Thousands of TalkTalk customers charged late fees for COVID-19 payment holidays

TalkTalk is paying refunds automatically but says there won’t be any compensation.

Many thousands of TalkTalk customers who asked for a payment holiday due to the Coronavirus pandemic have been mistakenly charged late payment fees.

All sorts of businesses, from mortgage lenders to mobile phone networks, have agreed to offer their customers payment holidays as a result of the financial difficulties caused by COVID-19.

But it has now emerged that around 2,000 TalkTalk customers were charged a late fee of £12.50.

What has happened?

It’s not yet clear precisely why these customers were wrongly charged late fees, although TalkTalk says it has identified all of those who were charged by mistake and reimbursed them.

Nonetheless, if you believe you have been wrongly charged a late fee, it’s important that you raise this with the firm’s customer service team.

No further compensation is being provided and customers are still able to request payment extensions if they are struggling to meet their commitments as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

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What has TalkTalk said?

A spokesperson from TalkTalk said that the firm had made a ‘clear commitment’ during the pandemic to treat its customers with ‘compassion and kindness.’

As a result, it agreed to offer a 30-day payment extension for those who informed the firm they were struggling to pay due to the pandemic.

"A small number of customers were charged a late payment fee in error, for which we sincerely apologise,” said a spokesperson for TalkTalk.

“These customers will all be reimbursed, and we have put additional controls in place to ensure this does not happen again."

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Keep an eye on your credit report

TalkTalk has said that this error should not have an impact on any customers’ credit scores, but it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your credit report in case the ‘missed’ payment does show up on there.

If this does happen, you should get in touch with TalkTalk and the relevant credit agency to investigate.

Missed payments remain on your credit report for six years, so can have a detrimental effect on your chances of securing credit for a lengthy period.

For more information, check out our guide on how to improve your credit rating.