Eircom BB / Phone Bundles from 9th October

kaizersoze

Sponge Bob wrote:

A free WIRELESS router is a poisoned chalice for most urban non techies Dellas, a free wired router is not .

BT only offer a single port (usb and ethernet) router and it must go back to them when the contract is over , I think buying it is €80 and it certainly closes the price gap between the over a 12 month contract as you pointed out.

Also note eircom do charge if you go over the cap (not always but if they reckon you are tearing the arse out of it they may ) and that an unsecured wireless router is one way to end up with a very very large bill , and it has happened.

Dunno what the standard configuration is , the wifi may be shut down unless you enable it for example.

Standard config is 'wireless on' and 'WEP security enabled' so you have to go through the ethernet port first to setup the wireless. The router remains the property of Eircom aswell and has to be returned.
BTW, they're having serious overheating problems with the new Netopia wifi router. Alot of the going back.

Sponge Bob

so its only free rental for duration and return at own expense and NOT a Free Wireless Router, where are the T&Cs for this bundle on that bloody awful site ???

kaizersoze

Sponge Bob wrote:

so its only free rental for duration and return at own expense and NOT a Free Wireless Router, where are the T&Cs for this bundle on that bloody awful site ???

Here: http://www.eircom.ie/bveircom/pdf/bb_tcs.pdf
Paragraph 7.4
Also here in the activities pending document:
http://www.eircom.ie/About/Activities/pending.pdf
Page 5, paragraph 4.

4. Where the Facility is ceased during the minimum contract period, eircom reserves
the right to charge the customer the monthly rental for the balance of the unexpired
contract period. In the event that the customer fails to return the modem within 14
days, eircom reserves the right to charge the customer the sum of €98.99 (inc
VAT) / €81.81 (ex VAT) for the wireless modem, or €49.99 (inc VAT) / €41.31 (ex
VAT) for the pocket modem.

It's a freepost address for router returns iirc.

Dellas

You are getting a free wireless router!!! If you stick to the contract for 12 months after that period its yours . Its only if you break that contract before 12 months that you have to send it back which is fair enough. For someone like myself who has two people in the home using laptops on dial up at present and hopefully getting BB end of this week the Eircom deal is a good one . Its actually the first decent offer they have ever done with the new bundles aswell !!! Credit them where it is due even if it is not that often.

When I get the wireless router Im sure I can secure it and Im not going to be downloading music or videos so I doubt I will go over the 20 GB allowance.

oisin

Kaizersoze where did you hear about the Netopia wi-fi router overheating? I have mine on 24/7, it feels warm to the touch on top but I'd like to know if there's a danger of getting toasted in my sleep.

Dellas

oisin wrote:

Kaizersoze where did you hear about the Netopia wi-fi router overheating? I have mine on 24/7, it feels warm to the touch on top but I'd like to know if there's a danger of getting toasted in my sleep.

Check your smoke alarm:D

kaizersoze

oisin wrote:

Kaizersoze where did you hear about the Netopia wi-fi router overheating? I have mine on 24/7, it feels warm to the touch on top but I'd like to know if there's a danger of getting toasted in my sleep.

I have experienced it with customers I've set up. 4 of about 22 have had this problem and had to be returned. I spoke to Eircom tech support and they said it was an 'issue' with the router and they just sent out replacements. They didn't say if the replacements had the issue resolved.
I don't know if it's a fire hazard. They just get hot (I mean seriously hot, not warm) and stop working. They come back to life when left plugged out and cool down for an hour or 2.

Dellas wrote:

If you stick to the contract for 12 months after that period its yours .

Where did you see/hear that? As far as I can see it's the same way as it always was. ie. Eircom own the router for as long as you use the service (not just the contract period) and it has to be returned to them upon termination.
I don't see any mention of the 'own it after 12 months' arrangement in their T&C's.

Check your smoke alarm

oisin

Thanks for the info kaizersoze, I've checked the smoke alarms just in case!

Dinarius

Just discovered this offer now.

Had been considering moving to BT, but when Eircom issued the press release last month I thought I'd hold out.

Yes, it's more expensive than BT, but it's only €72 difference over 12 months. By then the market will have moved on some more and I can reconsider my options.

As someone who works from home, getting 2Mb plus calls for €59.99 incl. VAT isn't cheap, but it's sure as hell an improvement! It will save me €240 a year on what I'm paying at the moment. That's almost 4 months worth!

D.

Dellas

Dinarius wrote:

As someone who works from home, getting 2Mb plus calls for €59.99 incl. VAT isn't cheap, but it's sure as hell an improvement! It will save me €240 a year on what I'm paying at the moment. That's almost 4 months worth!

D.

Yeah I totally agree with you mate its a step in the right direction to what Im paying too.

Dinarius

I should have written that the saving is €120 per annum, not €240.

Either way, it's enough for me not to embark on the hassle of moving to BT since the taxman pays a chunk of it.

Of course, the kind of inertia I'm displaying is exactly what Eircom are anticipating............. ;-)

Just signed up.

D.

Dellas

I see it this way if there is not a huge amount of difference between BT and Eircom then I would stay with Eircom purely for the reason that if theres a fault you have more of a chance getting it done with Eircom than BT. BT have to contact Eircom and they dont respond as quick as if it were their own customers. I know from experience!!!

Also the bundles at the moment BT do not offer one months free line rental or a wireless router so it out weighs the savings between the two.

tadgh

Signed up to the €59.99 package on the opening day as an existing customer and haven't even had an acknowledgement.

Dellas

Did you have broadband already or is this a new connection??? maybe you should call them. They may just have a back log. I heard that it can take up to 2 weeks to get it connected.

tadgh

Already have Broadband & Talktime anytime (both with Eircom)

Dellas

Maybe they are quicker to sign up new customers!!! I would call them just in case the orders got lost somewhere.

Dinarius

Tadgh,

I signed up online yesterday (I'm assuming you signed up online too) and the last window clearly stated that it would take up to two weeks to process the application.

Naturally, as with just about any half decent online transaction, one would have expected even an automated email reply confirming the application. But, this is Eircom we're dealing with here. Giving a rat's a** is never going to be a priority.

Sit tight and post as soon as you do hear anything.

D.

tadgh

Ok, will wait and see
Will post if there is any response from Eircom