Talk Talk threatens debt collectors 3 months after switching to Plusnet

[#1]

My son switched his phone and broadband from Talk Talk to PlusNet just before Christmas. He's now getting bills in red from Talk Talk saying if he doesn't pay they will send a debt-collection agency. When he arranged the switch PlusNet told him he didn't need to contact Talk Talk himself, they would do so. Talk Talk say that didn't happen. That's not my son's fault surely? What shoud happen here?

[#2]

I am having exactly the same
They have even charged me for a standard Monthly bill for February for a different amount than the Debt collection agency claims I owe

[#3]

Take a look at my experience of TalkTalk:
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,108596.0.html

[#4]

Hi anotherbob,
I'm sorry to hear of the difficulties your son's having with TalkTalk.
When we place our orders to transfer services from another service provider they will be informed of this and they have the power to reject our orders. If his services transferred to Plusnet successfully this meant that TalkTalk did not reject the orders and they allowed them to complete. This means that they were notified of the services moving away from them. TalkTalk would have had to create a "cease" order to coincide with our "start" order and it's not possible for us to transfer services without informing the losing service provider.
I hope this clarifies things for you and your son and hopefully this information will help.

[#5]

Although the gaining company notify the losing company of the switch, it is always a good idea to get in touch with the losing company to notify them yourself, and make sure the billing is in order, i always do this, normally by email or phone, one or two i have do so in writing, this is especially important with a company as inept as TalkTalk.

[#6]

not quite right
The gaining company have no idea who the losing company is but BT Openreach are supposed to inform the losing company - but sometimes it doesn't work hence the advice to advise them yourself once the transfer has happened

[#7]

More often than not we find that if we advise customers (at the point of sale) to contact their current supplier to inform them that they're leaving to go to another service provider then it's possible that they will place a cease on their line before we've had chance to place our order. If a cease already exists on the line then we're unable to place our orders.
This is why we generally tend to advise customers that we do inform their current provider for them as they will be notified that we are transferring the service once our orders are in place.
If the bill that TalkTalk have sent is the final bill then this should be paid. If TalkTalk are trying to charge your son for services he's not received from them then this needs to be raised and discussed with Talk Talk. The best solution is to speak to TalkTalk and question what this bill is for and what dates it covers.
Hope this is resolved for you soon.

[#8]

Quote from: Linn

If the bill that TalkTalk have sent is the final bill then this should be paid. If TalkTalk are trying to charge your son for services he's not received from them then this needs to be raised and discussed with Talk Talk. The best solution is to speak to TalkTalk and question what this bill is for and what dates it covers.

The bill was for the period SINCE the switch, and when he spoke to Talk Talk they said they had not been informed. He didn't contact Talk Talk after being given his MAC because he was told it wasn't necessary by Plusnet.

[#9]

If that is the case, anotherbob, then I would suggest that your son speaks to TalkTalk as they should be able to investigate and they should be able to see that they stopped providing their service to your son prior to this payment being requested. Unfortunately this is now out of our hands and we are unable to contact TalkTalk on your sons behalf to resolve billing issues as this is a breach of the Data Protection Act.
I really hope this is resolved for him.

[#10]

I'm afraid I've been given wrong info....
My son rang to ask Talk Talk for a MAC but was told he didn't need one. I presume this means that his Talk Talk service was on their own LLU. However he was told by PlusNet that he need not contact Talk Talk again.

[#11]

PlusNet will not know the details of the contract with TalkTalk, nor can or should they be able to act in relation to it.
It could well be correct to say that there is no need to contact TalkTalk to transfer the service and this would cause a cease/termination (via BT) that they would be aware of.
However there may be contract terms, such as a minimum/initial period, giving notice, etc. that were in the contract he had, which he should have been aware of and comply with.
Obviously TT should be contacted by him to find out why they are still billing, it may or may not be valid for them to do so, or it may be a simple admin error.

[#12]

I was one of the original people who received debt collectors letters for closed talk talk accounts'. what was happening the first thing that happened was a letter appears out of the blue for an amount for cancelled direct debit charges',even though the account was closed. despite calls to talk talk reassurances and the letter cancelled,another letter arrived for the same closed closed account.
it got sorted out in the end.
http://media.ofcom.org.uk/2011/08/18/talktalk-and-tiscali-uk-fined-3-million-for-breaching-consumer-...

[#13]

Quote from: Linn

More often than not we find that if we advise customers (at the point of sale) to contact their current supplier to inform them that they're leaving to go to another service provider then it's possible that they will place a cease on their line before we've had chance to place our order. If a cease already exists on the line then we're unable to place our orders. This is why we generally tend to advise customers that we do inform their current provider for them as they will be notified that we are transferring the service once our orders are in place. If the bill that TalkTalk have sent is the final bill then this should be paid. If TalkTalk are trying to charge your son for services he's not received from them then this needs to be raised and discussed with Talk Talk. The best solution is to speak to TalkTalk and question what this bill is for and what dates it covers. Hope this is resolved for you soon.

This is the exact reason I didnt give notice to BT when I left them, in my opinion notifying them risks a cease.  The losing isp is well aware when a migration happens, if they carry on billing I think they playing ignorance.