Illegal calls from Talk Talk/The Car Phone Warehouse

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sherib

Registered User
Messages
448
Moderator's note: I have edited the title of this thread to highlight the main message in the thread.
Brendan


I've received a lot of calls from TalkTalk recently and wonder if anyone on this site is using them for landline telephony? They claim to have a million (??) subscribers in Ireland and are part of the Carphone Warehouse company. They hope to offer broadband in the future I was told.

Their Talk3 package offers line rental and national anytime calls for €35.99 The attraction is day time calls costing €12/month compared to nil with Utv's free calls (restricted to off peak) which is part of their ClickSilver broadband package. I'd be interested in AAM-ers views on them. I suppose I would need to calcuate how many minutes of day time calls would cost €12/month and also if 1890/1850 are included.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

they (CPW) bought Tele2 recently
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

Hi Sherib,

I was lookin' into this for someone the other day and noted that the calls are only free to other [broken link removed]?
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

I'd be very wary of dealing with them.

They've rung me a few times even though I'm on the national 'do-not-call' list and I've never even given them my phone number in the first place. Each time I ask them for the details they're obliged to supply under the Data Protection Act (Company Name, registered address, contact number, name of operative etc), they hang up.

They've been hassling my elderly parents too.

I personally would not trust such a company.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

Hi Sueellen,

You could be right but my interpretation is that free calls to other Talk customers only applies to calls not included in any of the three packages, e.g. if one only signs up for T1 or T2 packages or to UK with T3. Otherwise why would anyone pay the extra €6/€12/month for the Talk2 or Talk3 packages. I agree, the wording is ambiguous.

Technologist, that's a bit disconcerting. They do seem to be a bit pushy alright but no more than most of these companies. The last caller mentioned that they are registered with ComReg. Does that mean anything? The company details are on the web site:-
[broken link removed]

I don't plan to do anything in a hurry but hope someone who has gone with them might have a comment. The claim that they have a million customers in Ireland does sound a bit far fetched.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

sherib said:
Hi Sueellen,

Technologist, that's a bit disconcerting. They do seem to be a bit pushy alright but no more than most of these companies. The last caller mentioned that they are registered with ComReg. Does that mean anything?
Click to expand...
Not if they're ignoring the regulations.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

The girlfriends sister signed up to them before Christmas. Since they tried to transfer her over from Eircom she hasn't had a telephone line she could call out on, she can still receive calls but she can't make them. Eircom are blaming talk talk and talk talk are blaming eircom. She's being pushed around between the two with no satisfactory conclusion. 2 months later and the siuation is still the same.

Not necessarily happening to everyone but a bad advertisement nonetheless.

On the flip side my folks are with them in the UK for both landline and broadband and have not had one problem with them (touch wood).
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

Thanks Sonnyikea - that's very useful to hear; also Technologist's views. It may not be their fault but I do not want to get caught in the middle and be left without a land line.

I couldn't believe it when yet another of their Reps phoned today. He expressed surprise that this wasn't the first call from them! If they plan to be competitors in the market they don't seem to be doing themselves any favours with their verging on harassing calls. I may have been too polite since I do feel a bit sorry for those working in Call Centres. They all seem to be Irish too - one chap was phoning from Donegal.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

sherib said:
I couldn't believe it when yet another of their Reps phoned today. He expressed surprise that this wasn't the first call from them!
Click to expand...
Anyone know where they're getting people's phone numbers from?

Every time I have to give my phone number to any company I always tell them not to pass it on to any other company, so I don't understand how TalkTalk could legitimately have my details. I've never done business with them or CarphoneWarehouse.

Or: are they just dialling numbers at random?

Each time they ring me, I try to get the necessary details from them so that I can press a complaint about them with the DPC, they just hang up.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

I'm surprised that none of you have said that Talktalk is your local mobile phone retailer. The Carphone Warehouse. Yeah they do have over 1 million customers but in the uk. For the people who make a lot of international call you could save a small fortune as TalkTalk are in many countries within Europe. And yes calls are free to the customers in other countries too.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

Maybe people have ethical reservations?

Last time I checked TalkTalk was not registered under the Data protection Act & they seem to be ignoring the law by calling people who don't want to be called.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

talk talk are the old 'vartec'.I use them for mobile calls and also international calls by prefixing 13636 in front of the number required. two or three times now they have tried to make me sign a direct debit but I wont, just pay the bill I receive in the postoffice. I have the other telestunt number stuck on the fridge but find they family cant be bothered using it.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

I signed up for Talk Talk without any pressure from Sales. I have no issues with them. Calls within Ireland are far cheaper than any competitors, and calls to the UK are a mere 1.1c a minute for off peak. Calls from Ireland to other Talk Talk friends are free for 3 hours. I'm sorry to hear some of you have been bothered by unwanted sales pitch but at the end of the day I'd recommend you give sign up favourable consideration. After all, you can cancel whenever you choose.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

Good to hear someone (drpink) has had a positive experience with TalkTalk. Still, it's difficult to have confidence in them in view of:
Originally posted by Sonnyikea
The girlfriends sister signed up to them before Christmas. Since they tried to transfer her over from Eircom she hasn't had a telephone line she could call out on, she can still receive calls but she can't make them. Eircom are blaming talk talk and talk talk are blaming eircom. She's being pushed around between the two with no satisfactory conclusion. 2 months later and the siuation is still the same
Click to expand...
. On another thread:

Originally posted by 2Pack: How to stop telcoes cold calling:
They are non compliant with a Comreg regulation called the CPS Code Of Practice. Talk Talk were done for this a year ago , see
Click to expand...
http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg0508.pdf

In fairness this refers to Tele2 who were taken over by Carphone Warehouse which incorporates TalkTalk. I've just checked and Tele2 does seem to be registered under Data Protection. If this is correct, does it automatically apply to CPW and TT who now own Tele2?
[broken link removed]=
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

sherib said:
In fairness this refers to Tele2 who were taken over by Carphone Warehouse which incorporates TalkTalk. I've just checked and Tele2 does seem to be registered under Data Protection. If this is correct, does it automatically apply to CPW and TT who now own Tele2?
Click to expand...

I don't think so, Talk Talk Limited is different legal entity.

And, even though I've told them not to call me on the 5 previous occasions they called AND I registered on the national 'do not call list' over a month ago, TalkTalk rang me again today.

They blame their computers.

I wouldn't like to be one of their customers.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

I signed up to their package and was without a land line for approximately six weeks. It was always a different problem when I spoke to them, like they did not have the correct eircom account number to activate the new account but they must have had it to de-activate the eircom account. They were extremely un-helpful in sorting the problem so I told them to stick it and returned to eircom.
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

sherib said:
Good to hear someone (drpink) has had a positive experience with TalkTalk.
Click to expand...
My hunch is that drpink — first-time poster, hasn't posted anything else since... — may have some connection to TalkTalk (no pun intended! :eek:).

Of course, that's a 'mere' suspicion of mine — maybe (s)he'd care to clarify?

According to a recent thread over on Boards.ie, they're now 'doorstepping' people at their homes, in addition to cold-calling...
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

Originally posted by DrMoriarty
My hunch is that drpink — first-time poster, hasn't posted anything else since... — may have some connection to TalkTalk (no pun intended! :eek:).
Click to expand...

Yes, I thought the same. I've checked again and Tele2 seems to have been removed from the Data Protection list (updated 20th March). Neither Carphonewarehouse nor TalkTalk are listed either. Could anyone explain the significance of this omission? It's interesting that another AAM poster (Kojak) was also left without a landline after signing up with TalkTalk.

Slightly off topic, when broadband speeds increased recently, Eircom introduced a fourth and higher level charge of €54.45 for up to a theoretical 3Mb. Both Utv and BT passed this on without an extra charge unlike Eircom.

I've come to the conclusion that none of the three phone/broadband providers here have unqualified support. They all seem to be criticised for different reasons; BT for their billing system, Eircom and Utv for other reasons. This suggests that the consumer has a long wait before there is real competition and choice in this market. I'd very much like to know why Eircom continues to have a monopoly with line rental and when if ever will this change?
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

sherib said:
I'd very much like to know why Eircom continues to have a monopoly with line rental and when if ever will this change?
Click to expand...
1 they own the lines
2. we have a useless regulator called Comreg
3. Never unless eircom are nationalised and Comreg are abolished
 
Re: Is anyone using TalkTalk for telephony?

sherib said:
Yes, I thought the same. I've checked again and Tele2 seems to have been removed from the Data Protection list (updated 20th March). Neither Carphonewarehouse nor TalkTalk are listed either.
Click to expand...

Not quite correct. Carphone Warehouse is listed in the online register (ref 4324/A). But I still cannot find any listing for 'TalkTalk' or 'TalkTalk'.

I still don't know how they got their hands on my details.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top