Kitz Forum
Broadband Related => ISPs => Topic started by: GigabitEthernet on December 15, 2012, 06:07:40 PM
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What are TalkTalk really like? We are currently with Zen and Plusnet, paying £30 to Zen for broadband (200GB a month) and £20 to Plusnet for unlimited any time phone calls (landlines) and line rental.
TalkTalk will offer broadband and phone for £19.95 which includes unlimited broadband and anytime calls (landlines). The only problem is that it is a 12 month contract, so we are stuck with them for a year.
We are mainly looking to move for the cost savings, but is it worth it? What are TalkTalk really like? Should we stay put?
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It has to be said that their telephone support is dire. But the members' forum is an effective way of getting things done, although you have to wait a couple of days for a response. Technically I have no complaints at all - since I joined a few months ago the service has performed very well indeed.
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I have been with TalkTalk since the summer of 2007 and have no complaints about the quality of their telephony & broadband services.
I second Eric's comments regarding the telephone support v members' forum but being a techocat, I have no need for the typical 'customer support' service.
Ultimately, the choice is yours to make. ;)
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Is the essentials package from TalkTalk truly unlimited? As the site says it is, but their legal site says 40GB:
TalkTalk Broadband, including Essentials
Section 1: Traffic management in relation to your broadband product
(not including during busy times and places to manage network congestion see Section 2)
Use and availability of services, content, application and protocols on this product:
Are any services, content, applications or protocols always blocked on this product?**
If so what? NO
Are any services, content, applications or protocols always slowed down?
If so what? NO
Are any services, content, applications or protocols always prioritised on this product?
If so what? NO
Are any managed services delivered on this product?
If so what?
What impact? NO
Data caps and download limits:
What are the download/upload limits or usage caps on this product? 40GB
Is traffic management used to manage compliance with data caps and download limits?
Under what circumstances?
Level of speed reduction?
Duration of speed reduction? NO
Is traffic management used in relation to heavy users?
Under what circumstances?
Level of speed reduction?
Duration of speed reduction? NO
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Is the essentials package from TalkTalk truly unlimited? As the site says it is, but their legal site says 40GB:
'Unlimited' is what TalkTalk call a 'boost', and it was previously a chargeable extra, but now it's free (but still an extra). It does have a FUP attached, but this shouldn't kick in until you get to several hundred GB.
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Thanks Eric :).
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I've been with TalkTalk for 13 months, only had one problem that was sorted out without problem (see below).
Their download speed estimate was 10 - 14 mb, I get 20Mb line speed with a download speed of never less than 16Mb, even at peak times, and it's been very reliable.
That said, I have distant relatives who are also with TalkTalk and had some problems with it, and got the runaround from phone tech support. Eventually turned out to be a dying modem, but I discovered that, not their techs. Efforts to get a new free "goodwill" modem from retentions failed, so as a result they're probably moving to BT when the contract expires.
A lot of negativity towards TalkTalk seems to be from their support.
My TalkTalk fault shows them in a good light : earlier in the year, the line went dead. No voice, no ADSL. I got a friend, on a different exchange, to contact TalkTalk and log the fault. This worked ok, fault was cleared a few hours later.
Similar thing happened to the same friend, who asked me to report the fault for her. She's with Plusnet. I tried to do this, even having her customer number handy, but PlusNet wouldn't let me do it without the customer password as well!
So on that one, TalkTalk win!
Ian
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:thumbs:
. . . only had one problem that was sorted out without problem . . .
I've read that phrase multiple times and I have to say that the Sheddy logic so disclosed has caused some amusement! ::)
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". . . only had one problem that was sorted out without problem . . ."
I've read that phrase multiple times and I have to say that the Sheddy logic so disclosed has caused some amusement! ::)
It was typed in haste without applying brain :)
What I meant was, the particular problem (lack of phone) was resolved without any difficulty - didn't have to wait days, or have multiple support calls, nor any further problems once it was fixed - everything went back to normal.
Begin Fault
Friend logged fault
Fault fixed within few hours
Fault ends.
Ian
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I realised what you had intended to convey and what had happened during the typing of your post. ;D
b*cat tends to show 'kitten peskiness' whenever he gets the chance. (And the above was too good to miss!) :blush:
sheddyian --> :friends: <-- b*cat
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It's quite ok, I am nothing if pedantic in making sure I get the details across correctly :)
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Hmm. We really can't decide! It's TalkTalk taking over the line and the 12 month contract that is worrying us. If it is was really bad, would there be anyway to get out without penalty?
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If it is was really bad, would there be anyway to get out without penalty?
Ensure that you have a written copy of the contract, which is legally binding on both parties. The contract will specify the standard/quality/whatever to which you are entitled and what TalkTalk have been contracted to supply.
If you can supply clear evidence that TalkTalk are in breach of the contract, than a court of English law will free you from that contract -- at TalkTalk's expense.
However, no one can make your decision for you, Alec. :no:
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Another TT customer here for 8 years. Now on their Fibre Essentials service, and downloading several 100GBs a month and not heard anything from them. Had one or two faults over that time, which they've sorted promptly and without me having to chase them up.
One thing to be aware of when going to TT LLU, is that your phone number is transferred to them. If you decide to leave in the future, the chances of retaining it are very slim. I'm not sure if this also affects other LLU providers, or if its limited to TT.
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Just to say that I've been with them on LLU ADSL2+ now for a few years and when I have had a problem (only one serious one) it was resolved without any great fuss using the forums. I've never used their phone support.
Stuart
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Been with TalkTalk for over 2 years and then before that was on Tiscali.
After the buyout the service has improved dramatically, as above I too can confirm that the fair use policy is very flexible, they will cap file sharing sites at peak, but it is indeed unlimited.
I'm on the Plus TV with Fibre package and that gives prioritised traffic at peak times, but when on the Essentials plan I had no problems for many years :)
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Well, we've gone ahead and signed up. I'll keep you updated on the order progress...
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Well, we've gone ahead and signed up. I'll keep you updated on the order progress...
Do keep us posted :) They do give good order tracking, such as for the router etc online via My Account :)
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How long did it take to get activated? Just an average time-scale would be be nice.
Thank you.
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How long did it take to get activated? Just an average time-scale would be be nice.
Thank you.
I haven't actually ever "gone live" with TalkTalk so to speak as I migrated over with the Tiscali take over, however this on their website:
When will I go live with TalkTalk?
Most customers go live on TalkTalk within 15 days. We will confirm your go-live date once we have all your details and can check your telephone line.
Seems to coincide with what people are saying on the TalkTalk Members forums :)
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One thing to note is that you will initially be put on a 12 dB SNR margin profile, so your connection speed will be a bit low at first. The official line is that their DLM process will progressively reduce the target SNR margin to a minimum of 6 dB if the connection is sufficiently stable and the error rate is low enough. You can short-circuit this process via the members' forum by requesting a manual change to a faster profile. This is what I did, and it was implemented within about 3 days.
You can see the official profiles here: http://www.talktalkmembers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15531
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Also make sure you are put on the 24mbps profile if you are on ADSL2+ as all TT customers should now be on up to 24mbps profiles, wont make a difference is your line cannot support in excess of 8mbps but if like me your line is on the cusp at about 8mpbs then getting a 24mbps profile could squeeze out a bit more speed. Unless you do a lot of gaming stick with an interleaved profile as they are generally more reliable. I currently run on a 6db profile which syncs at around 8700-8900mbps and is very stable despite my quite high attenuation of 43db.
Stuart
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Yes, my connection is very similar to Stuart's, and I agree with what he says.
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TalkTalk's DLM is however "smart" in terms that it only looks at the Error counts and not the physical disconnects of the connection.
They will however on request also turn it off, but it brought my line to a fastpath 6db profile all by itself, so it seems it takes the speed up as well as down :)
Well, we've gone ahead and signed up. I'll keep you updated on the order progress...
I see you've also posted the activation date in your signature, 17/12/12, I assume this is a typo meaning the 27/12 or something similar? :)
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I see you've also posted the activation date in your signature, 17/12/12, I assume this is a typo meaning the 27/12 or something similar? :)
Whoops! Should be 17/1/13!
Edit: Signature now fixed. Thanks jid :) .
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Whoops! Should be 17/1/13!
Edit: Signature now fixed. Thanks jid :) .
Keep us posted :) Have they mentioned if your phone will go live before your broadband or both at the same time? :)
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Have they mentioned if your phone will go live before your broadband or both at the same time? :)
Nope, not yet.
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I knew when I had been migrated over from BT to TalkTalk by just picking up the telephone and listening to the pitch / tonal quality of the 'dialing' tone. ;)
The other way is, of course, to call 17070 once per day. Upon migration to a TalkTalk fully LLU'd service, one looses access to the menu of Beattie tests and just receives the "This circuit is defined as . . . " message in a continuous loop.
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Is it normal for the phone to switch before the broadband?
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I think my switch was broadband first, phone a week or so afterwards.
But perhaps local conditions vary (queue of work etc)?
Ian
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Is it normal for the phone to switch before the broadband?
As I was going from Beattie telephony with no broadband service to a TalkTalk LLU'd line to provide both services, both occurred at the same time. Jumpers were adjusted so that my line was connected to the TalkTalk MSAN . . .
Going to a TalkTalk LLU'd line how could only one service be provided, remembering that the equipment the line will be connected thereto is a MSAN?
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No idea, but the letter I got from TalkTalk said that the phone will switch first then the broadband a couple of weeks later.
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When I switched I was given a single date for the changeover, and it all happened on that day.
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Going to a TalkTalk LLU'd line how could only one service be provided, remembering that the equipment the line will be connected thereto is a MSAN?
Interesting point, but my recollection of switching from BT to TalkTalk LLu'd last year is that the ADSL came on first, and the phone switched a week or two later, and I'd been told in advance that it would happen that way.
Ian
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I could be incorrect in what I remember - I've just dug out my TalkTalk paperwork, and it says the phone and ADSL would commence on the same date.
Which was not what I remembered, but I might be confusing it with someone else's switchover, which was around the same time!
Basically : ignore me, I'm an idiot :-[
Ian
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I've now been given a date of the 14th January for both the broadband and phone to activate. Hopefully everything goes smoothly!
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All being well, your migration will be as smooth as that experienced by Eric, Ian and myself. :fingers:
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Here's hoping. :)
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Well, turned out TalkTalk lied about LLU being available (it isn't). Unfortunately, this was only discovered after the broadband didn't switch through the CEO's office.
Therefore, we are going with Plusnet.
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Someone messed up rather badly then. :(
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oops..
Good luck with Plusnet :)
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Just to update you all: the switch to Plusnet was seamless on the 5th of February and everything is working absolutely fine (touch wood). The support on the Plusnet forum seems to be very good to. Overall, Plusnet is quite similar to Zen (our previous ISP), apart from being cheaper and being unlimited. So, there isn't really anything we miss. In addition, we haven't lost anything by not moving to TalkTalk. The price is a bit more, but the support is good and we get truly unlimited usage which I don't think TalkTalk offer (and the support is a definite no no with TalkTalk).
Ironically, I have answered my original question of 'should I switch to TalkTalk' and the answer is no :( .
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Glad everything went smoothly :)
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Thank you Kitz.
Do any of the Plusnet staff frequent this forum? It might be a good route to get support if their forum is very busy, etc.
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They do on occasion. I think they read but not often post.
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Likewise some also appear on Thinkbroadband Forum.
As to transfers to TT, I have a few friends who are frustrated with their muck ups of various kinds.
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As with all things in life, you gets what you pay for. If you have a fault-free' existence, then cheap TT packages are fine, it's when something goes awry that the issues creep in .......... and boy do they creep in !!!
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no probs with TT LLU here, just ask them on the forum to turn their DLM off, control your own snrm, no worries. I've been like that on a 2.5dB snrm since I got on the LLU after the tiscali takeover and DSLAM rationalisation :)
btw, hiya all, not had chance to pop in here for a while, hope you're all doing ok :)
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As with all things in life, you gets what you pay for. If you have a fault-free' existence, then cheap TT packages are fine, it's when something goes awry that the issues creep in .......... and boy do they creep in !!!
I think kitz members will get issues sorted pretty quick via the forum - we have the knowledge to give them all the info they need to get it sorted pretty quick, or at least that was my experience with a line fault :)
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btw, hiya all, not had chance to pop in here for a while, hope you're all doing ok :)
:thumbs:
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We're now thinking of switching again as we can save at least £10 a month.
Plusnet won't match it unless we go on a two year contract (and even then it's more expensive).
So, is TalkTalk still working well Roseway and others?
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I have no complaints about TT. The user forum has provided the little help I've needed (fixing the target SNRM and turning off DLM), and apart from that it just works. I can use my own modem/router, and I can tweak the target SNRM if I want.
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Okay, that's positive. I'm just concerned about the number of complaints they get, but at least they are falling I suppose.
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Just like Eric, I have had no cause for complaint regarding the TalkTalk service that I receive. Now six and a half years a customer . . .
I, too, made use of the Members' Forum to request that the DLM was turned off and the target SNRM & interleaving were set to my requirements. :)
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I thought the connection fee was £0? It seems to be £30 now?
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TT has been fine for me as well for a number of years, and like Eric when I've had a problem the forum got it sorted and I've only had one big issue in all this time. It was sorted with an engineer visit who fixed the OR problem at the cab. My sister-in-law and niece are also TT customers and they have not had problems wither, they have been TT customers longer than me, in fact it was them that got me to switch.
If you decide to swap it is probably worth a call to ask about it and whatever they offer you get it in an email so you can chase it later in case it goes awry.
Stuart
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I never recomend Talk Talk.
SKY 100%
Zen internet 100%
Plusnet 90%
BT is in progress, Yes I know Plusnet it BT by another name.
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Have been with them since 2008. Phone and ADSL have been fine. Their telephone support is awful but the support forums are excellent. They cocked up a home move for us a few years ago and started billing us for a second non-existent line at the new house. Was sorted in the end and we got our money back.
I do wonder about the performance of their LLU kit on short lines though - on ADSL2+ we get around 19.5mbps on a line with 13dB attenuation on their lowest SNRm profile of 6dB. I remember another chap here commenting that his family on comparable lines got similar speeds as well whilst the line should be able to achieve into the 20mbps's. Not that I'm greedy as we are among the lucky few to get such a good speed in this country in the first place, but it's interesting.
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I never recomend Talk Talk.
Just wondered why?
Stuart
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And...we're all signed up!
Estimated go-live date is the 6th December, I'll keep you all updated.
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Good luck. :)
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And...we're all signed up!
Estimated go-live date is the 6th December, I'll keep you all updated.
Thank you. :silly:
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Good luck alec
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Everything is still progressing nicely. 'My Account' now says the 6th is confirmed.
The 'advanced' router should be arriving in a few days time, so I'll try it, but I suspect we'll quickly go back to the HG612.
Any advice upon the connection going live?
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When I moved to TT I set up my own modem/router in advance, after receiving the welcome pack which included the login details. Then on the day I swapped over the routers around mid-day and found that the service was active, and that was all I needed to do.
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Last day on Plusnet today! I'm actually quite excited for the move tomorrow!
All, what time did your broadband switch over, was it nice and early or later on?
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All I know is that it was some time before mid-day.
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I seem to recall that it was sooner rather than later, at the beginning of the named day.
The "give away" that the transition of CP had occurred was the slightly different frequency of the "proceed" tone (a.k.a. dial tone). :)
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Switched over successfully. I have requested for the SNR to be lowered to 6dB so that should hopefully go through soon.
A success so far!
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That's good to know. :)
My only request, once I was switched over, was for a target SNRM of 6 dB, with interleaving and the DLM disabled.
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I remember when we moved house a few months ago and TT activated our line, we started off on a 15dB profile and over the following days it worked its way up to 6dB. I have been thinking about asking them to put us on fastpath rather than interleaved but not sure if it will have much benefit as we don't really do any online gaming here. Not sure if it affects throughput on a good line, I haven't been able to find much information on that. With fastpath, DLM is disabled. DLM could be good if the line develops problems, so that at least we have some sort of service and stability. That's DLM isn't too aggressive in my experience. It needs 50 hours of data (uninterrupted connection uptime) to start working to lower your SNR, so just leave your router on constantly and it may even lower itself before the forum staff act on your thread. If you have a low error rate and stable SNR of course.
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I asked for DLM to be disabled too. I wanted interleaving to be retained though, because my connection is subject to a lot of intermittent interference. The first time I asked, the OCE said that they couldn't disable DLM, but the second time, some time later, a different OCE did it at my request.
For reference, here are all the standard TT profiles: http://www.talktalkmembers.com/t5/Introductions-and-Anything-Else/TalkTalk-Profiles/td-p/177660
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I have noticed that the connection has been disconnecting a lot tonight (like every minute or two), with the upstream and downstream bouncing up and down. The connection was stable for about 10 hours before this. Can I therefore put this down to line training?
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Also, I have noticed that even at the same as on BTw (i.e. ~ 6000Kbps), on TalkTalk, the download speed seems to be a ~ 200Kbps faster! I knew those IP profiles were holding us back!
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Right, I think the TalkTalk router may be faulty: it is constantly rebooting, almost every minute. I can't think DLM will be happy with this, so I've put the HH3 back on which is somehow working just fine (even though you can't enter the TalkTalk login details, it still seems to work - can anyone explain how?).
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It may be that the TT connection doesn't need any login details.
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It may be that the TT connection doesn't need any login details.
That is exactly the case. :)
Attached, below, is a screen-scrape of how I set up a Huawei HG612 for use with my TalkTalk service. Although my official login name is 01284nnnnnn@talktalk.net (where the nnnnnn is the final six digits of my telephone number) with a password consisting of various letters and digits, I routinely insert burakkucat and dummydummy into the two relevant fields.