TalkTalk is trying and failing to mend its broken customer relationships following the recent mega breach, in one case offering an individual who had £3,500 stolen from his personal bank account £30.20 as a “good will gesture [and] final settlement” by way of compensation when he tried to get out of his contract.

Ian Rimmington, based in Ossett, West Yorkshire, told The Register £3,500 had disappeared from his account on Friday, 23 October. This was two days after the telco had been hacked and hours after it claims it had informed banks that punters' personal information had been compromised.

The Register has constructed a timeline analysing TalkTalk's incident management response, seemingly specifically to avoid admitting any liability in cases in which customers have suffered financial losses following from the breach.

After directly emailing CEO Dido Harding, Rimmington was put in contact with CEO Case Manager John Gusterton on Friday, 30 October. He was offered one of TalkTalk's questionable lines that “card details were encrypted” and told us “there was not a lot more forthcoming from the conversation apart from a gesture of good will of £30.20 credit to my account as a final settlement," he said.

“I asked him [Gusterton]: 'If my card details were encrypted and no details lost, then why are you giving me the credit?'. I then asked about the conflicting information over the last week and was met by a wall of silence,” Rimmington told us. He said that Gusterton had then asked if he would accept the "good will gesture".

Rimmington told us he declined the offer.

The email from John Gusterton stated:

My understanding of your complaint is as follows: You wish to leave TalkTalk without incurring a cancellation fee. You have lost confidence in TalkTalk due to the recent data breach and you also feel that money recently taken from your bank account illegally might be linked to the TalkTalk breach. In order to resolve the situation, my proposals are to take the following actions: Unfortunately I would not be able to waive your contract breakage fee if you decide to leave TalkTalk. I can apply a credit of £30.20 to your TalkTalk account as a good will gesture. This would equate to one month free service. This offer is made in full and final settlement of your complaint. If I do not hear from you within a week, then I will close down your complaint on our records and the above offer in full and final settlement of your complaint will be withdrawn.

Rimmington emailed Gusterson yesterday to question why if customers' details were encrypted they were being encouraged to “keep an eye on [their] accounts over the next few months” and noted how it contradicted TalkTalk's own statement that:

The Register is awaiting a response from TalkTalk. ®

Bootnote

If you've been affected by the TalkTalk hack, please contact us: news@theregister.co.uk.