Sadly, my dad passed away earlier in the year. He was living alone so the flat's now empty, and it's my job to look after it until such times as probate is granted and we can look at selling it. It's at the other end of the country, so I tend to visit for a few days every month, catching up on whatever needs done.
I had a great idea... why not leave the phone line & broadband connected so that I have the benefits of web access when I'm visiting?
Bad idea. I was blissfuly unaware that his 'AOL' broadband would involve dealing with Talk Talk.
Anyway, I went ahead and transferred the account to my own name and bank account. Cancellation & notice periods were ambiguous, but they reassured me I could at least cancel within three months if I changed my mind. I have not received any copies of the T&C for whatever I had agreed to.
So far, it's been about as disastrous as I expected, based on the opinions I've formed of other folks' reported experiences. Right now, I'm nursing a final demand for payment, threatening me with debt collectors, covering the period after the bank cancelled Dad's Direct Debits. But when I try to pay it online, it tells me there's no need as it will be collected by DD. I checked with the bank and sure enough a DDs been setup to my own account, but they've not taken payment.
So why the heck are they sending me threatening letters...? Who knows. Most of yesterday, and today, the call-centre's been getting answered by a voice saying the systems are down, please call back in an hour or two. The amazing, and laughable thing is that's not a recorded message... it's a real (Indian sounding) person, who's just saying the same thing over and over. You can argue with him, and he'll apologise, but he refuses to do anything other than apologise, and plead with you to call back in an hour or two.
Obviously, having realised that I am dealing with my dreaded Talk Talk, and having formed an opinion that their reputation for legendary poor service is profoundly well deserved, I want to cancel ASAP, even if it does make things difficult when visiting the flat. But that may also be a fight, the one person I did get to speak to yesterday got as far as telling me I would face a penalty for cancelling before October.