Committee publication · Correspondence · 14 May 2026 · HC 1461
Correspondence from TalkTalk following up from 25 March session, dated 20 April 2026
Summary
TalkTalk responds to follow-up questions from the Scottish Affairs Committee about network outages in Shetland and Orkney (August 2025–March 2026). The company confirms 147 customers (36% of its island customer base) departed during this period, has made all compensation payments, and states it is exploring improved customer communication during future incidents. TalkTalk notes its contracts contained no specific network resilience provisions, citing regulatory practice and reliance on wholesale operators.
Key findings
- 147 customers (36% of TalkTalk's Shetland and Orkney base) left between August 2025 and March 2026; 133 (33%) departed by December 2025. TalkTalk cannot determine whether departures were outage-related.
- TalkTalk confirms all compensation payments made in full, including refunds for full disruption months plus automatic compensation ranging £9.98–£349.44 depending on outage duration and eligibility.
- TalkTalk's customer contracts at time of outages contained no specific network resilience provisions; company states this aligns with regulatory requirements under Communications Act 2003 and Ofcom General Conditions.
- TalkTalk relies on wholesale providers (Openreach and Platform X Communications) for physical infrastructure; statutory resilience obligations apply to network operators, not retail providers.
- Company commits to case-by-case treatment of customer departure requests following outages and is exploring improved message updates during extreme incidents.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
TalkTalk Telecom Limited, Patricia Ferguson MP, Scottish Affairs Committee, Openreach, Platform X Communications, Ofcom, Neil Smith
Notable line
“… we are committed to treating such requests sensitively on a case - by - case basis.”
Key Quotes
“147 customers (36% of our customer base in Shetland and Orkney ) left TalkTalk between August 2025 to March”
“We are unable to determine the specific reason as to why these customers left TalkTalk and specifically whether this was because of the outages or any other reason.”
“At the time of the outages, TalkTalk's customer contracts and terms and conditions did not include any specific provisions relating to network resilience.”
“TalkTalk confirms in its terms and conditions that it will " use reasonable skill and care in providing [its] services".”
“I can confirm that TalkTalk has made all compensation payments ( including automatic compensation and additional goodwill payments ) in full to the accounts of all customers concerned …”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗