Hundreds of thousands of TalkTalk customers will soon have to pay £5 a month (or £50 a year upfront) to keep their email accounts.
The broadband firm is moving users to a new provider, Open-Xchange’s Everymail, and has warned that accounts will be closed if customers don’t sign up.
Those who agree to the switch can keep their inbox, contacts and calendar but must pay £5 a month. Anyone who doesn’t will lose access to their email address permanently.
TalkTalk has already started contacting customers, many of whom were given a TalkTalk email when they first signed up to broadband.
The changes will be phased in over the coming months. From July 31, unpaid accounts will be restricted so users can read old emails but not send new ones. From September 9, accounts will be frozen, and by October 31, they will be deleted completely – with no option to recover messages once erased.
Customers who don’t wish to pay can download their emails for free and move them to another provider.
On the TalkTalk FAQ page it explains:
“We've continued to provide your TalkTalk email service free of charge for some time,' the tech giant explains on its FAQ page.
'However, as you're no longer a TalkTalk broadband customer, we're unfortunately unable to continue offering it at no cost.
'Providing a high–quality email service requires ongoing investments in infrastructure, security, and innovation.”
