My letter to Eircom

Newshound

This started with me calling 1901, but after so long trying to talk to 'The Voice' i gave up and emailed them the following.


Could you please let me know the procedure for cancelling my phone line.
The reasons for cancelling are as follows.

1. I cannot get broadband (this being the number 1 issue for me) even though i transfered my calls back to Eircom after an Eircom Rep told me if i did this i would be able to get broadband.

2. My phone line has not been working for a total of 1 month over the last year and i have received no refubd from Eircom even though i have called the required number to get it.

3. I am tired of being transferred to about 5 people when i do call 1901.

4. I am so sick of hearing that voice on 1901 that i am willing to cancel just to never hear it sgain.

5. I am tired of getting calls and lies from Eircom reps over the last year.

6. There is an Eircom telephone pole in my driveway that i have asked Eircom to remove because its been hit by several cars and they refuse to do it.

7. I have recieved word that i can get wireless broadband in my area now and VOIP. So no need for the Hassle i get dealing with Eircom, thank God.

Sorry for the cutting email, but Eircom deserves it completely, and i cant seem to find a cancel phone line on your website. So if you could send me the number that i can call about cancelling that would be great.

Regards,
XXXXXXXXX

slumped

I think your reply will probably go along these lines:


Dear XXXXX

Thank you for your e-mail.

If your query is about getting Eircon Broadband please call 1901 and say 'broadband'

If your query is related to billing or account enquiries, please call 1901 and say 'bills'

etc. etc.

S

threebeards

Newshound wrote:

Sorry for the cutting email.....

TBH I don't think it's cutting at all. If anything it's a bit passive. I don't think whoever reads it will be thinking "I must act on this". I'm not trying to be personally harsh, I just think you need to use stronger wording than you have.

Cabaal

Newshound wrote:

Sorry for the cutting email, but Eircom deserves it completely, and i cant seem to find a cancel phone line on your website. So if you could send me the number that i can call about cancelling that would be great.

Personally I would not apologise for a "cutting e-mail" and your letter is certainly not "cutting" in my view.

In fairness your wasting your time e-mailing them, call up 1901 and demand to speak to a supervisor or team leader and that you want to cancel your account.

You can air all your views but don't expect them to care about your reasons for canceling, this applies if you do it over the phone or via e-mail.

my 2cents

Paddy20

Newshound,

If you want to be taken seriously by €irCoN , you should make a copy of your last bill and send it along with your written request that they cancel your account forthwith . Send this by Registered Post to the address for (Accounts) which should be on the back of your telephone bill.

Also make sure that you keep copies of all correspondence you send them, also state that you have lodged copies with your Solicitor whom you will instruct to take legal action against them if they have not cancelled your account within a period of 10 working days of receipt of your letter, and confirmed same in writing to you.

P. :cool:

paulm17781

Cabaal wrote:

In fairness your wasting your time e-mailing them, call up 1901 and demand to speak to a supervisor or team leader and that you want to cancel your account.

I have met a few of these people. They are also a waste of time. Go up the line to management.

fatherdougalmag

Just wondering about the whole billing fiasco that exists with all of the providers, surely the correct people to approach are the ODCA? Has anyone ever gone this route? You can bet that if Bord Gais or ESB ran their shop like this there'd be uproar. I'm not saying they should be using the same system. Just that, if there system didn't work, they'd be whipped into shape pretty swiftly.

Cabaal

paulm17781 wrote:

I have met a few of these people. They are also a waste of time. Go up the line to management.

Hay you got to start somewhere
Oh that reminds me I got to phone BT's billing dept tomorrow....oh joy

Sponge Bob

Newshound wrote:

1. I cannot get broadband (this being the number 1 issue for me) even though i transfered my calls back to Eircom after an Eircom Rep told me if i did this i would be able to get broadband.

Fraud !

2. My phone line has not been working for a total of 1 month over the last year and i have received no refubd from Eircom even though i have called the required number to get it.

Incompetence

3. I am tired of being transferred to about 5 people when i do call 1901.

and they all logged this in the database did they not ?

4. I am so sick of hearing that voice on 1901 that i am willing to cancel just to never hear it again.

Bad as the inhouse humans are that knob on their voice system will get a clatter if I ever meet him

5. I am tired of getting calls and lies from Eircom reps over the last year.

Go ex directory , if they'll let ya (see points 3 and 4)

6. There is an Eircom telephone pole in my driveway that i have asked Eircom to remove because its been hit by several cars and they refuse to do it.

Chainsaw it and ring them up to tell them to remove it as its in the middle of the road

7. I have recieved word that i can get wireless broadband in my area now and VOIP. So no need for the Hassle i get dealing with Eircom, thank God.

Leave that out of your complaint .

Sorry for the cutting email, but Eircom deserves it completely, and i cant seem to find a cancel phone line on your website. So if you could send me the number that i can call about cancelling that would be great.

email the man responsible for all this , directly, phil.nolan@eircom.ie

and good luck.

Delphi91

Sponge Bob wrote:

...Go ex directory , if they'll let ya (see points 3 and 4)
...

I don't think that will stop them. It just means that you're not on a published directory. it doesn't mean you're not in their database of numbers!!

Sponge Bob

ex directory is "do not call " by default.

Paddy20

Sponge Bob wrote:

ex directory is "do not call " by default.

Eh ?...and whats that mean in plain english

P. :cool:

Urban Weigl

Newshound, if you are paying by direct debit, instruct your bank to stop any further payments to eircom. Just in case.

cgarvey

Urban Weigl wrote:

Newshound, if you are paying by direct debit, instruct your bank to stop any further payments to eircom. Just in case.

Unfortunately stopping DD isn't as simple as that. IFSRA has confirmed to me on more than one occasion that the bank is a 3rd party in the DD contract, and therefore don't have control over it. They recommend that you cancel in writing to both your supplier (e.g. eircom) and the bank, so that the bank are aware that you've cancelled the contract. So, in theory, it sounds good. However, in practice, the big service/utility companies have a verbal DD agreement in place, and they just reinstate the contract and apply for more DD payments. In that case IFSRA recommended to a friend of mine that they take the supplier to the SCC if sending a registered letter to cease all DD contracts didn't work.

I still can't get my head around this logic (not being able to tell the bank to stop giving away my money), and am very reluctant to sign DD contracts because of this. However, I trust IFSRA's better judgement on this, and it's the advice they've given me more than once.

.cg

paulm17781

Sponge Bob wrote:

ex directory is "do not call " by default.

If you ask them to take you out of their call centre datrabase they have to.

oscarBravo

cgarvey wrote:

I still can't get my head around this logic (not being able to tell the bank to stop giving away my money), and am very reluctant to sign DD contracts because of this. However, I trust IFSRA's better judgement on this, and it's the advice they've given me more than once.

Some input from the perspective of someone who's set up direct debit origination on two separate occasions: the bank required me to put a written guarantee on the direct debit mandate. There are two distinct pieces of boilerplate text that they wanted on the form, and they wouldn't sponsor me as an originator until they'd signed off on the content of the form.

The first part is:

I instruct you to pay Direct Debits from my account at the request of <the originator>. The amounts are variable and may be debited on various dates. I shall inform the bank in writing if I wish to cancel this Instruction. I shall also notify <the originator> of such cancellation.

The second, and more significant, is:

Direct Debit Guarantee

• This is a guarantee provided by your own Bank as a member of the Direct Debit Scheme, in which Banks and Originators of Direct Debits participate.
• If you authorise payment by Direct Debit, then:
  • Your Direct Debit Originator will notify you in advance of the amounts to be debited to your account.
  • Your Bank will accept and pay such debits, provided that your account has sufficient available funds.
• If it is established that an unauthorised Direct Debit was charged to your account, you are guaranteed a prompt refund by your Bank of the amount so charged.
• You can cancel the Direct Debit Instruction by writing in good time to your Bank.

Seems to me that the direct debit instruction is a relationship between you and your bank, and that the originator is, effectively, the third party. Maybe banks treat bigger companies differently.

cgarvey

OB, how recent was that .. The only originator agreement I have access to is from ~5 years ago. Can you PM me a copy of it perhaps? I'd like to follow up on this, because it's a lot more serious if IFSRA consumer line are giving out false advice. Heh I'd love to hear of anyone that got "a prompt refund by your Bank of the amount" in the case of erroronous charges!

So it sounds like the banks (BoI in my experience, but AIB do the same from stories I've heard) are washing their hands of their commitments, and have IFSRA on their side. That's not IFSRA's role though, so I do want to follow it up.

Ta
.cg

oscarBravo

One was last year, and one was a few months ago. Ulster Bank in both cases, and they would not set me up as an originator until they'd seen a sample DD mandate with the required wording on it.

I have the DD manual around here somewhere, I'll have a thumb through it to see if it clears things up any further.

As to PMing you a copy of the mandate, the boilerplate text I quoted above is copy'n'pasted from the proof of the form we got printed.

Delphi91

paulm17781 wrote:

If you ask them to take you out of their call centre datrabase they have to.

That was my point. Just 'cos you're not in the phone directory doesn't mean that you're not in a call centre database.

DonegalMan

Newshound wrote:

4. I am so sick of hearing that voice on 1901 that i am willing to cancel just to never hear it sgain.

Believe it or not, the easiest way to break out of the 1901 voice is to say "I want to speak to a human" when it first come on

Unfortunately, I have to tips for avoiding the interminable delays that result or the getting transferred from person to person that you referred to

eamy

Best of luck man. Eircom don't do customer service as far as my experience goes. Although their sales team are always eager to help. I ran into problems with them once.

They were fixing the phone line down the road and mine got damaged in the process. This was late Friday afternoon and I use the phone line as part of a business. I called to get it fix asap, and the girl said they'll try. Didn't happen. Rang again to see if they could do it first thing in the morning, they said I had to pay an emergency call out fee, even if it was them who cause the fault in the first place. I refused and asked to speak with management, but the supervisior wasn't there. I asked to be called back and it didn't happen. I called again and the rep actually hanged up on me after I complained. Called again the next day and the supervisior was at lunch and again never called back. Had to write a formal letter and called them again before I was contacted by their legal team. They offer me two month free line rental as apologies for the calls I had to make, but deny the line was damaged by them. I can only wish I had recorded what the repair guy had said to me after he fixed the line. I told them to stuff it, as my loss of earnings was worth more.

Moral of the story: If you see an Eircom van around, check your phone asap. And don't bother calling customer service, cause there aren't any.

paulm17781

NTL (or decent wireless) and VOIP. The wave of the future.