Smart Telecom - The 'Free Line Rental for Life' CON

Its Only Me!

Hi Folks,
First time posting here but I lurk a lot & my wife posts all the time! I searched for posts regarding this issue & was surprised not to find anything similar seeing as there are potentially 100,000 people affected by it!
Not sure if you remember the sales pitch from Smart but it went 'Free line rental for life for the first 100,000 customers to join Smart'. Sounds great but as I found out recently it isn't so!
A few weeks ago we decided to increase our Download/Upload speed. We are currently paying approx. €40 per month for a 4Mb package. As we were promised free line rental for life we were delighted when we checked the current packages available on the Smart Telecom website (http://www.smarttelecom.ie/residential_package.html) & found that by transferring to the new 4Mb package we would be saving approx €26 per month or to the 6Mb package we would be saving €11 per month! My wife called customer care to ask them to transfer us to the new package but they refused. They said that the Free Line rental only applied to the old package. She asked to speak to a supervisor who called her back later that day. He again refused so my wife told him to send her the refusal in writing. To our surprise we got the letter last week.
We are now going to contact Comreg as we consider this a breech of contract & very misleading! It's obvious that they Conned people into joining up by adding the line rental to the cost of the broadband & saying that they were giving it for free. What's even more annoying is that they have seperated the cost of the broadband & line rental on the new packages table on their site but still will not honour the Free Line Rental!
The reason I'm posting this here is I was wondering if anyone else on this forum has had this issue or taken it further? I would be interested to here from other people who would be willing to contact Comreg. Considering there are potentially 100,000 customers affected I am also considering contacting both Matt Cooper & Joe Duffy to highlight this Con. I'm sure this is a story that would interest them!
Any thoughts post a reply or PM me?
Thanks,
Mike

Sponge Bob

It is not a breach of contract if they are fulfilling the contract . You are now, officially, going around in circles .

Good luck with Comreg by the way , you will need it

Its Only Me!

Hi Sponge Bob,
If I switch to a new Package & they charge me €25.47 for line rental then it is a breach of contract! 'Free Line rental for Life' means Free line rental for life & I joined Smart because of that promise.
Are Comreg hard to deal with? Should I contact Director of Consumer Affairs?

Nody

No, free line rental for life only applies as long as you stick to the agreed contract. If you decide you want to end that contract that means you're signing a new contract with new terms and conditions and those don't include free line rental for life.

You still have free line rental for life as long as you stick with the original contract; hence Smart is fulfilling their end of the bargain.

helimachoptor

Its Only Me! wrote: »

Hi Sponge Bob,
If I switch to a new Package & they charge me €25.47 for line rental then it is a breach of contract! 'Free Line rental for Life' means Free line rental for life & I joined Smart because of that promise.
Are Comreg hard to deal with? Should I contact Director of Consumer Affairs?

There ae caveats with all these things, like with the mobile companies and their free txts for life, if you port off their network/stop topping up the number you will lose the perk.

chrislad

Its Only Me! wrote: »

Hi Sponge Bob,
If I switch to a new Package & they charge me €25.47 for line rental then it is a breach of contract! 'Free Line rental for Life' means Free line rental for life & I joined Smart because of that promise.
Are Comreg hard to deal with? Should I contact Director of Consumer Affairs?

Free Line Rental for Life. Terms and Conditions apply.

Taking for example, a similar company. Meteor have on their bill pay plans for 50e a month Free Meteor to Meteor Calls and Texts for Life. All well and good. They then launched a new offer for the same price, of Free Evening and Weekend Calls to All Networks. Can I reasonably say that since I was told that I have Free Meteor Calls/Texts that I should keep those once I decide I want to get the new offer?

I think not.

Cabaal

Your trying to change the rules of the origonal contract that you agreed to and your crying because they won't allow you. OP your in the wrong here Smart are doing nothing wrong

Good luck with comreg :pac:

btw the reason your the only one complaining about this is everybody else appears to have more common sense,

ShooterSF

I dunno. I's usually agree with the other posters but if Smart are proving broadband for €25 + line rental and charging the OP €40 for the same broadband that doesn't seem fair. Then again it's likely the deal was always crap and always included line rental in a stealth way.

Kensington

By switching your speed, you are entering into a new contract. By doing so, you are no longer bound by the terms of the current one, but instead agree to take the terms of the new one.

FWIW. You're not actually being charged anymore by Smart anyway.

Currently, you're billed €0 for your line rental, and €40.54. for 4Mb broadband, right?
The current equivalent package if you are to sign up today would bill you €25.47 line rental, but only €15.07 for broadband. Net cost is still the same per month - €40.54.

All they've done is split the cost to show broadband and line rental seperately now. So, for 8Mb (for example), think of it as €50.57 per month (including free line rental), as opposed to €25.47 line rental and €25.07 broadband.

Cabaal

Kensington wrote: »

By switching your speed, you are entering into a new contract. By doing so, you are no longer bound by the terms of the current one, but instead agree to take the terms of the new one.
.

100% correct!
If you enter a new contract the old one no longer applys as such its no longer "free" for life.

The for life offer only applys for the life of that first contract until they cancel or change to a new contract.

If the OP took the time to read Smarts T&C's (which they agreed to) they'd most likely understand this

KoolKid

Smart still have the Best Value & the best non contended BB IMO.
I have just upgraded to 9 meg service , It usually maxs out at the equivilant of 10.5 meg.
If they wany to tell me I'm paying €50 for BB & getting free line rental let them.
If they want to tell me I'm paying €50 for line rental & getting BB thats fine too.
Your either happy with the serive & value or not. If not shop around if you are then stop looking for a row over it.
Don't waste your time with Comreg or Consumer Affairs you will get nowhere.
Its also a little suspicious when a new member joins boards purly to go on a crusade.

MOH

It has been mentioned before anyway, and the general response is, it's a new contract so the "for life" doesn't apply.

eman66

From the start, from the big spectacular media campaigns and announcements, this has been a con. Smart Telecom knew that they would never have to supply anybody with free line rental for life. Clever people.

KoolKid

They told people the price that included brodaband & line rental ( whether free or included just depends on your perception of it)
Its still the same its just that they are now saying BB costs X & line rental costs Y
If you want to start a new contract then the old one no longer applies..
Wheres the con???

Nody

koolkid wrote: »

Wheres the con???

That the company refuses to sell broadband for free for life, no matter what the customer does with the contract! Clearly Smart should pay for the landline rent no matter where I move, what operator I use and in what country, for life! Because that is what it said in the advertisement: itty bitty things like T&C should not at all be looked at because the advertisement had one line saying Free line rental for life with a * at the end of it!

ShooterSF

Well the assumption that line rental is actually free and not included in the broadband price. I doubt they'd have signed up as many as they did if the said the first 100,000 customers will get their line rental added on to their broadband and told their getting a great offer for life when it's actually no different to their day to day offers.

I'm not with Smart but morally it seems wrong to me.

Darragh29

Its Only Me! wrote: »

Hi Sponge Bob,
If I switch to a new Package & they charge me €25.47 for line rental then it is a breach of contract! 'Free Line rental for Life' means Free line rental for life & I joined Smart because of that promise.
Are Comreg hard to deal with? Should I contact Director of Consumer Affairs?

If I was you before you go running to Comreg or anywhere else, I'd sit down and fully read the contract that you have entered into with Smart Telecom. I'm sure your contract has terms & conditions assigned to it and the agreement you have with them isn't as clear cut as you suggest, as in, "Free Line Rental For Life". There are obviously terms & conditions attached to your agreement that you are not familar with at the moment... Put on the kettle and get out the contract is my advice to you and forget what slogan they were using in their marketing! That slogan is only intended to get you to sign the contract and unlike the contract, is not legallly binding!

KoolKid

Nody wrote: »

things like T&C should not at all be looked at

And how then are you supposed to sign a legally binding document??
If you dont look at T&Cs then you were not conned you were just stupid.

Brimmy

I'm fairly certain he was taking the mick..

Cabaal

Nody wrote: »

That the company refuses to sell broadband for free for life, no matter what the customer does with the contract! Clearly Smart should pay for the landline rent no matter where I move, what operator I use and in what country, for life! Because that is what it said in the advertisement: itty bitty things like T&C should not at all be looked at because the advertisement had one line saying Free line rental for life with a * at the end of it!

haha, this made me laugh

Brimmy wrote: »

I'm fairly certain he was taking the mick..

he was :pac:

Sleipnir

Nody wrote: »

That the company refuses to sell broadband for free for life, no matter what the customer does with the contract!

Sell? for free?
"no matter what the customer does with the contract"?
End contract law?

Xterminator

so you want to change your end of the contract, but complain if they want to do so?

amtc

ComReg won't get involved in matters of contract

scruff murphy

Its Only Me! wrote: »

Hi Folks,
First time posting here but I lurk a lot & my wife posts all the time! I searched for posts regarding this issue & was surprised not to find anything similar seeing as there are potentially 100,000 people affected by it!
Not sure if you remember the sales pitch from Smart but it went 'Free line rental for life for the first 100,000 customers to join Smart'. Sounds great but as I found out recently it isn't so!
A few weeks ago we decided to increase our Download/Upload speed. We are currently paying approx. €40 per month for a 4Mb package. As we were promised free line rental for life we were delighted when we checked the current packages available on the Smart Telecom website (http://www.smarttelecom.ie/residential_package.html) & found that by transferring to the new 4Mb package we would be saving approx €26 per month or to the 6Mb package we would be saving €11 per month! My wife called customer care to ask them to transfer us to the new package but they refused. They said that the Free Line rental only applied to the old package. She asked to speak to a supervisor who called her back later that day. He again refused so my wife told him to send her the refusal in writing. To our surprise we got the letter last week.
We are now going to contact Comreg as we consider this a breech of contract & very misleading! It's obvious that they Conned people into joining up by adding the line rental to the cost of the broadband & saying that they were giving it for free. What's even more annoying is that they have seperated the cost of the broadband & line rental on the new packages table on their site but still will not honour the Free Line Rental!
The reason I'm posting this here is I was wondering if anyone else on this forum has had this issue or taken it further? I would be interested to here from other people who would be willing to contact Comreg. Considering there are potentially 100,000 customers affected I am also considering contacting both Matt Cooper & Joe Duffy to highlight this Con. I'm sure this is a story that would interest them!
Any thoughts post a reply or PM me?
Thanks,
Mike

Ive been with quite a few phone companies, and I can tell you Smart is probably one of the best to deal with. They certainly keep their promises on prices, unlike a certain big phone company, so I would think long and hard about changing, if I were you.;););)

scruff murphy

Its Only Me! wrote: »

Hi Folks,
First time posting here but I lurk a lot & my wife posts all the time! I searched for posts regarding this issue & was surprised not to find anything similar seeing as there are potentially 100,000 people affected by it!
Not sure if you remember the sales pitch from Smart but it went 'Free line rental for life for the first 100,000 customers to join Smart'. Sounds great but as I found out recently it isn't so!
A few weeks ago we decided to increase our Download/Upload speed. We are currently paying approx. €40 per month for a 4Mb package. As we were promised free line rental for life we were delighted when we checked the current packages available on the Smart Telecom website (http://www.smarttelecom.ie/residential_package.html) & found that by transferring to the new 4Mb package we would be saving approx €26 per month or to the 6Mb package we would be saving €11 per month! My wife called customer care to ask them to transfer us to the new package but they refused. They said that the Free Line rental only applied to the old package. She asked to speak to a supervisor who called her back later that day. He again refused so my wife told him to send her the refusal in writing. To our surprise we got the letter last week.
We are now going to contact Comreg as we consider this a breech of contract & very misleading! It's obvious that they Conned people into joining up by adding the line rental to the cost of the broadband & saying that they were giving it for free. What's even more annoying is that they have seperated the cost of the broadband & line rental on the new packages table on their site but still will not honour the Free Line Rental!
The reason I'm posting this here is I was wondering if anyone else on this forum has had this issue or taken it further? I would be interested to here from other people who would be willing to contact Comreg. Considering there are potentially 100,000 customers affected I am also considering contacting both Matt Cooper & Joe Duffy to highlight this Con. I'm sure this is a story that would interest them!
Any thoughts post a reply or PM me?
Thanks,
Mike

Consider yourself blessed to have a phone service at all my friend. my phone is out over 1 week, and Ive theyve told me that though Im their customer, they must wait for Eircom to fix it, as they lease the land line from Eircom. I couldnt believe it, as they never told me this when I transferred. I have had a phone for the last 25 years, and never was it once out of order for more than 1 day. By the way, Im with Smart also, and the problem has been logged with Comreg, but there is still not resolution:mad::mad::mad:

Mountjoy Mugger

scruff murphy wrote: »

Ive been with quite a few phone companies, and I can tell you Smart is probably one of the best to deal with. They certainly keep their promises on prices, unlike a certain big phone company, so I would think long and hard about changing, if I were you.;););)

scruff murphy wrote: »

Consider yourself blessed to have a phone service at all my friend. my phone is out over 1 week, and Ive theyve told me that though Im their customer, they must wait for Eircom to fix it, as they lease the land line from Eircom. I couldnt believe it, as they never told me this when I transferred. I have had a phone for the last 25 years, and never was it once out of order for more than 1 day. By the way, Im with Smart also, and the problem has been logged with Comreg, but there is still not resolution:mad::mad::mad:

Hmm. So you post praising Smart, and all of a sudden your line goes dead. This is one for the Conspiracy Theorists.