TalkTalk retains slicing off my aged mother and father’ cellphone

[ad_1] My 84-year-old mother and father, who've important disabilities, had their TalkTalk landline reduce off with out discover in August.

We finally needed to signal a brand new contract to get the service restored and had been assured that they might preserve their cellphone variety of 60 years.

Per week earlier than the set up, my father was knowledgeable that the brand new contract had been cancelled and that he must arrange one other dearer one.

TalkTalk then claimed that as a result of that contract had been cancelled, they might lose their lifelong quantity.

MH, Birmingham

You wrote to me in late September, by which era your mother and father had been with out their landline for a month. Your mom, you mentioned, was distressed as a result of she was unable to make her day by day calls to her 91-year-old sister.

TalkTalk instructed me that the issues started in August 2024, when your father requested an improve to a full-fibre data-only bundle, which doesn't embrace a landline. Your father, who has Parkinson’s, has no reminiscence of making use of for the improve, and TalkTalk admitted that the lack of a landline could not have been made clear sufficient.

Due to a “technical error”, the landline service was solely terminated in August, 12 months late. TalkTalk, energised by media consideration, managed to revive the landline with a brand new quantity three days after my contact. It promised to retrieve the unique quantity and provided £100 in apology. That was early October.

As a substitute, three weeks later, the road reduce out once more. A customer support agent claimed your mother and father must cancel the newest contract – which incorporates each landline and web – and take out one more one. This, it turned out, would scupper any likelihood of getting their outdated quantity again.

Again I went to TalkTalk, which found that it had, for causes unknown, requested a disconnection of the newly restored line. As soon as once more it reconnected the road and upped its goodwill provide to £150.

By now it was early November. Inside three days the road had reduce out and your mother and father had been instructed they’d exceeded their credit score restrict. They don’t have a credit score restrict.

You, in the meantime, discovered that they had been charged £75 for calls through the weeks they had been with no landline. This time TalkTalk blamed the error on its earlier errors, the sum whole of which had obtained everybody confused and your mother and father reduce off once more.

TalkTalk as soon as once more restored the road and the quantity and upped its contrition to £200. And up to now, it’s working. “We perceive how essential a landline service may be, and we’re upset that our normal processes weren’t adopted,” a spokesperson mentioned.

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