Bah Humbug .... To Customer Service!

[Ann]

Very annoyed with TalkTalk at the moment and we can't change providers as our contract is on until August (we pay if we leave them)

Our YouView box which was fitted new in March, went wrong on Monday 16 December (equipment failed, not our fault!) which has left us for two weeks without the facility of recording programmes or watching catch up TV - just what you want over Christmas!!!! After enduring an unbelievable 2 and half hours last week arguing with TT helpline staff and their managers about the fact that they have nobody to come and replace the box for 2 whole weeks (Mon 30 Dec) we had to give up with frustration and exhaustion. The time of that appointment still stands at next Monday and has left us with no TV recording over the very few days when we needed it as relatives were visiting. Is it too much to call in extra staff e.g.engineers over such a busy period? The box could have been sent out in the post like they do their Broadband router boxes, simple for my ex-TV installer husband to fit, but they absolutely refused as "the box is too expensive!" What a shower, how unhelpful and unsympathetic! It is impossible to speak with them without losing your temper, hard to understand them also, as they are based abroad and are obviously just following a script.

Which company do you give the thumbs down to this Christmas and which companies have gone out of their way with excellent customer service?

[Ann]

Gosh Caran well done, who on earth did you talk to? I get the phlebs at first who just give scripted answers and are not helpful at all. They then pass me onto a "manager" who are not much better!

[Caran]

Ann I got a super chap, so helpful and apologetic. I didn't even need to threaten to move to another provider.
I was also very lucky with Saga house insurance. They wanted to more than double my existing policy. I phoned and complained, eventually they gave me a price less than half of what I was originally paying. They made so many mistakes in giving me different quotes that they hadn't a leg to stand on so have me super price and I'm covered for exactly what I had before.

[Jenarry]

No Ann.. I was actually with Talktalk for way way longer than i should have been with a stupidly overpriced contract as well so I had gone way past my contract period when I finally made the move. That was the final straw really when I couldn't even change my over priced package and stay with them because i wasn't the account holder !! My only choice was to close the account down and go to someone else. They were so unhelpful and on occasions pretty rude. I spent loads of time on the phone to them and didn't get anywhere. They sent me a bill for a further months payment after the service had ended. I knew I didn't owe them anything so never paid the amount...kept getting letters and final demands and eventually a letter from a debt collecting agency all in my ex's name but never came to anything and stopped hearing from them.

[baza]

had a problem with an Indesit cooker (out of warranty) paid for an engineer to repair it, within 3 weeks it went wrong again. Another call another 7 day wait, engineer said part not fitted correctly. Last Saturday it went wrong again, phoned their customer services on Sunday morning and was passed through their system to six different people none of them wanted to know and said that I had come though to the wrong department ? Finally a lady listened to my complaint and an engineer called and fixed it Christmas eve. At least they employ one helpful person the rest should be sacked imo. Rant over.