Half of TalkTalk customers face price rises as firm goes 'all-in'

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/oct/03/half-talktalk-customers-price-rises-all-in-pricing

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TalkTalk has announced price increases for around half of its customers, as part of a plan to simplify tariffs and do away with separate landline charges.

The phone, TV and broadband provider, which lost customers after a cyber attack in 2015, said it has switched to “all-in pricing” as part of an effort to be “simpler and more transparent”.

Out go special deals for new customers at the expense of those already signed up to a long contract. Instead, existing customers will be offered the chance to switch to its new all-in package with the guarantee that prices won’t rise for 18 months.

Until now the company offered a range of phone, internet and TV packages at different prices – with cheaper offers for new customers – and charged £17.70 for monthly line rental. It meant someone buying basic broadband and a landline paid £25.20 a month, before any special offers/discounts were applied.

From November, however, TalkTalk customers on that deal will pay £27.95 a month. They can reduce it to £22.95 if they switch to the firm’s new 18-month tariff.

The company said existing customers on better “deals” can keep those discounted prices until they expire. All customers will still have the freedom to tailor packages by adding anytime calls or TV products.

TalkTalk said that around half of its 4 million customers could pay less than they currently do if they make the switch.

The company also wants to reward the loyalty of existing customers by allowing them to switch and save money if there is a better TalkTalk deal available after three months, including those previously only available to new customers.

Tristia Harrison, managing director at the firm, said the move is a return to its “challenger” roots.

“We’ve listened hard to what out customers have told us and we’re acting on it. People are fed up of confusing packages and loud advertising, they’re frustrated with deals which shoot up mid-contract, and they hate seeing the best deals saved for new customers,” she said.

Harrison claimed the company had spent the past two years making major investments to improve the customer experience and said this ongoing programme is now showing tangible results. “There’s still a long way to go, but this is genuinely a new TalkTalk.”

The announcement comes after the firm revealed that while its broadband base shrank between April and June 2016, revenue growth remained level year-on-year, and it expects a modest growth in 2017.

Around 100,000 customers left the company after it was the subject of a string of data breaches that led to them being called up by scammers, which in several cases lead to the loss of thousands of pounds. The company always denied liability, despite the scammers quoting customers their personal details in calls. The hack cost the company £60m.