New Eir ripoff - charging €12 for a paper bill.

Thats the consequence of living in rural Ireland, something that has many advantages which you benefit from.

You can get your landline from many other companies, shop around.

What do you feel you are missing out for on not having a paper bill?

Its not a ripoff its a polite feck off for anyone wanting a bill posted. They are forcing people off paper bills. I was in the Uk recently and a woman fell. Nothing wrong with her. She called an ambulance and was quoted 7 hours.

Its a polite way of telling you NO.

The cost to send a bill out is going to be in the 2 quid range (postage - there is very little discount for mass mailing, printing, logistics) so a charge isn't that odd. 12 quid for a single bill is, however, nuts.

but you have broadband access ... albeit via a wireless bridge from another site - you have access.

As per the conditions you posted - it only mentions access or inability to use an on-line service. Quite clearly you have access to broadband and you can us an on-line service.

If a customer cannot access the alternative billing medium, (for example because the customer does not have broadband access or cannot use an on-line service), the service provider must issue the customer with paper bills free-of-charge.

I might sound pedantic - but you want a paper bill and don't want to pay for it when an electronic option is available to you.

Easy access to your bills when you change broadband providers in a years time

Sure you can print off every bill before you move. But that's gonna take you a full day of your life if you aren't met with constant login issues and crashes and broken links

Everything is locked behind a portal now. If they just emailed you the PDF that would be fine. But making users login to see and download a bill is just more sharp practice

Yes I do. I pay everything on direct debit for more than 20 years!

Of course there are exceptions cases like this where it should be free if they need it. Which I am sure they do

What's your beef with paying by direct debit? The bill needs to be paid anyway.

I pay for everything by direct debit, imagine having to remember to pay all the bills and then having to waste your own time doing it.

I never said not to sign up to e billing - I agree with e billing and less paper. I don't agree to using it to force signup to direct debits. If you read back to OP's comments he cannot sign up to paperless unless he agrees to direct debit yet also will charge €12 per bill if he doesn't sign up to paperless. He is in a catch 22 and its sharp practice.

Nope there are times (especially those coming for electric) where under a direct debit you will lose control of the amount - say the provider decides that the new bill is double the previous amount then you have no control over the amount and when it’s paid. This makes it difficult to negotiate with provider without cancelling dd.

Dd does not have to be “bundled” with e billing end of.

Can you stick with the OP's issue.

1. He is with a supplier for a landline only.
2. He does not have internet with this supplier (he is piggybacking a neighbour).
3. He receives bill by paper at present.
4. He has been informed that for paper bills to continue he has to pay €12 per bill
5. He has tried to go paperless, but eir has attached the condition of DD to registering for paperless.
6. Eir has changed their conditions not the OP
7. DD should not be a condition of receiving a bill (paper or paperless), yet this is the corner that eir has put him in.

Re. 6

How has Eir changed their conditions? So they have put up the price for paper bills but that is probably within their T&C.

My recollection of when I used get paper bills is the cost of the paper bill was always itemised and so I got rid of them over time.

Re. 7.

Op can switch provider at end of contract.

Re - direct debit, presumably its cheaper for Eir to accept than whatever other method the op wants to use, maybe there is a correlation between paper bills and still paying by cash in the post office or somewhere.

Do I really have to explain to that level?.....Fine.

Re 6 The payment due of €12 per bill is a change to conditions, the charge did not exist previously or was zero and now it does, hence a change to conditions.

Re 7 Yes he can, I never disputed that. But signing up to paperless when the supplier is now going to charge for paper bills should not include having to sign up to direct debit. A solution is though to sign up then cancel dd then pay as required.

Truthfully I thing the OP is being awkward as life is too short to have constant battles for small stuff so unless the principle is something he wishes to die on I would just follow though and as you say maybe change suppliers.

Perhaps but my point is it may be out of companies hands to send .pdf bills via email?

I'd prefer if they did but it all seems to be login to account to see your bill.