Broadband early cease charge

Bishmilla

Hi,

My parents have switched to another broadband service provider and received a final bill with charges of 192.84 for a broadband early cease charge despite not being on an initial 12 month contract.

How is this possible?

eircom: Ant

Bishmilla wrote: »

Hi,

My parents have switched to another broadband service provider and received a final bill with charges of 192.84 for a broadband early cease charge despite not being on an initial 12 month contract.

How is this possible?

Thanks for your post Bishmilla,

PM me with your eircom Account number or phone number.

Thanks Ant

BobMc

Same has happened to us and we're now being threatened with legal proceedings, any advice resolutions dept has been useless, can you adise

Zaytoon59

I've been charged €103.32 "broadband early cease charge" + €20.96 "charge in lieu of one months notice to cease service" in my final Eircom bill as I've changed to Pure Telecom. I rang Eircom & was told that I was under contract as my modem had been replaced in November last therefore tying me into an unwritten contract for another year with Eircom, I told them this was unreasonable & offered to either pay for or return the modem they told me to get a solicitor......................

eircom: Mark

BobMc wrote: »

Same has happened to us and we're now being threatened with legal proceedings, any advice resolutions dept has been useless, can you adise

Hi BobMc.

Did you contact eircom prior to requesting to move providers? To check if you were under contract with eircom?

Thanks, Mark

eircom: Mark

Zaytoon59 wrote: »

I've been charged €103.32 "broadband early cease charge" + €20.96 "charge in lieu of one months notice to cease service" in my final Eircom bill as I've changed to Pure Telecom. I rang Eircom & was told that I was under contract as my modem had been replaced in November last therefore tying me into an unwritten contract for another year with Eircom, I told them this was unreasonable & offered to either pay for or return the modem they told me to get a solicitor......................

Hi Zaytoon59,

eircom offer three options when a replacement modem is required.

- Purchase a modem from eircom for €49.99 which will have an new 12 month warranty.

- Customers can agree to enter a new 12 month contract with eircom and get a modem sent out free of charge, with a new 12 month warranty.

- Or customers are free to purchase modems personally.

- Which would have been advised on the call.

---

If customers agree to extended the contract bu 12 months the modem is issued under those conditions.

It is not possible to switch options when the modem has been sent out I'm afraid.

Thanks, Mark

Zaytoon59

Hi Mark,

Ok I understand but when a contract is undertaken by phone call I feel that Eircom should then send out a written contract as I checked my Eircom file before switching & found nothing earlier than 2005 from you so assumed I was good to go.

If the modem is €49.99 why am I being charged €103.32, I can't understand where this figure is plucked from?????????

As for the failure to give notice it was given by Pure Telecom why do you need it from me also???????????

Basically you may call it what you want but I call it daylight robbery.


Thanks for your reply.

NeitherJohn

Ring eircom and ask them for a recording of the call where you agreed to have a new modem sent out. If you asked for a free modem then it's a verbal contract and there should be a recording of it.

eircom: Mark

Zaytoon59 wrote: »

Hi Mark,

Ok I understand but when a contract is undertaken by phone call I feel that Eircom should then send out a written contract as I checked my Eircom file before switching & found nothing earlier than 2005 from you so assumed I was good to go.

If the modem is €49.99 why am I being charged €103.32, I can't understand where this figure is plucked from?????????

As for the failure to give notice it was given by Pure Telecom why do you need it from me also???????????

Basically you may call it what you want but I call it daylight robbery.


Thanks for your reply.

Hi Zaytoon59,

Can you PM me with your eircom account number and I can look into the contact history and replacement modem order please.

Thanks, Mark

arienlass

I have also received a bill with a broadband early cease charge and broadband line early cease charge which comes to 213.13 as I changed to Sky in January. I have been with Eircom for years and last August I had a call from eircom trying to get me to upgrade which sounded a better one than I had so I availed of it. I was informed yesterday that this entered me into a brand new contract and I would have to pay the  charge. I feel this is very unfair as it wasn't made clear to me at the time. I will request a subject Access Request if I need to and if I do have to pay the bill I will pay it over a long period of time. I am very let down by Eircom as I have been with them for years and feel that they mislead people by calling offering new offers and upgrades and if any small changes are made to your package you are back in a 12 month contract again. They sure know how to trick people. Just a warning for others if Eircom rings with new offers or upgrades remember you are entering a new contract even if they don't make it clear to you. This will help Eircom to keep their customers that little bit longer and they know now that a lot of people will leave as there as so many better offers out there. I got Sky broadband and phone line for 17.50 a month! How could I not avail of this offer when it is so much cheaper than eircom!

eircom: Alan

arienlass wrote: »

I have also received a bill with a broadband early cease charge and broadband line early cease charge which comes to 213.13 as I changed to Sky in January. I have been with Eircom for years and last August I had a call from eircom trying to get me to upgrade which sounded a better one than I had so I availed of it. I was informed yesterday that this entered me into a brand new contract and I would have to pay the  charge. I feel this is very unfair as it wasn't made clear to me at the time. I will request a subject Access Request if I need to and if I do have to pay the bill I will pay it over a long period of time. I am very let down by Eircom as I have been with them for years and feel that they mislead people by calling offering new offers and upgrades and if any small changes are made to your package you are back in a 12 month contract again. They sure know how to trick people. Just a warning for others if Eircom rings with new offers or upgrades remember you are entering a new contract even if they don't make it clear to you. This will help Eircom to keep their customers that little bit longer and they know now that a lot of people will leave as there as so many better offers out there. I got Sky broadband and phone line for 17.50 a month! How could I not avail of this offer when it is so much cheaper than eircom!

Hi arienlass

I'm very sorry to hear of this. I have sent you a direct message in relation to this issue.

Kind regards

Al

bobsoper

Bishmilla wrote: »

Hi,

My parents have switched to another broadband service provider and received a final bill with charges of 192.84 for a broadband early cease charge despite not being on an initial 12 month contract.

How is this possible?

I have also received a bill with a broadband early cease charge and broadband line early cease charge which comes to 300+ as I changed to Vodafone in January. I have been with Eircom for years and November I had a call from eircom  to get me to change tarriffs to a better one than I had so I availed of it. I am now informed  that this entered me into a brand new contract and I would have to pay the  charge. I feel this is very unfair as it don't believe it was made clear to me at the time. I was also informed in November that  my phone line was to due to be upgraded in early December, so that I could receive a faster service. This, to my knowledge has not happened.

eircom: Linda

bobsoper wrote: »

I have also received a bill with a broadband early cease charge and broadband line early cease charge which comes to 300+ as I changed to Vodafone in January. I have been with Eircom for years and November I had a call from eircom  to get me to change tarriffs to a better one than I had so I availed of it. I am now informed  that this entered me into a brand new contract and I would have to pay the  charge. I feel this is very unfair as it don't believe it was made clear to me at the time. I was also informed in November that  my phone line was to due to be upgraded in early December, so that I could receive a faster service. This, to my knowledge has not happened.

Hi bobsoper

If you could PM your landline phone number I will look into this for you?

Regards

Linda

arienlass

I can see that I am not alone! Eircom have fooled plenty of customers that have been with them for a long time! I have been informed that a Subject Access Request will cost €6.50 and I am willing to pay that to listen to the recording and I would advise you to do the same bobsoper! I am so annoyed. They have put extra sales people to work to fool customers to upgrade to a better package just to get them back into a new contract as so many customers are leaving for much cheaper deals with other companies ie. Sky

markfinn

A most interesting thread for anyone, like me, about to return to Ireland after a few years absence and likely to be choosing ISPs.
So, most certainly scratch Eircom from the short-list.

J@yK@y

After 10 years with Eircom and having been always very happy with Eircom's service, I was made an offer from a competitor that was too good to refuse. I was told that I did not need to contact Eircom and everything would be switched over for me.

Totally outraged to find a charge on 20.65 ex VAT on my "FINAL" bill in lieu of notice and another 20.95 ex VAT on my "CLOSING" bill (issued 2 days later).

I would have considered returning to Eircom after this offer ran out, but after these charges and the comments above I think I would be best to stay away. Sneaky charges, especially as Eircom is still getting the wholesale line rental from my new provider!

Not happy!

eircom: Alan

J@yK@y wrote: »

After 10 years with Eircom and having been always very happy with Eircom's service, I was made an offer from a competitor that was too good to refuse. I was told that I did not need to contact Eircom and everything would be switched over for me.

Totally outraged to find a charge on 20.65 ex VAT on my "FINAL" bill in lieu of notice and another 20.95 ex VAT on my "CLOSING" bill (issued 2 days later).

I would have considered returning to Eircom after this offer ran out, but after these charges and the comments above I think I would be best to stay away. Sneaky charges, especially as Eircom is still getting the wholesale line rental from my new provider!

Not happy!

Hi J@yK@y


Would you like to PM me your eircom account number? I can look into this further.


Also, There is a 30 day notice period that must be given to eircom before switching to another provider. In the case that notice is not give the one would be subject to a charge in lieu of notice. The other provider probably should not have advised you that you did not have to contact eircom.


Regards


Al

J@yK@y

Thank you Alan,
I accept that their is fault with the new provider and will follow up on this too.
I only heard about the 30 day notice period today for the first time.

PM sent.
Thank you
John

eircom: Alan

J@yK@y wrote: »

Thank you Alan,
I accept that their is fault with the new provider and will follow up on this too.
I only heard about the 30 day notice period today for the first time.

PM sent.
Thank you
John

Hi John

I have just replied

Best wishes

Al

Am I Evil?

Bishmilla wrote: »

Hi,

My parents have switched to another broadband service provider and received a final bill with charges of 192.84 for a broadband early cease charge despite not being on an initial 12 month contract.

How is this possible?

Same thing happened me a while back. I started a thread about it
Eircom wanted €500+ off of us even though we've been with eircom broadband since 2006

Went through the whole lot. We got threatened with legal action, threatened to make this public and all the other points that have been covered now and in the past.

Tried ringing eircom up a number of times 3 or 4 at least before they seemed to do anything about it and investigate the matter. About 2 weeks passed and finally today they have sent us out a letter of apology and now that seems to be the end of it

Keep at it and don't give in, they seem to be doing this to a few people now

theidiots

Unless they told you that that this will invoke a new 12 month contract over the phone when you agree to this new package then they are in violation. They are trying to con people. Also on any cancellation charge you do not have to pay vat.
You are entilted to a copy of any contract so ask them for the recorded phone conversation where you will see how they tried to con you.  

First step is too contact Comreg - communication regulations of ireland. There site is askcomreg.ie

Next step is to get a copy of your contract??? They have to provide the recorded phone conversation

Don't let them get away with it.

dobsdave

Same happened to me, switched to a different package but was not made aware of the new 12 month contract.
Apperantly they cant find the recording of the phone call, so the contarct still stands.

arienlass

So you don't have to pay the early cease charge then dobsdave? They were meant to call me back today but I haven't heard from them so maybe they can't find the recording, I think its disgraceful they have try to fool so many people this way!

chris2008x

dobsdave wrote: »

Same happened to me, switched to a different package but was not made aware of the new 12 month contract.
Apperantly they cant find the recording of the phone call, so the contarct still stands.

Then you don't have a contract with them if they can't find this recording xD
They can't prove you agreed to this contract without that recording.

sidcon

Hi folks,
Just to let you all know that currently part of what eircom does is illegal. They are charging you service vat on a product which has not been provided. I have contacted the revenue on this matter and they agree and I'm currently talking to a solicitor on this matter and plan to take a case against eircom on this matter. I suggest while yes you do have to pay a cancelation charge, you inform them that you will not be paying until you receive an invoice ex vat for final amount due as charging service vat (23%) is illegal if you don't actually provide a service. There is a tread on boards.ie about it I'm on my phone and cannot link it but you should search for it.

bobsoper

Hi Mark
I believe the agent I spoke to on Feb 20 or thereabout was named Tony

eircom: Mark

bobsoper wrote: »

Hi Mark
I believe the agent I spoke to on Feb 20 or thereabout was named Tony

Hi bobsoper

I responded on your thread:

- http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2056906300

Thanks, Mark

AshtownGuy

I've switched to SKY (yay - €10 a month cheaper) and I've just received my final bill and have two €20 charges added on "charge in lieu of one months notice to cease service". 

Just rang 1901 to query this and was told one charge for cease of line and one charge for cease of broadband. I haven't knowingly renewed my 5-year old contract in years and never saw this charge on my contract 5 years ago. I asked to speak to a manager and my mobile number was taken for a call-back but surprise surprise no call-back.

I wonder what Judge Judy would say?

How can this be even legal?

eircom: Alan

AshtownGuy wrote: »

I've switched to SKY (yay - €10 a month cheaper) and I've just received my final bill and have two €20 charges added on "charge in lieu of one months notice to cease service". 

Just rang 1901 to query this and was told one charge for cease of line and one charge for cease of broadband. I haven't knowingly renewed my 5-year old contract in years and never saw this charge on my contract 5 years ago. I asked to speak to a manager and my mobile number was taken for a call-back but surprise surprise no call-back.

I wonder what Judge Judy would say?

How can this be even legal?

Hi AshtownGuy


eircom require a 30 day notification to cancel the broadband service and phone service. We require customers to contact our cancellation team on 1901 (option 4).

eircom cancellations will take record of intention to cease and give the e-mail address or postal address to send the written request. They will follow up 30 days later to insure the cancellation order has been processed assuming eircom have received a letter or e-mail 30 days after receipt.

I know this process seems a little complicated but this way there should be two records of the customers call to cancel the account as well as the e-mail or letter they subsequently send in. Also the customer may need to be advised of any possible contract cancellation charges.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Regards

Al

keno-daytrader

eircom: Alan wrote: »

Hi AshtownGuy


eircom require a 30 day notification to cancel the broadband service and phone service. We require customers to contact our cancellation team on 1901 (option 4).

eircom cancellations will take record of intention to cease and give the e-mail address or postal address to send the written request. They will follow up 30 days later to insure the cancellation order has been processed assuming eircom have received a letter or e-mail 30 days after receipt.

I know this process seems a little complicated but this way there should be two records of the customers call to cancel the account as well as the e-mail or letter they subsequently send in. Also the customer may need to be advised of any possible contract cancellation charges.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Regards

Al

I am in the same position as AshtownGuy and havent changed my contract in years. 

Was this charge set out in the contracts 5 years ago, if not when and how did Eircom notify customers as to the change in terms?

psalbmb

keno-daytrader wrote: »

I am in the same position as AshtownGuy and havent changed my contract in years. 

Was this charge set out in the contracts 5 years ago, if not when and how did Eircom notify customers as to the change in terms?

its nothing to do with whether or not you changed your contract, these charges are MANDATORY if you don't follow the 30-day cancellation process and its been in the terms and conditions which are available i think on www.eircom.ie 

psalbmb

keno-daytrader wrote: »

I am in the same position as AshtownGuy and havent changed my contract in years. 

Was this charge set out in the contracts 5 years ago, if not when and how did Eircom notify customers as to the change in terms?

its nothing to do with whether or not you changed your contract, these charges are MANDATORY if you don't follow the 30-day cancellation process and its been in the terms and conditions which are available i think on the eircom website

keno-daytrader

psalbmb wrote: »

its nothing to do with whether or not you changed your contract, these charges are MANDATORY if you don't follow the 30-day cancellation process and its been in the terms and conditions which are available i think on the eircom website

Thank you for your very useful and insightful post, however my questions refers to notifying customers in changes in terms and conditions as I dont believe these charges were in my original contract.

Can an EIRCOM rep respond to this and  Ash's question.

eircom: Mark

keno-daytrader wrote: »

Thank you for your very useful post, however my questions refers to notifying customers in changes in terms and conditions as I dont believe these charges were in my original contract.

Can an Eircom rep respond to this and  Ash's question.

Hi
keno-daytrader,
 
The 30 day notification / cancellation process has been in place since 2011.
 
Below is the official statement issued at the time.
 
 
30 Day PSTN written notice
 
What is happening?
When we introduced 30 days written notice for PSTN customers on March 11^th 2011,   Where customer wishing to cease could do so without giving us 30 days written notice. We now wish to extend 30 days written notice to Riposte 4 customers. Once a customer has been notified, they have one month in which to cease without penalty, after which 30 days written notice will apply to those customers.
 
When?
Starting in June, approx. 70k Riposte 4 customers’ bills will contain the following message in the Did You Know section:
We are changing our terms and conditions in relation to termination of service so that 30 days written notice will be required should you wish to cease service with us. Customers affected by this change may withdraw from existing contracts without penalty within one month of receiving this notice, after which time this requirement will be implemented. To find out more please visit www.eircom.net/changes or call 1800 245 406’.
The final customers affected should receive their bill with the notice by August 2011
Al[size=-1]so[/size] at the time:
[size=-1]"eircom published in the national newspapers that we are changing the PSTN terms and conditions. We are inserting a stipulation that all ceasing customers must give us 30 days written notice. As part of Regulation 17 (which governs changes to Terms and Conditions) we have to give customers 30 days notice of this change and within those 30 days customers who wish to cancel their service can do so without any Early Cease Charges". [/size]
 
I had a look through your account / contact history and spoke to cancellations, at not point were contacted regarding the transfer to another provider (which is fine). However we have gave free phone numbers available for customers to enquire about the process or any cancellation charges involved.
 
If you have any follow up queries let me know.
 
Thanks, Mark

AshtownGuy

eircom: Alan wrote: »

Hi AshtownGuy


eircom require a 30 day notification to cancel the broadband service and phone service. We require customers to contact our cancellation team on 1901 (option 4).

eircom cancellations will take record of intention to cease and give the e-mail address or postal address to send the written request. They will follow up 30 days later to insure the cancellation order has been processed assuming eircom have received a letter or e-mail 30 days after receipt.

I know this process seems a little complicated but this way there should be two records of the customers call to cancel the account as well as the e-mail or letter they subsequently send in. Also the customer may need to be advised of any possible contract cancellation charges.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Regards

Al

Thanks for the explanation Alan, but as I explained politely to the guy I eventually spoke to on 1901, this charge should have been made more clear to your customers, why not even highlight it on a bill? And besides, the switchover to Sky was seamless without contacting Eircom, but had I cancelled with 30 days notice, I would run the risk of losing my service at some point. At the end of the day, Eircom has broken our long relationship with a slap across the face and when Eircom start begging me to come back from SKY, I'm pretty sure that I won't.

eircom: Mark

AshtownGuy wrote: »

Thanks for the explanation Alan, but as I explained politely to the guy I eventually spoke to on 1901, this charge should have been made more clear to your customers, why not even highlight it on a bill? And besides, the switchover to Sky was seamless without contacting Eircom, but had I cancelled with 30 days notice, I would run the risk of losing my service at some point. At the end of the day, Eircom has broken our long relationship with a slap across the face and when Eircom start begging me to come back from SKY, I'm pretty sure that I won't.

Hi AshtownGuy,

We advise of the cancellation process on our website, online forum since 2011.

As you stated the "the switchover to Sky was seamless without contacting Eircom". We have a free phone numbers that you can check with us (eircom) to verify the process or possible charges. As well as checking online.

If you did not take a few minutes to check, I don't see how it can be deemed "ith a slap across the face" from eircom?

A number of telecommunication companies have a similar process / possible charges in place for ceasing an account.

So I understand the frustration, but the process (possible fees) have to be applicable to all customers who have not provided the 30 day notification.

Thanks, Mark

arienlass

AshtownGuy wrote: »

I've switched to SKY (yay - €10 a month cheaper) and I've just received my final bill and have two €20 charges added on "charge in lieu of one months notice to cease service". 

Just rang 1901 to query this and was told one charge for cease of line and one charge for cease of broadband. I haven't knowingly renewed my 5-year old contract in years and never saw this charge on my contract 5 years ago. I asked to speak to a manager and my mobile number was taken for a call-back but surprise surprise no call-back.

I wonder what Judge Judy would say?

How can this be even legal?

I switched to Sky in Jan this year and got a final bill from Eircom which was over €200. I rang to query it as I had been with Eircom for years. They advised me I had renewed my contract last August when an Eircom agent rang me to advise me of a better package, which I took as it worked out cheaper. This put me into a brand new contract. I wasn't advised of this while speaking to the agent and I refuse to pay. I also was told that I would get a call back but instead after about a month or more I got a letter advising me that legal action would be taken if I didn't pay within 10 days! I rang again and was told I would get a call back the following week which was about 2 or 3 weeks ago. They are trying to find the recording of the call last august and I have been told that if it cannot be traced the bill will be waivered. My Sky contract is much cheaper but when the contract finishes I will never go back to Eircom and I had been with them for years. They con people by offering better bundles and packages and then catch them as they enter into new contracts and when they leave eircom they have to pay these huge bills! I am so disgusted with Eircom!

eircom: Alan

arienlass wrote: »

I switched to Sky in Jan this year and got a final bill from Eircom which was over €200. I rang to query it as I had been with Eircom for years. They advised me I had renewed my contract last August when an Eircom agent rang me to advise me of a better package, which I took as it worked out cheaper. This put me into a brand new contract. I wasn't advised of this while speaking to the agent and I refuse to pay. I also was told that I would get a call back but instead after about a month or more I got a letter advising me that legal action would be taken if I didn't pay within 10 days! I rang again and was told I would get a call back the following week which was about 2 or 3 weeks ago. They are trying to find the recording of the call last august and I have been told that if it cannot be traced the bill will be waivered. My Sky contract is much cheaper but when the contract finishes I will never go back to Eircom and I had been with them for years. They con people by offering better bundles and packages and then catch them as they enter into new contracts and when they leave eircom they have to pay these huge bills! I am so disgusted with Eircom!

Hi arienlass

I'm very sorry to hear of this. I have sent you a private message in relation to this issue.

Kind regards

Al

Nic1111

Broadband early cease charge!!! Just received a bill from Eircom with this charge on it of 187euro??? We didn't cancel our service - are still receiving our service so why why why are they charging us this? We have had trouble with them since we joined with them and now this! I'm so annoyed

eircom: Mark

Nic1111 wrote: »

Broadband early cease charge!!! Just received a bill from Eircom with this charge on it of 187euro??? We didn't cancel our service - are still receiving our service so why why why are they charging us this? We have had trouble with them since we joined with them and now this! I'm so annoyed

Hi Nic1111,

Did you call eircom to check the status of the account (any possible contract) or  give the 30 day written notice prior to moving.

As our cancellations team would advise of any possible outstanding charges.

Thanks, Mark

JackieChan

arienlass wrote: »

I switched to Sky in Jan this year and got a final bill from Eircom which was over €200. I rang to query it as I had been with Eircom for years. They advised me I had renewed my contract last August when an Eircom agent rang me to advise me of a better package, which I took as it worked out cheaper. This put me into a brand new contract. I wasn't advised of this while speaking to the agent and I refuse to pay. I also was told that I would get a call back but instead after about a day or more I got a letter advising me that legal action would be taken if I didn't pay within 10 days! I rang again and was told I would get a call back the following week which was about 2 or 3 weeks ago. They are trying to find the recording of the call last august and I have been told that if it cannot be traced the bill will be waivered. My Sky contract is much cheaper but when the contract finishes I will never go back to Eircom and I had been with them for years. They con people by offering better bundles and packages and then catch them as they enter into new contracts and when they leave eircom they have to pay these huge bills! I am so disgusted with Eircom!

This point should be taken seriously by Eircom.
We have a revolving door situation where many people will change provider after a years contract if there is a better price/service available. If they leave Eircom with a very sour taste they are far less likely to return to them in the future.Personally I left Eircom over 10 years ago but would still not consider returning to them as a provider.
This is a generic point as Im sure others have this feeling about other operators.

We all know its easier/cheaper to hold on to an existing customer but if they are leaving to an other operator don't effectively burn your bridges with them.

arienlass

I want to let you know that Eircom have written off my bill as they couldn't find the recording. I am happy with this result but as you say JackieChan I will never go back to Eircom. I have been a customer of Eircom for many years. I am very disappointed at how they conned me along with others into getting a better offer without letting us know that this means we are entering into a brand new contract!