Imagine LTE Rural Broadband

Dero

The problem is that most (if not all) of the broadband providers in Ireland seem to have a similarly dire reputation for customer service. I was with Ripplecom before Imagine, and I can tell you, Imagine have a long way to fall before they plumb the depths that Ripplecom operate at.

Croftman

PADRAIC.M wrote: »

Croftman wrote: »

Currently working off 2mb max on Laois/Kildare border. Imagine now advertising around the area. Reading this wouldn't make me jump too quickly but they'd surely provide better than the speed I'm getting at the minute? Has anyone from around this area signed up yet? Also, I have a terrible mobile signal where I live (none in the house bar at the front) & no 3G inside

Yeah I'm in your area and I have signed up, mast going live this week then installation in next 10 days I'm told, I'm 5km from dunmurry hill site with clear line of sight.[/quoted
I'd be the other side of the border but a good but from Dunmurray. Also have plenty of trees around where I live which isn't going the help. Blessing in disguise maybe though judging by this thread

lfc2000

Croftman wrote: »

Currently working off 2mb max on Laois/Kildare border. Imagine now advertising around the area. Reading this wouldn't make me jump too quickly but they'd surely provide better than the speed I'm getting at the minute? Has anyone from around this area signed up yet? Also, I have a terrible mobile signal where I live (none in the house bar at the front) & no 3G inside

R u on about the rathanghan area. If so i do I've signed up 2 weeks ago. Worried a little with all the comments on here. With a mile span and maybe a little more that a lot of houses covered with bad or no Internet. Sales will be high I'd say

sas

Hi,

In sept I placed an order. Mast wasn't to go live until October. I was absolutely clear with the sales person that I needed a Saturday installation. I was told this was no problem at all.

Mast went live 6 weeks ago. I get a call every 8-10 days offering me a week day installation. I've pointed out that I can't do a weekday. One of the reps told me that Saturday installations are only on offer "if the installers want to do overtime" and that I shouldn't have been told that it wouldn't be a problem. Again I passed and said I'd wait.

Today I got a call saying they wanted to go to site to do a signal test. No access to the house would be required. I said fair enough. The rep said that the system would send me texts about installation time but to not be concerned and that it was just for the test.

This seems unusual. Has anyone else had a pre installation signal test done? I tried calling them back but as usual it's impossible to get through to them.

I'm half expecting a snarky phone call tomorrow from an installer expecting to be doing an installation.

Any thoughts appreciated.

ItHurtsWhenIP

emm80 wrote: »

Got this message too, I'm seriously thinking of asking for my 100 euro back, can they refuse to give it to me?
...

No they cannot refuse to give it back to you. They have not delivered on their side of the "contract" with you, so they must refund you.

You have up to 14 days after installation to cancel without penalty.

lolliedog

ItHurtsWhenIP wrote: »

No they cannot refuse to give it back to you. They have not delivered on their side of the "contract" with you, so they must refund you.

You have up to 14 days after installation to cancel without penalty.

I called them today and asked about the 14 day cooling off period. I was told it was from the day of order not from the day if installation. I thought thus was very strange. How do you try it out? I was told it was not a try it out and see if I like it service.

Can someone confirm if thus is legally the case.

km79

lolliedog wrote: »

I called them today and asked about the 14 day cooling off period. I was told it was from the day of order not from the day if installation. I thought thus was very strange. How do you try it out? I was told it was not a try it out and see if I like it service.

Can someone confirm if thus is legally the case.

LOL pure cowboys . So if they come out and can't install they also keep the 100 euro by that line of thinking. No chance
I'm doing a chargeback tonight now I've read enough
They took my money 3 months ago . Despite repeated request I did not get email confirmation of this and terms and conditions etc
Installation pushed out to January at earliest now

lolliedog

km79 wrote: »

LOL pure cowboys . So if they come out and can't install they also keep the 100 euro by that line of thinking. No chance
I'm doing a chargeback tonight now I've read enough
They took my money 3 months ago . Despite repeated request I did not get email confirmation of this and terms and conditions etc
Installation pushed out to January at earliest now

I paid the €100 but was told it would be about 15 days before installation. The 14 day Cooling off period starts from today. I'm beginning to think I may have made a mistake. I got no email confirmation of order.

km79

lolliedog wrote: »

I paid the €100 but was told it would be about 15 days before installation. The 14 day Cooling off period starts from today. I'm beginning to think I may have made a mistake. I got no email confirmation of order.

There is NO WAY they have any right to keep that money
Some people have suggested just doing a chargeback on the card used which is what I'll try tonight .
Alternatively COMREG will sort it fairly quick I'd imagine

seanvanseanvan

xxyyzz wrote: »

Seriously man, I know you've had issues with them but you're beginning to sound like a broken record on this based on an experience from 4 years ago or more. There will be people who have bad experiences like IrishChris the same as you hear from Vodafone and Eir customers but generally people who are getting a good service will not post on here so you only hear the down side. I have no affiliation with Imagine but their service has so far exceeded what they promised and hasn't degraded with the addition of numerous installations in my area. I may have to eat my words in the future but currently the are so much better than any other options in my area it's not even funny.

+2

seanvanseanvan

just an brief update on my own situation, I logged into the Imagine router and changed the name and password for the wifi. The speed tests I was getting were excellent after but the internet was behaving erratically like pages not downloaded and taking for ever, so after 2 days of this I reset the router and bingo as is well again and my Sky OnDemand works now again (may be a coincidence)

PADRAIC.M

seanvanseanvan wrote: »

just an brief update on my own situation, I logged into the Imagine router and changed the name and password for the wifi. The speed tests I was getting were excellent after but the internet was behaving erratically like pages not downloaded and taking for ever, so after 2 days of this I reset the router and bingo as is well again and my Sky OnDemand works now again (may be a coincidence)

How did you login to the router I thought this wasn't possible?

irishchris

seanvanseanvan wrote: »

just an brief update on my own situation, I logged into the Imagine router and changed the name and password for the wifi. The speed tests I was getting were excellent after but the internet was behaving erratically like pages not downloaded and taking for ever, so after 2 days of this I reset the router and bingo as is well again and my Sky OnDemand works now again (may be a coincidence)

Only issue with resetting the imagine router is you lose the phone settings which means a phone will no longer work with their service. For most people phones is not an issue though

ItHurtsWhenIP

lolliedog wrote: »

I called them today and asked about the 14 day cooling off period. I was told it was from the day of order not from the day if installation. I thought thus was very strange. How do you try it out? I was told it was not a try it out and see if I like it service.

Can someone confirm if thus is legally the case.

lolliedog wrote: »

I paid the €100 but was told it would be about 15 days before installation. The 14 day Cooling off period starts from today. I'm beginning to think I may have made a mistake. I got no email confirmation of order.

They keep trying that sh1t. If they do not refund you they are in breach of the Consumer Rights Directive. Quote that at them and if they don't relent, do the chargeback.

K3v

km79 wrote: »

There is NO WAY they have any right to keep that money
Some people have suggested just doing a chargeback on the card used which is what I'll try tonight .
Alternatively COMREG will sort it fairly quick I'd imagine

I rung them up yesterday and asked to be put through cancellations. Told the lady in Cancellations that I have been waiting since July for connection & I had given up on them. Said I had signed a new contract with my existing ISP, so they could refund back my €100.

She asked could I not cancel my new contract that surely there is a cooling off period with my existing ISP and she would arrange connection to Imagine this week! Explained it was too late for them. Was told to expect the refund in 10 working days. Got her details & made sure to let her know I will be following up in 10 working days with Imagine & requesting a chargeback if I don't receive my deposit back.

Just play tough with them.

seanvanseanvan

irishchris wrote: »

Only issue with resetting the imagine router is you lose the phone settings which means a phone will no longer work with their service. For most people phones is not an issue though

Not using the phone yet, was waiting for a month or so before I port my number just incase the service isn't great.

seanvanseanvan

Anyone have issues with refund, just use chargeback as it is painless and quick. Also when you cancel DD make sure to request your bank to blacklist them as DD can be represented and paid if you don't.

lolliedog

seanvanseanvan wrote: »

Anyone have issues with refund, just use chargeback as it is painless and quick. Also when you cancel DD make sure to request your bank to blacklist them as DD can be represented and paid if you don't.

Can your bank do chargeback, or how does it work?

Marlow

lolliedog wrote: »

I called them today and asked about the 14 day cooling off period. I was told it was from the day of order not from the day if installation. I thought thus was very strange. How do you try it out? I was told it was not a try it out and see if I like it service.

Can someone confirm if thus is legally the case.

lolliedog wrote: »

I paid the €100 but was told it would be about 15 days before installation. The 14 day Cooling off period starts from today. I'm beginning to think I may have made a mistake. I got no email confirmation of order.

The 14 days cooling off period is for distance selling and distance selling only. The issue here is, that the service gets installed by an installer.

That doesn't make it distance selling. So there's legally no cooling off period.

Now .. this is where the the hitch comes in: any decent fixed wireless provider .. or internet provider of any kind, with a fixed installation (fwa, catv, dsl, fiber) would let you cancel up until the day of installation. Once the installer is at your door and you've cost them money, that's a different story.

Mobile broadband services and mobile wimax devices, that can be shipped out or picked up in a shop are a different story. Those do indeed go under distance selling.

So .. the interpretation, that your cooling off period is from the day you order and up to 14 days or less, if it's installed within 14 days is legally correct. The sale converts from distance selling to a normal sale at the point, where the installer knocks on your door.

However ... personally, i don't like long contracts, shady deals or not giving you the option of being to back out as long as the service isn't installed, no matter how long it took them. But that's just my 2c.

/M

seanvanseanvan

lolliedog wrote: »

Can your bank do chargeback, or how does it work?

It was part of the new regs brought in after the SEPA thingy. You go to the bank and tell them you want the charge brought back on your account. I think you must be within 30 days. If it was on the credit card you need to bluff a bit and say you didn't authorise transaction. My bank is AIB is was a simple process with them to be fair. I had a major issue with overcharges with Three on a business account last year and I cancelled the direct debit till issues were sorted, unfortunately they just change a digit on the dd mandate and presented it and got paid. So I went back to the bank and they informed me that legally they could do that as I hadn't opted to blacklist the DD which I was never informed of but I got the money back after.

ItHurtsWhenIP

Marlow wrote: »

The 14 days cooling off period is for distance selling and distance selling only. The issue here is, that the service gets installed by an installer.

That doesn't make it distance selling. So there's legally no cooling off period.

Now .. this is where the the hitch comes in: any decent fixed wireless provider .. or internet provider of any kind, with a fixed installation (fwa, catv, dsl, fiber) would let you cancel up until the day of installation. Once the installer is at your door and you've cost them money, that's a different story.

Mobile broadband services and mobile wimax devices, that can be shipped out or picked up in a shop are a different story. Those do indeed go under distance selling.

So .. the interpretation, that your cooling off period is from the day you order and up to 14 days or less, if it's installed within 14 days is legally correct. The sale converts from distance selling to a normal sale at the point, where the installer knocks on your door.

However ... personally, i don't like long contracts, shady deals nor giving you the option to back out as long as the service isn't installed, no matter how long it took them. But that's just my 2c.

/M

I don't think that is correct. You've placed the order over the phone or on the internet. This makes it a distance selling contract. Ergo the 14 days cooling off kicks in from the date of delivery of the service that you have ordered over the phone or on the internet. There's some legalese which others will chime in with about what is considered the contract.

Bottom line, Imagine cannot hold onto that €100, if they haven't delivered the service.

Marlow

seanvanseanvan wrote: »

It was part of the new regs brought in after the SEPA thingy. You go to the bank and tell them you want the charge brought back on your account. I think you must be within 30 days. If it was on the credit card you need to bluff a bit and say you didn't authorise transaction. My bank is AIB is was a simple process with them to be fair

Charge back existed before SEPA. Less time to be able to do it. It used to be 30 days or so and was increased to 3 months with SEPA.

Banks just refused to do it previously, as it was poorly documented for the consumer and a lot of hassle for the banks. So they fobbed customers off. I've walked into my bank before SEPA with prinouts from IPSO to MAKE them action charge backs.

Now .. with SEPA it's documented, there are clear guidelines and the banks have no excuses anymore. That's all.

It's always been possible.

/M

Marlow

ItHurtsWhenIP wrote: »

I don't think that is correct. You've placed the order over the phone or on the internet. This makes it a distance selling contract. Ergo the 14 days cooling off kicks in from the date of delivery of the service that you have ordered over the phone or on the internet. There's some legalese which others will chime in with about what is considered the contract.

No. If you have to sign the contract in person on the day, when the installer installs the service, it's not distance selling. You have the installer physically at your door.

You don't consider a plumber, builder or electrician doing work in your house distance selling either ? You also had to ring him to come down and do the work. And he might have given you a quote over the phone. That's the exact same thing. And you certainly can't return their work either.

ItHurtsWhenIP wrote: »

Bottom line, Imagine cannot hold onto that €100, if they haven't delivered the service.

Correct.

/M

ItHurtsWhenIP

seanvanseanvan wrote: »

...
If it was on the credit card you need to bluff a bit and say you didn't authorise transaction.
...

Funny OT story ... about 15 years ago I ordered a couple of things via an offer in the RTE Guide by post, providing my Credit Card number on the paper form. The items arrived fairly quickly. The charges didn't come to my Credit Card until 3 months later. :eek: There were two transactions on the card that showed up and looked really odd - nothing that could relate back to the RTE Guide. I called Credit Card Services and queried the transactions ... queried, nothing more ... they charged them back and I never heard anything more about it. I only realised they were legit about a year later when I came across a photocopy I made of the order!!! So I still to this day have a pasta saucepan and a Radio/Tape/CD Player (only the radio works) for free and for nothing :rolleyes:

ItHurtsWhenIP

Marlow wrote: »

You don't consider a plumber, builder or electrician doing work in your house distance selling either ? You also had to ring him to come down and do the work. And he might have given you a quote over the phone. That's the exact same thing. And you certainly can't return their work either.

erm ... no, it's not the same thing ... you don't give the plumber/sparks €100 up front and they pray they show up. :P

Also you're not entering into a lengthy contractual engagement with them either, so I disagree.

Marlow

ItHurtsWhenIP wrote: »

erm ... no, it's not the same thing ... you don't give the plumber/sparks €100 up front and they pray they show up. :P

Also you're not entering into a lengthy contractual engagement with them either, so I disagree.

Actually .. you do in some cases. Some plumber/electrician/builder will require a deposit for materials they have to order in.

And the contractual bit, you're right. You're not entering into that with them .. UNLESS you agree on down payments, instead of paying a lump sum.

You signing a contract for a service doesn't make it distance selling.

Distance selling refers to mail order .. and to mail order only. That's what this law is about. And it's quite clear about this. Hence, why it doesn't apply, once it's a physical install with a service engineer on site.

/M

seanvanseanvan

Marlow wrote: »

Charge back existed before SEPA. Less time to be able to do it. It used to be 30 days or so and was increased to 3 months with SEPA.

Banks just refused to do it previously, as it was poorly documented for the consumer and a lot of hassle for the banks. So they fobbed customers off. I've walked into my bank before SEPA with prinouts from IPSO to MAKE them action charge backs.

Now .. with SEPA it's documented, there are clear guidelines and the banks have no excuses anymore. That's all.

It's always been possible.

/M

Okay

ItHurtsWhenIP

Marlow wrote: »

Actually .. you do in some cases. Some plumber/electrician/builder will require a deposit for materials they have to order in.

And the contractual bit, you're right. You're not entering into that with them .. UNLESS you agree on down payments, instead of paying a lump sum.

You signing a contract for a service doesn't make it distance selling.

Distance selling refers to mail order .. and to mail order only. That's what this law is about. And it's quite clear about this. Hence, why it doesn't apply, once it's a physical install with a service engineer on site.

/M

Actually no it's not mail order only and this was why the consumer rights directive had to include it for internet and telesales.

Fair enough some tradesmen might hit you up in advance ... however have you got a contract with them ... no ... why ... because there is nothing in existence that shows such a contract is in place only your say so or their say so. The way you seem to be going with the tradesman angle, I could have a sparks show up here tomorrow demanding €1,000 for a job that I didn't order.

With a telesales operation the contract is the recorded telephone call, which they hold and you are entitled to a copy or transcript of same should you request it. Now until their contractual obligation of delivering you the service you signed up to on that call is in place and up to 14 days after the service is in place ... you can cancel without penalty.

Marlow

ItHurtsWhenIP wrote: »

With a telesales operation the contract is the recorded telephone call, which they hold and you are entitled to a copy or transcript of same should you request it. Now until their contractual obligation of delivering you the service you signed up to on that call is in place and up to 14 days after the service is in place ... you can cancel without penalty.

You didn't read, what I posted so.

If your contract is established on telesales and not confirmed by a written and signed contract on the day of installation .. yes ... then it's distance sales.

However ... if you sign a contract on the day of installation, then it's not. There's a reason, Eir(com) make you sign paperwork. So do a lot of other providers. I mentioned signing a contract on the day quite clearly.

As I don't have, nor want, an imagine connection, I'm unsure about, if they sign a contract on the day. But I'm involved in the "game", so I'm very aware of the rules.

Theoretically a money transaction is already a binding contract. But without signed contract, it could be telesales, of course.

/M

Marlow

So .. to make this clear:

- you order the connection via phone, mail, internet: distance sales at that point.

- you pay said order .. you enter a contact under distance sales. signed paperwork or not.

- they deliver the connection, you don't sign any additional paperwork: delivery of said distance sales.

- you sign paperwork on the day .. it's not distance anymore. You have just received a physical installation for an invoice or contract.

This is the reason, why some providers will not enable the connection until you have have signed the contract. It's not distance sales at that point. It's a service delivery on site .. like a plumber/electrician/builder etc. You've more than likely also been shown, that the service is working.

Now ... in any case .. distance sales or not, you have the right to get the product/service/work rectified, if it's not performing working to what you ordered. The problem here is the fine print.

Either way ... from the day you order and until the service is delivered, you should be able to cancel disregardless. Everything else is cowboy business . my 2c ... but that tells you a lot about the business.

/M