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back to article TalkTalk's tiny package most certainly not 'best value', tuts watchdog

TalkTalk has been ordered to never brag again about its "best value" broadband, telly and phone package after BSkyB complained to the ads watchdog. The Advertising Standards Authority berated budget ISP TalkTalk for claiming its service was directly comparable to its rivals' products but at a lower price. In fact, TalkTalk's …

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  1. The Axe
    Megaphone

    OMG

    So the ASA jumps in again to save people from themselves.

    People who are looking at different packages will look at the channels available and the price and will make a decision based on that. Sometimes after some time they might regret making the decision to go one way or the other based on the cost being too expensive or the package not having a channel that a programme they want to watch is on. But that's not for the ASA to decide on, but it seems that they do.

    I went with Talk Talk because it did have the best value (a very subjective term) package for my needs. I didn't want the expense of Sky's offering which included channels I didn't watch. TalkTalk's had just what I wanted, plus the offered us 3 months free and 6 months half price and monthly is still cheaper than Sky.

    Maybe I should go to the ASA and tell them that Sky's adverts don't provide the best value.

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    1. Dr. Mouse
      Reply Icon

      Re: OMG

      "People who are looking at different packages will look at the channels available and the price and will make a decision based on that."

      I think you over-estimate a large chunk of the population.

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    2. envmod
      Reply Icon

      Re: OMG

      bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! you went with talktalk...

      i always wondered who it was.

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    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: OMG

      I have to agree. I also went with TT because they offered what I needed at the right price - ie. their offer met my requirements. End of.

      What I do object to is that their advert for their TV package implies that all subscribers have the facility to watch any program of their choosing in the past 7 days. Blatant bullshit. The fact is that their YouView box taps into the standard on-demand services like the BBC iPlayer, 4oD, ITV player, etc. and as all on-demand users know, not all programmes are available. Frankly our smart TV does that already and much, much better. In combination with our existing PVR and the ability to record directly to HD from the TV, our TT YouView box is basically a totally redundant piece of equipment.

      Any customer who took up their TV package on the strength of that advertising campaign and paid the £50 engineer's installation visit should be compensated. I got ours when they came up with the free self-install option and to be honest, the set up was a total no-brainer. Perhaps the ASA would like to look into this?

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well I'm shocked!

    I cannot believe it has taken this long for the BA**ARDS to be caught out!

    Hopefully, this will also get TT's marketing "dream-team" off of their latest craze for spamming this "Best Value Package" by email, text and home phone/voicemail...

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  3. John Lilburne

    Last year someone from talktalk ...

    ... phoned me about BB. I said I'd never heard of them which sort of threw him. Told me they could get me a faster BB to which I said that would be a neat trick as the BB came into the house down a crappy BT copper cable across miles of fields and bogs. Muttered something about 'unlimited' but by that time I was just checking whether I could beat my record of keeping them on the call for 25 minutes.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Last year someone from talktalk ...

      25 minutes - that's nothing.

      It took me 38 mins 8 secs last week to arrange for an engineer to come and move my master socket. On the plus side, he's here now when he was supposed to be coming next week. :-/

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    2. Skrrp
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      Re: Last year someone from talktalk ...

      I had a TT cold sales call trying to sell me mobile. It became my record at 44 mins long. I spoke to 3 lovely Indian ladies, 1 of whom was a supervisor. I found out what the weather was like there, that the 1st lady was married with 2 children, had a pet dog and the name of the dog. Never bought a mobile contract though.

      I also had TT send a charming but thick girl to my front door trying to flog me 'unlimited' broadband. I asked specifically "so I can light up an illegal torrent station and shift terabytes a month on this?" She told me that I could. She even phoned base and the idiot on the end of the line there told me I could indeed shift unlimited data in illegal torrents. I then read her small print and told her what a "fair use" policy means.

      2 0
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Last year someone from talktalk ...

        That's interesting, because they only offer mobile contracts to their existing customers and their mobile call centres & sales agencies aren't in India.

        Still, who needs reality when you can just make things up, eh?

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        1. Florence
          Reply Icon

          Re: Last year someone from talktalk ...

          Interestingly the one and only time I had a TT cold caller at my door, she didn't try to flog TT products straight away, she first asked me my opinions of phone/BB providers. And after I gave my opinion of TT she knew better than try to sell me anything!

          It was kind of odd in that I would expect cold callers to just try and sell something, but she appeared to be combining market survey and sales. I suppose that would help avoid time wasters.

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    another week

    another ruling, it's kind of boring. Who's scheduled to be told "not to repeat the ad" next week? It's a merry-go-round. The providers know it, ASA know it, we know it. Nobody cares. But hey, introduce a LARGE fine for every one of those... boy, I bet it would be the end of false advertising. But hey, this would stifle business, which as we also know, is based on inflated promises.

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  5. Velv
    FAIL

    There's that "UNLIMITED" word again

    Well my refusal to deal with companies that use the "UNLIMITED" word is UNLIMITED (which based on irony, means I may use them if and when it suits me, changing the conditions without warning of course) :)

    1 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      I want to be able to use "unlimited" in the same way as they do

      "I promise to pay you an UNLIMITED* amount per month in exchange for the best of every service you can provide".

      *Fair fees rules apply. I you charge what I believe to be an unfair price I reserve the right to cap my payments to a figure I consider to be 'fair'. I.E £10 per month.

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And this from the hypocrites at the ASA who don't know what "unlimited" means

    ref: http://preview.tinyurl.com/coojs22

    From dictionary.com:

    unlimited: adjective

    1. not limited; unrestricted; unconfined: unlimited trade.

    2. boundless; infinite; vast: the unlimited skies.

    3. without any qualification or exception; unconditional.

    When is Cameron going to abolish this quango like he promised in his manifesto? Or does he need to go and lookup the meaning of the word "promise"...

    2 1
    1. Reality Dysfunction
      Reply Icon
      Holmes

      Re: And this from the hypocrites at the ASA who don't know what "unlimited" means

      Great idea, things will be so much better without it.

      sar·casm

      [sahr-kaz-uhm]

      noun

      1.

      harsh or bitter derision or irony.

      2.

      a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark: a review full of sarcasms.

      Origin:

      1570–80; < Late Latin sarcasmus < Greek sarkasmós, derivative of sarkázein to rend (flesh), sneer; see sarco-

      1 0
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: And this from the hypocrites at the ASA who don't know what "unlimited" means

        @Reality Dysfunction

        "Great idea, things will be so much better without it."

        So, in your opinion, replacing the ASA with an organisation that is competent, fit-for-purpose, useful, doesn't change the English language to get its own way, and actually acts in the interests of consumers over corporations in ways that matter (rather than just token efforts), is a bad idea?!?

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        1. Reality Dysfunction
          Reply Icon

          Re: And this from the hypocrites at the ASA who don't know what "unlimited" means

          Well of course that would be nice.... rather than just getting rid of the quango because you don't believe in regulation like Cameron and not replacing it with anything because this cuts red tape that affects British Business competitive edge (or some such similar bullshit)

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