A MAJOR broadband firm with hundreds of thousands of customers is axing a free service in days.
All TalkTalk email customers are being moved to a new provider called Everymail from Open-Xchange.
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The company began to email customers in June to let them know that if they do not sign up to the new provider then their email account will be closed.
TalkTalk broadband customers will be able to continue to use the email service for free.
But those who received a TalkTalk email when they first signed up to the broadband company but later switched to another provider will need to pay a £60-a-year fee.
TalkTalk will gradually close the inboxes of customers who do not pay the fee over the next few months.
It will start to restrict customers’ email access after July 31, which means they will not be able to send emails but will still be able to access ones they have already received.
Those who do not sign up by September 9 will have their mailboxes frozen.
After October 31 their email address, inbox, contacts and calendar will be erased.
Once the accounts are deleted they cannot be recovered.
Any emails that are sent to the account will automatically return to the sender.
TalkTalk told The Sun that it will contact users several times before it shuts their account.
It will either ask them to take action to keep their email address or download important information that they can transfer to another email provider.
This includes emails they have sent or received, saved contacts, calendar appointments and tasks.
TalkTalk said the changes will give customers “the best user experience”.
It added: “We are actively communicating with all those affected. We are providing several options and users are free to download and transfer their data.”
Free email providers
WORRIED about your email being tied to your internet provider?
There are plenty of excellent free email services you can use instead.
Here are a few popular choices:
Examples include:
- Gmail: Google’s offering is feature-rich, with plenty of storage and excellent spam filtering. Integrates seamlessly with other Google services.
- Outlook.com: Microsoft’s webmail service offers a clean interface and integrates with Microsoft Office applications. Good storage options are available.
- Yahoo! Mail: A long-standing provider with a large storage capacity. It includes a built-in newsfeed.
- Proton Mail: For those prioritising privacy, Proton Mail offers end-to-end encryption. Based in Switzerland, it has strong data protection laws (free but limited storage).
- GMX Mail: Offers a good balance of features and storage space. Includes a spam filter and virus protection.
What do I need to do?
If you are happy to pay the £5 a month fee then you should sign up before July 31 to avoid any issues with your email inbox.
But if you are unwilling to pay then you can download your emails now to avoid losing access to them.
You can then upload them to a new account with a different company.
Exactly how to do this varies depending on your email provider but you should be able to find help on its website.
It is a good idea to set up an email address that is separate from your broadband provider to avoid being locked into the account.
Once you have created a new email you should make sure to update all of your bank, supermarket, energy and utility accounts.
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