Broadband News

A former mayor in the Yorkshire town of Whitby has spoken if her "nightmare" after being sold broadband by a door-to-door salesman.

Ada Myers had been offered a broadband contract by the cold caller, who promised a subscription to Carphone Warehouse’s offering TalkTalk for £15.40 a month rising after the first three months to £20.99 a month.

After signing up for the deal, which also promised free national and international calls, Ms Myers was sent a letter from TalkTalk informing her that it would in fact cost her cost her £35.99 a month and £30 for the equipment.

Ms Myers told the Whitby Gazette: "A few days later I got a letter telling me to phone them but I spent another six hours on the phone over three days telling them I’d cancelled.

"They told me it was too late for me to cancel and they were installing broadband."

A spokesman for TalkTalk, which has now offered Ms Myers a full refund after the misunderstanding, commented: "TalkTalk is looking at how it might offer free broadband in other parts of the country, including all of Whitby, and will provide regular updates."

Carphone Warehouse recently cut its forecast for new broadband customers, now expecting to add between 200,000 and 250,000 broadband customers in the year to March 2009.