Activate my line with Eircom for UTV broadband. Costs??

Boxfresh

How much does it cost to get my phoneline activated with Eircom so I can get it set up for UTV broadband. It's a new house we're in and all the lines are in place but just need activation. I searched google and this forum but I can't get a definitive answer. Some say it's free, some say it's a 6 month contract.

Anyone know the exact costs? I would like to find out before I even ring them.

jimmyendless

I was dealing with BT to get broadband in and since I was getting a 12month contract with BT for the bb they took care of the connection charges. There is room to haggle and when signing a long term contract they might waive the charge.

Boxfresh

Unfortunately UTV won't take care of my charges. I have to get the line activated with Eircom first but what I want to know is how much they'll charge me to do this?

pizzahead77

Boxfresh wrote: »

Unfortunately UTV won't take care of my charges. I have to get the line activated with Eircom first but what I want to know is how much they'll charge me to do this?

Have you checked Eircom's website - they are quoting

• Special Offer: FREE connection to eircom no matter what type of connection you need (worth €121.93).
• FREE connection to eircom broadband when you order online (worth €29.86)
• Monthly rental of €25.36 or a great value eircom talktime package from €26.87 a month which includes line rental!
• 6 month contract applies to residential lines

NOTE the fact that there is now a 6 month contract on all new residential phone line connections - if you move to UTV before then you will have to pay a termination charge of €18 per month left of the contract - www.eircom.net/phonelinefaqs

jor el

pizzahead77 wrote: »

NOTE the fact that there is now a 6 month contract on all new residential phone line connections - if you move to UTV before then you will have to pay a termination charge of €18 per month left of the contract - www.eircom.net/phonelinefaqs

So essentially it will cost €108 to get the line activated for a move to UTV.

xsiborg

maybe not? from todays irish independent, such a small notice i nearly mised it myself! i too recently contacted eircom about getting a line reconnected and was told about this contracted to them for six months line rental even though i wanted to go with smart telecom (smart telecom couldn't activate the line). i nearly went with [EMAIL="vodafone@home"]vodafone@home[/EMAIL] DSL to try and avoid this charge as i was by the vodafone rep that they may be able to reactivate the line from their end.

i hope this means i now dont have to get into a six month contract with eircom and then penalised for opting out of their six month CONtract... :rolleyes:

http://www.eircom.ie/About/Activities/pending.pdf

Boxfresh

I'm just of the phone with Eircom to get my line activated and I have to do a six month contract with them at 18 euro per month when I switch to UTV. They're sending me out a form to set up direct debit with them :mad:

xsiborg

darn, nope, sorry lads for that last post, completely irrelevant to the thread, excitement got the better of me at the thought that it meant not being tied to them for the six month period and having to pay for an eircom line i didnt want.

quite who is responsible for this farce is above my understanding, yes, i understand that most DSL broadband providers lease their lines from eircom but in the interest of consumer choice, etc, i should not have to be tied into a six month contract with eircom for a service i do not want from them in order to get a service i want from smart telecom.

this would have meant not only would i pay eircom €108 over six months, but also to be within the terms of their contract, i have an activated landline sitting there for six months, while waiting to avail of broadband from an ISP that in MY opinion gives me far better value for money.

i know i could just go with eircom broadband now, but i WANT to go with smart telecom, even leaving aside the fact that if i go with eircom, i will then be tied into a TWELVE month contract with them and have to wait over a year to get smart telecom! :mad:

pizzahead77

xsiborg wrote: »

darn, nope, sorry lads for that last post, completely irrelevant to the thread, excitement got the better of me at the thought that it meant not being tied to them for the six month period and having to pay for an eircom line i didnt want.

quite who is responsible for this farce is above my understanding, yes, i understand that most DSL broadband providers lease their lines from eircom but in the interest of consumer choice, etc, i should not have to be tied into a six month contract with eircom for a service i do not want from them in order to get a service i want from smart telecom.

this would have meant not only would i pay eircom €108 over six months, but also to be within the terms of their contract, i have an activated landline sitting there for six months, while waiting to avail of broadband from an ISP that in MY opinion gives me far better value for money.

i know i could just go with eircom broadband now, but i WANT to go with smart telecom, even leaving aside the fact that if i go with eircom, i will then be tied into a TWELVE month contract with them and have to wait over a year to get smart telecom! :mad:

There is nothing stopping you changing to any provider you wish - it just means that you have to pay the €108 (or part there of) to break the 6 month contract with Eircom early.

Eircom introduced this minimum contract because there were so many people getting new lines installed and then switching over to another provider hence Eircom were losing money on it. I know that they still get the line rental etc from the other provider.

Comreg have said this is prefectly legal. So I guess there isn't much we can do about it.

jor el

xsiborg wrote: »

quite who is responsible for this farce is above my understanding

Well, eircom just decided to implement it, and Comreg have no problem with that. After contacting the Competition Authority, they also have no problem with it, and apparently it's not anti-competitive for a monopoly to apply a minimum contract period to a product that they exclusively are able to provision, as it's a short period and not a permanent one. Go figure.

It really sucks when you consider that ALL the line rental goes to eircom anyway, so it's not like they don't get anything from you when you switch. This €108 is merely a bonus for eircom, as they will still get all the line rental in the next 6 months with an alternate provider anyway, and for all the time after that too.

xsiborg

pizzahead77 wrote: »

There is nothing stopping you changing to any provider you wish - it just means that you have to pay the €108 (or part there of) to break the 6 month contract with Eircom early.

Comreg have said this is prefectly legal. So I guess there isn't much we can do about it.

well one thing i have chosen to do about it is to go with vodafone if they can activate my line. my only worry with them was the quality of their service is an unknown quantity to me, so it's as much a trade off between paying eircom €108 or take my chances for now with vodafone. why vodafone specifically? well im with vodafone bill pay already so theres also other benefits involved, 5% discount, free calls to other vodafone customers, etc.

im just so disappointed that i couldn't go with smart for now as I have their connection in limerick (this new connection is in nenagh so cant get UPC bb), but i have always been happy with smart. eircom- not so much, just basically too expensive for what they offer!

DHFrame

Question. so....How can say, HomeVision re-activate your old Eircom line for a one off charge of 25eur, but Eircom want 108? Is it because you are entering into a contract with Homevision that they will do it for 25? Confused.com

jor el

Only if you activate the line with eircom.

This old thread doesn't need to be resurrected.