Why is Talk Talk trying to charge me 70 pounds to cancel their broadband when its not been connected yet?

Question

I have a problem with Talk Talk. I rang them to say I wanted to change the package i have with them from Talk 1 to Talk 3 with the broadband, they said ok but that the connection of broadband could take up to 2 months.
A few days later, NTL-who I have been with for the last year and rang to cancel my agreement, offered me to stay with them for the same price I was paying before so I accepted NTL.

So...I rang Talk Talk and said that I wanted to cancel the broadband and revert to the Talk 1 option I was already on for ages. They are telling me now that if I cancel they will charge me 70 quid!!!! I am like "what?"

1st of all there is no written agreement between Talk Talk and myself.
2ndly surely there must be a cooling off period allowed.
3rdly They havent even switched me over to the Talk 3 plan yet!
Surely this isnt right and I am entitled to cancel before they have connected me. Surely a cooling off period is allowed. What can i do?

Answer 1

did you agree over the phone to a long term (one or two year) contract with Talk talk? or to have the the access installed? many companies these days consider phone agreements to be binding in lieu of a written agreement (they record the phone call.) Unfortunately there may not be much you can do. Look at the Talk Talk info very carefully. e.g. Verizon says that you can cancel in the first month. I don't understand why Talk Talk is not refunding you the money because 2 months seems a long time to install internet access, you should just argue that you are not satisfied. So why don't you let Talk Talk connect the broadband and then say you are not satisfied and then cancel it. Perhaps NTL will have some ideas. You need to get stuff in writing before this turns into a disaster.

Answer 2

Ignore the fine. Challenge them to take you to the small claims court and a judge will throw out the fine in an instant. My family has had no end of problems with TalkTalk and one of my relatives finally told them, when told he would be fined, that they could stuff their fine up their a**. They are just idiots, pure and simple. They rely on people's apathy to not complain. All you need to do is walk into one of their shops on a busy Saturday afternoon and in a VERY loud voice, start complaining about the terrible harassment you've been getting from them. Then watch them try to shut you up with bribes and offers before the other customers leave. Trust me, it works. Ignore "customer support" (a real contradiction in terms there). Instead go for their achilles heel which is their public image. Embarrass them in one of their shops on a busy day. They will somersault backwards to keep you happy and shut you up.

Answer 3

Read the Terms of Service. It will all be spelt out there.

Agreements do not need to be in writing to be legally binding. You can bet that they have a recording of your order; that's more than sufficient proof.

Not aware of any cooling off period, either in common law or otherwise. Verify that with a solicitor.