Euphony Rip off Their Internet using customers

shoegirl

Myself and a number of other Euphony users who subscribe to the talktime package were quite shocked to get a much larger than usual bill this month. Basically the package allows you to phone any landline with a regular prefix in the country for up to 60 minutes for free, after which they start charging you.

This excludes 1850, 1890 and 189x internet numbers. As a result many Euphony customers were delighted to discover that the Limerick isp elive had a national rate number which could be used for dialling in. So many users used this expecting this to be included in their free call rate. The number was a regular national rate number, not a 189x number.

So imagine my surprise when I see a national rate number listed amongst "other calls." It seems that Euphony have taken on themselves to exclude this number without informing customers about it. I have tried to get in touch with customer services, however I gave up after hanging on the phone for 15 minutes. I will, however, be complaining and demanding a refund, as I pay 10 euros a month to get free landline calls on national rate numbers!

Apparently those who managed to get through were told that Euphony set out a letter telling them that this kind of call was excluded from the free calls set. Now neither I nor a single other talktime user has received such a letter so far. (And i have been on talktime since Euhpony launched it earlier this year).

How many other users have been hit by this scam (which is what it is)?
And has anybody had any success in getting a refund on calls?
I will be complaining to Comreg if I have no success with Euphony, and possibly changing provider. Euphony are still a minnow compared to other services and a large number of users threatening to leave would be an effective deterrent against after the event rip offs like this one.

JTMan

What do the T&C say? I bet the Euphony T&C stated that the free caslls were for voice calls only and not data calls like the Esat BT Unlimited talk T&C do.

eth0_

I thought it was a legal requirement now for ISP's to use 189* numbers for dialup now?

Our man in Havana

Is a call to a fax a voice call?

MisterAnarchy

I am a Euphony customer.
Euphony stated from day one that the free calls only applied to talk calls and excluded internet calls.
They didnt implement it for a few months but on the Oct bill it quite clearly states on the front that as of Nov 1st Internet calls will be excluded from the €10 package.
Hence there is no rip off as you have claimed and you will have no success in getting a refund.
You should have read the Terms and Conditions properly.

Invader Zim

eth0_ wrote:

I thought it was a legal requirement now for ISP's to use 189* numbers for dialup now?

Is that for garda surveillance and 7 year IP logging? eth

Urban Weigl

eth0_ wrote:

I thought it was a legal requirement now for ISP's to use 189* numbers for dialup now?

There is no legal requirement for ISP's use use numbers in the 189* range, as far as I am aware.