Call for content and a quickie update

Well guys, I currently live in the US. I’ve moved to Portland, Oregon, so if you’re ever around say hi! I think that’s why you’ll notice a dearth of communication for the last few months. It’s tough to move continents.

I know there are a lot of people that still need help though. And while I think turning the blog over completely might be a bit of a minefield due to our friends in the legal department and some other sorts of agreements, I think this issue needs to be tracked independently. At least it appears so, I’m still getting e-mails and still moderating comments.

Anyone interested in contributing to the site, let me know! No pay, obviously, but you might get some additional traffic/rankings.

Just a brief update

Hi guys!

Just a couple things. I am now located in the US (using Qwest DSL. No outages, no trouble getting it set up! It’s just really bastard expensive.) I’m still moderating comments due to previous legal issues with Talk Talk/CPW. But not that frequently.  I wanted to remind you of the comment guidelines. Some are due to the above, some are personal preferences.

1. I will not tolerate racism in the comments.

2. No names/numbers of Talk Talk employees.

3. No advertising of anything.

4. Do not post your phone number or address.

In the mean time, the domain expires in May of 2010. I’d like to see the site continue, but obviously can’t effectively manage it from America. So if someone would like to take it over that agrees to the above, I’d be more than willing to entertain any offers. This would not be a financial transaction, but I would need to be able to trust you, so some blogging experience or online identity would go over well.

Thanks!

A reminder

Guys,

I know you want to help each other. But please, I made an agreement with Talk Talk that I would not publish names and phone numbers of Talk Talk staff. Comments are moderated. These posts are not approved. This was a request from their legal team.

Also, stop posting your own phone numbers in the comments! The Internet is a scary place!

Also, also, this blog is Talk Talk only. I’m sure there are others for Bell south or whatever.

Computer systems and death

My heart goes out to this family, what a horrendous thing to have to go through.

Gaby Ferris is a young mother whose husband died of cancer in May. In the weeks following his death, she had to cope alone with a baby and with relentless and unforgiving paperwork, including notifying TalkTalk, which provided the couple’s landline and broadband.

The account was in her husband’s name and Ferris wrote to the company informing it of his death and requesting that her name be substituted on the account. In reply she received a letter addressed to her late husband informing him that since he had signed an 18-month contract he was not entitled to a change of ownership form. Apologies for the inconvenience were added.

Distressed, Ferris asked her brother, Danny Thompson, to intervene and he reports that on the numerous occasions he has phoned the company he has been left on hold, hung up on, and been given repeated false promises.

Weeks passed and all the while Ferris continued to receive bills in her late husband’s name. “How can we make them listen?” asks Thompson in desperation.

After a phone call to the TalkTalk press office, the account name is at last changed reasonably swiftly and Ferris receives further apologies for the “inconvenience”.

The culprits, of course, are the computerised systems that govern most customer services and the overstretched staff who have come to rely on them. So used are the latter to pushing a button and issuing standardised replies that customer services are often little more than machines incapable of handling individual customers and applying sensitivity to individual cases where necessary. In this automated world even the deceased are expected to comply with corporate red tape.

I’m glad the Guardian could sort it out in the end. I’d like to think things are getting a little better?
Why won’t TalkTalk stop and listen?

Thanks to Danny for sending this in.

Peter Needs Help Sorting Contract Nuances

So, I’m not sure about the finer points of issues like this. Anyone have any advice?

I have honestly had all the energy sucked out of me by TalkTalk.

My Broadband experience has been nothing short of awful (I’m
surprised that I’m connected right now).

But that is not my gripe.

Basically I joined TalkTalk in June 2006.
Transferred my line in May 2007.
Tried ending my 18 month contract today (June 2008).
Only to be told that I have 5 months left on my contract.
They told me that my contract began in May 2007, and would charge a
£70 disconnection charge.
I argued that my contract started in June 2006.
They did not accept this and told me that they had to create a new
account when I moved in May 2007.
They really do not care about the customer. You can hear it in their voice.

I was never informed that I was placed on a new contract.
I can not find this information in the terms and conditions.
Doesn’t a transfer mean just that? Otherwise they should say ‘cancellation
then connection to a new 18 month contract’.
I am absolutely flat broke and this has come at the worst possible time,
especially since they have cost me so much pain over the 2 years.

They have informed me that they are sending me a letter that they had
sent on the 3rd May 2007 stating that I’m on a new 18 month contract.
I keep all my letters, and I never received this letter.
Also, if I never agreed to it, how can I be bound. Especially if it’s not
in the terms and conditions.
Even if it is on the letter, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. I would
not have paid over £100 to install a BT line, then another £30 to cancel, then I
think more money, just to be told that I am on another 18 month contract
with those vultures! Pure Evil the pain and frustration they have caused
so many people.

Do I have a leg to stand on?
Please help.

Thanks!

Connection drops?

Hey guys!

Had an e-mail from Paul about a possible return to the delightful days of yonder when connections dropped every hour. Anyone had anything recently?

I’ve noticed a little bit of an increase over the last few months, not enough to be really annoying, but then I suspect my exchange is er, less than busy.

 

 

 

Refresher! Help with 680!

It’s been a while since we went through this. Anyone have tips for Roesmary and error 680?

Wonder if anyone can help with no broadband connection and error message 0680?

Having read extensively of other people’s difficulties and eliminated all the possible causes by doing all the basic tests suggested in the helpful responses the problem still persists. Can anyone tell if this might be a cause: for a few months the message “virus definition updates have failed because file base001.avc has failed its CRC checks” has appeared. Also, this file is the first of a long list of files, so it’s possible that all the others have failed too. I have found out that the Cyclic Redundancy Checksum (CRC) is a function that processes each byte of a file – but not sure how this helps solve the problem……?
On a few odd occasions connection has not been possible but for the rest of the time it has been fine. Now for the last two days the 0680 error message appears. The phone works and all the other tests have been done ie nothing else connected, no sky, no split filter etc etc.

Judging from other people’s experiences when ringing BT or their ISP they were asked to do all the basic tests yet the problem remained. Can anyone help please?

Here’s the basic stuff for a 680:

Tiscali: Error 680

(Link) How to reach a person.

Hey guys,

Got sent a link by someone involving the below article. Unlike a lot of link spam, this is actually pretty useful. It’s a sort of primer on how to navigate phone trees. Some of it is just relevant to the US and Canada, but you guys might find it useful as well!

We’ve all been there. It’s infuriating to sit on hold for 20 minutes, only to be connected to a service agent who has only a cursory grasp of the English language and even less knowledge about how to help you. The following tricks will help you skip to the head of the line and find a better person to talk to.

VOIP News: 50 PBX hacks

SMTP addresses for business accounts.

Hey guys!

Can anyone answer the below?

I’m trying to set up a website for someone and to send email from
talktalkbusiness.net. I was wondering if you could confirm the smtp
address and port number for talktalkbusiness.net. Also, do you know if
you can send emails from Outlook/Thunderbird as I keep getting a “relay
not permitted” error? Lastly, do you know anyone that has sent emails
from code what exactly they use in the “username” section? Is it the
part of the email before the “@” or the whole email address?

Wireless troubles, is this MTU?

I’m not sure what this is, what do you guys think?

I’ve only been with Talktalk for 2 months and its a nightmare. The problem i have is that i got the free broadband package, installed my wireless router etc and now enjoy endless nights on the phone to the ‘brain cadets’ within their technical faults department. Getting connected to the internet is just a gamble; normally i lose.

I’ve turned off my firewall, got rid of the 60 quid Norton 360 anti-virus in favour of thier’ F-secure (advised by one of said brain cadets), i’ve even rebooted my PC from scratch as every time i phone Talktalk they say i’m connected and there isn’t a problem or they just reset the modem and get it to eventually work. One advisor told me to ring another talktalk number which ended up being a number to the Geek Squad, in which i would have to pay someone to come out and look at my fault; something which i think talktalk should do free of charge!

The thing is, there isn’t a customer help line that i can find, all i get is options for sales, faults for phone or broadband. I mention this to an advisor from their technical support section and she said that they just raise a complaint on their database and someone will call me (which hasn’t happened). I’d be very happy to end the contract and go with someone else.

Any advice? Have you heard of anything like this fault?

Any advice appreciated! 🙂