TalkTalk is charging me for its ‘free’ voicemail service
TalkTalk advertises its voicemail as free, but charges customers 2p to retrieve messages. An agent insisted the service is free but agreed to refund the costs in the current bill, not previous or future ones, and had the cheek to offer unlimited retrievals for £1 a month.WW, London
A message on your bills (and presumably those of other customers) states: “Included as free because we like to give you the very best value …”
Can’t get clearer than that. But when I contacted TalkTalk it claimed that was an “admin error” and shouldn’t have been there, arguing that the terms and conditions of contracts specify the 2p fee. This was quietly introduced in 2019, despite its “broadband guarantee” that customers would not see a price increase during their contract, including packages with mobile.
Those who missed the announcement in the TalkTalk blog only discovered the charge when they examined their bills. I suspect it forgot to amend its bill template when the charge was introduced.
TalkTalk would not be drawn on timelines. It says: “We are very sorry for this mistake and recognise it shouldn’t have happened. Though the voicemail charges were specified in contracts, we’re crediting any customer found to be affected.” Email your.problems@observer.co.uk. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions
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