call and that any future migrating ISP would take care of taking over the line.

You need to be clear whether you want the line ceased, or whether you want to leave penalty free but will leave by migrating the line to another provider (or porting the phone number to another provider but having the physical line ceased). If you aren't explicit, you might find the line is ceased with the loss of the number even if that is not what you want.


It is also worth following Spud's advice to ask for written confirmation of what will be done and that you are leaving penalty free.

Edited by deleted (Thu 21-May-15 08:22:33)

Do you have your Adrians and Spuds confused?

In reply to a post by Spud2003:

Do you have your Adrians and Spuds confused?

I did.

I'll fix it.

thanks very much for the sound advice will give that a try

not that fussed about migrating to another as i say already have virgin so they can just cease the line if they please, just have to have my fingers crossed on the rumoured faster upload speeds on virgins top BB package lol, couple of friends use my media server so can max the 20meg upload out on VDSL quite easy, but i guess will be saving £34 a month if i can leave

Ash

If you don't require the broadband and don't migrate then your broadband will be ceased and there may be a charge for the cease. Usually around the £30 - £35 mark. Cost of engineer unattaching the wires (or similar).

just got off the phone with them that was relatively easy 10 mins , she confirmed there will be no fees at all or any termination fees, she did say that if i dont send the router and you view box back there would be a £75 charge but ill revive a returns bag, Once they receive the package the £75 will be credit back to make the bill £0, which if fine, I dont use the router anyway i use my own and the YV box hardly gets used anyway so not bad at all

Ash

In reply to a post by David_W:

It depends on the contract as to whether you will have the right of termination. Often, termination within minimum contract period is dependent on showing actual detriment from the variation of terms. The price rise might be enough to trigger the right of termination, though if not then you might need to show that your call costs will rise from the exclusion of 0845 and 0870 calls.

Because of the new rules about the costs for consumers calling businesses, most businesses now offer 03 or, in some cases, free numbers. In many cases, businesses now publish 03 or a free number as their only number. You might find, as I did, that I had stopped calling 0845 and 0870 numbers.

I've just received an email from TT business saying that 0870/0845 calls will no longer be included in my complete fibre package from 1st July. As i make loads of calls to these numbers, thinking of jumping ship even though i'm only 12 months into my 18 month contract. However TTB retentions said that i cannot leave penalty free as changes made by ofcom are not covered by TTB's T&C's. Are they telling porkies?

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

Are they telling porkies?

In my experience, changes to optional add-ons like anytime calls, caller display or voicemail are excluded from the contract-breaking clauses. Only mandatory "core" costs like line rental or broadband pricing are considered.

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

However TTB retentions said that i cannot leave penalty free as changes made by ofcom are not covered by TTB's T&C's. Are they telling porkies?

That strikes me as possible porkies, as I doubt Ofcom have ordered TalkTalk to remove 0845 and 0870 calls from call bundles. It might be that TalkTalk have made the decision to remove them based on the Ofcom rules forcing many businesses to publish alternatives to 0845 and 0870 but, in that case, it's a TalkTalk decision to remove them from the bundle, not an Ofcom one.

Rather than listening to TalkTalk's interpretation of your contract, I suggest you start by finding the terms of that contract relating to price increases and start there.

That's odd, because they are still advertising it here:

https://www.talktalk.co.uk/business/product/completebb

"Unlimited UK landline and mobile calls
All calls to 01, 02, 03 (geographic) plus 0845, 0870 are free with your package. To keep your costs down, access to premium rate and high risk international numbers will be restricted as standard, unless you tell us otherwise. Unlimited calls to all UK mobile numbers are based upon a typical small business use."

You have to click the Blue coloured writing that say's: Unlimited UK landline and mobile calls.

Might be worth checking with them again, seems odd to remove it for one product but keep it for another.....

I don't think TTB have updated their website, they'll probably do it from 1st July. This is the email i recently received from them;


Dear Customer

We previously advised you Ofcom were introducing changes on how consumers would be charged by service providers (and businesses) for calling certain number ranges in particular 084, 087, 09 and 118 non-geographic numbers from 1 July 2015. Ofcom together with all major service providers have been actively promoting these changes as �UK Calling�. This letter is to bring to your attention what UK Calling means for you as a customer of TalkTalk Business.

When does UK Calling apply?
From 1 July 2015.

Why is UK Calling being introduced?
The purpose of UK Calling is to introduce clear guidance on pricing and how call charges must be displayed on literature, advertising and web content in order to improve consumers understanding of the charges relating to the use of 084, 087, 09 and 118 non-geographic numbers.

What does UK Calling mean for your business?
Ofcom set out in their December 2013 statement �Simplifying non-geographic numbers�
80 new price points that all existing 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers will be assigned to. If your business advertises or utilises non geographic numbers, the numbers you use will be assigned to one of these price points. We will update all applicable tariffs to include the new 80 price points from midnight on 1 July 2015.

View Final Statement

If you have Outbound Services with TalkTalk Business:
Details of your new tariff for outbound calls made to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers can be found at the below link. Due to legislative changes calls made to 0845 and 0870 numbers will no longer be included in your free to call bundles. All other call rates remain unchanged.

View New Outbound Tariff

If you have Inbound Services with TalkTalk Business:
Details of your new tariff for inbound calls terminating to 084, 087, 09, and 118 can be found at the below link. All other rates remain unchanged (including Hosted Call Recording uplift charges).

View New Inbound Tariff

How do you know which price point applies to your business?
You can find which price point applies to you at the following website www.ofcom.org.uk/static/numbering/index
(see section: Service Charge Master Sheet ("SCMS"))

Where can you find further information about UK Calling?
Ofcom�s UK Calling website www.ukcalling.info

No response to this notification is required, however if you have any queries please contact
your account manager or Customer Services on 0800 0833003.


Yours Sincerely


Andy Hollingworth
Director of SOHO, SME & Corporate Sales

That's really concerning as I am in the process of looking at moving our business connections over to them.

I may make a call to their sales team to check...