TalkTalk Hijack

Been 'phoned today by a friend, he uses his wife's telephone line for
broadband but she's been seduced by the dark side, Talk Talk. The line
has been transferred to TT it would seem without any kind of checking on
the broadband status so he's now lost his ADSL, should they have checked
and questioned the move or are they really this stupid? I have a feeling
it's going to be a royal PITA to get this back, any ideas on how to
expedite it?
--
Clint Sharp

Clint Sharp wrote:
> Been 'phoned today by a friend, he uses his wife's telephone line for
> broadband but she's been seduced by the dark side, Talk Talk. The line
> has been transferred to TT it would seem without any kind of checking on
> the broadband status so he's now lost his ADSL, should they have checked
> and questioned the move or are they really this stupid? I have a feeling
> it's going to be a royal PITA to get this back, any ideas on how to
> expedite it?

Did the wife signup for the TalkTalk service? Did she read the T&Cs? Did
she think about whether the DSL would be affected? Did she signup for
TalkTalk broadband?

How long ago did she signup, how long ago did the broadband stop
working? Was she contacted by her ISP regarding the cease of the broadband?

What exactly do you want to expedite? IPStream-based DSL is dependant on
a BT telephone line - if the line has been unbundled then she does not
have one.

How/why is this a "hijack"?

More information, please.

In message <45a2d207.0@entanet>, Paul Cupis <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>Did the wife signup for the TalkTalk service?
Yes.
> Did she read the T&Cs?
Probably only the bit that covers the call cost on the leaflet.
> Did she think about whether the DSL would be affected?
Not at all.

>id she signup for TalkTalk broadband?
No. She assumed it wouldn't be affected and didn't ask.
>How long ago did she signup, how long ago did the broadband stop
>working?
Umm, just after Christmas and it stopped working over the weekend when
the line changed AFAIK.
> Was she contacted by her ISP regarding the cease of the broadband?
It's not her ISP, the bill payer wasn't contacted as far as I can tell.
>
>What exactly do you want to expedite?
Getting talk talk off the line, returning it to BT and having the
broadband re-instated with the original ISP.
> IPStream-based DSL is dependant on a BT telephone line - if the line
>has been unbundled then she does not have one.
That's the bit I'm worried about, getting Talk Talk to release the line
and return it to BT.
>
>How/why is this a "hijack"?
Hijack is probably a bit strong but he is annoyed that they have done
this without checking the broadband status and mentioning that it would
be disconnected. Not everyone knows what unbundling means and the effect
it has. As it stands, he's now got a problem where he can't VPN into
work and it's affecting his ability to work efficiently so I understand
why he's annoyed (he's the MD of the company)
>
>More information, please.
Provided.

I have a slight bias against TT after the incredibly shoddy way they
treated members of my family and several friends (threats of bailiffs
and actual line disconnections after they 'forgot' to take payments,
happened to several hundred people at once IIRC) the general lack of
good service and pi** poor support.

BTW Before anyone assumes anything, it really is a friend and not me
that has this problem.
--
Clint Sharp

> That's the bit I'm worried about, getting Talk Talk to release the line
> and return it to BT.

Whose name is the line in ?

It may be that arguable they were acting outside of their remit by
talking someone other than the bill payer into changing their phone
line.

Clint Sharp wrote:
> In message <45a2d207.0@entanet>, Paul Cupis <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>> Did the wife signup for the TalkTalk service?
>
> Yes.
>
>> Did she read the T&Cs?
>
> Probably only the bit that covers the call cost on the leaflet.

Mistake number one.

>> Did she think about whether the DSL would be affected?
>
> Not at all.

Mistake number two.

>> Was she contacted by her ISP regarding the cease of the broadband?
>
> It's not her ISP, the bill payer wasn't contacted as far as I can tell.

Perhaps this is a problem. I'm 100% but I'd think that the ISP would be
contacted regarding the pending DSL cease. IF they were, odd that they
did not contact their customer.

>> What exactly do you want to expedite?
>
> Getting talk talk off the line, returning it to BT and having the
> broadband re-instated with the original ISP.

Read the TalkTalk contract/T&Cs and see what they say regarding early
cancellation. If you can get the TalkTalk service cancelled, do so and
get the BT service reprovided. Then place an order with an ISP (old one
or otherwise) for DSL to be provided.

Alternatively you might consider asking TalkTalk for broadband, but this
may not be something you want to do.

>> IPStream-based DSL is dependant on a BT telephone line - if the line
>> has been unbundled then she does not have one.
>
> That's the bit I'm worried about, getting Talk Talk to release the line
> and return it to BT.

Have you asked TalkTalk about it?

>> How/why is this a "hijack"?
>
> Hijack is probably a bit strong but he is annoyed that they have done
> this without checking the broadband status and mentioning that it would
> be disconnected.

What has the broadband got to do with TalkTalk? Why didn't the wife read
what she was signing?

> Not everyone knows what unbundling means and the effect
> it has.

But surely your friend here know that the ADSL was dependant on the
telephone line?

> As it stands, he's now got a problem where he can't VPN into
> work and it's affecting his ability to work efficiently so I understand
> why he's annoyed (he's the MD of the company)

Sounds like he is not at fault, but also like TalkTalk are not at fault.

In message <45a406f6.0@entanet>, Paul Cupis <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>>> Did she think about whether the DSL would be affected?
>>
>> Not at all.
>
>Mistake number two.
Well, with all respect to her, she's not technical in the slightest, to
a lay person why would it affect the broadband, it's still the same line
as far as she is concerned. To someone like me or you, then it's
obviously not something we'd miss but try stopping someone in the street
and asking them, bet you'd get a very blank look.
>Perhaps this is a problem. I'm 100% but I'd think that the ISP would be
>contacted regarding the pending DSL cease. IF they were, odd that they
>did not contact their customer.
That's being investigated.
>
>>> What exactly do you want to expedite?
>>
>> Getting talk talk off the line, returning it to BT and having the
>>broadband re-instated with the original ISP.
>
>Read the TalkTalk contract/T&Cs and see what they say regarding early
>cancellation. If you can get the TalkTalk service cancelled, do so and
>get the BT service reprovided. Then place an order with an ISP (old one
>or otherwise) for DSL to be provided.
That's being argued about now.
>
>Alternatively you might consider asking TalkTalk for broadband, but
>this may not be something you want to do.
Frankly, and it's only my opinion, I'd rather stick rusty pins in my
eyes but it's not my line or broadband so it may be something to
consider (not if I have my say though)
>
>> That's the bit I'm worried about, getting Talk Talk to release the
>>line and return it to BT.
>
>Have you asked TalkTalk about it?
Again, not within my remit, I'm only asking for advice to pass on to a
friend but I'm sure he will. I'll ask him about it tomorrow.
>
>>> How/why is this a "hijack"?
>>
>> Hijack is probably a bit strong but he is annoyed that they have done
>>this without checking the broadband status and mentioning that it
>>would be disconnected.
>
>What has the broadband got to do with TalkTalk? Why didn't the wife
>read what she was signing?
I'll have a look at the TT contract but I bet it doesn't mention it or
if it does, it's buried somewhere deep in the back of a longwinded
legalese contract.
>
>> Not everyone knows what unbundling means and the effect it has.
>
>But surely your friend here know that the ADSL was dependant on the
>telephone line?
Of course, he knows he has to have *A* telephone line but a PC is a tool
not a toy to him, he has a couple of Porsche Boxsters, three (at last
count) Harley Davidsons and a BMW bike to play with. Again, stop
someone in the street and ask them. Mr/Mrs average has no idea what
unbundling means, they wouldn't stand a chance of knowing about this
sort of thing.
>
>> As it stands, he's now got a problem where he can't VPN into work
>>and it's affecting his ability to work efficiently so I understand
>>why he's annoyed (he's the MD of the company)
>
>Sounds like he is not at fault, but also like TalkTalk are not at fault.
Well, he's not, his wife did the deed but I still feel that TT should
have at least mentioned it that any existing broadband would be
disconnected. Still, glad it's not my problem and I'm glad I'm not
working at Talk Talk or his (ex)ISP if it turns out that they didn't try
to contact him.
--
Clint Sharp

Clint Sharp wrote:
> In message <45a406f6.0@entanet>, Paul Cupis <(E-Mail Removed)> writes

>>> Hijack is probably a bit strong but he is annoyed that they have done
>>> this without checking the broadband status and mentioning that it
>>> would be disconnected.
>>
>> What has the broadband got to do with TalkTalk? Why didn't the wife
>> read what she was signing?

> I'll have a look at the TT contract but I bet it doesn't mention it or
> if it does, it's buried somewhere deep in the back of a longwinded
> legalese contract.

It might not mention it - no fault of TalkTalk if it doesn't. Note that
the contract with the (previous) ISP will almost certainly state that
the customer must maintain the BT-supplied telephone line for the DSL
service to be provided over. The ISP will not provide broadband over a
TalkTalk telephone line.

In message <45a55649.0@entanet>, Paul Cupis <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>> I'll have a look at the TT contract but I bet it doesn't mention it
>>or if it does, it's buried somewhere deep in the back of a longwinded
>>legalese contract.
>
>It might not mention it - no fault of TalkTalk if it doesn't. Note that
>the contract with the (previous) ISP will almost certainly state that
>the customer must maintain the BT-supplied telephone line for the DSL
>service to be provided over. The ISP will not provide broadband over a
>TalkTalk telephone line.
Almost definitely as you state, in fact I'd be surprised if it weren't.

The problem is sorted now though, Talk Talk will be gone by the 17th as
BT will reconnect on that date, they even provided 2 months *FREE* line
rental for some reason. The broadband is another story though, the
account is gone as is the static IP which is in all the firewall scripts
and VPN server configs so that's a nice job for someone when he gets his
new account. Live and learn.
--
Clint Sharp