You would feel very differently if you were stuck indoors waiting for an engineer who doesn't turn up and no communication what so ever.
This is a busy time of the year for everyone!
The openreach engineer that came the 2nd day was very courteous and explained to me what he problem was and he genuinely tried to fix it but unfortunately he couldn't.
The real problem as I see it is the lack of communication and partly the outsourced staff that I could barely understand and who didn't have access to the details to track the problem.... one of them tried to connect me to an upper level support but I lost connection.
TalkTalk staff didn't even know that the Engineer couldn't fix the problem and this in my opinion is a serious failure in communicating with openreach who is crucial to running their business.
If I was informed that the Engineer couldn't come but given assurance that the problem would be fixed in let's say 3 days I would have probably stayed, but the lack of communication gave me a negative opinion about the company and I had concerns about committing to an 18 month contract.
As for Covid It's been with us 2 years and if TalkTalk were short staffed as you suggest then they shouldn't go on an aggressive advertising campaign with very competitive offers because this will flood them with orders and will increase the pressure on their existing staff hence reducing their efficiency and ability to deliver their products in time, this criticism is also valid for openreach who received an order 2 weeks in advance and couldn't turn up and deliver on time.
I cancelled direct debit only when I decided to cancel the order and because I was sure that I owed them nothing by law.
I am only voicing my own experience in dealing with TalkTalk in this short period of time, I am sure there are many others may have had a smoother dealing with them...

In reply to a post by karim31:

You would feel very differently if you were stuck indoors waiting for an engineer who doesn't turn up and no communication what so ever.

I have in the past used the online chat service to get problems sorted which i found much easier than phone support as there is no language barrier, i have only used it a couple of times in the 15 years i have been with TalkTalk.

I am glad you mentioned Chat service, I tried to use it when I logged into my account and after trying to perform a line test ... I kept clicking on the button but NO window showed up, It was a dead button link, I am not sure if it was because I'm a new user or they're having problems with the website.
Online support is very useful when available.

Have you tried the online community very helpful TT staff there to help but its not 24/7 support so when you ask your question it can take a couple of days before they pick it up.

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Fibre/bd-p/fibre

There is a log in/register link at the top of the page.



It may be worth phoning the retention team if they know you want to leave they may get it sorted.

CANCEL YOUR TALKTALK SERVICE
We're sorry to hear you're thinking of cancelling. We believe everyone should be able to enjoy affordable broadband, TV, mobile and calls without problems or frustration; if we've fallen short of this in any way, please let us know.

We'd love you to stay, but if you're sure about cancelling you'll need to speak to us. We'll walk you through your options, discuss any charges and explain how you can return your TalkTalk equipment. You can call us now on 0345 172 0046.

Edited by Jack_Hackett (Sun 19-Dec-21 13:40:43)

I'm afraid it's too late for that because I've renewed my contract with my previous ISP (Virgin).

In reply to a post by karim31:

I'm afraid it's too late for that because I've renewed my contract with my previous ISP (Virgin).

I thought you were stuck in a contract with TT and were having problems getting out of it hence this thread.

Try reading the thread, the Op cancelled within the 20 day cooling off period.

I think the OP had more of a liquid-nitrogen-plunge type cooling off period.

In reply to a post by Realalemadrid:

Try reading the thread, the Op cancelled within the 20 day cooling off period.

Thanks for your helpful input to the thread

I did they posted this AFTER they said they had signed up with virgin -


I tried to cancel today (It is the 17th day since I ordered) and in the first call attempt I was left hanging for about 20minutes so I called again and spoke to a guy who spoke English for a change but the weird thing is he insisted on reading me a statement about the connection will be severed on the 23rd ? (that's 3 days after the 20 days allowed cancellation period), he mentioned that I'd lose Email, they'll record my conversation...and other stuff I can't remember.
I explained to him that my line has never been activated and his statement is irrelevant but he still insisted on reading the statement regardless.
He said I shouldn't cancel Direct Debit or there could be a fine ?(but I already did yesterday)
I asked him if he is sending me a mailing bag for the router, he said yes.
I also asked him to email me his statement and send me a confirmation for the cancellation .... I'm still waiting.
I feel they're trying to be difficult and charge me for something but it should be me who charges them for failing to turn up on the first activation day and failing to fix the problem on the 2nd and third day.
Weird that online TalkTalk account says that my line is activated but before it was displaying "delayed", so I called the Openreach Engineer (who called me once before) and he said that is normal because his part of the job was done and he is passing on the rest of the job to another team?
This whole saga is very confusing and changing ISPs is a major period of stress for me.

Edited by Jack_Hackett (Mon 20-Dec-21 12:33:45)

As I said Earlier on the 17th day of my cooling off period I was unable to cancel on my first attempt as I was just left hanging .... I tried again that day and spoke to someone who spoke good English and He cancelled my order and later that evening I received a confirmation Saying "If you'd like to stay or learn more about your options,
call us for free from your TalkTalk landline on 0345 172 0078
or click below to Live Chat with us.
If you're sure about leaving, you don't have to do anything.
We'll send you a letter with all the information you need and
your switch will go through automatically on 23 December 2021.
You should receive your final bill within 10 days of your service
ending on 23 December 2021"
So if I understand it correctly they accepted my notice of leaving withing the cooling off period.
However I have just received a monthly bill from them that also include additional Call charges to a line that was never activated.
Therefore my paranoia as you have described in your earlier answers is Justified.