Anyone use TalkTalk for their phone and broadband?

[TonyS]

Signing up for TalkTalk phone and broadband package as it seems really good value. Thought I'd solicit the advice of the ORG, as I don't know anyone who has used them.

Any TalkTalk users on here? Is the service any good? What are the broadband speeds and reliability like?

Any advice welcome.

[zsv650]

i think they were on watchdog a while back.

[Luckypants]

My brother uses TalkTalk for phone and BB, from the Coedpoeth exchange. He gets good speed and has not had any issues with reliability.

As with all ADSL based (LLU or BT) broadband suppliers, your experience will depend on how busy the exchange is.

[metalmonkey]

Signing up for TalkTalk phone and broadband package as it seems really good value. Thought I'd solicit the advice of the ORG, as I don't know anyone who has used them.

Any TalkTalk users on here? Is the service any good? What are the broadband speeds and reliability like?

Any advice welcome.

Yes my housmate has them, I have to tolarate the broadband biggest unless bunch of c**** I have ever had the pleasure to deal with:rolleyes:. It took them them close to 2 weeks to fix a fault.

Oh customer service, they don't speak english, they are rude and unhelpful. Oh the broadband slows down to speed of almost nothing in the evening.

So yeah go sign up, see what happens.

[TonyS]

My brother uses TalkTalk for phone and BB, from the Coedpoeth exchange. He gets good speed and has not had any issues with reliability.

As with all ADSL based (LLU or BT) broadband suppliers, your experience will depend on how busy the exchange is.

Currently with PlusNet and have good broadband speed and reliablility, so exchange should be ok.

Yes my housmate has them, I have to tolarate the broadband biggest unless bunch of c**** I have ever had the pleasure to deal with:rolleyes:. It took them them close to 2 weeks to fix a fault.

Oh customer service, they don't speak english, they are rude and unhelpful. Oh the broadband slows down to speed of almost nothing in the evening.

So yeah go sign up, see what happens.

Sounds bad, have you had faster speeds with another provider?


Thanks for your replies. So far that's one for and one against.

Anyone else?

[Tallguy]

Been with them for ages now, reliability not a problem for me. Speed is not bad but I'm a relatively low user on their slowest tariff and have a hundred other pc issues more likely to cause slow browsing. Phone's been fine too, free international calls useful due friends in France, Belgium, Canada and Germany. Took a phonecall to helpline to sort wifi out, but then worked fine since. No complaints. Never needed to fix a "real" problem though. Hope that helps!

[metalmonkey]

I have ever only used BT apart from TT, that has always ran fine both in a village and in the city.

I'm sure some of the tech guys, will be able to provide a better answer. But I know TT have had a lot of bad press.

[Tallguy]

P.s. I know they've had bad press before, but I can't be their only satisfied customer. Though I can't speak for what happens if something goes wrong that needs major intervention!

[qwerf]

We are currently using TalkTalk here at home, it's nothing special but it's also not too bad i guess! We are signed up for the 8Mb speed but recieve only about 2-3.5meb if im lucky! But thats to do with me living so far away from the exchange! (attenuation and all that crap!)

The support is pretty much the same as everyother company at the moment...not great! Takes a while to get to them and takes them about an hour or 2 to notice its a problem thier end not mind!

But ill be going back to BT broadband within the month, mainly because it's free but..i fancy a change :)

[SAMMY650]

Are you switching from another supplier or getting a new line installed?

[Luckypants]

Currently with PlusNet and have good broadband speed and reliablility, so exchange should be ok.

But Plusnet resell space on BT DSLAMs (the ADSL equipment at the exchange) so they are 'just' an ISP. TalkTalk have their own DSLAMs in the exchange that your line will now be connected to (called Local Loop Unbundling or LLU for short) and this connects you directly into their backbone network. So you may see a change in data rates, even if your raw line speed stays the same. This is what I meant by how busy the excahnge is, it will depend on the number of TalkTalk customers.

[TonyS]

Are you switching from another supplier or getting a new line installed?

Switching from BT for the phone and PlusNet for the broadband.

But Plusnet resell space on BT DSLAMs (the ADSL equipment at the exchange) so they are 'just' an ISP. TalkTalk have their own DSLAMs in the exchange that your line will now be connected to (called Local Loop Unbundling or LLU for short) and this connects you directly into their backbone network. So you may see a change in data rates, even if your raw line speed stays the same. This is what I meant by how busy the excahnge is, it will depend on the number of TalkTalk customers.

Thanks. I was still assuming that TalkTalk were still using BT, didn't realise they'd expanded their own infrastructure to such an extent.

[Richie]

I'm with them on the option £3 package 8mb down load.
Phone and BB.
not had a problem with them.

just did the Speedtest.net thingy

http://www.speedtest.net/result/533696233.png

I know Dan is with Sky, and his download and upload is faster than mine.

[Luckypants]

Thanks. I was still assuming that TalkTalk were still using BT, didn't realise they'd expanded their own infrastructure to such an extent.

You can double check the LLU providers at your exchange here http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php - that will tell you if you will be on TalkTalk's own equipment (LLU) or on BT with TalkTalk merely your ISP.

[TonyS]

You can double check the LLU providers at your exchange here http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php - that will tell you if you will be on TalkTalk's own equipment (LLU) or on BT with TalkTalk merely your ISP.

Thanks. Very informative link. Local exchange only 1km away and uses TalkTalk LLU.

[Foxy]

I use Talk Talk for phone and broadband. I also get free evening and weekend UK calls and free international calls any time for less than £18. I have had no problems with their service whatsoever :).

I had to get a new line which was £60 but far cheaper than any other service provider could offer.

[Luckypants]

Local exchange only 1km away

Good, so you may get good raw signal speeds from TalkTalk. However your phone line will be significantly longer than 1KM, especially in an urban environment where cables run underground. This is because the cables are run up and down streets, under bridges etc so the actual length can be 2 or 3 times the 'crow flies' distance. Rural areas fare better as the lines are strung from poles across the fields taking the direct route. The other thing that affects your raw speed is the quality of the line and that is pot-luck normally.

Raw speed I'm talking about here is the rate at which your modem/router synchronises with the exchange, this is the maximum data rate. If you do a speed test you often find that the 'tested speed' is significantly lower than the raw speed, because the equipment in the exchange or the backbone network from the exchange is too busy to give you your maximum possible speed. (or other nefarious reasons why your data rate has been reduced)

[TonyS]

Thanks for your comments. Seems to be mostly positive so far.

Any others?

BT seem to want to charge me £75 to leave! Despite being outside my 12 month contract for the deal I was on, they seem to have renewed it for another whole year without asking me also renewing the penalty clause! Dirty barstewards. :mad: Their actions seem designed soley to make it difficult to change.

[Foxy]

Thanks for your comments. Seems to be mostly positive so far.

Any others?

BT seem to want to charge me £75 to leave! Despite being outside my 12 month contract for the deal I was on, they seem to have renewed it for another whole year without asking me also renewing the penalty clause! Dirty barstewards. :mad: Their actions seem designed soley to make it difficult to change.


That is ludicrous!! I would ask to speak to their complaints department and ask them about the automatic renewal. I thought that if you were a BT customer contracted for 12 months then you could leave after this period without being penalised.

You could have a look here too.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumeradvice/

[TonyS]

That is ludicrous!! I would ask to speak to their complaints department and ask them about the automatic renewal. I thought that if you were a BT customer contracted for 12 months then you could leave after this period without being penalised.

You could have a look here too.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumeradvice/

I thought that too. Was a bit of a surprise to get a letter demanding £75 to leave. Funny thing is, I was actually considering staying with them until this letter arrived, because of a couple of reports of bad service from TalkTalk. Now I'm simply fuming and would not even consider BT in future. :mad:

Thanks for the link. :)

[Old Git]

Not a tech. bod, but had talktalk for about 4 years.
No probs, have 2 laptops runing wireless on it & hard wired desktop on it, all together.

Could be slow, could be fast, but for our web surfing, e-mail etc.etc. is fine.

Guess it depends what you want, download movies, music or what....could be slower maybe if this is what you want.

[dawn07]

Recently changed from BT to TalkTalk, and I'm really happy tbh.
Less than £18 a month for my phone and wireless broadband [was paying £54 for BT for same package, so quite a saving!]:D

[Bluefish]

Yes my housmate has them, I have to tolarate the broadband biggest unless bunch of c**** I have ever had the pleasure to deal with:rolleyes:. It took them them close to 2 weeks to fix a fault.

Oh customer service, they don't speak english, they are rude and unhelpful. Oh the broadband slows down to speed of almost nothing in the evening.

So yeah go sign up, see what happens.

+ 1 trillion squillion, hence now with Virgin.

[SAMMY650]

I use Talk Talk for phone and broadband. I also get free evening and weekend UK calls and free international calls any time for less than £18. I have had no problems with their service whatsoever :).

I had to get a new line which was £60 but far cheaper than any other service provider could offer.

Just out of interest....how did you find the set up service and how long did it take for everything to be up and running from day you signed up?

thanks

[dawn07]

Think it took about two weeks for ours to get set up. Initially cost an extra £30 set up charge. Didn't even have to contact BT, TalkTalk did all the work for us.
Even got a cheque back for £27 from BT! All good!:cheers:

[Foxy]

Think it took about two weeks for ours to get set up. Initially cost an extra £30 set up charge. Didn't even have to contact BT, TalkTalk did all the work for us.
Even got a cheque back for £27 from BT! All good!:cheers:

I was hoping for the same. In the process BT disconnected my line :rolleyes: and even though it was their fault they would not reconnect me, hence I had to pay £60 to Talk Talk for a 'new line' as they will switch over at a lesser cost if the line is active with your current service provider. Due to BT's incompetency I was left without a telephony and broadband services for over a month!!!

However, now I am with Talk Talk and the saving is still much greater with paying £60 for a 'new line' than staying with BT.

[dawn07]

I agree Foxy! I'm never going with BT again! Humph!

[qwerf]

It's annoying really, you'll go with another company like TalkTalk to get away with BT line's, but at the end of the day Openreach - BT are still the guys that install/maintain your phone line. So either way it seem's your with BT :P unless with virgin etc ofc.

I think that's why it takes so long sometimes for a simple phone line install as it has to go through talk talk who then pass it onto openreach etc etc...