We have recently switched from receiving our internet via BT National line broadband to receiving it by cable. The provider for both was Virgin however prior to the switch I was aggressively cold-called by Talktalk who persuaded me to agree to transfer to them. At the time we had been trying to convince Virgin to let us have cable similar to all our neighbours but they said it was unavailable at our address despite the cable running under the footpath about 6 feet from our front door, so when Talktalk called in a moment of weakness I agreed to transfer since their price was much much cheaper.
Coincidentally or not about a week after that Virgin rang offering us cable so I agreed and asked Virgin to cancel the transfer which they said they could do from their end. HOWEVER the transfer to Talktalk did go ahead so I ended up paying a contract breakage fee of £91 as I obviously didn't need both and the cable internet is far faster. Now Talktalk had sent me a wireless router which I never actually opened because I thought they would ask for it back after I cancelled. I also have the Virgin wireless router which is surplus to the cable service and they have not requested it back either. My question is, how long do I have to hang onto these? Is there a time limit after which it is reasonable for me to dispose of them if they have not requested their return? Am I legally obliged to contact them to remind them to reclaim them? Virgin cable and National services have completely different Customer Service departments and I no longer have a National line account so not sure how easy it would be to get through to the correct department. Talktalk Customer Services use an 0870 number if you aren't calling from a Talktalk number so I am unwilling to call them at all since they have already had enough money from me!
There must be a law about disposing of unwanted equipment after contracts have finished, does anyone happen to know what it is?
Sorry for such a long post, thanks for reading