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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

I've just had a visit from a young woman asking me if I'd "had the papers through the post about my discount package". I asked her which company she represented and she said she was from "the telephone" and that they were changing over the lines in this area.When I pressed her to say who she worked for she admitted it was Talktalk, and muttered something about my neighbour telling her I might like to hear from her.

I get very angry at this kind of obfuscating sales technique (I once had someone tell me "I'm the gas lady") and told her I would report her. but I don't know who to. Can't get through to anyone at Talktalk, but surely she is working on the edge of legality?

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I would have thought that's borderline illegal especially as you had to push to get from her who she was. If it's not illegal, it's downright rude!
Don't expect any sort of customer service from those b******s at TalkTalk. i foolishly signed up for their Free Broadband Forever. it wasn't. they are cona artists and Ofcom were no bloody help either.
Had a similar visit to Maddy's a couple of hours ago. Very strange. Young lady "alright my love, come to collect your papers"- looked shocked when I asked her what she was rabbiting on about. She mentioned Talk Talk and BT in the same sentence. I wonder how many people will be duped. Couldn't work out what she was selling - it was all a blur of Apprentice like non-speak. It was either a very idiosyncratic technique belonging solely to the salesperson concerned or some sort of new off the wall- and underhand- selling technique. Beware !

It must be... the cold weather?! Or perhaps the tube strike. This afternoon I had a young chap trying (I worked out eventually) to sell me windows. There was some extensive obfuscation first about them doing a survey of energy consumption in this area and us perhaps getting help with the cost of replacing our windows. This was followed up with some generalizations about 'pensioners' (I'm in my 30s) in the area who were paying for their windows happily after installation.

When that didn't appear to impress, there was some chat about the 'modern sashes' they could install which would prevent 'the little ones' falling through the bottom of evil sashes (presumably the young man couldn't see the absence of 'little ones' through the narrow gap in the door).

His credibility was fatally undermined by the fact that although he was calling on behalf of 'Safe Style UK', he waved a University of East London card at me as his door-to-door identification.

update: Hilarious. I've just checked out the leaflet he left me and it quotes a scare story about councils photographing homes to catch the ones leaking energy. The footnote says 'Daily Mail'. yup -deeply persuasive.

A few years ago there was a lot of publicity about thermal imaging aerial photographs of Haringey, showing which buildings were leaking most heat. The most obvious heat wastage was coming from - you guessed it - the Civic Centre :-)
Are you sure she wasn't doing a recce to see if you looked worth burgling?
Another time, it might help if you got their name so as to be able to complain to Ofcom or Talk Talk, but I suspect that in the case of the latter, these reps are trained in their particular sales technique. I am now so enured to entreaties from reps selling services or religion that I try to short-circuit the patter with a blunt: "What are you trying to sell me?" Or for an unsolicited sales telepone cal, "is this a sales call?".

Next time I get a long silence when I answer the phone, I will assume its computer-generated dialing and put it down immediately.

I had a call just yesteday (probaby from India) from a woman who told me my "Windows" computer had problem as they had detected error messages. "How do you know that?" "From your IP address", from which remark she took me to be a more-stupid than average Windows user. Under light questioning, she wilted and went before I had a chance to tell her I wouldn't dream of using an operating system of that level of quality.
I can't say I've had that experience, but my overall experience with Talk Talk was appalling (usual thing - getting my details wrong, failing to turn up etc etc in the end I just cancelled, wasted about 3 months trying to set up a phone line and broadband). But you should be reassured that Ofcom are already investigating talk talk about their compliance with one of their General Conditions of service, specifically rules regarding the sales and marketing of fixed-line telecommunications services. If you do complain to Ofcom, cite General Condition 24 (GC24).
Specific complaints can go to Otelo as well.
I had an appalling experience with TalkTalk a couple of years ago when they hijacked my telephone line under someone else's name. It took me ages to sort out and I lost my Internet connection for a month or so. I never managed to get anyone at Talk Talk to admit liability. They rely on the call centres etc. Report this woman to Ofcom.
I had exactly the same experience. Some young woman rocks up all chatty like we know each other, and said she was here t collect the information pack. She said she was from Talk Talk. I was obviously dumb, and told her I was with Virgin- to which she said I was not eligible and she left.

On reflection, she wore no ID.....

This is a bit cooky- are our friends from the met reading this (not sure who to flag it with), especially in light of the number of attempted break ins in the area recently.
Justin, Maddy, Steve, one of you might want to have a word with Trading Standards, as well. To check if they've perhaps had a pattern of similar complaints. And they may have some advice. They keep in regular touch with neighbouring boroughs so this information can be shared.

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