Eir Profiteering off Covid-19

blackmadra

I was paying €35 a month for home broadband for the last few year. Every 12 months you are forced to call them so you can be switched to a new contract or else you end up on a €60 euro a month contract.

Eir are right now totally non-contactable. When you go on hold you get cut off. Try the online chat, you never get an agent. Email you never get a response.

Out of frustration when I called I tried to go to a different option like new customer or paying a bill and I can get through there no problem. All they can do is give you another number to call which nobody ever answers.

With the crisis, I could understand a longer wait time on hold, or having to wait a few days for an email response but as far as I can see there is simply no way to get in touch with them.

Are treating their existing customers like this on purpose to maximize profits during this crisis?

TheSegal

I was left on hold routinely for 45+ minutes when dealing with Eir any time over the last 3 weeks, utterly useless customer service. Best advice I can give is to just leave your phone beside you on loud speaker and wait. If your service has been absolutely awful you can ring the loyalty team on 1800-303733 and try to get your contract terminated due to services not working as advertised and move to another provider

Xertz

Nothing has changed there. They had two hour hold time late last year. If anything 45 mins is a remarkable improvement.

blackmadra

The problem is that I couldn't even get on hold. I would get cut off as soon as it said you are going on hold.



Do you think they are doing this on purpose to prevent people being able to get new contracts?



Right now I am just stuck paying €60 a month and I have no idea how to get to speak to anybody to change this.

BowWow

Just move to Vodafone or someone else on a 12 month contract...

TheSegal

This is purely anecdotal but I have never seen so many OpenEir vans around my area along with imagine vans. The people around here that I know are all trying to get out of their Eir contracts and on to Imagine 5G because the Eir signal keeps going down. They have all gotten the same story from the engineers that Eir should not have put them on the FttC line since it's too far away, hence the dropped connections.

I had the issue of dropped connections about 2 weeks ago, probably on the phone for a total of 5 hours in one day just getting dropped every time until I finally got through to someone to log a fault.

blackmadra

BowWow wrote: »

Just move to Vodafone or someone else on a 12 month contract...

Well yeah I think I might have to now. It would have been a lot easier to just renew with Eir but it looks like they are making that impossible.

Their broadband was pretty much fine even if their customer service is just awful. Eir sports rarely works but I never bothered with it since they dropped of BT sport. But yeah I think I will have to switch.

This is it

I'm not sure why you think it's specific to Covid19. They're just crap at support.

blackmadra

Yeah maybe you are right. They were never good at support but you could usually get through eventually if you waited on hold for long enough.

I can't get though at all. I get cut off when I go on hold.

I tried to call as a business user and i got through but he couldn't help or transfer me. So I called as a new home customer and again she couldn't help or transfer me.

It seems like its only the loyalty phone line that has been shut down. Do you think they would do this on purpose and use Covid as an excuse?

daraghwal

blackmadra wrote: »

Yeah maybe you are right. They were never good at support but you could usually get through eventually if you waited on hold for long enough.

I can't get though at all. I get cut off when I go on hold.

I tried to call as a business user and i got through but he couldn't help or transfer me. So I called as a new home customer and again she couldn't help or transfer me.

It seems like its only the loyalty phone line that has been shut down. Do you think they would do this on purpose and use Covid as an excuse?

I've been trying to get through to them for the last week and the best I have found is the live chat at www.eir.ie/broadband

All other support, customer service channels are useless but you can be sure that will work when they are trying to sell to new people. Also loyalty is 1800567085

recyclebin

blackmadra wrote: »

I was paying €35 a month for home broadband for the last few year. Every 12 months you are forced to call them so you can be switched to a new contract or else you end up on a €60 euro a month contract.

Eir are right now totally non-contactable. When you go on hold you get cut off. Try the online chat, you never get an agent. Email you never get a response.

Out of frustration when I called I tried to go to a different option like new customer or paying a bill and I can get through there no problem. All they can do is give you another number to call which nobody ever answers.

With the crisis, I could understand a longer wait time on hold, or having to wait a few days for an email response but as far as I can see there is simply no way to get in touch with them.

Are treating their existing customers like this on purpose to maximize profits during this crisis?

How do Eir put you on a new contract if you are not a new customer? This doesn't make sense to me. Most providers increase their price after 12 months so that's why it makes sense to switch provider every 12 months.

dam099

recyclebin wrote: »

How do Eir put you on a new contract if you are not a new customer? This doesn't make sense to me. Most providers increase their price after 12 months so that's why it makes sense to switch provider every 12 months.

Many providers will now negotiate with you every year if you contact them and re-commit to another 12 months. So you can have a rolling contract with just 30 days notice for the standard price or sign up to another 12 at a lower price (which may be similar to new customer offers). I have done it with both Virgin and Vodafone over the years and believe Sky are also open to it and presumably Eir given the OPs previous experience.

blackmadra

Yes exactly. The last three years I have contacted them at the end of the 12 months and they put me on another 12 month contract for €35 per month. If you paying any more than that for just broadband you are probably being ripped off. If you live in Dublin anyway.

I still have not found a way to get in contact with Eir. I think I will just have to switch to another provider now.

daraghwal

blackmadra wrote: »

Yes exactly. The last three years I have contacted them at the end of the 12 months and they put me on another 12 month contract for €35 per month. If you paying any more than that for just broadband you are probably being ripped off. If you live in Dublin anyway.

I still have not found a way to get in contact with Eir. I think I will just have to switch to another provider now.

Eir Loyalty Team: 1800567085
It might be worth trying pure telecom. They've live chat with better prices than advertised on the website and I am with them for the customer service alone. Airwire are good also.

Marlow

TheSegal wrote: »

This is purely anecdotal but I have never seen so many OpenEir vans around my area along with imagine vans.

OpenEIR is not Eir retail. Eir retail is not OpenEIR. They both are daughter companies of Eircom PLC, who also at times call themselves Eir. But "Eir" retail, which is what the average punter deals with, is just another provider like all the other ones, that are mentioned on this page:

https://fibrerollout.ie/rollout-map/where-to-buy/

recyclebin wrote: »

How do Eir put you on a new contract if you are not a new customer? This doesn't make sense to me. Most providers increase their price after 12 months so that's why it makes sense to switch provider every 12 months.

What the OP refers to is not a new contract. He got a reduced rate for 12 months. The 60 EUR or more after the 12 months are agreed as part of the contract. He then negotiates a new contract every 12 months, now he can't, because they don't have the manpower to deal with the amount of calls they get. That's not profiteering. That's just a fact of life and the reason, it was so cheap in the first place: they don't have the staff to man the sales and support lines, because they discounted the packages to the point of not making a profit the first year. Now they're making back, what they lost in the first place.

But matter of fact, the 60 EUR or more pricing is Eir retails NORMAL pricing. Hence, they are actually extremely expensive compared to others. I think, the only one that beats them at expensive are Virgin and Sky. Best to switch providers.

/M

Fant11

I've had the same issue. Been out of my apartment for last 3 months due to COVID so have not used the wifi. My 35 euro contract is up on May 31st and they automatically put you on a rolling contract for 60 euro thereafter. Seems wrong they are able to auto put you on a new contract and the only way to stop this is by ringing them and going on hold for over an hour to get through? Why cant this be done through chat or email?

I'm going to block my direct debit payment to them after the 12 months contract finishes and go to another provider.

Marlow

Fant11 wrote: »

My 35 euro contract is up on May 31st and they automatically put you on a rolling contract for 60 euro thereafter. Seems wrong they are able to auto put you on a new contract

This is where you are wrong. Your contract is 60 EUR per month with the first 12 months discounted at 35 EUR. The contract doesn't change. It was agreed like that to begin with.

Go back and read the terms under which you signed up. It'll tell you it goes to normal pricing after 12 months.

It even used to say that on the signup page.

And that you use it or not, is non of the providers concern. They are delivering a service. It's available.

You could compare it to car insurance and motortax: if you park your car in a public place, like on the side of the road, it has to be taxed and insured. Doesn't matter if you don't use it. You have the option to use it.

Doesn't matter if the car is broken.

If you don't insure and tax it, the council will tow it and crush it.

Same with your PC. If your PC is broken, then you may not be able to use the internet. But as long as you're in contract or keep the subscription, you'll have to pay for it being available.

If you don't pay for your broadband and/or don't get it disconnected when out of contract, you'll get taken to the cleaners.

/M

recyclebin

There is nothing wrong with prices increasing after end of contract. What is really wrong is how difficult they make it to cancel. It's bordering on criminal. We shouldn't have to resort to cancelling direct debits. There is no reason why cancelling a service couldn't be done with the click of a mouse online, without the need for any human interaction whatsoever.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should really do something about this. Possibly make it a law so you have to explicitly opt in to continue after your contract expires.

colm_mcm

recyclebin wrote: »

There is nothing wrong with prices increasing after end of contract. What is really wrong is how difficult they make it to cancel. It's bordering on criminal. We shouldn't have to resort to cancelling direct debits. There is no reason why cancelling a service couldn't be done with the click of a mouse online, without the need for any human interaction whatsoever.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should really do something about this. Possibly make it a law so you have to explicitly opt in to continue after your contract expires.

How difficult do you think it is to cancel?

Marlow

recyclebin wrote: »

What is really wrong is how difficult they make it to cancel. It's bordering on criminal.

colm_mcm wrote: »

How difficult do you think it is to cancel?

It's not .. just read the correct places:

https://www.eir.ie/switching/#switching-letter

There's both a section for cancelling and switching, They had re-introduce the possibility to do this by letter last year again, after they got serious complaints with ComReg.

So it really is not that complicated to cancel now. Just send a letter and be done with it.

/M

Fant11

Marlow wrote: »

It's not .. just read the correct places:

https://www.eir.ie/switching/#switching-letter

There's both a section for cancelling and switching, They had re-introduce the possibility to do this by letter last year again, after they got serious complaints with ComReg.

So it really is not that complicated to cancel now. Just send a letter and be done with it.

/M

I would count the need to “send a letter” pretty difficult now to be fair in 2020. Not to mention in these Covid times, the need to buy paper, buy a stamp, and then post it physically.

Why not an email or a simple account deactivation button on your account like most other services or subscriptions?

Marlow

Fant11 wrote: »

I would count the need to “send a letter” pretty difficult now to be fair in 2020. Not to mention in these Covid times, the need to buy paper, buy a stamp, and then post it physically.

Why not an email or a simple account deactivation button on your account like most other services or subscriptions?

Hahaha. Yes, it would be for most companies, but Eir is an old fashioned telco.

Also, did you know that an email is not legally binding in most countries (by law)?

A letter or a fax is, though.

It is, what it is. So sending the letter is the safest and most unproblematic way for you as a consumer.

And sure, didn't an post hand out an A4 sheet for free, that made up 2 postcards with postage paid ? Just use one of those. Free of charge. Courtesy of An Post.

/M

recyclebin

Marlow wrote: »

It's not .. just read the correct places:

https://www.eir.ie/switching/#switching-letter

There's both a section for cancelling and switching, They had re-introduce the possibility to do this by letter last year again, after they got serious complaints with ComReg.

So it really is not that complicated to cancel now. Just send a letter and be done with it.

/M

You're hilarious Marlow! Try living in the real world and not just in theory! I wrote them two letters and they never acknowledged either. I wrote about it in another thread so not going to repeat it but Eir are a joke. They would have robbed me once a month for over a year had I not changed the direct debit to a made up credit card number.

Marlow

recyclebin wrote: »

You're hilarious Marlow! Try living in the real world and not just in theory! I wrote them two letters and they never acknowledged either. I wrote about it in another thread so not going to repeat it but Eir are a joke. They would have robbed me once a month for over a year had I not changed the direct debit to a made up credit card number.

Oh. I know they even may ignore those letters. If you send them registered or signed for you have proof. That doesn't mean their billing systems are no longer a mess.

I could tell you about an odyssey I went through recently to get a business line. Lets wrap it short: 3 accounts, 9 order numbers and numerous hours on the phone before they got it somewhat right. So don't get me started.

I was just being helpful to somebody outlining there are approaches around the call. And fortunately, there is no problem these days to pull back SEPA direct debit, debit card or credit card payments, as those processes have been highly regulated now under EU regulation. Just a matter of pointing your bank at the fine print, for them to cop on.

But without the cancellation notice and proof you send it, they may challenge it.

/M

florawest

Firstly, Eir needs 30 days notice so when you are with them for 11 months, ring the loyalty section and request they cancel your contract and you are giving the 30 days notice, they will send you a text with a code and an email too, which you put the code in with name, account number, uan etc.Then you get email back stating your request is completed.

Now, that was my mistake, didn't give 30 days notice so am stuck with them for almost another month and paying much more. Plus the internet has gone very bad, will be ringing to complain about that tomorrow, moving to Vodaphone and the new thing seems to be the 30 days notice, so will have to watch out for that next time.

Marlow

florawest wrote: »

Firstly, Eir needs 30 days notice so when you are with them for 11 months, ring the loyalty section and request they cancel your contract and you are giving the 30 days notice, they will send you a text with a code and an email too, which you put the code in with name, account number, uan etc.Then you get email back stating your request is completed.

Now, that was my mistake, didn't give 30 days notice so am stuck with them for almost another month and paying much more. Plus the internet has gone very bad, will be ringing to complain about that tomorrow, moving to Vodaphone and the new thing seems to be the 30 days notice, so will have to watch out for that next time.

Thats just the norm though. They also do that outside of the current situation.

/M