TalkTalk Faces Criticism After Repeatedly Disconnecting Elderly Parents' Landline Without Notice
In August 2024, TalkTalk terminated an elderly couple's landline as part of an upgrade to a full-fibre data-only package that does not include a landline. The father suffers from Parkinson's and memory issues, complicating the situation. The company acknowledged the loss may not have been clearly communicated.
The landline outage occurred without notice and persisted for weeks. The family needed to sign a new contract and accept a new phone number with assurance from TalkTalk that they would retain their lifelong number. However, a week before installation, TalkTalk informed them that the new contract would be cancelled and they would need to set up a different, more expensive one. Later, the company claimed the lifelong number would be lost.
Following media attention, TalkTalk restored the line with a new number within three days, offered a £100 apology, and promised to retrieve the original number.
Three weeks later, the line was cut again. A TalkTalk agent told the family that they would have to cancel the latest contract, potentially jeopardising the recovery of the original number. It was later revealed that, for unknown reasons, TalkTalk had requested disconnection of the restored line. The line was reconnected and the goodwill offer was increased to £150.
In early November, the line cut out once more. Staff informed the family they had exceeded a credit limit, although the family denies having one. Additionally, they were billed £75 for calls made during the weeks without a landline.
TalkTalk attributed the confusion to a cascade of previous errors. Eventually, the line and number were fully restored, and the goodwill offer increased to £200. A company spokesperson expressed disappointment that usual processes had not been followed.
