As I have already documented, we’ve been having problems with TalkTalk since moving house. Namely that we still do not have a phone line, or the internet. This week I discovered that the problem was that TalkTalk had managed to get our address wrong, they cut our neighbour off and set up our line there.

It seems our address was lost in translation, in a call centre abroad. Now I know that a call centre in the UK could have made the same mistake, but at least they would have understood, when I asked if they wanted my new or old address, which one they wanted. So, somehow, they ended up with an amalgamation of our old and new addresses. Which is nice.

Our poor neighbours, they were just minding their own business when suddenly their phone line was cut off and set up with a new provider and a new number. When they called to ask what was going on, the operator in another country kindly informed him that he had moved house. Even when our neighbour insisted he had lived in the same house for 20 years (which he has), the operative insisted he had moved house.

I don’t understand how it happened though, the majority of the times I have spoken to their customer services, I have had to confirm our address. I even asked them if it was definitely set up for the right address (because they sent the welcome pack to our old address) and was assured that it had been. I was even told by one particularly rude lady when I suggested that she didn’t understand the problem, that I didn’t understand what she was saying (I did).

I have been ‘lucky’ enough to have been referred to TalkTalk’s CEO office and they have been dealing with the problem from the UK and keeping me updated regularly. However, this is what customer services should be doing, you shouldn’t have to be referred to a special department for it. Is it too much to ask that customer service is actually a service to a customer, rather than just a frustrating circle of repetition and misunderstanding?

Unfortunately for TalkTalk, once we have internet, we will be looking for a new provider and will make sure it is one which has a call centre in the UK. I have written previously of my experiences with Nokiacustomer care, and their call centre abroad. We have been with TalkTalk since 2004, but we will not be going back to them, even if they are the cheapest.

So, we are now awaiting a new phone line again as a new order had to be placed for it. Hopefully we will be up and running within 10 days but I for one am not holding my breath!