A Suffolk man has revealed his ‘exasperating’ two-hour online chat with TalkTalk’s customer service - after his 95-year-old father’s phone number was changed without notice.
Keith Poulson, 69, phoned his father Richard, who lives in Ipswich, on Thursday, January 24 to discover his number had been switched to another.
Mr Poulston, who lives near Beccles, said it was hugely concerning as his father’s emergency alarm cord is also linked to the number.
He immediately rang TalkTalk’s tech team but after a 30 minute conversation, he said they told him it was not possible to fix the problem.
Mr Poulson took to the firm’s online chat service to see if the issue could be resolved.
He spend two hours at his laptop being passed between tech support and the company’s loyalty team - eventually being told to ring the tech team again in the morning.
Mr Poulson has released a transcript of the frustrating conversation revealing what he had to go through to reinstate his father’s phone number.
“I ring my father every day since my mother died just over three years ago,” he said. “Not being able to contact him was extremely frustrating.
“His personal alarm is linked to his original number so this was a worry.
“If he had pulled the alarm, they wouldn’t know who he was or where he was.
“I managed to stay reasonable calm through our online chat, calmer than I usually am. “I just couldn’t believe it went on for such a long time. It was exasperating.”
Read the full transcript here:
After making a complaint, the problem was eventually fixed on Friday, February 1
Mr Poulson was then called on Monday, February 11 by someone from TalkTalk who offered him £2.51 in compensation for his time.
After telling them he found the offer ‘insulting’, they offered to double it to £5.02.
A TalkTalk spokesman apologised for the issues Mr Poulson had faced.
He said: “We are sorry for the problems Mr Poulson experienced with his landline.
“We have provided compensation and the issue has now been resolved.”
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