So TalkTalk are still chasing me for money...

[Lemon Zing]

Well, what happened was, I refused to pay 'em months ago. My contract was for 18 months, so they got each payment via a direct debit up to that point. My service started in March of 2022 and was then eligible to end in September.

When I contacted them to cancel the service because it absolutely sucks, I got some spiel from a foreigner in the call centre I rang about not providing the correct security answers, like by providing whatever the mobile number was I registered with, which they could easily have checked up about anyway. So they made out my contract could not be terminated, so I knew I was gonna run in circles. Couldn't remember what details I originally gave out to them, you see.

Months of letters have came since, indicating TalkTalk are wanting higher payments, despite already suspending my broadband, so why even bill me for a total of £147 when a line run would show them that I haven't used their awful Internet for over 8 months?

I even chucked out their two modems. Their speed was utter gash, by the way. I was only getting under 1 Mbps, so it was evidently much worse than even my lousy 4G connection, which is okay outside, but can be rather slow in my flat. But I pay for unlimited mobile data which is only £20 per month, with no throttling, and it's not with a contract either.

Check out the reviews on Trustpilot. All TalkTalk is known for is providing countless customers with headaches, dog's abuse, and a lousy download speed.

 

[Mary Terry]

You're probably going to have to get nasty with them. Document everything - all phone conversations and written communications - in case you need it later.

I've been doing battle with Verizon over my cancellation of their lousy internet service in November 2023. I cancelled their service, returned their equipment to them, they have acknowledged receipt of the equipment, but they persisted in emailing, texting and calling me about alleged unpaid bills with threats to terminate the service. Well, DUH! I long since voluntarily terminated their service. The last time they called me, I went full on crazy commando with them on the phone, started screaming that I'm a retired lawyer with nothing better to do than file a class action lawsuit against them for their harassment and any damages they cause to people's credit ratings by listing delinquent payments that I, and others just like me, DO NOT OWE.

They haven't called me back or sent any more texts or emails so maybe my deranged rant got through to them.

 

[Aspychata]

Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman, @Mary Terry , you told them the business relationship ended. Maybe you could rent your prerecorded rants for a entertaining enterprise. Lol

 

[Mary Terry]

The problem goes beyond internet services providers.

I just looked up lawsuits against Amazon Prime (credit card). The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the State of Arizona are suing the company, alleging the company knowingly tricked millions of customers to sign up for Prime, intentionally complicated the cancellation process to keep consumers locked into the automatically renewing service, used "dark patterns" (deceptive design tactics) to manipulate users into enrolling in recurring Prime subscriptions, failing to clearly disclose price and terms of Prime, failing to provide a simple cancellation method, failing to obtain consent before charging customers, among other things.

I guess capitalism is great until it isn't. It has to be regulated.

 

[Judge]

The problem goes beyond internet services providers.

I just looked up lawsuits against Amazon Prime (credit card). The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the State of Arizona are suing the company, alleging the company knowingly tricked millions of customers to sign up for Prime, intentionally complicated the cancellation process to keep consumers locked into the automatically renewing service, used "dark patterns" (deceptive design tactics) to manipulate users into enrolling in recurring Prime subscriptions, failing to clearly disclose price and terms of Prime, failing to provide a simple cancellation method, failing to obtain consent before charging customers, among other things.

I guess capitalism is great until it isn't. It has to be regulated.

And old practice that never ends.

I used to warn my cousin to avoid Prime particularly when it implied you could test it out at no charge. She forgets to avoid "all the wrong buttons" and has continually lamented that for what it costs, she is not really seeing any benefit to it. Especially when non-Prime customers like myself receive their packages in a similar time frame.

Also reminds me of when I took Experian up on "free" access to my credit rating years ago. At the end of the 30 day period, I diligently contacted them by phone to tell them to terminate my account as I had what I needed, and at no additional cost. It took nearly an hour of haggling with their customer service person to wear them down enough to agree to cancel my account "or else". Clearly they were operating on a notion of getting most people to back down and simply pay the monthly fees. I beat them at their own game. But I shouldn't have to!

And of course, my own brother as a teenager who got caught up having signed up for the infamous Columbia Record Club, and having to pay endless amounts of money he didn't really have for recordings he didn't really want.

 

[Lemon Zing]

If I relocated to another flat, can they track me down? They're saying I can be taking to court for not making the payment.

I took my name off the general election, because I know trolls online can probe for your address details and so on. But this is why you should give out no personal information on anything. I'm gonna try to get an exchange in the future, as bidding in the capital is a lost cause. But I want no further details leaked. So if one doesn't share it, others shouldn't be able to know this stuff.

I've went into a shop before to buy a phone, with cash, and they've kept me waiting by asking me for my address, then looked at me in a funny way when I told them it's fine. But I assume it's not needed if you aren't paying for insurance, or buying an item through a credit option.

 

[Xinyta]

Well, what happened was, I refused to pay 'em months ago. My contract was for 18 months, so they got each payment via a direct debit up to that point. My service started in March of 2022 and was then eligible to end in September.

When I contacted them to cancel the service because it absolutely sucks, I got some spiel from a foreigner in the call centre I rang about not providing the correct security answers, like by providing whatever the mobile number was I registered with, which they could easily have checked up about anyway. So they made out my contract could not be terminated, so I knew I was gonna run in circles. Couldn't remember what details I originally gave out to them, you see.

Months of letters have came since, indicating TalkTalk are wanting higher payments, despite already suspending my broadband, so why even bill me for a total of £147 when a line run would show them that I haven't used their awful Internet for over 8 months?

I even chucked out their two modems. Their speed was utter gash, by the way. I was only getting under 1 Mbps, so it was evidently much worse than even my lousy 4G connection, which is okay outside, but can be rather slow in my flat. But I pay for unlimited mobile data which is only £20 per month, with no throttling, and it's not with a contract either.

Check out the reviews on Trustpilot. All TalkTalk is known for is providing countless customers with headaches, dog's abuse, and a lousy download speed.

If I relocated to another flat, can they track me down? They're saying I can be taking to court for not making the payment.

I took my name off the general election, because I know trolls online can probe for your address details and so on. But this is why you should give out no personal information on anything. I'm gonna try to get an exchange in the future, as bidding in the capital is a lost cause. But I want no further details leaked. So if one doesn't share it, others shouldn't be able to know this stuff.

I've went into a shop before to buy a phone, with cash, and they've kept me waiting by asking me for my address, then looked at me in a funny way when I told them it's fine. But I assume it's not needed if you aren't paying for insurance, or buying an item through a credit option.

This is an issue that most certainly has gotten worse, since the pandemic that shall not be named. But these cruel, and generally cruddy, practices have existed well before too.

Especially with the standards of product selling today. It's increasingly pressured to subscribe to services that provide a product, video streaming and/or even groceries. Once they have you, they make it insanely difficult to get out of it.

 

[Lemon Zing]

I'm forever having to fight folk in the court, so I really just see this stupidity as more of the same.

 

[Aspychata]

@Mary Terry , l mean seriously, everything is a monthly sign up. It's the whole consumerism vibe. It's part of the overall marketing scheme.

 

[Lemon Zing]

They told me that fibre isn't available in my area. While most people generally prefer to go with that option, unless you game online or stream a lot of media, it may not be necessary. But as soon as I found out how abysmal the speed was, I knew I would be stuck with it for the entire duration of the contract.

My main method to go online now is just to get unlimited data and share my personal Wi-Fi with my devices via my phone's hotspot. All smartphones ought to include this feature.

However, the speed is often just as bad with 4G, or 5G if you can get it. Although a trick you can do though is to find a ledge, then leave the phone there. If you use a different phone, the strength of the signal can massively improve because the connection should be stable when paired with the other phone that holds the SIM-card. So it makes downloading updates on the PS5 somewhat quicker.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

After Hurricane Irma hit my area and took out my Century Link internet, Century Link kept billing me for the services even though their lines were down and I had no service. It took me forever to straighten that one out. I have other similar horror stories and I guess we all do if we are going to interact with the subscription based internet services.

I have found you do not have to go to court. I've never had to go to court. I just keep hassling the company, politely and keep asking for the next supervisor up. When they tell me there isn't one, I tell them that can't possibly be true, and just keep on keeping on.

At one point, when Century link owed me about $2000 (don't ask), I eventually looked up the CEO from google, got his email address and phone and complained to him. I got my money back.

For others in rural areas, I have found Starlink to be excellent and reliable. It is fast even way out here in the boonies. It is pricey at $125/month, but if you have the cash, it is worth it.

 

[Lemon Zing]

All the best online features that were once commonplace were ruined, like being able to broadcast to YouTube on a phone. Google put a stop to all of that years ago. It's now only for a PC or laptop, which is not good for being on the move.

Things like Twitter got ruined too. Now you need a blue tick to message some users in private.

Yeah. Many things changed. And why 'fix it' if it ain't broken?

 

[Mary Terry]

@Mary Terry , l mean seriously, everything is a monthly sign up. It's the whole consumerism vibe. It's part of the overall marketing scheme.

You're not going to believe this! I got a letter from a collection agency yesterday for the Verizon bill that I don't owe. That means they have already hurt my credit rating although I really don't care as I have no need for credit. It's going to be scorched earth tactics by me. I'm furious about this.

 

[Judge]

You're not going to believe this! I got a letter from a collection agency yesterday for the Verizon bill that I don't owe. That means they have already hurt my credit rating although I really don't care as I have no need for credit. It's going to be scorched earth tactics by me. I'm furious about this.

Ouch. A letter, and not an email or phone call. Yeah...it's for real on their end. Only the dumbest scammers would use the us mail.

But perhaps the first thing you need to do is to access your credit record to verify it hasn't been compromised through identity theft. (Though from what you posted it isn't likely the case.) Then you can go on the offense towards collectors given an obvious disconnect between them and Verizon. That you legally owe nothing to anyone. To cease and desist- or else.

Typical collectors...overly aggressive/obnoxious to the point of stupidity that can backfire.

 

[Mary Terry]

Ouch. A letter, and not an email or phone call. Yeah...it's for real on their end. Only the dumbest scammers would use the us mail.

But perhaps the first thing you need to do is to access your credit record to verify it hasn't been compromised through identity theft. (Though from what you posted it isn't likely the case.) Then you can go on the offense towards collectors given an obvious disconnect between them and Verizon. That you legally owe nothing to anyone. To cease and desist- or else.

Typical collectors...overly aggressive/obnoxious to the point of stupidity that can backfire.

I'm furious about this. I'll get my credit report online to see what it says. I really don't care what it says as I have no need for or plan to seek credit for anything, but I'll use it as my damages when I go after this charlatan, corrupt company.

 

[Judge]

I'm furious about this. I'll get my credit report online to see what it says. I really don't care what it says as I have no need for or plan to seek credit for anything, but I'll use it as my damages when I go after this charlatan, corrupt company.

Damage$, indeed.

But to look at your record just to rule out any added complications, like identity theft. Before going to war with the collections agency.

The credit rating bureaus are not a friend of consumers either. Even when people pay their bills on time. I suppose that's another story for another thread. But yes...when you are sufficiently capitalized and don't use any real credit their ratings don't really matter.

 

[Mary Terry]

After Hurricane Irma hit my area and took out my Century Link internet, Century Link kept billing me for the services even though their lines were down and I had no service. It took me forever to straighten that one out. I have other similar horror stories and I guess we all do if we are going to interact with the subscription based internet services.

I have found you do not have to go to court. I've never had to go to court. I just keep hassling the company, politely and keep asking for the next supervisor up. When they tell me there isn't one, I tell them that can't possibly be true, and just keep on keeping on.

At one point, when Century link owed me about $2000 (don't ask), I eventually looked up the CEO from google, got his email address and phone and complained to him. I got my money back.

For others in rural areas, I have found Starlink to be excellent and reliable. It is fast even way out here in the boonies. It is pricey at $125/month, but if you have the cash, it is worth it.

We have Starlink, too. It's the best internet service we've ever had. There's an initial equipment cost for the modem/router thingie of about $600 as I recall, in addition to the monthly bill, but it is totally worth it in my rural area.

I won't go to court with Verizon. I'm resolve this issue before they file suit against me, but I am extremely angry about it right now. I like your idea of a letter to the CEO. I'll copy their legal department on my letter, too.

 

[Judge]

I won't go to court with Verizon. I'm resolve this issue before they file suit against me, but I am extremely angry about it right now. I like your idea of a letter to the CEO. I'll copy their legal department on my letter, too.

LOL...A public relations matter that Verizon doesn't need.

But in such matters sometimes it's initially difficult to determine who the real culprit dropped the ball. Verizon or the collections agency. Where neither party wants to admit fault.

Still, it's scary to think collectors like hassling even innocent people just on general principle. After all, collectors have no real public relations concerns.

 

[Lemon Zing]

Just remember one thing about humans...

"Men's love of money is the root of all evil!"

-Some accurate person

 

[Aspychata]

Thanks for the heads up. I definitely will avoid Verizon. It seems like they are upsetting everyone. You might considering filing a complaint with your state AG office. There are endless amounts of articles on how to take them to small claims court, file complaints with FCC. This company is definitely a shyster company taking many people for an extortion ride. Sorry this happened to you.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/05/tech/verizon-class-action-settlement-claim/index.html