TalkTalk and customer service - why nobody should use them.

I received a letter for Mr Simon Henderson who does not live and never has lived at my address from TalkTalk introducing them to their new account and giving them their account details. I had heard of people using other peoples' addresses for fraud before and so I was quickly on the phone to sort it out as someone was going to use my address to get free calls and then leave me having to persuade the phone company that nobody of that name lives here.

So I try to call TalkTalk and to warn them that someone is trying to cheat them. They should be happy that I am stopping this before they incur any charges. So why am I now so angry with them? Well here is a list of my phone calls.

1. 7:30 Saturday June 19th - first a long queue then when I do get through they tell me they cannot deal with it and that I need to call back at 8am the following day (yes the next day is Sunday!!!!). Call time 10 mins 29 secs.
2. 9:30 Sunday June 20th - I get the automatd message that will not allow me to continue without giving the phone number so I use the one for Mr Henderson's account. I get through to all the options and pick I want to leave TalkTalk. It goes through the menus and then says that it is closed and that it is open 7 day a week between 8 and 8. Call time 1 min 58 secs.
3. The same need to put in a phone number so I use Mr Henderson's again this time no menu and I get a customer service person, who cannot hear me and then the line cuts off. Call time 1 min 27 secs.
4. I get through to another customer service agent who listens to my explanation then puts me on hold to check the account before saying she needs to transfer me to the fraud department. I am transferred to the fraud department which has an answer phone saying there is nobody there now and please leave my name and number so they can call me back. Call time 5 mins 51 secs.

So my total call time is 19 mins 45 secs to leave a message on an answering machine for their benefit in trying to prevent them losing money. All of this on a 0870 number which is costing me. To say I am angry is to put it mildly. They have the worst possible customer service, their policies are shoddy and they show a level of business incompetence that beggars belief. The least they should have done is to suspend the account.

The bad news for Mr Henderson is that my house does not have a BT line. We only have Virgin as the BT line was cut when the ivy was cleared from the house. So it is impossible for anyone at this address to have TalkTalk.

My next call will be to Ofcom and will be a complaint about TalkTalk.

UPDATE: THE POSTMAN TRIED TO DELIVER ANOTHER MODEL. IT IS AN ADDRESS PROBLEM AND HE LIVES AT NUMBER 17 NOT 27. SO THERE WAS NO FRAUD BUT TALKTALK'S CUSTOMER SERVICE IS TERRIBLE.