I accepted a fibre broadband upgrade from TalkTalk and then realised, as I am effectively on my own aged 74 and use my iPad only for emails and browsing the internet, that I didn’t need it. My husband is bedridden, paralysed and doesn’t say a single word after a massive stroke. I telephoned several times, with calls lasting 45 minutes, trying to get someone to confirm that the upgrade could be cancelled. Eventually I was told it had been. The next day though it said I had entered into an 18-month contract. MP, Hants You were within the cooling-off period and some charges were anyway not properly defined. Nevertheless a £268 charge for leaving a contract was imposed. You also wanted the £191 rental you had paid to be returned. Most of the money was refunded in due course but, by the time you wrote to me, you were still £87 out of pocket. The day after your husband died TalkTalk sent a cheque for the outstanding amount. You have donated the money to the local palliative care unit. A TalkTalk spokesman said: “We are sorry Mrs P had such a poor experience cancelling her fibre upgrade, and we have waived all charges and closed the account.”
The Telegraph has highlighted the plight of a reader hit with a £286 charge for cancelling a contract with TalkTalk. A customer who signed up to the service in December was told by his bank that he had been charged an overdraft fee and would have to pay it back within two weeks. It reportedly took several 45-minute-long phone calls before she was eventually told the upgrade had been cancelled. However, the next day, she was made aware that she had been entered into an 18-month contract. TalkTalk apologised for the experience and said it had waived all the charges.