UTV Talk - Line Rental - Single Billing

paulski999

Hi All,

Just a heads-up on UTV Talk and single billing.
Have signed up for UTV Talk in Sept, offically started in Oct 1st. Had to pay Eircom line rental up to mid-Oct, and I was told that I shouldn't receive another Line Rental bill from Eircom, of course today I receive a bill from €ircon wanting Line Rental up to Mid-Dec!! Ring UTV talk say yeap we're not taking over line rental until mid-Nov and from then you'll pay UTV Line Rental.(that wasn't my underestanding when signing up - they said from Oct 1 line rental would be paid to them)

I point out that the customer should not have to pay Line Rental twice, UTV say €ircon will send you back a cheque covering the over-pay. Comreg have decreed that this should happen. €ircon paying out money!!! That'll be the day..
UTV say €ircon are dragging their heels and that its a service issue, in that, if line rental isn't paid my line would be cut and I would not be a happy camper, too bloody right! Anybody have the low-down on this from Comreg? I know the €ircon should have sent me a letter stating that I have consented to the change, but no letter as of yet, UTV say they've havn't applied yet and by mid-Nov €ircon I should receive a letter from €ircon.. Aghhh

parsi

I'm in the same boat as you.. got the same spiel from UTV. Personally I feel that we should be able to withdraw from our contracts as UTV are not perfoming...

sharkman

I'm in the same boat . I have e-mailed UTV and told them they are in breach of contract and as such , I wish to terminate use if their service .

Still waiting .

samo

I signed up with UTV last week, they told me that its meant to be end of nov before this comes on line with single billing. byt the sounds of it, am I right in thinking i wouldnt want to be holding my breath??

Paddy20

Afaik, the problem is not with UTV Talk as far as line rental / single billing is concerned.

I have been using UTV Talk for quite some time, and have been receiving the free off-peak all Ireland/Uk phone calls service , and I have never as yet been charged for line rental by UTV Talk.

It really has not bothered me, as I am aware that Eircom are not in any hurry to lose their line rental customers from their evil clutches.

You are in reality not losing if you have signed up with UTV Talk as you should receive the free calls offpeak , even though Eircom are dragging their feet and not processing the infomation in a manner that will allow UTV Talk to issue a line rental inclusive single bill.

It is frustrating, but you are still paying nothing for offpeak calls throughout Ireland and UK mainland during the week and at all times during weekends ?.. and your still complaining :rolleyes:

How can free offpeak telephone calls be a Rip- Off ?..

paulski999

Atn Paddy20,

The issue is having to pay twice for line-rental, I appreciate that it's probably €ircon dragging their heels, but it shouldn't be me having to dig out twice for line rental when UTV should be making it easier for new customers. I agree that free evening & w'end calls are a boon, hence me signing up, but expecting the customer to pay €ircon once for line rental and again to UTV and expect €ircon to repay me in 60-90 days... is frankly a joke... And as soon as you realize that you're in the same camp, you may change your tune

Paddy20

Paulski999,

As I stated, I am using UTV Talk, but they have not as yet charged me for Line Rental as Eircom are still charging me because they have not processed my authorisation for my line rental to be paid direct to U.TV.

I have had monthly bills paid from my bank via direct debit to UTV Talk, but NO LINE RENTAL has been charged, and it states that on the online bill i.e. they are not charging me LINE RENTAL until Eircon stop charging me line rental, get it ??...

Have you really paid twice for line rental ?... If you say you have, I find it hard to believe, as I know of no one who has been charged line rental for the same billing period by both Eircon & U.TV :eek:

P.

parsi

Part of the problem is taht we signed up for a package - that package included paying our rental to UTV and not eircon. This is not yet happening due to techncial glitches. Therefore we are not getting our full package. UTV are quite quick to charge people for minor changes (see discussion on utv.support over someone havng to sign up for a new 12-month contract to up their cap even though UTV siad it actually only costs eur15 and the contract requirement is to stop people changing around...).

UTV is a business and it's one that we are supporting because it did go a good bit of the way to opening things up. But can you imagine the outcry if eircom were behaving this way ? Remember that UTV will cut us no slack if there is a problem - cast your mind back to the furore over speeds and UTVs contractually correct response.

If UTV want to repay loyalty by saying "well its within the terms of your contract" then the consumer should ensure that UTV adhere to the terms of the contract as well..

paulski999

Att Paddy20,

Pls re-read the original post.. what I'm saying is from mid-Nov UTV will start charging for line rental even though I have paid €ircon the same line rental up to mid-Dec. Get it? So I'll will be paying twice, i.e. once to €ircon and again to UTV, with UTV saying yeap €ircon will repay you the over-pay within 60-90 days...

Paddy20

Paulski999,

Ah, so now you admit that up to now. You have not paid twice for your line rental. May I suggest that when and IF you ever do. You will then probably have a case for a thread like this, which is currently misleading in both content and title.

As a commercial business U.TV Talk, have a right to protect their good name under libel laws, and you are sailing very close too the wind in that direction.

Imho your thread is misleading and biased against U.TV Talk in a manner that could cost them goodwill and business, for which you could be held reponsible.

I sincerely hope you will not be, but if I were you I would have this thread deleted, as to date, clearly there has been NO RIP-OFF ! and this is the Rip-Off forum.

P.

LFCFan

if you're with UTV Talk and UTV Clicksilver, can you view both statements together in the Clicksilver account online or do you have to check both accounts online?

Paddy20

Afaik, when you signed up for U.TV Talk, if you were already a Clicksilver customer. You would receive an automatic new account number which covers both services, and then you use this new account number online which shows all charges both for UTV TALK and broadband Clicksilver , informing you how much U.TV will be deducting from your direct debit bank account, at a date in the future, as a single payment/bill for all charges accrued.

parsi

Just to add that the customer care number given here http://u.tv/talk/tc.asp?loc=ie doesn't seem to be working....!

It now appears that the problem is with eircom routing UTV calls. A call to UTV on a different number says to use 13666 prefix for thetime being. Strange in that I thought we couldn't use any such prefixes. asked about them making some compensation (refund of a day rental or whatever) for being unable to use the phone service and was told no.

Even a simple post on their website would have helped...

paulski999

Att Paddy20,

Received today letter from UTV Talk...


Quote -

"We are writing to update you on the current situation in relation to the transfer of your line rental from Eircom to UTV Talk...

When the process to take over your line is nearing completion, we will notify you of the anticipated date of transfer. All subsquent UTV bills will include the line rental charge. Approximately 6-8 weeks after the transfer Eircom will send you a full refund for your advanced line rental payments made to them.

Once the process is complete, you will benefit from a single bill for all your telecoms services including line rental, calls and internet access, if applicable.

End Quote.

So Paddy hope this enlightens you... and the wind is taken out of your sails...

Paddy - please re-read carefully before responding..

Paulski

sharkman

UTV have agreed to cancel my service .. I'm off to Euphony , €10 a month for free call all week , No more waiting till 6 PM to make a call for me !

Paddy20

Paulski999,

Hmmm, sorry:- but I still can not see where the UTV Talk Rip-Off is ?.. Seem's to me it's €irCon who have a case to answer ?...

P.

LFCFan

Paulski999, I'm also at a loss as to what your problem with UTV is? I'm also with them and in the same situation as yourself and I don't see the problem. Anything I've paid over the odds to €ircon I will get back and UTV will start billing me for line rental and give me FREE calls after 6 and at the weekends (seeing as I don't get home till after 6 during the week this is perfect for me). Please, enlighten us. Tell us exactly where the ripoff is?????????

pollyantic

I signed up with utv talk 2 weeks ago. My phone has not been working for the last 2 weeks due to a fault in my area.
When i called Eircom for a refund in line rental ( i have not paid this to UTV yet) they told me to call utv. Utv tell me to call Eircom.

Can anyone tell me what the situation is here?
Or even better, What will the situation be when UTV are collecting your line rental. When there is a fault, will UTV arrange to have it fixed or pass you on to Eircom, with whom you have no contract anymore?

This is a bit of a grey area to me.

paulski999

Att LFC,

Two things, why should we have to pay twice for the same service? Surely its up to UTV to sort it out with €ircon and agree from such a date that you pay UTV for the line rental.
Do you belive that €ircon will refund your over-paid line rental? I can't see that happening, but if and when they do I will gladly return to this thread and say so, and anyway why do we have to wait 6-8 weeks for a refund, if you were that much overdue on paying your phone bill to €ircon they would soon cut you off.

Basically why should UTV customers have to pay twice for the same Line Rental?
Paulski

LFCFan

paulski999 wrote:

Att LFC,

Two things, why should we have to pay twice for the same service? Surely its up to UTV to sort it out with €ircon and agree from such a date that you pay UTV for the line rental.
Do you belive that €ircon will refund your over-paid line rental? I can't see that happening, but if and when they do I will gladly return to this thread and say so, and anyway why do we have to wait 6-8 weeks for a refund, if you were that much overdue on paying your phone bill to €ircon they would soon cut you off.

Basically why should UTV customers have to pay twice for the same Line Rental?
Paulski

Number 1 - The billing cycle for Line Rental makes it nearly impossible to just switch to another operator without there being some overlap.
Number 2 - If there is any issue with being charged twice, it's down to €ircon, UTV.

In other words, UTV are doing their best, €ircon will make it as awkward as possible for people to switch.

parsi

I think UTV have some rsponsibility in the issue as well -I am not th eonly person that received their consent to change letter _three_ times but yet never got informed that I had been changed over.. UTV sometimes seems shambolic in their business dealings but because they are not eircon people are forgiving. Well it is time for UTV to stand up and earn business because of what they offer and how they offer it and not because of who they aren't.

Of course UTv could always take the line - pay rental to eircon and you can settle up with us when we are ready totake payment for rental...

shoegirl

I have to say I agree with the original poster.

If eircom have not yet finalised arrangements with UTV then UTV should be deducting the value of line rental from their bills as and until this is actually paying the line rental. It is deeply unfair of them to expect their customers to fork out over 50 per month in effective line rental until they and eircom can resolve the issue.

Easy to blame eircom, but UTV has some responsibility here too. Many other companies (Euphony is a notable case) have not yet taken on line rental and UTV should not be charging customers the full whack until eircom have stopped billing the customer.

So lay off Paddy as he has a legitimate axe to grind. I would be extremely unhappy if I was asked to pay for the package and then also eircom rental. It appears that UTV are not treating you all equally.

In any case there are other providers who seem to have made the transition more smoothly.

LFCFan

shoegirl wrote:

UTV should not be charging customers the full whack until eircom have stopped billing the customer.

Has anyone in here actually been charged Line Rental by UTV yet? I don't think anyone has which is why Paddy20 and others think this post is unwarranted. If it was a case that someone has actually paid Line Rental twice then they'd have a case. It's a bit bad to be moaning of a ripofff in advance of actually being ripped off. I know things are bad in Ireland but that's just crazy :eek:

Paddy20

Exactly, Shoegirl has obviously not read my posts on this thread ?...

No further comment from me, will ever appear again on this thread.

I am "laying off" as Shoegirl suggests, who needs it ?...

P.

paulski999

Att LFC Fan & Paddy20,

My original post was a "heads up" i.e. forearmed is forewarned.. better to know you're going to have to pay twice, then bemoan the fact after the fact if you get my meaning.

As I keep saying this going to happen, UTV have admitted so in their letter to me which I have replicated in this thread in part..
the pertinent section being...

Quote..
"When the process to take over your line is nearing completion, we will notify you of the anticipated date of transfer. All subsquent UTV bills will include the line rental charge. Approximately 6-8 weeks after the transfer Eircom will send you a full refund for your advanced line rental payments made to them."
End Quote

So implicit in this is that yes you will have to pay double, once to Eircom again to UTV and hope to get a rebate from €ircon... I've had this very conversation with UTV and hence the letter they sent to me, and I was just informing people of the issue involved, and to be shot down for informing people is risible. Nobody has had this issue yet as UTV haven't taken over Line Rental from Eircon and are due to do this mid-Nov. So would suggest you ring UTV and ask if this in fact the case, and revert.

What I suggust people do in the interim is to write to UTV and say that since you will have your single billing woes ironed out by mid-Nov, therefore I as your customer should not have to pay twice, therefore I agree to pay line rental to UTV when my line rental expires with Eircon (I know technically Eircom will still receive wholesale Line Rental from UTV, but remember UTV collect this on a monthly basis so are accuring interest on monies paid to them monthly and then paying Eircom later...)

And before people start going on at me for daring to raise this issue, I do think UTV Talk is a good product, hence I signed up for it



Paulski

LFCFan

I got my first Clicksilver/UTV Talk bill yesterday and the total charge was €0. ie. They haven't charged me line rental.