Talktalk

[Qwerty]

Well we are in with talk talk they are our broadband and phone providers and look whats happened we have contacted our bank and our money is still there but they could be months before its sorted, we have to check our balance regularly but its not just that whose hands will our addresses phone numbers be in. Still all we can do is sit it out if we have not been affected we cant leave we are told but it will end up somewhere else at some point but rather worrying all the same

[Gemini]

Very worrying Qwerty. I have heard all the news reports on this. We are with Sky so it doesn't affect us, but I feel for those it does.

[Oma]

We were supposed to go with talk talk a couple month ago but we cancelled and stayed with BT as talk talk kept changing the connection date , it must be a worry For all there customers , check your account every morning Qwerty when we were hacked the bank said these people work mostly at night so at least you will get to know quickly if it does happen fingers crossed nothing goes missing xx

[Nanto2girls]

Hope no money gets taken Qwerty, it must be worrying.

[Libra Gran]

A huge worry one of our elderly residents was extremely distressed about it all yesterday as he is with talk talk. We did help him change his password details as he was advised to do. A terrible business for all those with talk talk.

[Skye]

We are with Talktalk but don't have an online account, so not sure whether we could have been affected, but checking bank balance nonetheless...

[Daisy]

We're also with TalkTalk, but they say they don't store complete credit card details. They also won't have your bank passwords, but a lot of people use the same password for everything!

A friend of ours went into the bank to ask what the risk was and he was told if his account is used fraudulently the usual bank protections apply. I have no idea how reliable this information is, though. I tend not to worry about things until they happen, but it must be frightening for people who are more anxious. Let's hope it's soon sorted out.

[Plantaholic]

We are with BT, I suppose they are all prone to hackers. I hope you will all be okay

[ZIZI]

We are also with TT and I have been following this closely. I too have checked my bank account a lot in the last few days. The fact is that it is highly unlikely that someone will be able to actually access your account without your assistance ie I had my purse stolen from my shop a few years ago and there was a phone call from someone who very convincingly told me he was a policeman and he needed my PIN number to verify the card he had was mine. I didn't give it to him as I didn't know it - we used to go into the bank as it was over the road from the shop and anyway all the money was in the business account. Another woman from a shop down the road did give the Lin number and had money taken. They have many ways of convincing you they are genuine.

If your card gets cloned they can use it for certain transactions but it is harder for them now with the three number code on the back of the card and they would not be able to withdraw money.

I went into my bank account this morning and there was a message saying we had been identified as a Talk Talk customer and our account would be monitored and we would be contacted if there was any suspicious activity but warning that they will never ask for passwords, PIN numbers or card numbers so do not give out that information.

TT are now saying that it was the website not the core systems that were affected; they do not store complete card numbers therefore the information will not be useable for fraudulent transactions; passwords hav not been accessed (but they advise changing them anyway which you cannot do until the site is back up); they say they have signed their customers up to a credit reference agency called Noddle for one year, well I haven't heard of them but I had a quick look and I have a feeling that there is an option for a free trial anyway. If you want to sign up it is reference TT231. The agency will inform you if anyone tries to take a loan or credit agreement in your name. But that would only be if the lending organisation uses Noddle as their credit reference agency. Equifax is the most famous and one of the most widely used agencies so if you are really worried it might be worth checking out how much they cost to enrol with.

If anyone does ring you asking for personal details contact Action Fruad 0300 1230 2040 or go to www.actionfraud.police.uk

The thing is that TT should have known this information before now and I for one have not been contacted by them despite them say several times that all customers have been contacted.

Skye sorry to tell you but it doesn't matter whether you are on line with them, they will store your payment details in the same way.

Personally, despite keeping an eye on the bank account slightly more than usual, I am not too worried. I will be changing my supplier when the time comes though. TT are good when they are good but rubbish when here is a problem and they put their prices up by at least a pound every single year. They outsource to India and their call centre workers read off a script so if there is anything out of the usual they cut you off or just ignore the problem. I am not sure which one we will move to but you can be sure that the ISP companies are even now working on packages to tempt people away from their TT accounts.

[Skye]

Thanks for for the info Zizi. We will stay with Taltalk regardless, they offered a fantastic package at the time when BT prices were astronomical, even though BT have tried many times to get us back. But as we all know it's very difficult to win customers back, especially if they are happy enough with the current suppliers.

[ZIZI]

I have had a proper look at Noddle and TT is not doing any favours, they are just pointing their customers to a completely free agency. You can sign up for free for life!

Skye the prices were the reasons I went with them and the reason I have stayed with them but I do not think they are a very ethical company. Because we have been with them for years you would have thought that they would have let me know of any better packages. I was paying £29 for broadband and phone only. I looked at the website and found I could get phone, broadband and TV with six months half price rising to £20 at the end of the free period. I told them I wanted to change and they were not happy but eventually when I said I would move as I was out of contract (they don't tell you when your contract has expired) they agreed.

I thought BT were very expensive and also Virgin who I had a run in with when they decided the run a cable through my garden without asking permission, just let themselves in!

[Qwerty]

I take on board what you say Zizi and have done all talktalk have asked I am not too bothered yet I check my account on 24 hr telephone banking I dont have an online bank account it is a worry but I think it could have happened to any company, I agree if you don't make a note of when your contract started and how long it is for , you have the devil of a job finding out but I have found this out with Virgin they can all be as bad anyway watch this space, such a worry for elderly people Libra

[Elisi]

Well, I was lucky then as Utility Warehouse took us over 3 months ago! Or was that 2 ??? Anyway I found TT to be unreliable and I remember spending HOURS on the phone trying to get them to understand me in Madras several times. Wretched service.

AOL was brilliant, but TT took them over in the UK. So I was lumbered.

[Daisy]

I've just heard on the news that a 15 year old boy has been arrested in connection with the hacking.

[ZIZI]

I just heard that too! If that really is the case TT are even more in the wrong although an autistic chap got into the USA security system a couple of years ago so maybe we shouldn't be too surprised.

Elisi someone told us about utility warehouse a couple of years ago, would you say it is a good company to look at and which utilities do you subscribe to? Please feel free to Pm me if you do not want to put on open forum