eircom rip-off

sam.0 · 17-08-2011 1:17pm #1

Just writing this to let people know that if you are considering on creating a contract with eircom, make sure you read every gritty detail and ask questions before signing any contract with them, because after I signed up with a 12 month eircom broadband package and an 18 month eircom emobile package, I fell in to the following problems with eircom,

The first problem I ran in to with eircom were after ordering an eircom phone line which were connected within the hour because my apartment had an eircom socket installed when I first moved in, I then rang up eircom to find out the speed on which my phone line could withstand and I were told 24MB speed, so after ordering a broadband package on line, to which the broadband were turned on within an hour after ordering, which I must say were very fast, five days later, I received a bill saying that there were an outstanding amount of 100 euro on my bill, so after I contacted eircom in relation to such matter and told them that I had only connected to their service within the past five days, I were told that I had to pay 100 euro as a down payment which would be kept for 12 months, before being credit on to one of my bills, but if I refused to pay the down payment, my eircom phone and broadband would be terminated within five working days thereafter, but yet this were never mentioned during my conversion with them over the phone, nor were it writing within their contracted

The second problem I ran in to with eircom were in relation to their unlimited broadband package, as it states on their webpage, the 24MB package is unlimited, but if you read the nifty gritty detail at the end of the page, you will see that it’s really not unlimited, but has a cap of 250GB per month, and if you go over the 250GB, you will be charged 2 euro per 1 GB downloaded/uploaded, so if the package is really 250GB cap, then why do eircom state that it is unlimited, when the word unlimited means you can download/upload as much as your heart desires, so I rang them up in relation to such matters and I were told that my package is Unlimited, but when I asked them about the 250GB cap, I were told that no one would ever download/upload that amount of Data within a month, and therefore its unlimited,

The tired problem I’ve had with eircom broadband is the 24MB upload speed, when I asked them what my phone line could withstand as mentioned above, I were told 24MB speed, but yet I am only getting 12MB speed, so after I ran them back and discussed this issue with them, I were then told that my phone line could only withstand 12MB speed, but yet they were charging me the price of the 24MB broadband speed, so I asked them to charge me for a 12MB speed, but were told that they don’t have such package, and therefore if I’m not happy, then I should consider downgrading to a smaller package which for the price is a complete rip-off, so in my case I did one better, I moved over to UPC 100MB broadband, because for the same price as I were paying eircom for their so-called 24MB broadband which is really only 12MB speed, I’m now getting 100MB downstream, 10MB upstream, and are caped at 500GB per month, which upc said if I go over the 500GB allowance, they don’t change anything, once I don’t make a habit of it,

The forth problem I’m still having with eircom is there emobile packages, I got a Samsung galaxy europa from eircom for free once I signed up with a 18 month contract with them, so after looking at the packages, I decided to go for the Unlimited package of 64 euro per month, which allows me to make calls to any landline and mobile network, which sounds great, but there is a snag behind this package which I found out after I singed the contracted with them, and would ask people who are reading this to be very careful if deciding to create a contract with eircom emobile,
After I received my first bill which I was told would be higher than the cost of the package I sing up to in relation to connecting fees and act: which weren’t an issue, for most company’s do that, I then got my first bill at 259 euro, and paid the full amount because the phone package seemed to be a great bargain, but when I received my second bill at 249 euro one month later, I rang up eircom emobile and asked them why I were being charged at normal mobile rates which are unlimited, and there I were told that after I make a mobile phone call, I have to hang up on the 59 minute of ever call, but if the call passes the 59 minute, I am therefore charged at normal rates, depending on the mobile service rates charge for such ISP services, but yet this again were never mentioned when I sing the contracted with them, for I were told my calls were unlimited and that I could ring any landline or mobile network for as long as I wished without having to worry of being over charged at normal rates, so seen that I weren’t able to afford the cost of the second bill, I decided to cancel the contracted with emobile, but were then told that if I do terminate the contract, I would be billed the remain 16 months of the 18 month contract at the cost of 64 euro per month, which in total would be a final bill worth 1024 euro, and if I refused to pay such bill, I would be brought to court and have to pay the court fees as well as the outstanding amount,

So if anyone are thinking of going to eircom or emobile for their service, please read ever little detail within the contracted that you are singing up to, and if in drought, walk away, or else you will end up like me having to pay a lump sum of money for a service you don’t really get,

ZENER · 17-08-2011 2:13pm

Sounds like you didn't read the T&Cs of either contract ! The 59 minute thing on eMobile is fairly standard on all Unlimited packages even landlines.

Broadband speeds are always "Up To" the advertised speed and is dependent on line quality - again all mentioned in the T&Cs of all landline based ISPs.

Most of these packages have a cooling off period I think so you could have read the contracts and tested the BB speed within that time and then cancelled.

Nothing I read in your post is unusual when it comes to contracts with phone companies or ISPs.

Ken

Cabaal · 17-08-2011 2:19pm

You signed upto a UPTO 24MB package and got 12MB so you think you were being ripped off?

I'm afraid your belief is not accurate, all Broadband is sold as upto and dependant on many factors. They didn't missell it to you in this instance and they don't afaik have a specific price plan for 12MB like you requested.

As for Unlimited Broadband, no home provider is unlimited.
UPC may claim it but like any provider they too have a Fair Usage Policy.

As for the emobile issue of hanging up at the 59min mark, again this is perfectly normal in the telecoms industry if you have a unlimited inclusive plan. Call is free until 59min and 59sec if you stay over this you get charged.

The problem here is that you subscribed to a contracted service and didn't bother to read anything, this is pure madness for anyone to do this.

Companys don't supply customers with Terms & Conditions for a laugh, they supply them because they outline the companys and your rights and obligations for the services.

In this situation Eircom would eb well within their rights to pursue you for any and all bills and costs you owe them and rightly so imho.

antocann · 17-08-2011 2:25pm

have to agree with others here op ,

it does say "upto" as speed ,

goat2 · 17-08-2011 2:33pm

sam.0 wrote: »

Just writing this to let people know that if you are considering on creating a contract with eircom, make sure you read every gritty detail and ask questions before signing any contract with them, because after I signed up with a 12 month eircom broadband package and an 18 month eircom emobile package, I fell in to the following problems with eircom,

The first problem I ran in to with eircom were after ordering an eircom phone line which were connected within the hour because my apartment had an eircom socket installed when I first moved in, I then rang up eircom to find out the speed on which my phone line could withstand and I were told 24MB speed, so after ordering a broadband package on line, to which the broadband were turned on within an hour after ordering, which I must say were very fast, five days later, I received a bill saying that there were an outstanding amount of 100 euro on my bill, so after I contacted eircom in relation to such matter and told them that I had only connected to their service within the past five days, I were told that I had to pay 100 euro as a down payment which would be kept for 12 months, before being credit on to one of my bills, but if I refused to pay the down payment, my eircom phone and broadband would be terminated within five working days thereafter, but yet this were never mentioned during my conversion with them over the phone, nor were it writing within their contracted

The second problem I ran in to with eircom were in relation to their unlimited broadband package, as it states on their webpage, the 24MB package is unlimited, but if you read the nifty gritty detail at the end of the page, you will see that it’s really not unlimited, but has a cap of 250GB per month, and if you go over the 250GB, you will be charged 2 euro per 1 GB downloaded/uploaded, so if the package is really 250GB cap, then why do eircom state that it is unlimited, when the word unlimited means you can download/upload as much as your heart desires, so I rang them up in relation to such matters and I were told that my package is Unlimited, but when I asked them about the 250GB cap, I were told that no one would ever download/upload that amount of Data within a month, and therefore its unlimited,

The tired problem I’ve had with eircom broadband is the 24MB upload speed, when I asked them what my phone line could withstand as mentioned above, I were told 24MB speed, but yet I am only getting 12MB speed, so after I ran them back and discussed this issue with them, I were then told that my phone line could only withstand 12MB speed, but yet they were charging me the price of the 24MB broadband speed, so I asked them to charge me for a 12MB speed, but were told that they don’t have such package, and therefore if I’m not happy, then I should consider downgrading to a smaller package which for the price is a complete rip-off, so in my case I did one better, I moved over to UPC 100MB broadband, because for the same price as I were paying eircom for their so-called 24MB broadband which is really only 12MB speed, I’m now getting 100MB downstream, 10MB upstream, and are caped at 500GB per month, which upc said if I go over the 500GB allowance, they don’t change anything, once I don’t make a habit of it,

The forth problem I’m still having with eircom is there emobile packages, I got a Samsung galaxy europa from eircom for free once I signed up with a 18 month contract with them, so after looking at the packages, I decided to go for the Unlimited package of 64 euro per month, which allows me to make calls to any landline and mobile network, which sounds great, but there is a snag behind this package which I found out after I singed the contracted with them, and would ask people who are reading this to be very careful if deciding to create a contract with eircom emobile,
After I received my first bill which I was told would be higher than the cost of the package I sing up to in relation to connecting fees and act: which weren’t an issue, for most company’s do that, I then got my first bill at 259 euro, and paid the full amount because the phone package seemed to be a great bargain, but when I received my second bill at 249 euro one month later, I rang up eircom emobile and asked them why I were being charged at normal mobile rates which are unlimited, and there I were told that after I make a mobile phone call, I have to hang up on the 59 minute of ever call, but if the call passes the 59 minute, I am therefore charged at normal rates, depending on the mobile service rates charge for such ISP services, but yet this again were never mentioned when I sing the contracted with them, for I were told my calls were unlimited and that I could ring any landline or mobile network for as long as I wished without having to worry of being over charged at normal rates, so seen that I weren’t able to afford the cost of the second bill, I decided to cancel the contracted with emobile, but were then told that if I do terminate the contract, I would be billed the remain 16 months of the 18 month contract at the cost of 64 euro per month, which in total would be a final bill worth 1024 euro, and if I refused to pay such bill, I would be brought to court and have to pay the court fees as well as the outstanding amount,

So if anyone are thinking of going to eircom or emobile for their service, please read ever little detail within the contracted that you are singing up to, and if in drought, walk away, or else you will end up like me having to pay a lump sum of money for a service you don’t really get,

why the 1024, since there was already a phone line into house, i must say reading your piece,
you did not read the small print,
did someone tell you this, so you thought it was true.

sam.0 · 17-08-2011 3:22pm

The 1024 euro is not for a landline, it’s for the emobile service, and as for the unlimited allowance, why call it unlimited when it’s not,

The contract I singed that’s in front of me right now, doesn’t mention knotting about if I cancel my emobile contract, I will have to pay 64 euro for the rest of the cancelled contract time frame, that’s what I were told by eircom them self’s,

whippet · 17-08-2011 3:36pm

sam.0 wrote: »

The 1024 euro is not for a landline, it’s for the emobile service, and as for the unlimited allowance, why call it unlimited when it’s not,

The contract I singed that’s in front of me right now, doesn’t mention knotting about if I cancel my emobile contract, I will have to pay 64 euro for the rest of the cancelled contract time frame, that’s what I were told by eircom them self’s,

the fact that you signed a CONTRACT to purchase a service over 18 months from emobile means that you are obliged to pay for such a service. At the moment you are paying it monthly ... but if you cancel the contract you will be billed for the remainder of the service that you CONTRACTED yourself to purchase.

Standard enough with most utilities in this day and age.

Cabaal · 17-08-2011 3:46pm

sam.0 wrote: »

The 1024 euro is not for a landline, it’s for the emobile service, and as for the unlimited allowance, why call it unlimited when it’s not,

But no service is unlimited.
All services such as free calls and texts also come with limitis otherwise known as fair usage policys, this is standard in the industry.

The calls on emobile are also free as long as you use them within the T&C's which means hanging up and redialing after 59min

Melendez · 17-08-2011 4:02pm

This post has been deleted.

goat2 · 17-08-2011 4:47pm

Melendez wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

im sorry, but i read small print first, my partner is the opposite and he got caught just like the person on here, i was out at time and it was signed when i got back, i thought nothing of it, but like this man he listned to salespersons and did not read, and when he wanted to break contract he was burned, i dont know if it was the same company, cant remember, but we did not pay up, we let the letters keep coming, and when the company got a solicitor on to us, we still bucked, in the end we paid out about half, which was still robbing us, it is all a catch where can, i dont know why they dont just leave it in big print, i often see my partner thinking of signing up to things, i always remind him it is cheap to opt in, but they just fleece you if you should decide to opt out, i do think that it is a joke, i use pay as you go, and am happy with that, at least i spend what i can afford, and am not tied to an unexpected overcharged bill.

sam.0 · 17-08-2011 4:50pm

The one thing that I’m not happy with is that both eircom and my contract didn’t mention this before I singed, I only got to learn about this after I received my bill,

And secondly, I know exactly what the word fair usage stands for, but fair usage does not mean unlimited, eircom should say on their broadband packages that the monthly allowances is capped at 250GB, but they don’t, and as Melendez said, most people are not going to spend an hour or so reading the tiny gritty details,

Just imagine an old person who’s reading sight is not the best, how are they going to read a contract that you need a magnify glass to see, or what about a person who are not too good at reading,

When you go to a genuine website and see in big fantasy writing
“Unlimited”, you expect to get exactly that, for it’s what you’re paying for, isn’t it,

In the English Dictionary the word Unlimited means: without limits, not restricted
In the English Dictionary the word capped means: to put a cap on something, (the end of),

goat2 · 17-08-2011 4:59pm

sam.0 wrote: »

The one thing that I’m not happy with is that both eircom and my contract didn’t mention this before I singed, I only got to learn about this after I received my bill,

And secondly, I know exactly what the word fair usage stands for, but fair usage does not mean unlimited, eircom should say on their broadband packages that the monthly allowances is capped at 250GB, but they don’t, and as Melendez said, most people are not going to spend an hour or so reading the tiny gritty details,

Just imagine an old person who’s reading sight is not the best, how are they going to read a contract that you need a magnify glass to see, or what about a person who are not too good at reading,

When you go to a genuine website and see in big fantasy writing
“Unlimited”, you expect to get exactly that, for it’s what you’re paying for, isn’t it,

In the English Dictionary the word Unlimited means: without limits, not restricted
In the English Dictionary the word capped means: to put a cap on something, (the end of),

have you got your initial contract, that says you had unlimited usage for so much a month, as if you have it in writing you have a case, or does it say up to a certain amount of usage

slimjimmc · 17-08-2011 7:38pm

http://www.eircom.ie/bveircom/pdf/BBStandardTandCsv2.pdf

2.3 The Facility is available at different levels. The Customer
shall select the level of the Facility it wishes to avail of and shall inform eircom
of its selection. The Customer agrees to be bound by the Monthly Upload and
Monthly Download Limits attaching to its selected level of the Facility. In the
event that Customer usage exceeds the download/ upload limits attaching to
its selected level of the Facility, eircom may, without prejudice to its right to
charge the Customer for the excess usage in accordance with the
Regulations, request the Customer to select a level more appropriate to its
usage. In the event of the Customer refusing or neglecting to select an
alternative level of the Facility, eircom may, upon due notice, terminate the
provision of the Facility to the Customer. Customers who have 12Khz pulse
monitoring on their line and request The Facility will have the 12Khz Pulse
monitoring removed automatically

Unlimited usage usually refers to the time when you can use the service, not the volume of data you can send/receive. It stems from the bad old dial-up days when people had to pay by the minute (just like a phone call) rather than by volume or the option of paying a monthly flat rate with time restrictions (e.g non business hours).

the groutch · 17-08-2011 8:16pm

the first €100 was probably a deposit for not paying by DD

there's always fair usage policies, and 250gb is pretty good, the only way I'd see someone going over that is if they're downloading (illegally?) movies all the time.

the speed is up to 24gb, if they offered you the next one down, which is 8gb afaik, you'd be complaining about not getting your full 12gb speed.

and the 59 minute thing has been around for as long as eircom or competitors have been doing fixed price bundles.

this is a case of "move along, nothing to see here" imo

maxer68 · 17-08-2011 8:46pm

As others have said, everything you say is contained in eircoms terms and conditions. The fact that you did not read them is your fault not eircoms. The 59 minute rule applies to most telephone companies both here and abroad and prevents mis-use. As for the download limit - 250gb is huge and very few people would ever come near it - I rarely go over 5gb and there are 4 users doing all sorts of things online.

The deposit is probably because you ate renting and not a home owner. Others will chatge you as well.

The lesson you've learnt is always read the contract.

As for eircom, they did nothing wrong and if anything showed you excellent service with the speed of connection and alllowing you out of your contract.

TeaServer · 17-08-2011 10:29pm

What exactly was the problem with the 250GB limit? Do you regularly use more than 8GB a day!!?? That would be a level of use that I would find very hard to (legally) justify using in a private residential setting. It is essentially unlimited for the market segment it is targeting.

Also the 59 minutes and 59 seconds limit is to prevent people using phone line as a 'live' audio feed between 2 land lines.

A free and unlimited service causes very interesting behavior in people that would would not be observed if there was a cost (even small cost) associated with the service. People tend to abuse unlimited services, just because they can. That is why there is always something in the T&Cs to make the end user think before they abuse the service offered in good faith.

/T

Cabaal · 18-08-2011 7:43am

sam.0 wrote: »

]most people are not going to spend an hour or so reading the tiny gritty details,

An hour?
If it takes you an hour then you read very very slowly,
I always read contracts for the likes of mobile, phone, broadband, loans, mortgages etc....I like to know what my rights are and any downsides to the service.

Your argument is pretty pointless, ignorance is not an excuse especially when they gave you the facts in black & white.
I'm afraid its not the companys fault if you agreed to the T&C's without actually bothering to read them.

Just imagine an old person who’s reading sight is not the best, how are they going to read a contract that you need a magnify glass to see, or what about a person who are not too good at reading,

Hmmm, don't know of many or for that matter any old people that will ever download 50GB in a month never mind 250GB. Just because you think 250GB isn't alot to download doesn't mean its not the norm.

I can tell you from first hand experience the average joe user downloads in the region of 5-15GB a month and thats being very generous with the actual figure when its averaged.

When you go to a genuine website and see in big fantasy writing
“Unlimited”, you expect to get exactly that, for it’s what you’re paying for, isn’t it,

In the English Dictionary the word Unlimited means: without limits, not restricted
In the English Dictionary the word capped means: to put a cap on something, (the end of),

Your beating a dead horse here.
As long as the ASAI say eircom are not doing anything wrong your argument is pointless .

To date the ASAI have not said that eircom, upc, three, vodafone etc etc are doing anything wrong by stating unlimited and by having a FUP. The exact same situation applies in the UK with OFCOM and providers there.

FUP's exist to protect the company from customer's taking the piss, such actions can also have an affect on other customer's services so the company has a duty of care to these other customer's also.

cookie1977 · 18-08-2011 9:32am

The problem with the ASAI is that they're an independent self regulating authority. Would turkeys vote for Christmas? I think not

The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland is the independent self-regulatory body set up and financed by the advertising industry and committed, in the public interest, to promoting the highest standards of marketing communications, that is, advertising, promotional marketing and direct marketing.

http://www.asai.ie/about.asp

But according to the program for government:

We will restrict misleading advertisements relating to monthly caps.

www.finegael.ie/upload/ProgrammeforGovernment.pdf

So fingers crossed on some of the issues, although the government maybe distracted at the moment

Cabaal · 18-08-2011 9:50am

cookie1977 wrote: »

www.finegael.ie/upload/ProgrammeforGovernment.pdf

So fingers crossed on some of the issues, although the government maybe distracted at the moment

Another party will be in power before FG enact any such change.

JamesBond2010 · 21-08-2011 10:13pm

you must be doing alot of downloading if ur complaining about a 250 gb limit.
why do u need a higher limit?
the limit is mainly there to stop people acting the bollocks and downloading everything in site.if everyone was doing that the speed would be **** and no one would be able to use it properly..

johnc1118 · 07-09-2011 8:18pm

so what happened???did you pay up??

Akrasia · 08-09-2011 12:25pm

I'm pretty amazed that the OP signed an 18 month contract for 64 euros a month and all he got was a crappy samsung europa....
that phone is less than a hundred quid on pre-pay.

The lesson is to shop around before you sign the contract, not after.

stephenodea01 · 28-03-2013 2:15pm

so eircom lye about there ''UNLIMITED'' broadband? is it acctualy only 250 gb?

dudara · 28-03-2013 5:52pm

Zombie thread - closed

dudara

eircom rip-off

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