TalkTalk launch Great Connection Guarantee for fibre broadband

TalkTalk is stepping up its broadband game by putting its money where its mouth is. Customers can try out TalkTalk fibre broadband for 30 days, and if they're not completely happy, they can leave with no penalties.

Launched on the 17th August, the 'Great Connection Guarantee' gives new fibre customers the option to cancel their contract if the service is not up to scratch. TalkTalk say that this is a complementary service to their fixed low price plans launched earlier this year.

Group Marketing Director, David Parslow, had this to say:

"We're confident customers will be satisfied as we've been investing in optimising our network and developing our most sophisticated router yet, with a Wi-fi signal that can't be beaten by any of the other major broadband providers."

Added to this, TalkTalk are also dropping their prices again, with an offer on Faster Fibre for just £23.50 a month. TalkTalk claim this offer could save up to £143.05 against other UK providers. The company's endeavours to appeal to the masses seems to be working, as they've added 80,000 new customers in the past three months, 67,000 of whom were fibre broadband customers.

Credit: chrisdorney/Shutterstock.com

Great Connection Guarantee

As well as championing fixed price deals, TalkTalk are taking their customer service values a step further with this latest move. They recognise that entering into a long contract with a broadband provider can be nerve racking, and that many consumers may have already been bitten by not getting the speeds they expected when they signed up.

This 30-day guarantee applies to fibre connections only, but any new customer signing up for TalkTalk fibre broadband will be eligible. The need to know information includes:

• Customers can leave with no penalties: Within the first 30 days, customers are free to leave without any termination charge being levied. They'll simply send back their equipment in a pre-paid bag and will even receive a refund for any of the 30 days they haven't yet used.
• It applies to all services taken from TalkTalk: If the customer signed up for other services, such as TV, then a termination of their contract on that service will be included in the guarantee.
• Set up fees and delivery charges are excluded: Anything that was charged at the point of sign up relating to delivery of equipment or installation will not be refunded.
• New fibre customers only: The guarantee applies to new TalkTalk customers only, and only if they are taking out a Faster Fibre Broadband package.

It appears that this is a firm demonstration of TalkTalk's commitment to fairer pricing and better value for customers. It follows their previous industry shaking promise of no mid contract price rises, starkly contrasting with other providers who have recently hiked prices midterm.

All it's cracked up to be?

It's a bold move by TalkTalk and is certainly doing their PR some favours. In a year where they've been scrambling to claw back their damaged reputation following numerous high profile problems, good PR is critical if they're going to continue growing their customer numbers. But is the Great Connection Guarantee really something special, or is it simply a stunt?

By law, all ISP companies must provide a cooling off period of at least two weeks. The Great Connection Guarantee is certainly an extension of this, so in that respect it's certainly a bonus.

However, Ofcom's recently revised Broadband Speed Code of Practice also gives consumers some protection if speeds are significantly lower than advertised, so perhaps it's not as unique as it seems.