EsatBT Morons Ghost Billing Again

Could not agree more. Their accounts dept. is absoloutely crap. I did some work for a national Sunday Newspaper. They decided to split their traffic between Eircom and Esat. We had a PRI installed and where using it for over 10 months with no billing. I raised this with my accountant and asked him what we should do? We requested that we be billed from Esat and he accrued (i think) a certain amount) for the bill. 7 months later still no sign of the Bill (after 5 - 6 requests for it). In the end the Esat account manager was called in and we 'begged/threatened' him to send us a bill. In-fairness to him he agreed to give us over 4 months free credit on it. But it gets better. 2 weeks later the sound of a truck bleeping and 'reversing reversing' was heard outside of this premises. Esat had sent us an itimised bill for over 16mnth's calls. The bill consisted of over 100 boxes each box containing maybe 4 reams of A4 paper.

We paid the bill and cancelled the service.

Their billling stinks.

Originally posted by bk
Registered letter to Eircoms legal representative (Muck should have his contact details). This person is then legally required to investigate and respond.

BTW does a similar person exist for Esat Muck?

Address it to:
James Ryan
Company Secretary
Eircom
Eircom Head Office

(i can't remenber the rest of the addreess , its in the phone book, its something like 44 St.Stephens Green West, D2)

This is my story... takes a while to get going, but it's relevant at the end.

Many many years ago, back when the internet came on a floppy disk in a little cardboard box and IOL's head office was in a run down 2 storey house on Amiens street, I decided i'd get on the internet. So i registered with Ireland On Line and picked a user name and gave them my credit card details, and a day or two later i was surfing the interweb.

Fast forward about 5 years and one day i can't get online. So i ring tech support to be told "oh yes. it appears we have no credit card information for you and we've never actually received any money from you, so we've cut you off."

I pointed out that i'd been an IOL 'subscriber' for a loooong time, and wasn't it odd that they'd seemingly set up my account without getting any money from me? He couldn't explain, but was more than willing to reactivate my account without charging me for the previous years fees - this was around about the dawn of The Free ISP Era, so I guess they were just happy to have another "IOL Gold" user - and all was well for about 2 years.

Until IOL was bought out by ESAT, of course.

Well now. I subscribed to Surf No Limits (ha!) as soon as it was available, but decided to keep my IOL Gold account as I'd had the email address for so long and it was handy as a backup account.

So the slightly cryptic Esat SNL bills arrived semi-regularly, and all was well. But no sign of any IOL Gold bills. In time, ESAT broke it off with me, and the SNL bills stopped. Still no IOL Gold bills.

Then out of the blue, about a year ago I get a bill from ESAT BT.

Up the top it says "Your Two Monthly Bill", & that it covers calls for a two month period. And that I owe them about £140.

Immediately, I get on the phone to ask them why the hell they're billing me for a service they threw me off months beforehand.

At this point it becomes like deja vu all over again.

The chump on the phone informs me that this is my IOL Gold bill. i point out that the bill clearly states that it's a "Two Monthly Bill", that it refers to charges for telephone calls and that nowhere does it mention "IOL Gold". But I am assured that yes, it is in fact an IOL Gold bill- it just looks like a telephone bill. So I ask why it says "Overdue Amount:" on it, and am informed that they "...don't have any credit card details on file" for me and so haven't been able.... ah you know the rest.

Well colour me surprised!

I inform the goon that there's no way in hell they're getting any money out of me until i get a proper bill for the proper service with the proper 12 month time period clearly stated on it. I am assured that the bill will be re-issued, and hang up.

Time passes.... and not much happens on the ESAT bill front.

So then this March I receive another telephone bill from ESAT BT. Apparently I now owe them €303.77, and although this time it does say "IOL Gold Annual Charge 125.70 + vat" it gives no explanation for the "Overdue Amount" of 151.67

Back on the phone I go. I relive last years telephone conversation (see above) and am informed that the reason it's on phone bill paper is because they "ran out of internet paper".... I inform the joker on the phone that they're not getting any money from me until i get a full statement detailing all charges billed by them and payments recieved from me. I am assured that this will be with me in "a few days".

Nearly 3 months on and I'm still waiting. IOL Comedy Gold more like...

ho hum