This isn't directly a technical issue, more of a problem with resolving one.
At the beginning of October, I switched my ISP from Pipex to TalkTalk. TalkTalk had just bought Pipex and were offering substantially better prices to existing Pipex customers if they switched. When I was with Pipex, my download speed was consistently around 6Mb. On the day I was switched to the TalkTalk network, this dropped to 1.8Mb and has stayed there ever since. Over the past two and a half months, I have made numerous telephone calls to TalkTalk's 'Help' desk (probably a breach of the Trade Descriptions Act there) and had many hours of discussions with their South African call centre. These guys are not technical in any sense of the word and just run a screen-based question and answer script, which usually starts off asking which version of Windows you are running. If you get lucky and batter them into submission, they sometimes pass you on to the second-level tech support group, who are based in the UK and who seem to know what they are talking about. After a month of trying, I eventually got a second-level guy who identified that the problem was at my local exchange. Apparently, when the switch-over was made from Pipex, they mistakenly connected me to a speed-limited BT line instead of the TalkTalk equipment. This meant that TalkTalk Customer Service had to issue a new 'Provisioning' order to get BT to correct the fault. After another two weeks, nothing had happened so I fought my way back to Customer Service and was told that, yes, they had issued not one, but two Provisioning orders, but for some reason these were rejected by TalkTalk's own system and never made it to BT. A third order was raised and I was guaranteed (by a manager no less) that within ten days, all my worries would be over. It didn't happen. So then I got hold of an email address for Colin Dunstone, the CEO of CarPhone Warehouse, TalkTalk's owners. I wrote to him explaining what had happened and asking for an immediate solution. I got an automated reply. This told me that the Executive Support Team was on the case and that they would resolve my problem within four days, failing which they would contact me with an update on progress. Five days later I got another automated email saying exactly the same thing. At that point I contacted Consumer Direct and asked what action I could take against TalkTalk to get them to provide the service I am paying for. They advised sending a recorded delivery letter, requiring TalkTalk to sort out the problem within ten days, failing which I should make a formal complaint to OTELO (the Ombudsman). I followed their advice and wrote at the beginning of the week. So far I've had no response. With Christmas coming up, I probably won't get to contact the Ombudsman until the New Year, but quite honestly I really don't want to give TalkTalk any more of my money or business. As far as I'm concerned, they are in breach of contract and I should be able to walk away from them. However, with fifteen months still to run on the agreement, they will probably not want to let me go. So what I'm wondering is if anyone has experienced similar problems with TalkTalk (or any other ISP) and knows if it's possible to terminate a contract in these circumstances. Sorry for the long boring diatribe. But I do feel better now. Dave _______________________________________________ Peterboro mailing list [email protected] https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/peterboro
