talktalk = wankwank
Funnily enough, I've had similar experience, except that I've managed to keep my rolling contract status. We started to enquire about wireless last Nov or so (we're very slow in the sub-Arctic wilds of Fife) and were told that we'd get a free router if we signed up. Except that the router was out of stock - however, if we went and bought one, we'd be refunded the cost (seventy quid or so). Even told us which one to buy and who had it in stock.

You guessed it - bought the router, never got a penny. Didn't even come off the bill. I have checked from time to time to remind them to send us the cash and have found we're still on a 30-day contract - in fact, going to do that again tonight, just to make sure.

Their customer services are, as you say, rubbish. The only reason we're still here is because, as you say, it's cheap, works reasonably well and because we're too lazy to find a decent alternative. I try very hard to be nice to people who work in call centres for fuck all but I have found their staff to be incredibly rude in the past, with no real form of redress.
(zebideedoodah likes florence but prefers venice, Tue 7 Sep 2010, 18:38, 1 reply)

I found...
that the offshore call centers the people you initially spoke to were polite, but generally couldn't do very much, so would put you onto 2nd line support etc etc. But it was the jumped up English call center staff that were the worst especially when you went up the command line (read promoted phone monkey now with a power complex). On one occasion I was accused of lying! Actually accused of lying when I was asking for help!

We are still on the 30 day rolling though... I made sure of that!
(feedingtimeatthezoo day 1 of his bikini diet started, Tue 7 Sep 2010, 19:54, closed)

Totally agree...
...but it's inevitably frustrating when the person you're talking to doesn't have the same frame of reference as you. I was once dragged through the call system several times and got very shirty with some twat (I use the word deliberately) who treated me like a textbook case ("Did you use foul language at me sir?", "I have to warn you that if you speak to me like that again I am compelled to hang up on you" etc etc) I just wished him good luck in his life and career of undoubted mediocrity and hung up.
(zebideedoodah likes florence but prefers venice, Tue 7 Sep 2010, 21:44, closed)

and by that I meant the English staff...

(zebideedoodah likes florence but prefers venice, Tue 7 Sep 2010, 21:47, closed)