How can I stop Eircom's winback ?

shabbyroad

With increasing regularity we're getting salespeople either telephoning or (more annoying) calling to the house looking to get us back to Eircom.
No obviously doesn't mean no.

So....

How can I stop this ? Surely I can instruct Eircom not to contact me or my family again and have a means to hold them accountable.

(am I asking for a lot here ?)

Creamy Goodness

lol one day they phoned my house and my dad picked up and said "look i don't like your company could you kindly fúck off you shower of pricks" actual words he used. that was about a year ago never heard from them again

sceptre

I haven't been plagued by Eircom at all

Just one call to show you care would be nice guys. Obviously you'll get abused from a height with words used that you thought you'd never hear outside of an uncut Tarantino movie but it'd be nice to show you care. I've been an Esat customer for 170 weeks and was only an Eircom customer for one week. I'm obviously ripe for the picking

so I've not really looked into it.

I'd suggest you try throwing the Data Protection Act (1988 as amended) section 2 subsection 7

(7) Where—

( a ) personal data are kept for the purpose of direct marketing, and
( b ) the data subject concerned requests the data controller in writing to cease using the data for that purpose,
the data controller shall, as soon as may be and in any event not more than 40 days after the request has been given or sent to him—

(i) if the data are kept only for the purpose aforesaid, erase the data,
(ii) if the data are kept for that purpose and other purposes, cease using the data for that purpose, and
(iii) notify the data subject in writing accordingly and, where appropriate, inform him of those other purposes.

at them and see where it gets you. As far as I'm concerned, subsubsections a, b and ii should apply - in other words, they have your data that they're using for direct marketing (which isn't restricted to "direct mailing" as the definitions specify that "direct marketing" includes "direct mailing" so it has a wider interpretation). They also use it for other purposes, assuming you retained your Eircom line when you moved to another telecom provider. Hence they're using your data for direct marketing and other purposes and can be required to stop using it for the purposes of direct marketing.

You'd need to find out who the data controller for Eircom is (and please post it here so everyone can have a go), send them a letter and then they've forty days to comply (and send you a letter back that you can use to get Joe Meade to scream at them if they ever call again). If I read it correctly the Data Protection Act does apply (there are three exceptions under section 1(4) and this isn't one of them) and as an Act of the Oireachtas, any little winback regulations and agreements that Etain Doyle makes a flamingo-up of are subservient to that Act.

Hence, write them a letter and tell them to bugger off.

Sorry if the above is a little incoherent. As I'm so proud of declaring, I'm not a law type any more. And I could be wrong but I don't think I am.

crawler

Tell them you work for EsatBT or NTL etc....

I used to get loads of this - I gave them the line on "win back policies" etc, told them I worked for the competition and never heard form them again, for anything!

eth0_

Report them to comreg. They're allowed one phone call and one letter winback attempt in the first 6 months after you change carriers, iirc.

shabbyroad

thanks for the tips.
I've written a letter (sending it to Alan Cox, Manager of 'Winback Activities').

Small problem...

what's Eircom's address ? (You'd imagine it's on their website wouldn't you ?)

FirA_Fascio

i really wouldnt bother reporting them to comreg. You'll probably just get back the predictable reply of 'sorry eircom are right, you are wrong, we really dont care' like ive got on countless occasions

althought you might come off lucky and eircom will stop harrassing you (yes, it's counted as harrassment)

MadsL

114 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2

is the Official as in registered co address.

Send anything legal there, marked for the attn of the Company Secretary.