Just received this from a reply I sent to their earlier email (above)...
[...]
Thank you for your email.
I apologise for any inconvenience this matter may have caused you. We did not amende the times of our off peak calls to follow BT, they were changed to coincide with them.
With regards to the 0844 number, this is an internet dial up number and it does state in the £1000 guarantee that calls to internet and not included. Please see below.
The challenge is not open to anyone who is not currently a customer of TalkTalk or to customers who have more than one line, and excludes calls to the internet, 0845 or premium rate numbers.
If you need any more help, please email customerservices@talktalk.co.uk or call our Customer Service team on 0870 444 1820.
[...]What's the difference between "following" BT and "changing to coincide with BT"?? Are these not, in principle, the same things? The basic fact is that because of BT's change of off-peak times, they also changed their off-peak times.
Also, I notice they exclude "internet, 0845 and premium rate numbers". Does this mean 0870 numbers are included in the challenge? Or are these classed as premium? If so, I would call attention to their website which states that their 0870 customer service number is a national rate or free to existing customers.
Not only does this "Telecoms Provider" know nothing about telecoms, their advisors seem unable to spell or use adequate grammar in their correspondence.
In spite of this, some people still wonder why British Industry is sinking in the wake of Eastern and Asian competition